BY SYCORAX TIYESA NDHLOVU
GAINING more knowledge, experience and skills through hard work while in any employment gives one more opportunities to rise in one’s career development process.
Situations arise where and when one’s supervisor, head of department (HoD) or chief executive officer (CEO) is transferred, resigns, is promoted, demoted or dies.
In some cases, a supervisor, HoD or a CEO might retire.
In such a situation, a realistic top management team will look around internally to see who is able to take over the created vacant position.
An internal advertisement or a recommendation can be done to facilitate filling up such a vacant position.
Whatever method is used to fill up such a vacant position, an organisation with a purpose to achieve will need a person who can really contribute to the growth and sustainable development of that organisation.
This means that they will employ someone to take over that position on merit.
Employing someone on merit means that they will pick someone who really qualifies to wear the shoes of the predecessor or do even better than the predecessor.
Therefore, each time one gets employed, it is not time for ‘kulibonesha taa’ (showing off) because one enters a tough task to learn how a supervisor, HoD or CEO is managing that section, department or organisation respectively in case an opportunity occurs where you will be in that position.
Realising that you might at a certain time be in your supervisor’s, HoD’s or CEO’s position makes one be observation, attentive, analytical and inquisitive to what a supervisor, HoD or a CEO does, how , when and why on a daily basis.
This is not for the purpose of spying on such officials; but to learn for personal capacity building for career development processes.
Being in employment is part of learning in life.
To achieve this, one is supposed to have good working culture. Being close to a supervisor, HoD and CEO facilitates easy learning from such officials.
This will not only help you to understand what they are doing but will also facilitate such officials understanding you better so that they can teach you more on what they are doing, how, why and when. Such a relationship with your supervisor, HoD or CEO can facilitate a good recommendation for you to take over a respective vacant position.
But this can be possible if you have continuous professional development (CPD) processes with your respective professional organisation. Your advancement in professional knowledge, experience and skills facilitates your increased capacity to take over from your supervisor, HoD or CEO whenever need arises.
Such views shouldn’t make some supervisors, HoDs and some CEOs to be jittery when one of the subordinates tries to get close to their respective offices to learn more about what they are doing.
When a subordinate tries to learn what a supervisor, HoD or CEO does, how, when and why; it is not a an attempt to overthrow the respective boss.
It is a normal process of life that those below us should learn what we are doing so that in future they can take over from us for the organisation to sustain its operations.
Facilitating subordinates’ rise to senior positions in an organisation is part of good leadership of senior managers in any organisation.
Unless one will permanently be in that position, one cannot avoid teaching others how to run that office.
Facilitate others to rise to senior positions as chances allow in future.
For one to effectively wear the shoes of a predecessor, one is supposed to be a good worker. A good worker is one who sacrifices for the sake of one’s job.
To be a good worker, one is also supposed to have a good work culture. Meeting deadlines and doing assignments effectively and efficiently are part of a good worker.
This article was conceptualised when we were discussing in a certain office where someone who is very hard working and result-oriented was telling this writer that he won’t renew his employment contract for various reasons.
Considering how tough the functions of his office are; and the expectations of not only his supervisor but also of other related offices, we wondered who will wear his shoes when his contract comes to an end.
While this might seem a puzzle, it is actually an opportunity for those who work hard.
When one doesn’t renew his or her contract; or when employers don’t renew someone’s contract, as bad as it sounds, it is an opportunity for someone else to take over that office.
But the issue is not just taking over the office. The issue is taking over the office; and being as effective as the predecessor.
In fact, someone taking over from somebody should do better than the predecessor.
Think of adopting a child or children.
One can also think of a situation where there was divorce somewhere; and each divorcee has re-married. Imagine also that a village or chiefdom has a new headman or a new chief or chieftainess.
How should one who takes over perform? One is expected to do better than the predecessor in any given situation.
Doing better than a predecessor is in consonant with leaving a place better than you found it. And if all people who take over from their respective predecessors where doing as much as the predecessors were doing or leaving offices or organisations better than they found them, each family, kingdom, office, organisation or country would have been more developed than things are now.
So you can see that when an opportunity to take over a child, family, village, chiefdom, an office or an organisation comes, it isn’t for milk and honey type of life because the tasks ahead are many and cumbersome while stakeholders’ expectations from you are as high as Kilimanjaro mountain.
Therefore, are you ready to measure up to all tasks ahead of you and satisfy stakeholders’ expectations if you are offered a position for your former supervisor, HoD or CEO? In short, are able to wear your predecessor’s shoes?
Or will you be a round peg is a square hole when you are offered a chance to occupy your predecessor’s office?
It is said that opportunities come to those who are prepared for them. Always be professionally prepared for opportunities to come to you.
Work hard. Learn more. Increase your professional knowledge, experience and skills. Develop good rapport not only with your supervisors, HoD and CEO but also with your workmates.
Because the world is moving towards serious business ethical practices, try hard to be ethically exemplary in your duties and in your decisions.
With efforts to improve on your capacity, and with all the relevant capacities in you, you are likely to wear your supervisor’s shoes soon.
(The author is a trainer and career coach)
Cell: 0976/0977 450151
E-mail:sycroraxndhlovu@yahoo.co.co.uk