RAJIV OZA, HEAD-CORPORATE HR, TRANSFORMERS AND RECTIFIERS INDIA LTD. Emotions Lead To Drastic Steps Abhay has been unfortunate to have worked under managers who are not well-versed in effective leadership skills |
 Abhay has lost trust in the organisation that he had joined with a lot of expectations, hoping to give loyalty in return for them being met. It is sad that the organisational leaders did not realise this. The fact that Abhay was in two minds shows that his emotions were affecting him. In my view, decisions involving resignations should not be done on the basis of emotions. Abhay should wait for the turbulent waters to settle and then take a call. Most emotional outbreaks force people to take drastic steps, wherein they tend to overlook the negative aspects of the organisation they are planning to join. This step may mislead one’s career, as changing jobs frequently becomes a common phenomenon for employees who have strong credentials. I have come across many candidates who have very good credentials but are extremely sensitive to emotions. Such candidates hop between jobs quite frequently until they reach a stage when employers do not consider them reliable anymore.Abhay has been unfortunate to have worked under managers who are not well-versed in effective leadership skills. In fact, managers like Rajiv and Rajesh are either simply immature, or have understood their own bosses’ demands quite smartly. These managers need to realise that they are not here to compete with their subordinates. If they have such extreme insecurity, they are sure to perish sooner rather than later in their careers. If their behaviours give away such a trend, then the relationship between superior and subordinate will tend to be conflicted. I have observed this ‘fear factor’ in various managers who tend to negate their subordinates. In fact, this reminds me of the days when the king would reward anyone who came to him with good news by giving him/her gold and pearls. The so-called leaders of today are behaving in the same way. They need to understand that every team has its own members, and these include innovators, executors, facilitators, resource providers, and those who remain cautious. I understand that it is too early in his corporate career to expect Abhay to behave like a mature person, but he really needs to be patient if he wants rewards in the long-term. He should not consider himself superior to his boss. He needs to be street-smart while submitting his ideas in employee forums. Changing jobs just because he does not get along with his current supervisors does not seem like the right decision as of now. Most employees fail to confront their superiors and as a result keep on accumulating their grievances and complaints. This finally results in one big conflict. His decision of starting his own company seems very emotional; as if it is only arising out of a need to prove something to others. |
He also needs to understand the difference in efforts between giving an idea and actually executing it. Unfortunately, when there are flat structures in an organisation, the bosses and their subordinates start competing with each other. And this is usually the fault of the super boss. The quality of leadership influences the organisational culture and structure. When an organisation grows rapidly and the core values are not inculcated at the right time, it is easy to lose organisational identity. There could be many other Abhays within the organisation, and this may go unnoticed altogether. I admire organisations which have the concept of mentoring for middle-level managers. The mentors are not the immediate supervisors here, and that is an important point to note. These leaders have a reasonable amount of maturity, and the ability to encourage performance and creativity. They ensure that the contribution of each team member is communicated to the top brass. Such a mechanism is missing in the current organisation. In some organisations, HR plays the role of facilitator and helps resolve such issues. In others, it helps work on personality issues by providing feedback from the employees directly to the leaders. HR can, therefore, play the role of catalyst as well as sounding board. Summarising the above points, I suggest that Abhay needs to take some time off until he becomes emotionally stable. He should try to adopt alternate channels while communicating and expressing his ideas. |
