Those who join at junior executive levels have to face a few peculiar problems.
I remember joining the bank as a probationary officer. I was a commerce graduate who now outranked many post graduates with several years’ experience of working in the bank, who were still in the clerical cadre.
Remember, you will be under continuous scrutiny by these folks who quite naturally think ‘I am more qualified and experienced and yet I’ll have to take orders from this greenhorn’. One can understand their feelings.
They naturally tried to test my knowledge. The rudiments of banking taught in college was of no use at all. There was no point in competing with them. They had many years of practical hands-on experience.
I adopted a simple strategy. When they asked me about any practical banking matter, I frankly admitted that I knew next to nothing about it and asked them to teach me!
Now I’d quietly shifted the onus to them. They had to teach me. If I didn’t learn, they were to blame because they were bad teachers.
Be very open about your lack of expertise in a particular field. Trying to cover up your ignorance will lead to your ending up in your birthday suit in public.
And if you want to learn, you have to be humble. If the peon is teaching you how records are to be maintained, he is your teacher. Don’t let rank or ego come in the way of learning. You can acquire lots of theoretical knowledge on record keeping by browsing the net or from the SOP, but only a peon or record keeper who has hands-on experience will be able to teach you the practical aspects.
Without humility, you’ll never learn anything except how to throw attitude.
Your subordinates will take a genuine liking to you once they are convinced that you are sincere and have no hangups of being a different species or an alien from another planet.
This ability to be frank and upfront about not knowing something is very important. The other important quality is your ability to admit that you made a mistake.
You are the Boss. You have to take the decision. Ultimately, the buck stops on your desk. Your subordinates may advise you to take this route or that or another. Advising is easy. It doesn’t entail responsibility.
You took the decision after considering all options and consulting others. And the decision turned out to be wrong. That’s all right. You are not clairvoyant, what they call a त्रिकाल ग्यानी (ತ್ರಿಕಾಲ ಜ್ಞಾನಿ). No one can always be right. Otherwise, one wouldn’t have to work at all. One could be the richest person on earth, sitting at home and trading in stocks, as one’s bound to be right all the time.
Wrong decisions are a part and parcel of your official life. HOW YOU HANDLE THEM is what matters. Don’t make it a prestige issue. Don’t try to defend the indefensible. And for god’s sake, don’t try to pass the buck.
Assume ownership. Don’t blame the people whose advise led you to the wrong decision. Remember, it was ultimately your decision. They were earnestly trying to advise you to the best of their knowledge and belief. As it is, they must be feeling bad. Don’t rub it in.
Instead, openly acknowledge those who had given you the right advice. Have the humility to say, ‘You were right.’ Your staff will not look down upon you. They’ll love you. You can really count on their loyalty through thick and thin.
And when your decision is right, pass the credit to those who advised you. You are the Boss. You will always get the credit. Sharing it with your subordinates wouldn’t diminish your reputation. It will enhance it manifold.
When things go wrong, assume ownership. When things turn out right, share the credit. And if you want to commend someone, do it openly. If you have to pull up someone, do it in camera.
Pulling up people is painful, but unavoidable. But don’t ever do it in public. You can haul a person over the coals. As the boss, that’s part of your job. But when YOUR boss takes you to task, don’t AGAIN try to pass the buck. As far as your boss is concerned, assume ownership. Let the buck stop on your table. If you chide a person at your level and then again blame him/her when your boss chides you, you will lose all respect.
If you assume ownership with your boss for anything under your control, your subordinates will say, boss can be harsh if you make mistakes or don’t deliver on time, but (S)he’ll never let you down with his/her superiors. They will then always be loyal to you.
Ability to be frank and upfront about not knowing something and your ability to admit that you made a mistake, and assuming ownership of your actions will make you a successful and respected leader.
