Thursday, January 21, 2010

Birds of The Same Feather Flock Together


They say, “Birds of the same feather flock together” and that is just precisely the tool we use to judge a friends circle or an association of people coming together as entrepreneurs. And since the validity of this concept is so strong, it’s more or less implemented in analyzing teams in organizations too.

However there is always a flip side to each conjecture that can be drawn out of a situation. This specifically applies to all those employees who report to multiple bosses. Either the bosses may be at vertical designation to each other or at horizontal. Vertical ones do not pose a grave situation if a hierarchy is part of the organization structure. A flat organization has no fuss at all. But where the structure is hierarchical and the multiple reporting bosses are placed on the horizontal lane, there’s more to it than mere sharing a subordinate. Needless to say competition stays put at each level and each one is trying to either out do the other or proving his concept and strategies feasible and profitable than the other. It wouldn’t affect the managers much as they always have their ways with their work. But then there is that shared subordinate who has no clue as to whom should he follow, in those moments when he is looking for a mentor. Perplex moments are shared in each of the cabins trying to maintain confidentiality and at the same time being transparent and obedient. Hours spent in one cabin can always send a negative message across the rooms about affinity and affiliations. And either end it’s always the same, with the other wanting to know the MoM.

Caught between the thundering of bosses, what should the shared subordinate do? Resist compromise or be succumbed to becoming the eye candy by divulging serious information and high priority details? Managers are there on those seats because they have that capability to persuade and manage human resources in the right way. So they are very capable of extracting information that may not be meant to be floated at that moment. Apart from being a subject to cross fire from both ends, the subordinate always has the dilemma of whom to follow. Both make sense at many a times and both have experiences of their own, quotable and non-quotable. The subordinate like every other employee wants to learn lot many things, do substantial work and wants to derive a meaning out of whatever he has been allotted as job responsibility. However his progress or promotion in the organization is largely affected by the ‘Halo Effect’ that is generated by the number of hours spent in a certain cabin. Though there is every chance that the subordinate may not necessarily endorse the views of his boss, but has no option to beg himself pardon from his presence. Between the wars of the lords there is always a chance that he is just a spectator trying to move the papers and empty his incoming mail box. And when the war gets worse and the bosses cannot look eye to eye, there’s always a question posed before the subordinate – so which one of them would you like to align with? ‘Which party do you belong’ is the only sentence that is volleyed back at him!

But if it were to choosing a party, one might as well be running for the Parliament. Since one isn’t there, it’s obviously other way round – an organization needs people to work in teams! And all that the subordinate can do is being honest to the organization’s interests at every moment. When faced with trouble of deciding which work is priority, regardless to the worry of being reprimanded; the best say would be in the interest of the organization and the urgency of the task. And the one important thing that sandwiched subordinates should always bear in mind is that be ethical and do not loose your reputation as a sincere employee just for small gains and favours, as bosses keep changing and so do their notions and fancies. What remains is the reputation you build!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Meets And The Misses Of The Eye


Almost every HR blog that I have read talks about the qualities an HR person should have in order to be the one in true senses. Be professionally qualified or not, there are some aspects anybody can guess, which an HR person ought to have. One of them is a prominent eye contact with whomsoever one is talking with. Infact it's something so quintessential and absolutely important not just to prove you’re an HR person; but also to show respect to the fact that we are handling humans who deal with emotions and feelings every moment of their lives. An eye contact simply means we are listening to you and we care enough.

Yet there are some of us who don't bother letting eyes meet nor do they glance at people's faces. That is out rightly called to be so rude and undignified. Many reason it out to be shyness or being busy to hearing the grievance and leave it at that. Some have very low self-esteem and dipping confidence levels that interaction is a part of their job; however the body language cries out loud about their personalities. Some also believe that making an eye contact may actually increase the intensity of the issue being talked about, as once the humane connects, apart from present woes, past one's also start pouring into the mind which requires just a series of being vocal and some hearing the other end.

However there are some people who have the cheekiness and audacity to come out with funny and weird reasons for many situations that lead to an unexpected behaviour, which no doubt can be labelled under the ridiculous clause. And they are so unabashed at their acts that they confidently smirk when they cite it to others. I recently came across one of the weirdest excuses of not making an eye contact. The person claimed that he had hypnotising powers within himself, so majority of his conversation went such that he would look deep down into the ground and the eye movement would oscillate towards the left and then the right. But he never looked once in the eye, as he knew that if he did, within next 5 minutes the other would get hypnotised. And he confirms his theory with an unashamed laughter which is followed by a very confident smirk.

Indeed this is called Confidence!