Breaking rules
When I started my career, I was on the conventional bench for a couple of months. One day, I raised my concern in an open forum to the senior management much to the chagrin of my ‘mentor’ who felt annoyed that he would be blamed for not ‘teaching me’ anything. Two good things happened. I was given a project in the next two weeks and others who were like me on the bench were identified for projects. I wondered why my mentor was angry and did not realize then that I had broken a few rules.
1) As a young person, I had questioned someone in authority
2) I expressed entitlement to a fair chance to prove my mettle
Breaking rules is an essential power skill. Yet, it is hard as it requires someone to leave the comfort of safety and acceptance of their circle and stand out. It is much harder for women as they are conditioned to follow the rules for the welfare of all. There is a different price that women get to pay for being unconventional but it eventually yields huge rewards for herself and others.
“People want to believe that the world is just and fair, which gives them a sense of control. Unfortunately, the world is not just and fair, and we know that.” – Dr. Jeffery Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford
Managing upwards
In one of my recent interactions with my former boss, I learned that managing upwards is an important yet neglected aspect of one’s professional success. It came from his hard lesson of not understanding his boss’s expectations and realizing it later. The boss only expressed the unhappiness and not the reason. It required some self-analysis, introspection, and asking around to uncover them. Managing upwards is not about hobnobbing. Many fail to realize that superiors and subordinates are mutually dependent on each other for their success. Hence, it is about consciously working with superiors to obtain the best possible results for themselves, for their superiors, and for the organization.
“The secret is that effective executives make the strengths of the boss productive.” – Peter Drucker
Lessons from a swami’s journey
‘The Journey Home’ is an autobiography of Radhanath Swami, an American-born spiritual guru, who made India his home for service and seeking. The book recalls his expeditions from America to India in his spiritual quest to find his personal God and his Master. Learning from his journey, I realized he made many hard choices. For instance, he decided to continue ahead despite his friend backing off, he decided not to pursue a girl he had met, and he chose not to surrender to a path until he was convinced. He not only found success in his quest, but he also evolved to offer himself in service to humanity. His success was not only because of the opportunities he accepted but also because of the options he was willing to let go of. What we choose not to pursue matters as much as what we choose to pursue. The journey is as important as the destination.
“We are responsible for our choices. Whatever reactions we are presently undergoing due to past choices, we can choose to respond in a way that will be beneficial for ourselves and those around us. That is how we shape our future. – Radhanath Swami