Time to put away the carrot and bring out the stick

Out of all my business trip to Nigeria, I think this week was the most tiring and with the most mixed emotion.  It was extremely productive to get to know the team and business better, pushing them to a higher standard in terms of strategic business planning as well as management structure.  Some parts of our planning session I felt like I rather jump off a building than continuing on wasting my time with the level of unprofessionalism and just lack of critical thinking from certain individuals...but other times, I will see a light bulb go off in one of them, and it all felt like it's worth it!!  At the end of the day, even though I would never be OK with our output had I been in the US, we've mad such astronomical progress compared to where we started that while I walked away exhausted, I feel really good about what I was able to impact.

I also realized how naive and trusting I am with people during this trip.  Having been trained in multinational firms where people are results-oriented and work for career advancement, I took for granted the level of professionalism in all my colleagues who focus on the long-term by "getting things done well" vs. the living in the moment "how can I milk this job as much as I can" mentality.

A few of us were discussing how difficult it is to hire a reliable driver in Nigeria.  Within a few days of hiring, a driver already will be coming to you, giving you stories about his life, and asking for money to help his family do this and that... A driver can decide that today, he has enough money, and doesn't feel like working, so will make up some story to not come into work.  If you're too nice to him, he takes things for granted, and begin to expect that.  People began developing a false sense of indispensability very quickly, and after realizing this, it began to make a lot of sense why I see my better off Nigerian colleagues treating other people they way they do...always "putting them in their rightful place" with the way they order people around, and "demanding" instead of "requesting" for things...people seem to need to be reminded where they should be in the social structure, otherwise, the minute the lines are blurred, they cross the boundary very quickly and it evolves into something unmanageable VERY quickly.

For example, one of my colleague knew someone who once had a driver who was slowly poisoning him.  He found out after falling seriously ill, and upon recovery, he confronted the driver, and found out about the reason behind the malicious act.  Apparently, the driver felt like the person was being mean and "mistreating" him because he asked him for some assistance/money once, but the guy couldn't give him money because his business was not going well.  Mind you, this is not an advance to his salary, but just a handout/favor.  Plus, every other time he had asked for money, the guy had always given money to him...it's just that this time he couldn't help him.  Between (1) the driver having short-term memory and forget all the things the guy has done for him in the past, and (2) he only caring for the day and does not realize he won't have a job if the guy dies...he decided to plot this revenge and began slipping poison in his drink.  Another example, my colleague's driver just didn't show up at work one day (despite of being told that it's important for him to be available and on time for this particular week due to some important things that needs to be done...etc.)...when he didn't show up, my colleague called him to inquire why he did not report to work, he explained that he cannot come to work because his landlord is going to evict him, and if he comes to work, he won't be home to protect his family when the landlord comes...It never occur to the guy that if he goes to work, earn money, then he can pay the landlord and not get evicted!!!  Instead, he just didn't show up at work, and lost his job.  Ridiculous behaviors like this apparently is commonplace, so one just have to be prepared to look for a new driver every 3 months.  Stuff like this makes my jaw drop; however, in a very odd way, I can kind of understand the reason behind the behavior to a certain extent.   In a country where anything can happen any day, and the environment is constantly changing, you have to deal with life one day at a time, and every day can be different.  So, if I have money today, I spend it, do whatever I want, be happy, who cares about showing up to work so I can work tomorrow.  If I don't have money now, I just have to figure out how to sort the situation out the best way I know TODAY.  (vs.thinking about the future so I can be sure to not have to deal with this kind of situation tomorrow)  

Another thing is, there's seem to be little social constraint on one's behavior so everyone is free to express themselves however they feel like it.  If you're happy, you laugh, if you're upset with someone, you throw your fist around and make a mess for everyone.  Sometimes I adore Nigerians for this "living in the moment" thing, and appreciate that you can have a HUGE argument with someone, but the next day, they completely forget about it, and you're happy again!  Coming from a society where everyone has to follow a certain protocol, be polite, don't stick out to be different, have manners...etc..  A lot of the behaviors I see can be judged as "childish" "irresponsible" or plain "stupid".  However, labeling Nigerians as such would be unfair because I will be judging their way of life by my foreign standard, and frankly, the society and education level here just hasn't gotten to that point, and "development" has been very one-sided in the oil sector while everybody else are wildly neglected.  Although sometimes I scream "there's got to be a better way!!", the fact that this is a larger, cultural and national issue is slowly sinking in, and I'm beginning to ask myself, how should I deal with someone whose focus is getting the most out of today and may do anything to make sure he takes care of his family today.  The carrots that used to work for me no longer works with this group of people, and the carrots they want isn't something I am able or want to offer.

I suppose the biggest moment of truth for me in all these discussions was...sometimes, it's important to take out the "stick", and using the stick can be very difficult... in all my professional work previously, you get things done by building relationships, give and receive favors, and generally by being nice to people and focus on getting things done and doing your job well. I spent a lot of time thinking about what the "carrot" should be and how to motivate people using positive reinforcements, yet, I have spent virtually no time thinking about how I could use punishment to shape behavior.

Here in Nigeria, especially outside a multinational company, a lot of time what's keeping you in a job is not the result you can deliver/competency, but if you're favored by your superior...So, many people focus their energy not in delivering what they're supposed to deliver based on their job description, but focus on making their boss happy.  In the meantime, I suppose you can never be sure if you can stay in favor forever, they milk their job as much as they can...In my instance, I found out this trip that there was a strong belief by a couple key people that one of my direct liaison in Nigeria was focusing more on giving out contract to her friends using the work we need to get done vs. finding someone who can do the job effectively at the lowest costs (a.k.a. what she was hired to do).  Because I'm remote, and she's supposed to be fairly experienced, I've been mostly relying on her to do these execution and trusting that she's doing it to the best of her ability...so, I usually just chime in on a higher strategic level...and when something is not on par of the standard I would typically hold my work to, a "this is Nigeria/Africa" sort of explanation is usually enough to persuade me to accept what we can get and move on.  I never suspected that all these other ulterior motives related to personal benefit could be coming into play because I liked and trusted the person.  By being too nice and easily persuaded, I'm actually encouraging her to take her bad behavior to the next level and further take advantage of the situation.  I was completely blindsided. And even after realizing that, I was still struggling to figure out the best way to "discipline" the person because the effective way just seem too harsh for me.  Eventually, a decision was made.  It is so upsetting to know that someone I liked is making such a stupid mistake (and likely will repeat such mistake)...and it is also difficult to continue working with her knowing fully well what she was actually doing as well as what will eventually happen to her.  I guess there are certain traits that cannot be corrected so once you see the warning sign, you're better off letting the person go than trying to make them change because it's often not so logical why they're doing what they're doing therefore isn't a behavior we can change using a line of reasoning/logic.  I know it's not personal, it's business...however, for me, it's still hard to detach the person (and his family) from the matter...

It was a difficult week, but I learned so much about people, management, and my own weakness...I don't know how this will change how I deal with people, but am glad that as the immigration stamp my passport, I'm leaving this country just a little bit wiser...