FRANKLY SPEAKING – 3

FRANKLY SPEAKING – 3

 

“THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT YOU CAN DO AS LONG AS YOU DON’T MIND SOMEBODY ELSE TAKING THE CREDIT FOR IT”.

 

Now consider this: The second line of a branch, Mr X has enough influence in certain government offices to bring handsome deposits for the branch. The branch head requests him to use his contacts for increasing the deposits. Mr X shows little interest and the Branch Head is thoroughly disappointed.

You are keen to know the reason for Mr X’s lack of interest. Had he utilized his links and brought business for the bank, the Branch Head would get the credit. And this, Mr X can not accept. It is true that good performance is attributed in great measure to the Branch Head, although other employees have played equal part in the success story. So long as you see people worrying very little about who hogs the limelight, you are more likely to witness good progress. The problem starts when you have people like Mr X. Let us bring Mr X’s behavior under managerial microscope. These are the reasons for his behavior:

1. He was not allowed to go on leave frequently
2. He disliked the ‘professional arrogance’ of the Branch Head
3. He resented being pushed hard/reminded to update everything, and so the list goes on.

Let’s face it. Outlandish reasons for the equally outlandish behavior. It is the mother of all tragedies that we have amidst us Mr Xs in plenty. Surely, EXCESS OF Xs! (forgive the pun). Grow up Mr X, what they look to you is your continuous brilliance. Make them realize that you deserve better by being magnanimous enough to let somebody else take the credit for all the work you have done. Continuous GOOD PERFORMANCE is hardly likely to remain unnoticed for long. Aim for perfection by constantly thinking about improvement, by showing greater commitment. If you allow yourself to be ruled by meaningless thoughts, you will soon attain “reasoning menopause”. And that is not a good sign.

What you are capable of doing hopelessly irrelevant. What you are doing is of great relevance. The latter is what the men at the top are interested in. Here, Mr X is rejoicing at the disappointment of the Branch Head overlooking the larger interests of the institution. He is fogged by the infinite temptation to settle personal score, oblivious to corporate goals. We are plagued by the “if-I-don’t-get-credit-you-don’t-either” attitude so much that it has halted growth.

It is alright to conduct trainings after trainings to further your working knowledge base. In my opinion, more than the knowledge driven training, there is an urgent need for BEHAVIORAL TRAINING. We need to work as a TEAM. To do that, we have to first build a team. We must grow psychologically. This will foster ‘broadminded’ culture. When that happens we will develop the ability to view things/situations – favorable and adverse – dispassionately. Our thought process will not be fractured by petty things.

If you don’t see eye-to-eye with your colleagues, how do you expect positive developments? The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that we need to have sessions on human behavioral aspects/interpersonal relationships on a regular basis. True, you need to be thorough in systems and procedures. We are so much obsessed with improving our working knowledge that we have totally ignored the other side of the mind – the psychological one. Here, I suggest a few things:

1. Make it mandatory for every branch/office to conduct a family picnic of all staff members once a year
2. Encourage staff to hold games/competitions to break the monotony

There are so many other options besides the above. The spin-offs of such an exercise will throw up endless positive features such as:

1.      Will help break the ice

2.      Will get to know one another well

3.      Will develop healthy respect towards one another

4.      Will respond better to colleague’s requests/needs

5.      Will inject team spirit

6.      Will bind us psychologically

 
So then, there is no limit to what you can achieve as long as you don’t mind somebody else taking the credit for it. Some truth. Cynics of course will say: the most idiotic truth!