The need to grow or continually expand is the inherent and universal need of all human beings. That is the nature of life itself.
Back to the work setting, let us ask the question why do we work? Apart from satisfying basic needs for living, we also work for a sense of accomplishment, and to grow. Growth is the primary driver for high performance in any organization context.
Now, what do we understand by growth? To the average organization citizen, growth is generally understood in terms of either increase in pay, perquisites or higher designation. So much so, that an increase in pay & designation, while doing the same work for eternity is also counted as growth. In my experience across a wide range of organizations, I have found that many organizations do not view job enlargement and job enrichment as growth avenues. Although, in the true sense they are definite modes of expansion for the human self. Viewed through the lens of tangible gain alone, job enlargement and enrichment are often precursors to promotion and increment, especially if the organization believes in the philosophy of demonstrated performance as a prerequisite for promotion.
Having said that, I would club all aspects of growth discussed above, as “extrinsic growth”, because all the aforesaid modes of growth have external dependencies, beyond the individual’s control. It is dependent on a number of organization factors such as business performance & outlook, availability of slots for promotion, business profitability and growth prospects etc. and also on environmental factors and macro-economic variables.
That brings us to the question that if extrinsic growth is halted due to circumstances beyond our control, despite high performance and high potential, how do we address our basic human need to grow & expand? To my mind, the answer lies in “intrinsic growth”, on which an individual exercises full control, with no external dependencies. Intrinsic growth is the continuous journey to hone one’s intellectual, emotional and spiritual quotient. It involves broadening and deepening one’s capability along all these dimensions. It presupposes that growth is the individual’s responsibility and within one’s control. In other words, growth is meant to be self-initiated, self-directed and self-monitored. Much akin to the concept of the learning organization – where the organization acts as a facilitator for learning, but the responsibility for learning and development lies with the individual.
Any form of extrinsic growth, which is not backed up by commensurate intrinsic growth is doomed to disintegrate like a house of cards, sooner or later. For growth to be sustainable and weather-proof, intrinsic growth is the fundamental desideratum. The converse may well happen, whereby intrinsic growth far outweighs extrinsic growth, but that is not a cause of concern, and will surely level up at some point of time, provided extrinsic growth holds value to the individual concerned.
Some possible avenues for intrinsic growth are knowledge enhancement by reading books, articles, enrolling for new courses etc., skill augmentation by picking up new skills attuned to the changing times and with technology advancement, skill development in virgin territories making oneself ready for alternate careers, honing up on all-season-all-context soft skills with universal application such as personal effectiveness, emotional intelligence, communication, emphasis on physical fitness through lifestyle changes and spiritual orientation with an eye on mental equanimity & vibrancy.
The learning organization is a veritable facilitator as far as knowledge & skills go, in the aforesaid list. An organization can also facilitate intrinsic growth by supporting the need of its people to pursue different growth avenues, and supporting it with conducive people policies for holistic development such as sabbaticals. The end game is a vibrant, aware, engaged, contented, self-managed workforce in pursuit of self-actualization. Needless to say, the gains will be all too visible at work, impacting organization culture and ultimately business top-line and bottom-line.
To sum up, an individual who is in pursuit of intrinsic growth, satisfies the basic human urge for continuous growth and expansion, in full charge of the remote control. The ensuing confidence and positivity rubs off favourably on the quality of thoughts, behaviour, actions, interpersonal interactions, quality of life, and work productivity. This is a win-win scenario for both the individual and the organization.