Role models in a flat organisation

Unlike in Accenture, there are very few 'defining' moments when working at a large bank. No 'Core Schools' that come with the brainwashing, transition rituals, pep talk and drinking bouts, no effective career counseling, no outlandish short trips.

It therefore takes a bit longer to get to know those people within the company that can occasionally  provide you with some inside tips and tricks, and give that extra motivational boost to keep you going.

Hedwig, a business architect about one year away from his retirement, provides me exactly that. Occasionally I book a meeting with him to ask him the opinion of an 'éminence grise' on some of my recent experiences. Hedwig is respected within the organisation. He embodies what the Ancient Greeks called 'ataraxia' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataraxia). He has a reputation for sorting out the mess such as ruthlessly (but diligently) cutting budgets as required, reorganising a problematic department,...  In another life, I suspect he could have been an army colonel.

Last Thursday I had my two-monthly meeting with him. We spoke about the capabilities required for the various career levels under the executive level. Roughly there are 5 - ranging from business analyst/application manager to senior manager. Each level can be a landing point.  Expertise levels are not linearly rewarded as general communication, organisation and (self-)management skills are of increasing importance at higher career levels - no surprise I guess. The problem is that there is a breed of well-performing, clever and loyal employees, situated at level 3 or 4, who feel their positions are under-weighted.

At that point, such employees start (1) reading and dissecting function descriptions as if it's a legally binding text, (2) comparing their actions and work with those of peers, and (3) getting 'anekdotical'.

So I started a thought exercise in which I wanted to get a grasp on what 'complexity' means in a management context. Complexity occurs throughout communication-, organisation-, management- and analytical abilities. In the coming post(s) I will share some thoughts on this.

But, more importantly, in the mean time, I found a mentor.