Who’s the Boss!

 

‘Sorry to be late guys! Hope you don’t mind’ I said while settling down at Symphony-The Lounge.

‘Of course not! And anyway, we have started, so please don’t mind’ Ajay replied, raising the glass.

‘You know how these guys are…’ Veeru expressed his displeasure signalling at Ajay and Tarun.

‘ I am absolutely okay macha!’ I said and called the waiter for the order.

‘Thanks, Sanju bhai, you know Veeru is a forever complaining soul’ Tarun replied.

‘You know his problem is that he thinks all those who drink are assholes.’ Ajay opined.

‘Hahaha..It’s not his problem, but a universal issue…’ I expressed.

‘Drinkers think that non-drinkers are assholes and vice versa’

‘Perfect Bhai’ Ajay high-fived me, ‘Only a PhD holder like you can explain it without any hesitation! By the way, Howz your new job going on?’

‘You guys already know my story, right!

‘Yeah! I mean, we know that you quit that coveted government position after an unwanted transfer and have joined the prestigious university now.’ Tarun told.

‘Yes, after my PhD, I quit the old job, although it was something I cherished a lot. But then too much negativity crept into me after the transfer. So, I left it and joined the varsity. But it’s just an academic set-up. Nothing exciting.’

‘I also felt the same when I left my first job as an RJ to join a corporate.’ Tarun expressed.

‘But I have heard that employees leave their bosses more than their organizations, is that right Sanju bhai?’ Asked Ajay.

‘Yeah! It definitely matters WHO’S THE BOSS, but the company culture also matters.’ I replied.

‘But what matters the most, culture or the Boss?’ It was the inquisitive Veeru.

‘It has to be the Boss. The boss is your first illustration of the company and subsequently the culture. Whatever he or she says is listened carefully or observed through the LENS. And LENS here means ‘Leadership Effect Never Stops’, even in an informal setting.’

‘That’s why I love meeting you, Sanju bhai. We always learn something new whenever we meet you.’ Ajay said.

‘Bhai he is senior to us, and has a Doctorate in Philosophy.’ Tarun expressed.

‘We know that’, Veeru affirmed with a cryptic smile.

‘But whatever I said has nothing to do with my Doctorate, it’s just my experience. I have seen many bosses in my two decades of work-ex.’

‘Yeah! We too have seen a couple of them within a decade of our work ex.’ Veeru explained.

‘And one of them was common to us,’ Ajay quipped while looking at Veeru.

‘I am sure you are talking about George.’ Veeru High-Fived Ajay and asked the waiter for some appetizers.

‘You guessed it right. George, I tell you Sanju Bhai, was a pukka micromanager. You remember Veeru, he used to call at the Adyar Centre on the landline to know if you are there at 9 am.’

‘Of course, I remember that, and I also remember you calling me his pet for abiding his orders.’

‘Hahaha! But you can’t deny that he was fond of you.’

‘It was nothing like that Ajay,’ Veeru refuted.

‘But you know, in every office there is one guy who is ‘boss ka favourite’ and one who thinks that ‘Boss doesn’t know anything.’-Tarun opined.

‘I agree with Tarun. In fact, I had seen both sides of the coin in my earlier roles. In one role ‘I was Boss ka favourite’ and in another organization, I was like ‘This boss is good for nothing’ I explained.

‘It’s like in our first company, I was ‘Boss ka favourite’, Veeru was HR’s favourite but Ajay always felt that both the Boss and HR were fools.’ Tarun bantered.

‘That was your first company and I believe that your first company after college teaches you some great lessons and can give you some lifetime buddies.’ I expressed.

‘I agree. After college friends it’s only a few colleagues from the first company are my trusted buddies’, Ajay opined.

‘That’s because in corporate no one is your friend, everyone is your competitor,’ Veeru proclaimed like a Business Head honcho.

‘I agree! And that’s why I avoid the after-office parties. Because most of the time the teams gather less for a drink and more for gossiping about the Boss,’ Tarun offered his perspective

‘Very true. You know, as we climb the corporate ladder the trust deficit increases. And progress in corporate is ultimately, about trust! It doesn’t matter how smart or competent you are if your boss doesn’t trust you.’

‘Hmm. But the million-dollar question is how to gain the trust of your Boss? Because that’s what is needed to survive in the corporate world’ Asked Tarun.

‘You will find thousands of videos explaining that, but in the end, it’s all your game and you have to play it.’ I replied.

 ‘That’s true. Touch wood I am blessed to have good bosses so far, and Veeru has always been Boss ka favourite,’ Ajay expressed.

‘Hey, it’s nothing like that. I am no one’s favourite. But I listen to what the boss says because I know he has more power in the organization than me. And I don’t pick up fights with colleagues or Bosses like you or Tarun.’ Veeru vehemently defended himself.

‘What did you say? I pick up fights. I never did that until my boss brought that asshole Sandip as my head, whereas he was supposed to head another vertical.’

‘Guys, just chill! One more tower please,’ I tried to calm the atmosphere and asked the waiter.

‘I know that, but I meant you should not pick fights like that in corporate.’ Veeru suggested.

‘Sanju bhai, you know I am a straightforward guy who cannot take the injustice of any kind.’

‘Just one correction to what Tarun said, we can replace the word straight forward with Headstrong.’

‘Shut up you Ajju’ Tarun shrieked.

‘I can empathize with Tarun as I was like him 15 years back. But working in a government office has made me realize that in Sarkari Naukri, ‘the reward for good work is more work’. So how much potential you have doesn’t matter, what matters is contacts. In management, we call it relationship currency.’ I explained.

‘You nailed it Sanju bhai. Unless you have a Godfather in a company, your progress is limited’ Ajay opined.

‘To a certain extent, it’s true. In the initial phases of your career, you may rise with your talent or the ‘performance currency’, but when the funnel becomes narrow then you need the ‘relationship currency’ which is also known as favouritism in Corporate and nepotism in Bollywood.’

‘Since you have brought Bollywood into the discussion, I must say that Bosses are like those coaches shown in movies such as Dangal or Mr. and Mrs. Mahi who want the players to play as per their techniques.’ Tarun said.

‘I liked the analogy. Coaches or Bosses are not your parents or spouse to support you unconditionally. They are paid to get the work done in given constraints and they are also imperfect human beings who trust their hunches and previous success. So, when the employee or player doesn’t perform, they blame their capability, but when the same employee or player performs without their support, they become jealous. And as I said it’s natural because they are humans.’

‘But SRK as the coach in Chak De will always be an exception. Only lucky ones can get a boss like him ‘Ajay expressed.

‘Yeah, I bet you can never argue without bringing Shahrukh Khan into the discussion.’ Veeru quipped.

‘But SRK was a strict boss in the movie if you are comparing corporate world bosses with him’ I expressed.

‘I agree.’ Ajay nodded in affirmation.

‘But this generation doesn’t like strict bosses. In fact, Gen Z finds them rude and intruding’.

‘Very true. And I feel most strict bosses have nobody to boss at home or in their circle so they fulfil their wish in the office.’ Tarun replied.

'Maybe that's why the Infy Founder Narayanamurthy who once advocated leaving office on time is now asking to work for seventy hours a week.' Ajay expressed.

‘Hahaha. Maybe. One of my bosses was nearing his retirement, and so was free at home most of the time. And he used to send work-related messages to his team on weekends, thinking they were also free like him.’

‘Typical Micromanager’ Ajay opined.

‘And on top of that, he used to stalk employees over LinkedIn as well. I remember he asked me about finishing the course on Personal Branding and he suggested that you should not undertake courses like that.’

‘What?’

‘Yeah! Because it is like self-promotion in his view, and he asked me to undertake a course on organizational branding to which I replied that there was no such course available on LinkedIn at that time.’

‘Is that even real?’

‘Yes, dude. This guy was from the generation of Baby Boomers who felt that employees should stick to one company for their lifetime.’

‘Oh, Gauche! So old fashioned.’ Tarun exclaimed.

‘But you know, irrespective of the generation, power plays as the biggest motivator. So when you are in leadership position you feel charged and you expect your team to be as passionate as you are, not only about the work but also about the organization.’ I opined.

‘But that can happen only if you empower the employees, right’ Tarun expressed.

‘But then no leader wants to give away all his/her power to the subordinates.’ Ajay said.

‘I agree! Some people from this generation always doubt Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle, but I feel he dared to convince people from diverse backgrounds about the idea of independence and then give away the baton to someone capable like Pandit Nehru. This is really missing in today’s bosses who call themselves leaders.’

‘Very true Sanju sir! My boss never trusted me till last year because he was not included in the interview panel during my interview. Only last year when there was a change of guard at Leadership, he started taking me seriously because he came to know that the new Director can fire him anytime.’ Veeru explained.

‘You have highlighted a very crucial point, Veeru, bosses who when have authority think that they are indispensable. It’s called hubris in management, but when they realise that they can be fired or will have to leave then they have to trust someone and hand it over the charge to that person unwillingly.’

‘I remember my ex-boss calling me when he was sacked from my earlier company. I told him that when you were in the chair you were at a high position, but when that chair vanished, you got grounded, and you remembered who was working with you on the ground.’ Ajay told.

‘And what was your boss’ response to this?’

‘He was flabbergasted.’ Ajay replied, ‘Although he was good to me he became jealous when I progressed swiftly.’

‘Hmm. Bosses want their subordinate’s respect but they have to understand that it needs to be earned and not demanded.’ Tarun screamed finishing the last glass from the tower.

I can’t agree more. No one remembers your designations after 10-20 years, but every employee is gonna remember how the bosses treated him or her.’ I said as we ordered the dinner.