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HOPE
Hope is not blind optimism
Hope is believing in the face of adversity
We can overcome and step
Into a better world.
Never lose hope.
Never be mad.
Never be frustrated.
For progress never moves directly
In a straight line.
An adaptation from a
U S election campaign speech
for Joe Biden by Barack Obama
in Octobter 2020.
Jesus said, “Before you try to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye, ensure the speck in your own eye is taken off.”
Man management needs tact, patience, sympathy and empathy. It doesn’t mean that the manager has to be docile or inactive. He has to be proactive. He has a job on his hands. He has to accomplish what is assigned to him within the timeline set by his superiors or the system. There is no way out of the impasse. If you think you can accomplish everything by yourself you are in a fool’s paradise. You cannot be the lone ranger. Everyone needs someone.
The subordinates are clever. They grow in their smartness as time progresses or as the generation shifts to the next. They take advantage of your good senses to remain idle. They know very well if they choose to do little or nothing, nothing is to go wrong for them. They know their boss would somehow get the job on hand done without their intervention as he has no alternative if he proposes to retain his job.
Our parents had nothing when they began their life. They gave us whatever they could much beyond their means. We had something to begin with. We had means. We have ensured that our children have a better deal. But it is a global phenomenon. You are not unique. Everyone has means. Today they can chuck off their jobs on a whim and they won’t starve.
Fear was the key when we were working. Fear is not the key today.
Look at your Mummy. A fantastic woman. A multitasker. A great cook. Who loves her husband, children and her mother. She has no demands for herself. She strives for the family. But how many are like her? Very few, life tells us.
This is micro.
The macro is where you are. The environment you are in.
Just as Mummy cannot change her parents, her husband or her children – of course there are legal methods available to alter the situation that would be equivalent to a major critical surgery where the outcome would be unambiguously unpredictable – you are in a situation where you will have to manage with the resources you have. You have no choice. Perhaps you could hand over the pink slip at will, but when you do it with a flourish you have to understand that someone somewhere waits with a similar fate for you.
We have a curious mix in the banks today. The staff is well educated. They may even be better than you in every respect. As they are well off they can hit it off spectacularly without the well paid job they have.
Fact is, you need them.
Enforce discipline you must. They would have to conform and learn to conform if they shirk.
But you are not the ancient Head Master who had roamed the corridors with an iron hand and the sword, nee, the baton or the rod. We had feared him, never respected him. However modern times signify that those golden days are over.
Now, the pertinent poser.
You would have to marshal the assets you have wisely. You can laugh with them. But they have to know you are the boss. But never boss them or give them the impression you are bossing them. Never be subjective. You have to be objective. Take them into confidence wherever possible. It doesn’t mean you have to share the confidential with them. Let the confidential stay confidential.
Never shout at them even when they exceed the limit according to your perception. Never fire away at them after office hours. You have to respect their private space. Never be angry with them or shout at them in presence of others. It saps their ego. You don’t have to break their ego to get things done. You have to wisely make their ego play its part to get things done and resolve issues. It is like cricket. The batsman employs the power the bowler unleashes to hit a Six effortlessly. It is nothing but patience and talent.
Display your anger softly. I can assure when you shout it generates negative vibes. Negativity unlocks cold anger – they cannot retaliate in the open and in turn invites subtlety in their response – that paves the way for the downfall of their tormentor who in their eyes would be the most hated person on earth.
Praise them wherever it is due. Praise them for even little or minor things. Acknowledge them.
But you have to be firm when you tell them to do their job or to act. They have to be pushed into a slot where they cannot get away without compliance. It is delicate. Ensure you are not breaking the thin thread of friendship or normalcy when you do that. Be a good listener. Smile.
Cinema is the willing suspension of disbelief. Real life is no different. Be a sport and suspend your perceptions when the need arises. You could be wrong.
People have to learn they have to pool their resources or capabilities for the good of the organization. For, without the organization no one has any locus standi when they are within. The organization sets the sights. You have to forgo your own self respect for the sake of the organization.
You have to reengineer yourself before you set out on the expedition to reorient your coworkers or subordinates. Keep your eyes and ears open. Have the magnanimity to learn from others and in fact the lowest on the pyramid. They can teach you quite a lot. Accept that however much you know your knowledge is limited. People respect your chair, not you. You are nothing but an insignificant cog.
Please understand nothing is permanent in the world. Everything is transitory or transient. Everything is cyclic. The one on top rides down to the bottom. He would ascend again. Employ at once dynamism and flexibility. But temper your act. Be kind.
Never be overconfident. Remember pride goes before a fall.
Finally have quality time with family. Your mind has to be clear. You have to be focused and yet you must unwind yourself as much as you can. As you drive around enjoy the nature and its serenity. It takes a load off. It is bliss to bask in the magnificence of nature. It’d transform you. The transition would alter you dramatically into a brand new being.
DR. ANNAMMA GEORGE
Dr. Annamma George started practicing as a Dentist in 1959. Her husband
