![]() ![]() They are expected to deliver miracles without even considering the fact that the minimum window for any employee to become productive at a new workplace is close to 6 months. Little do the organizations realize that they are setting up their precious high flyers to fail. They are expected to be wizards who accomplish every goal assigned to them (no matter how impractical or unrealistic) with little or no hand holding. The real trouble starts when they actually join the new organization. (Well, this can be excused, after all who doesn’t take delight in a little pampering?!!) Right from the moment they decide to join an organization they become aware of the preferential treatment given to them, they may even enjoy the attention and effort lavished on them by the organization to ensure that the acceptance of the offer letter is actually translated to the employee joining. They are well aware of their self-worth and in many cases may even experience inflated egos and god complex. Most of the High Flyers are over achievers for most parts of their lives and more often than not find themselves in abundance of self-confidence or in some cases I dare say hubris. Then why do these high performers fail once they are in the system? The “Icarus Effect “can provide some explanation. And when it comes to hiring such high performers concerns about the budgeted effort, time and hiring costs definitely take a backseat. Those who, they feel hold the potential to challenge the status quo those who they believe hold the key to provide the organization with a new direction, and steer them to glory. our high performers soar way too high way too fast and way too close to the sun just to crash and burn.īefore delving deeper into the Icarus Effect, I would like to establish a basic truth – Most organizations don’t hold back when it comes to hiring high flyers, the crème-de-la crème of the candidate pool. So what can be the reason? Among the multiple reasons that exist I am going to elucidate one that hogs the spotlight and which I like to lovingly call – “The Icarus Effect” (pardon the misuse of the term!!). It may sound surprising to note that a majority of the High Performers / High Flyers who join a new organization are at the greatest risk of quitting the organization in less than a year. And in this case I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the legendary Icarus and our present day organizational high Flyers. One of the best things I like about mythology is that it is always open for interpretation. Just as his dad had forewarned, the blazing sun burnt his wings and Icarus fell straight onto the ground. Icarus loved his wings and for reasons best known to him, he soared into the sky and flew too close to the sun. The only instruction he gave his son was pretty straightforward– don’t fly too close to the sun or the sea and only follow his (Daedalus’) path. Daedalus crafted a pair of wings out of wax for himself and his son to escape the labyrinth. ![]() Icarus was the son of Daedalus who was a well renowned Athenian master craftsman. For those not familiar with the story let me try and capture its essence in a nutshell. Most of us would be familiar with the story of Icarus, one of the most poignant stories of Greek mythology. ![]()
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