The Gunman v/s The Showman

A Battle between real talent and perceived talent

“Who’s going to raise the toast this time, we have to follow this tradition.” said SP.

“Well, I like my whiskey without ice, soda and Bs. So, I will take a pass” responded AA.

We were at our usual joint- a quiet bar in a quiet by-lane in the bustling city of Mumbai. A bar full of the old world charm- free of the frills, loud music, the selfie addicts; a place for unfiltered conversations. We all started as colleagues in the same company and over time our paths diverged but we stayed in touch and still meet at least once a month over drinks to blow off some steam. It was one such monthly gathering, and all 5 of us were there.

Starting our party with a toast is a tradition started by SP, to make sure that the conversation starts with something other than the work. He hates talking about work in leisure time. But how many times does it happen that you want to avoid work talks but end up spending most of the time talking about work. As a ground rule if someone talks too much about work, we stop him and divert the talk to other stuff but this time CK raised the toast, and he started conversation on such a touchy topic that everyone jumped right in.

“Here’s to all the wasteful efforts. Doesn’t matter how better you perform; the praises, higher increments and promotions are reserved for those who can sell the shit as jaggery,” said CK.

“Haha! I know what you are referring to, but don’t you think verbal communication is also important to succeed in corporate world” responded SP.

“Verbal communication is important, but Verbal diarrhea isn’t. Good verbal communication is different but showing off all the time is different. And sadly, those showoffs are being constantly rated higher than those who believe in the real work.” said AA.

“But don’t their bosses check their work and results they deliver on their projects. And are you saying that all performers are only showoffs?” asked MG.

“Most of performers and people in limelight are showoffs. The real hard workers are less in number. Those showoffs are being rewarded for grabbing credit for other people’s efforts rather than being kicked off from the team. The worst thing is that our seniors know they are showoffs and pass them as smart workers” replied MJ.

“Well don’t you think even if it’s known that they are showoffs, still they are not being kicked off from team, but the seniors are keeping them in system because they are actually needed.” asked SP.

“I don’t think they are needed at all. They are just showpieces, and the system will work without them more effectively,” said MJ.

This time MG responded “Ok, let’s discuss this with an example consider a situation where a war can break out anytime, there is tension around. Armies of both sides are carrying guns. One soldier in your squad is very loud and he is shouting war cries and waving his gun as he learned in training, let’s call him the showman. He is creating a perception amongst seniors, peers, and enemies that he is courageous and ready for war. The seniors are impressed and feel that he is a leadership material, The enemies feel that he is fearless and isn’t afraid of them. But in realty his gun is empty, and he may not even be that courageous. If war breaks out, he may be of no use. But so long the perception stands, and war doesn’t start he is in limelight, he is the face, he is the showman.”

“Have you ever attend the parades at Wagha border. The soldiers who perform on both sides in these parades, can you say for sure that they are the bravest soldiers of their squads? No but they create a very good impression don’t they? and people gather to watch them and cheer for them” added SP.

MG continued “On the other hand, there are many soldiers whose guns are loaded, and they have courage to fight but they don’t show it, don’t shout war cries and are standing in line like they are supposed to. The seniors and enemies don’t notice them. But once the war breaks out, these are the ones who will win it for their country. And many of them might be recognized with highest honor. Let’s call them the gunmen. But do you know the showman is always celebrated more than the gunman.”

“And Why is that so?” asked AA.

“Because the point to ponder here is, how many times does real war break out. In our history it has happened 2-3 times. Hence the showman will always be considered with high regards and recognized as energetic, dynamic, and worthy of future promotions. The bullets, the gun and the show all play equal roles to succeed in this world, cause it’s not just about the real talent but also the perception of talent. And the showman successfully creates the perception of his talents that he may not even possess,” said MG.

“Even in our corporate world there are very limited occasions where the real talent of an individual is tested and that too in a scenario where not the individual, but a team is expected to deliver on the projects. So, if the team delivers the result, credit is up for grabs and the showman grabs it, but the gunman is standing in line awaiting his turn to be rewarded. That’s how the world works- on the perception of talent not the real talent. Doesn’t matter how much you hate it; you must show your real talents and create a perception that you have them.” added SP.

“Really? You are telling me that perception is more important than real talent” asked CK with some clear signs of frustration on his face.

“Well, I do agree with MG and SP there, like in share market the price of a share depends upon perception of the company in the market and not just on real performance of the company. Even companies with a good balance sheet and sales performance suffer valuation losses due to bad perception in the market. Believe me, perception is the reality” added AA.

“Let’s not get into money matters, that’s another painful conversation. Coming back to this topic, tell me isn’t it the job of seniors to recognize who is working and who is just doing the mouth jobs?” asked MJ while winking and grinning.  

“Ha-Ha you mean an empty talker. Yes, it is the job of a senior. But most of the seniors have a lot on their plate and they don’t get indulged in day-to-day activities. Hence, it’s difficult for them to find out who’s who. Even if the seniors know who is busy doing the real work and who is busy in showoff, they value both. Because a senior leader must fight battle on both ends. On one front where real works needed to be done and on another front where he is competing with his peers and looking to impress the management to procure more resources for his team” responded SP.

“So, you are saying that the seniors intentionally motivate this kind of behaviour in their team” asked AA.

“Not exactly. I am saying that the real challenge for a leader is to maintain a balance between Gunmen and Showmen. If there are more Showmen, the real work doesn’t happen and it takes a toll on overall results on the other hand if there are all Gunmen, then there is no buzz or visibility in the system about your accomplishments and team don’t get enough resources even after delivering better results. A leader can’t do this heavy lifting alone. So, he puts gunman where the real & effective work is needed, and showman visibility of work is required” replied SP.

MG added further “The best person for a leader is the one who has both traits- he does good work, there are bullets in his gun, and he doesn’t shy away from creating a noise in the system about his work. These kinds of people are rare, and they are generally considered as real leadership material. On the other hand, showman can create an impression that he possess these talents and they are also considered as leadership material. The perception of a gunman might differ from his real talents because he never intervened when it was being created. And believe me there is a big respect for Gunman but they are not considered as leadership material. Because in leadership position, communication & creating noise not only plays a role with senior leadership but also in driving own team. So, it’s considered that the Gunman are not ready yet for leadership position.”

“What if the showman gets promoted and you are working for one of them” inquired CK.

“Learn from him/her some showman traits and advance your career. We must accept that even showmanship takes a lot of work,” said MJ.

“There is another side to this. If going with what you said earlier that most of the time it’s a team game and credit is up for grabs, hence the showmen will always keep taking the credit and his team or colleagues will always suffer. The showman will keep growing or taking promotion or higher increments, but gunman will always suffer” stated AA.

“Not always. Say a showman from your team is promoted and now he will be working closer to the leadership than you are. For some time, he will keep taking credit but not everything he can get done from the team. As a manager there are things that you are expected to deliver individually. If your gun is empty than sooner or later the leadership develops an understanding of showman’s real talent moreover if the showman discredits his team, people will start leaving and others will hesitate to work with him. The perception starts changing and now for the showman to sustain his position he needs to develop some key Gunman traits, meaning start working and delivering as an individual contributor. That’s where many showmen struggle and jump the ship. They will resign but as they are good communicators will find jobs in other companies easily and the cycle begins again and then after some time when that company’s leadership goes beyond the initial perception, showman must jump the ship again” replied MG.

“So, the showmanship will get you higher up the ladder, but your gunmanship or real talent will help you sustain there,” said AA.

“True. In my view, one can use the showmanship positively as well. Like when a soldier is martyred for the country – Hundreds come to pay their tribute but when his story is shown in movies, millions of people watch it and get inspired by him. The Gunman has the power to protect the nation and the Showman has the power to inspire the nation. Both are important wouldn’t you agree?” said CK.

“That’s a controversial statement and a different chapter all together. Let’s not get into that” replied MG.

Ha Ha Ha!

“The bottom line is One needs to have both the traits to advance and sustain in your career” said MJ in made up serious tone.

“Well if we are planning to continue this Gyani- conversation, I am asking for check,” said SP.

Ha Ha Ha!

“Well, I am full of gyan, I will vomit if you feed me more of it,” said CK.

Well, our conversation ended there but the battle between Real Talent and Perception of talent continues, in different aspects of our lives today. Each one of us has both the traits, it’s a personal choice which one decide to bring out strongly and sometimes it also depends upon the situation one is in. Who do you think is more important a Gunman or Showman in today’s world? What are the key tricks to find out who is who? How can one master both? Do share your views.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are my own and not necessarily of the people mentioned. The conversation style has been chosen to communicate the views in a way that might interest the readers. Any resemblance to real people, places, or events is purely coincidental.

P.S.: The story/conversation might be fictional but the gang isn’t. Thanks to all my friends for letting me use their initials. Special mention to SP for his valuable comments on this blog.