Delegation: Basic Rules

“The man is simply not good enough” said Bhushan, the Head of Purchase in a large multinational when I was having a meeting with him. “I assigned him a negotiation task and he missed out on one item”.

Further conversation revealed the following: He had assigned the task of negotiating a contract with a vendor to Raju, his subordinate. This was the first time Raju was doing such a task. Raju had negotiated favourable terms on 19 items but had missed out on the 20 th. The terms for the 20th item were not unfavourable to their organisation, it was just that they were less favourable than the first 19!

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, delegation

7 Steps to Combat Workplace Bullying

Workplace bullying has become very common though everyone may not be ready to talk about it. Tara Parker-Pope writes about it in the New York Times. What do you do to confront the workplace bully? The workforce bully need not be a hulk of a monster but a meek looking seemingly mild mannered lady. Workforce bullying is characterized by someone taking advantage of a higher position in the organisation hierarchy to harass you as the subordinate.

It takes many insidious forms which include ignoring you till you feel you simply don’t belong, putting down all that you do as not being good enough, deliberately giving you tasks which result in showing you in poor light etc.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, workplace bullying

Sehwag Typifies Resilience

We define resilience as the ability to bounce back. It is a virtue in business as it is in sport. Not every day is a bright day. There are the inevitable ups and downs in life. Resilience is the ability to come out of difficult times and fight back against adversity.

Virender Sehwag, for me, typifies resilience. His career has had its ups and downs. He began with a century on debut against South Africa in 2001. He became a regular feature in the Indian Test and one day squads until his fall from form saw him dropped for the tours to Bangladesh and England. Being dropped motivated him to do better said Sehwag.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, resilience, Virendra Sewag

Customer Care: “Don’t disturb. I am working”

We keep speaking of the importance of the customer but do people who deliver service really care? Is the communication of your staff customer oriented? Do they radiate willingness to be of service? Unfortunately, fairly often I find this is not the case.

At a public sector bank recently I went through the hassle of paying my quarterly Service Tax. The unfriendliness of the staff has to be seen to be believed. They act as if we the customers are actually disturbing them at their work. Yes, I realize he has to tally his accounts but can’t he do it after answering my queries and finishing my work. He counted a wad of notes, then put them in the couting machine. In three tries he got three different answers which did not make his surly mood any better. He then did one more manual count before giving it up as a bad joke and pushing all the notes into a large drawer.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, Communication, customer care

7 Facets of Professionalism

I am convinced that in my city of Bengaluru, the word most used in corporate circles could well be “professional”. Hundreds of people have told me in their introductions: “I am a software professional”, “I am a HR professional”, “I am a R & D professional” etc.

What does professionalism mean to you? A glance at Merriam Webster Online tells you that professionalism is defined as : the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, professionalism

Recognizing & Developing Strengths

In a workshop I facilitated, there was a need to develop the self-confidence of the participants. Self-confidence comes through feeling good about ourselves and our capabilities.

Here is an activity, you might like to try to build self-confidence in your team.

This is best done in small teams. A max. of 5 is perfect.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, developing self-confidence, team building

Shall I Start Off On My Own?

“I have worked for a long time…for others” said a friend. “I now want to set up shop on my own.” It is interesting to find that increasingly people wish to start off on their own.

My advice to those who have such a dream is:

First, clearly establish the reason d’etre for the decision. What’s the prime driver?

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, entrepreneurship

The Social Customer Manifesto

Everyone speaks of the power of the customer today. Despite this it is shocking how companies- and pretty big ones at that- get so carried away with their day to day business that they forget the most important person of them all- the customer!

I came across some very interesting material from Christopher Carfi , co-founder of Cerado who created “The Social Customer Manifesto”.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, Christopher Carfi, customer orientation

Learning to Learn

I had been asked to speak to a new batch of management graduates who had just joined the company. Watching the young batch gathered in the meeting room reminded me of the time when I, like them, was beginning my career. There were many differences between those days and now. One of the most significant is the emphasis on learning.

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, capability development, learning

It Takes Two To Flex

The world over the traditional family (the one with at-home spouse) is rapidly being replaced with the family in which both spouses work. In some families in my city of Bengaluru, ( earlier called Bangalore) for example, it is not uncommon to have both spouses as well as grown up children working. In joint families you could have the father and mother still working, the young son and his wife working and the daughter working as well. Imagine the rush in that house in the mornings!

Filed under: A Step A Day , A Step A Day, work design, Work Life Balance