Reshma and Noor had joined together in the Pharma sector 2 decades ago. Their career trajectories took them together for some time then their paths diverged. Reshma went into the Sales function and therefore traveled, while Noor went into Operational Excellence and therefore rotated across divisions in Head Office. They remained in touch and often met in annual conferences and meetings.
Recently, both got promotions and senior leadership roles in the Head Office. Being in the same campus, their old friendship bloomed, and they started meeting often. Each held the other’s career trajectory in awe and their mutual respect for each other was tinged with a hint of envy. While Reshma had strong experience connecting with customers and driving sales, she lacked the finesse and technology knowhow that Noor carried in bundles. Noor admired Reshma’s command over customer understanding and the insights she brought to the table during new product ideations. Having dedicated their careers to the organization, both ladies were workaholic and never hesitated in stretching the day or the weekend. A constant sense of ‘missing out’ preyed on their minds and it seemed to fuel their leadership styles.
That summer, there was an Executive overhaul initiated by the Board and this change brought in Naval S from a competitor as their new CEO. Naval was a second generation Indian American and had three decades of success in running global Pharma firms – in US, Europe and most recently in APAC. His expertise in scaling new molecules and establishing a brand presence was precisely what Noor and Reshma’s organization needed.
Within the first few meetings, the new boss Naval gauged the mindset, skills and ambitions of his reports. He noted the rising stars especially Noor and Reshma and their long working hours did not miss his eye.
Naval often nudged Reshma and Noor to take breaks and vacations to completely cut off from work. He encouraged them to groom the budding leaders in their respective teams and loosen their own grip. He noted however that his words often sailed through the ears of his reports, barely dropping anchor.
About a year into their new roles, Naval decided to take his team for an executive retreat into the Aravalli mountains. It was a 3 day over-the-weekend getaway for the team to unwind and rewind.
One evening, the team gathered around a bon-fire and regaled with stories and events from their lives. As they went around one by one, they also pulled in the Hotel Manager and asked him to share a story which is close to his heart. He hesitated at first, but coaxed by the group, he chimed in with a story called the ‘Missing Goat’
Photo by Amandeep Chaudhary on Unsplash
Here is how it goes -
My father who was a goat milk-seller often told this story to me.
It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small hill town. Few school kids had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the numbers 1, 2 and 4 on their sides.
That night they let the goats loose inside their school building. The next morning, when the staff entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.
They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.
A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found.
But the staff were worried, where was goat No. 3? They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3.
The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day. The teachers, helpers, guards, canteen staffs, boys were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found.
Simply because it did not exist.
Through this story he reminded us to look at Goats 1,2,4 in our lives and not fret over missing out on Goat 3. Often, we spend so much time looking for 3, that we lose out on 1,2 and 4.
The penny dropped for Reshma and Noor as they stole glances at Naval. They, individually, had great skills, expertise and credibility, but they overlooked it while chasing something more. Naval’s words from their earlier discussions rang loudly in their ears. As the bon fire burned brightly, a spark had been lit in the leaders’ minds - one Naval hoped would lead to a brighter future.
Focus on your strengths
It's okay to be humble, but you should also be proud of what you've accomplished.
Amazingly written