Thought I must begin a blog this week on something that should be more relevant in today’s leadership practices.
Melany
WhatsApped her boss in the evening of last Wednesday:“Sir, thanks for the call. I felt bad about it. But I might also be insensitive on my email that’s why. Anyway I felt fine after your call”
Her boss responded: “I knew you felt bad. Relax and take it easy”
This is just a conversation on WhatsApp as it is. This has a management perspective in this and you would understand the same as I expound more on it.
One of the senior management person at a leadership position in the organization snapped at Melany, an HR executive over an email where she was just following an operational process with reference to someone’s resignation. She was bold enough to spell the process of receiving resignations on time at HR for processing final settlements so that the employee concerned doesn’t suffer waiting for his dues. Well, perhaps the same wouldn’t have been taken in the right light by this senior person at the leadership and an easy way out was to subtly suppress her with a blunt email.
Well, the content of the email or what the issue is not a concern here nor it’s the focus of this article. But this indeed led to an opportunity to ignite the small things of leadership.
This would have happened sometime in the early hours of last Wednesday and Melany’s boss is away from the office and is traveling for some important work in a nearby city. He has the habit of skimming through his emails once in a while when he is away from the office and in this particular incident he was attending a seminar on organizational excellence. Soon after the seminar, while there are a number of things to attend to and ponder about, Melany’s boss decided to give her a call while driving back from the seminar. All it took for him was a few minutes to call, that too while driving on a seven lane road (please refrain from doing so in the interest of your life and the author is not responsible for anyone attempting to emulate this).
The call lasted perhaps for two minutes. All it had was that… “Melany, I saw the email. Don’t sweat much on it. You have said the right thing in it. You need not respond. I shall respond, you chill and relax.” This was around 5 pm on Wednesday where it was just a few hours to close shop and head home for Melany.
Melany’s boss just brought a smile on her face and gave her a feeling of being guarded and cared for. All that employees require is a small word of concern, a small word of acknowledgment of their feelings, a moment of assurance, a moment of listening, a moment of confidence lift, a moment of support and a moment of guidance if they were wrong. And above all, it got to be prompt.
How many leaders of today understand the importance of respecting the state of mind of their employees who dirty their hands so that their bosses have an easy life? Well, the fact is that this is no rocket science nor a technique that they teach in MBA, but it just goes to say that leadership is all about of being and not doing. If it is in you, it reflects. And to have these gestures reflect, one needs to be involved and keep the ears to the ground and above all feel very much inclusive of his people, his office, his work, his endeavors, his purpose and his feeling of togetherness.
Everyone around you is just another aspect of the universe you belong to and is also another creation of this so-called source of creation. No big, no small. All are equal when it comes to the various dimensions of the mind. As long as we respect that they all coexist as you are in this universe, respect for them emanate automatically. Once that respect arises, these gestures bloom and is not a technique to learn nor a method of management. It’s a way of life.
Having spent time on this very simple aspect of the daily work-related transaction, I realized one thing that such acts of the leader brings involvement, commitment at work from his or her employees and one need not break his head always worrying over how to build commitment, sense of belonging etc. If one listens to the inner self and finds himself grounded, leadership becomes a virtue.
I see many CEOs who keep passing judgments on people and conclude on their direct reports’ incapability’s as lack of potential or lack of commitment, not realizing that the key to performance is in their hands, in their way of leadership life. Most often in organization, the voice that is heard loud is the one spoken by the CEOs and what he says about an employee become biblical and there will be many who gratifies it for their own existence. Such CEOs actually make a fool of themselves as they don’t spend time with themselves and introspect to realize that the potential of talents working under them is the result of their actions and communications.
While you are in a rat race for achievement, leaders of today need to realize that a life’s fulfillment comes from not conquering more success but from doing the small things that make a difference in fellow beings around you. It is these small victories that count at the end of your life’s journey. You as a leader has the responsibility of making your team sleep well in the night, so don’t let them hit the bed with negativity and stress. No matter how hard their day had been, give them that small touch when needed and believe me, you will build a universe in your team.
If you don’t have time for the small things, you will never have time for big things. Doing that small thing with love and passion brings life to its fulfillment.
Binu Prasad
Image courtesy : Google
Beans Off the Pod.. 