Category: Uncategorized

Multi-tasking


I have always admired people, who can multi task.   The first person I can think of as a role model of people, who multitask are our mothers and more so a working mother.   Let us try to understand the multiple roles a mother plays in our life.  She is the care giver, the cook, the life coach, the counsellor, the housekeeper, the maid, the driver and the list is endless.  We do not realize the multiple roles and the complex tasks our mothers undertake every day in our lives.  And add to this a working mother.  She not only managers the home in all its facets but also deals with all the hues of the workplace.

We almost take it for granted how our mothers have contributed to our lives.  When sometimes at work, we are confronted with tasks beyond our defined roles, we find it difficult to cope with.  Some of us feel stressed and find it as an unnecessary burden.  On the other hand, our mothers after a hard day’s work do not wink an eye lid to cook our food or listen to our work miseries.  We take the liberty of venting out all our emotions to her, even without realising that she has her own stress and strain at home and work to deal with.

What can we learn from our mothers in our every day life ?  We can learn to multitask.  We can learn to sacrifice our own lives and comforts for the larger welfare of the family.  I have never seen a mother giving up.  She may be tired after a hard day at work and has to deal with the work of a maid, who decides to take leave that day.  Similarly, she plays the role of the mother and father whenever the father is out of town or not able to do so due to various reasons.  Very rarely you see the father playing the role of the mother.

Another interesting facet to learn from our mothers is their ability to learn new skills all by themselves.  Have you ever heard of a mother asking for a training programme to hone her skills.  She learns by herself.  Whether it is operating and maintaining a new washing machine at home or sewing a new sweater for her kid.  On the other hand, we feel that we cannot operate a new machine unless we are trained and certified to operate and maintain it.

If we look at the daily life of our mothers, we can realize that as human beings our potential is unlimited.  It is our attitude to learn, unlearn and re-learn, which can take us forward.  Another important attribute would be to willing go much beyond your defined role and be flexible to adapt and take risks.  

Can we learn this one attribute of “Multi-tasking” from our mothers from today ?  May be life would be brighter and more successful if we can.  After all, life gives us bountiful opportunities every day.  It is up to us to take it or leave it.

S Ramesh Shankar

Talk or Listen !

It is performance review time in some organisations.  Some employees have asked me the difference between a pre-appraisal dialogue between the employee and the manager and a post appraisal feedback session.


If I have to put it simply, in the pre-dialogue, the employee should talk and the manager listen.  In the feedback session, the manager should talk and the employee listen.  One of our biggest challenges as human beings is our ability to listen.  We have always been poor listeners and have enough feedback from family, friends and colleagues that we could improve on our listening skills.  But, as manager or employee, we continue to be poor listeners.

Let me try to simplify the role of the manger and the employee in a pre-dialogue session first :

– The employee talks and the manager listens ( most of the time and not the other way around)

– The employee should highlight his performance with facts and figures against the goals set for him for the previous year and his contributions/ impact.

– The Manager could ask for clarifications, if any

– The employee shares development needs and career aspirations

– The employee explains his strengths and improvement areas with behavioural examples

– The employee also seeks job rotation or other developmental opportunities.

Now, let’s understand what is the role of the manager and employee in the post appraisal feedback session :

– The manager talks and the employee listens ( most of the time and not the other way around)

– The manager explains her assessment both in terms of ‘what'(tasks) and ‘how'( behaviour) with examples observed

– The employee could ask for clarifications

– The manager should explain the strengths and improvement areas of the employee with examples

– The manager should explain the performance rating and the basis for the same with examples

– The manager should enable the employee to look forward to the next year and agree on targets and development plans

In real life situations, the roles generally tend to reverse.  Many managers tend to give feedback during the pre-dialogue process itself.  Further, they talk more than they listen.  They do not encourage employees to give their point of view.  They  find it difficult to create an environment, where the employee opens up and shares accomplishments, development needs and career aspirations.

Similarly, in the feedback process, it become more a monologue.  While, at this stage the manger is expected to talk and the employee listen, it becomes a one way communication.  Managers do talk but again do not encourage employees to listen and own the feedback.  At the end of the feedback session, the employee should feel motivated to look forward to the next year both in terms of challenges on the job and their own development and growth.

We have to make this dialogue ( not monologue) more inspirational than perspirational.  Many employees are nervous to get into a pre dialogue or a feedback session.  It is almost like the board exams at the secondary school level. How can we make it like a game to play together ?   Employees should look forward to it and play the game.  If they are inspired, they will build their skills and give their best. Managers should be like the coach encouraging her team members to play to win.

Let employees aspire and mangers inspire.

What do you think ?

S Ramesh Shankar

 

Virtual versus Real World


Today most of our life is virtual. We spend more time with our mobile phones than even with our near and dear ones. I sometimes wonder if this is good or bad. This question has been asked by one of my colleagues from Germany too. Technology has helped us bridge people across the world and there is no doubt that is is efficient and cost effective. Now, let us try to understand whether this is positive or otherwise.

I remember an incident, which happened in my life almost three decades back. I used to work in the steel plant. We did not have computers in those days at work. We used to mostly communicate by writing notes to each other on paper. Once I wrote a long and creative note to my colleague as I had a different view point on a work related issue. We exchanged a few notes between us till we were both summoned by our HR head. We thought he was impressed with our writing skills. But we were in for a surprise.

Our boss enquired whether we both sat in the same office on the same floor. After confirming that he stated that he had an advice for us. He said that this is the last time he wanted to see a note exchanged between us on any work conflict. He said since both of you sit on the same floor, you should, as the first step walk across and talk to each other and resolve issues on any subject. In case, you cannot do that since you sit in different office, he said, you can pick up the phone and talk to each other and settle the matter. In case, you cannot talk to each other since you are in different cities or due to any other reason, you may think of writing a note to each other. This was a great lesson for life. I try to follow it even today and encourage my team to do so.

This was a learning for a life time. He explained that the best way to interact with another individual at work or outside is face to face. The next best was on phone and the least effective could be through written notes. He further made us realize how face to face communication makes us understand each other’s emotions and hence we empathize better. In case of phone, there is an opportunity to clarify doubts verbally although non verbal messages cannot be seen. However in written communication, we can neither feel the emotions nor see the expressions. It could be the least preferred option and used only when there is no better option available to us.

In today’s world, most of our interactions are in the virtual world. While it is efficient and effective in terms of reach and cost, it may not be real sometimes. For eg, while we may all have hundreds of friends on Facebook and whatsapp online, we may not get many people to visit us, when we are hospitalised or we are in a crisis at home. While we may receive get well messages online, we may not feel cared as much as when our friends visit us in person during such times.

This example illustrates that the positive of the virtual world is also its speed. However, it does not help us exchange feelings. As human beings, we are born with emotions and we all have emotional needs in all our relationships. Hence, the learning is that we have to find the right balance between the real and the virtual world. While virtual is fast and cheap, it is generally emotion less.

We may effectively use the virtual world to stay connected but we should not forget to meet and greet people around us every day whenever it is feasible as exchange of emotions are the bedrock of any relationship and no emoticons can substitute it.

S Ramesh Shankar