In the childhood years, we often sang the rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall’. In today’s parlance it is so relevant if we align the same with the leadership style. Leadership which sits on an issue without taking decision on time is bound to fall in the eyes of their stakeholders.

We often hear that times are changing, so what are the areas which see the maximum impact? We can broadly classify the changes in the way information is being shared, based on speed and access. The change in the profile of employees from being a dormant workforce which was once interested only in its job,  to a more active workforce which is interested in bigger picture and wants to have a say in all the aspects of the organization. The third major change is in terms of expectations and patience of the stakeholders. In this era of instant gratification and world which runs 24*7, patience is a virtue which is seldom found and appreciated.

Hence the question- Is leadership impacted by the above changes and if yes which level of leadership is impacted the most?

Leadership is not immune to these changing dimensions. It has to operate at a different level now and the critical component being that Leadership at all levels- from the CXO to Managers, have been impacted with these changing paradigms.

Till a few years back it was acceptable that Leadership took time to arrive at a decision. The reasons for the delay in decision making could be attributed to anything from data being analysed, to greater in-depth discussions happening, to simple fact that the leader is conservative and shy or more time is required as we still are building consensus.

Many a times, the decision would not take much time but communicating the same would; as the leadership would wait for the right time, right mood to share the same.

Today all this is perceived as ‘Sitting on the Wall’ and which is turn leads to ‘A Great Fall’ in terms of perception of the stakeholders.

So what does this mean to all of us at Leadership table? How do we manage the expectations of the stakeholders, what are the new rules of the game . . .

Some basic principles can be:

Silence is Not Golden any more

In this age of tweets and social media, the stakeholders including employees expect to hear from their leaders regularly and often. Silence is not golden anymore from any of the leaders, they are expected to converse on regular basis and more instantaneously during any crisis. Biding time to address any issue, is a recipe for disaster.

Accessibility is Acceptance

When Presidents of the Powerful Nations can be connected within two connections on LinkedIn, many stakeholders find it rather difficult to comprehend why their organization presidents and leaders are not that easily accessible.

Accessibility is an indication that leaders are dynamic and thereby makes them more acceptable.

Neutrality is Not Nice anymore

Being diplomatic and neutral was considered a virtue for any good leader, but not anymore. Today’s leaders are expected to take a stand and stance on critical issues and not sit idle on wall.

Decisive is ‘D’ Mantra

Employees and stakeholders expect their leaders to be more ‘Decisive’ than ever. They don’t appreciate the leaders who shy away from taking decisions or facing them in times of crisis.

Yes, the times have changed but the new spirit of this nursery rhyme still echoes. . . Leadership is not only about intellect & introspection, it is also about being decisive.

Will look forward to your thoughts and observations on my blog below and will do my best to answer the same

One popular discussion topic which cuts across all stereotypes and groups whether it is Gender, Religion, Hierarchy or Industry type is the “Battle of Work – Life balance”.

On a Friday evening- most of us crib about it over a drink;  On a Saturday evening-we resolve to do something about it; On Sunday evening- we start diluting the resolution and fall in the trap of checking the emails and finally on Monday morning , we forget what was the weekend resolution or ignore the same by saying it’s for those ‘romantic fools’ who believe life is a post card from a travel trip pinned onto your refrigerator.

So the question that arises is that whether Work Life Balance is just a nice fad which we like to discuss or is it truly a challenge which we aren’t able to overcome and as a result are slowly dying, decaying and in some cases even giving up the fight to change.

Work Life balance is a challenge which many of us are grappling with. No one has any clue as to how much it is making us suffer or how to draw the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ (the famous concept from Ramayana stating, ‘This is it!’)

So where does the battle begin, and can someone win this battle?

The battle begins with the mindset where we believe that Life is a kind of never-ending Olympic race with a gold medal at the end. Some may agree to this and many others may not, but let’s explore the root cause a bit more in detail together. . .

• Life surely can be an Olympic race . . . but certainly not a Never Ending one

For the go getters, dreamers and achievers among us, Life is surely an Olympic race with a Gold Medal at the end. This medal could be a promotion, an increment, a bigger car, a wilder vacation and so on. There is nothing wrong with this quest, the challenge arises when it becomes a never ending quest.

Without pausing the moment when we achieve something, even without celebrating that success or relishing the pleasure of achievements, we are already embarking on the next quest and hence unable to break this vicious cycle.

• Life isn’t an Individual Sport but a Team Sport

Of late, many of us have started believing that life is an individual sport where in only ‘We (I)’ in our individual capacity are the center of universe or we are living under a false illusion that we are somehow responsible for the lives of those loved ones around us.

Feeling responsible for others is a good thing but believing that everything we are doing is for them, is surely a myth. Many of us love to run this never-ending Olympic marathon for ourselves, but simply use others as an excuse to justify our fixation for work.

• Life is more than simply experiencing animal pleasures

We are animals but Social Animals and we amiss that many a times. Life isn’t only about experiencing for oneself. Do ask yourself these questions & your own answers will show the way forward.

• Life is not one-dimensional, it’s all about balance. If life was one-dimensional why don’t we see a single-color rainbow . . .
• Does Life recognize only Work as our Identity? Why do we believe that achievements at work are our only identity?

So, what next? How do we resolve, let’s explore some thoughts…

• Balance obsession for career with a passion for life. (Even Olympics are held once in four years; lets learn to pause, reflect and then strive for next goals after each achievement)
• Practice to Switch off the Smart Phone for at least couple of hours during the weekend (We need to start trusting that the world will exist and function without us and no one is going to miss us)
• Check if you are playing like an individual or team (We need to have more conversations with our near and dear ones on what life holds for all of us and build around that)
• Is work your only identity . . . Every time when we introduce ourselves in a social gathering do, we just talk about work or do we have other subjects to discuss.

Well there is no denial that this is easier said than done but then how boring would life become if we don’t have a challenging adversary to overcome . . . Let’s begin the new journey.

Will look forward to your thoughts and observations on my blog below and will do my best to answer the same

Often over a drink during the weekend we hear conversations about how many of us are frustrated with the state of our current affairs. Whether it is our jobs, bosses, roles, organizations, or in general with life – we make elaborate resolutions, plans, blueprints to change all this. But come Monday, and we are more than eager to go back to the old trap and get adjusted to the so-called uneven world, completely forgetting Friday’s resolutions.

Something similar is also witnessed at workplaces during Monday to Friday; the bosses and organizations want to break the old routine way of functioning; they want to do something new which others have dreaded to explore and so on. But as soon as the first few ideas come, we start ensuring that we do enough revisions which eventually leads us back to our current state with just some minor changes and all the grand plans of Next Orbit go back to files which we will never open again . . .

Is bringing about change so complex? Is letting go of our comfort zone so tough? Is the fear of unknown so compelling? Is the path to new frontiers filled with hurdles . . . hurdles which the external environment creates or hurdles we create ourselves?

To understand this state lets go back to basics. Why do we need to change in the first place? Is it because we are bored with the current state or Are we aspiring to do something new because we believe in it?

In the latter case (because we believe) it is the compelling & inherent need to learn & experiment that drives us towards the path of new frontiers and hence many succeed. But in the former case (bored) we often chicken out because of many fears which we will explore below:

• Fear to start again

As we start the journey towards new goals, many of us are apprehensive that if we fail to achieve our aim we might land up losing what we already have achieved and that would mean going back to square one again (starting from zero). The idea of starting from zero is a big deterrent for many as we are very proud of our legacy and are not ready to risk it. For some it is also a concern that would the ecosystem help them as it did in their first run of success?

• Fear of Failure

Success unfortunately not only makes us complacent but also arrogant to an extent wherein we expect to see ourselves always in the right spot and limelight. A journey towards newness doesn’t guarantee success and thereby doesn’t excite many of us. We look for guaranteed success which is possible when the goal is a mere minor change and not a complete transformation.

• Fear of the Unknown

The inherent need to control everything around us (micro-manage) has extended to all facets of our lives, interestingly it has extended to the results of our efforts also. Even before completing the journey we are keen to predict the results and update all the stakeholders. A journey which is too unknown and without much control on the variables around is a “definite No” for many of us as fear of the unknown is troubling.

• Inability to distinguish between current compulsions and compulsive dreams

Many a times the need for change is driven by our daily compulsions or frustrations and they overpower priorities and drive the agenda for change. Any change must be driven with great deal of passion which can come only if the agenda for the change is driven by compulsive dream and not frustrations. Frustrations and compulsions are momentary in nature whereas compulsive dreams have greater longevity which eventually give strength from time to time.

• It is a long and lonely journey

We have failed to distinguish between a Marathon and a 100 meters dash. Long term change / Major change takes time and cannot be achieved overnight. During this long and lonely journey, one must have the courage and conviction to deter the critics and follow the journey. In this world of mutual admiration where our every sneeze or snooze is ‘Liked’ by someone, we are made to believe that without positive affirmations from time to time we can’t move on. All Marathon runners agree that during the run we all hit the “wall’ at some point of time and it requires greater self-belief than anything to overcome it.

In short there is no guide and guarantee to be successful every time we embark on a change or journey.

 What is critical to us? Is it to understand and appreciate that Fear is a default setting for any change and thereby it would be there at the beginning of the journey but start evaporating as we see the destination? Is it critical to understand and appreciate that the regret of not making the journey stays longer and most of the time is permanent than the fear which we face at the beginning of the journey?

 Comparing the two, the balance surely tilts towards making the journey, as fear will always be temporary but regret is permanent. This clause- Regret Is Permanent (RIP) also signifies death of our quest to achieve something new which is in our DNA as a species

One of the biggest dilemmas that the HR Business Partners / Generalist HRs face across all the sections of industries is ‘Who to trust’ and ‘Who not to’ when employees come up with reasons for not being happy / to quit / for their lower contribution and so on so forth.

A simple dip stick check with HR professionals can unfold this mystery. They will share the horrifying lies which some employees come up with while putting down their papers; , some could be as frivolous as taking a break to get a clarity on the way forward to something horrendous like someone near & dear is on death bed and they need to be beside that person at this juncture of time,. In both the cases, one wouldn’t be surprised that their resume is probably floating in market or you would have already landed with a call for reference check from the new employer or worst case scenario you would find them working in a complex besides yours from the next week itself.

When you encounter such cases where in the Values of the employees is on decline, the larger questions that arises in our minds is that, are these set of employees an exception or do they represent a growing tribe which believes faking information is fashionable and integrity and values don’t matter in a professional career spanning 25 years or so? A similar trend is witnessed in usage or interpretation of Policies and welfare schemes. For example, if an organization has unlimited Sick leaves, would employees put fake medical certificates and exploit it, or would they use only when genuine need arises.

There are no easy answers to this one. We can generalize this as a trend but surely it is a pain in all the wrong places.

So, the larger question is why would employees’ resort to this mechanism? Is it because the personal values have eroded across our society or is it because the organization culture does not permit them to be truthful or is it because it is a fad to be rebel or law breaker or simply is it a reflection of an aspirational society which is on the verge of being greedy?

When we compare the number of incidents with negative shades vis-a-vis positive ones, we still observe that the number of positives is greater. For example, most employees are still thankful and display thoughtful gestures like working from home when organization need arises, employees getting emotional & nostalgic when they get promotions / increments, employees ready to stretch when one of their colleagues has extra workload, employees ready to sacrifice their leaves and lend them to their colleagues, managers who stretch along with their teams when required, seniors would take the flak from clients when the team members goof up and so on.

And most of all, the volume of these incidents is way higher than the negative ones!

This leads to building a fair hypothesis that the negatives are far lesser than the positives and hence the broader conclusion can be that this is not an organization culture issue but limited to individuals who are not capable to filter the pressure of surviving in an aspirational society. So, what does this means to us, the HR professionals? Should we take every reason presented by the employee with a pinch of salt, should we be gracious all the time or should we be cynical that the reason being offered is bound to be some fake story?

To find answer for this we must reflect on the reason why the function of HR / Personnel came into being. Our sole purpose was to ensure that we are the Conscience Keepers for the organizations, besides safeguarding the interest of employees as and when the need arises.

So, what is our approach in the following dilemmas which we may face at workplace on a day to day basis? Considering the above, our approach should be to reprove the 5% crooks that represent the negative syndrome and ensure that in this process the other 95% don’t get affected.

• What do we do when we must introduce a new scheme which has a possibility of being exploited?

We will go ahead and implement because we will not let the agenda be hijacked and dictated by the minority of 5%.

• What do we do when someone comes with a reason which sounds unreasonable?

We will give benefit of doubt and listen, assuming it is genuine but during the course of conversation hint to the employee that if it is found frivolous or a lie it would attract penalty.

• What do we do when we discover someone has pulled a fast one (negative)?

We will go ahead and make an example of the same so that a general culture or trend doesn’t set in the organization that it is ok or fashionable to display a lack of Values or work ethos at workplace

• What do we do when we discover someone has stood fast (positive)?

We will go ahead and make an example of the same so that we send a strong message that Good exist among us and we reward and respect the same.

• What do we do when we have a doubt on someone while hiring?

We will ensure that we set the expectations on what we stand for and what we don’t. We should state our fears & anxiety based on the previous experience of employees. We don’t have a guide neither it is advisable to have one as we can’t accurately predict the human behaviours in a dynamic situation as we are in. At the same time, we should believe and work towards our core philosophy of why as a function we came into existence.

Will look forward to your thoughts and observations on my blog below and will do my best to answer the same.

Often we realise this paradox of how none of us went back to our loved ones when we were growing up with the challenge of ‘Work Life Balance’, whether it was after playing for hours together in the sun or after completing multiple tasks ranging from doing homework to play time to running errands for the elders etc.

Today on one hand, we have the access to best of technology, an environment of abundance, the power to call the shots, the support system of teams and help at home, on other hand we still struggle to get a smile while going to bed.

So, what is it now that makes some of us tired, bored, worked up and that in turn gives rise to the problem of work – life balance or stress or depression or just living life like a zombie? Well, the answer is a compilation of multiple factors leading to a complex scenario, but one common thing that come through is the ‘Lack of Time to Pursue Something which you are passionate about daily’.

Many of us live in this false belief that a 10-day vacation in a year is good enough to charge our batteries for the whole year, whereas the solution lies in the idea of making way for the 25th Hour every day

So, what is this idea of 25th Hour in a day? In simple words it is taking out 60 minutes in the 1440 minutes we have in the day for yourself. These 60 minutes you reserve for yourself and no one else. These 60 minutes can be in one go or a maximum of 4 parts of 15 minutes in a day (Get up 15 minutes earlier, spend 15 minutes of lunch time with yourself, take out 15 minutes when you leave the office and 15 minutes before you finally call it a day).

The question that arises is how is this 25th Hour different from other 24 which we live – well, some of the differentiators can be as follows:

• It is invisible to others– 24 Hours are visible and accountable to all of your near and dear ones but the 25th Hour is visible to you only, so in a way you shut out the entire external world in that hour and thus make your invisible to others and thereby create an internal space only for yourself.
• It is Accountable to You only – Since others don’t have access to this hour, you are accountable and responsible to yourself only and need not worry justifying the same. Since It is your ‘Me’ Time you can decide the agenda / no agenda and be happy and contented with it.
• It is responsible to you and no other way– The biggest difference is that during this time you are not responsible to anyone else but your heart & soul. We need not worry about being responsible to address anybody else needs and aspirations but to that of ourselves. The idea is to pursue something or nothing in either case it should give you pleasure at the end of that time.

How does 25th Hour make a difference in our lives?

• It reflects that Life is much more than what we chase – 24 hours of our day are so jam packed that we hardly get time to reflect on what is happening in our lives. Many of us are living life as we if we on a treadmill 24*7 and have forgotten what is happening around us. This time will help to pause and reflect, whether we are chasing the right stuff in our lives or is there a need to take a diversion.
• It helps to detox – It isn’t surprising that many of us are naturally introverts, but as professionals must spend most of our time with people around & wear a smile. Many of us have built our career rather by opportunities that came our way, than by the choices we wanted to pursue. Doing something which doesn’t come to us naturally builds pressure and stress over a period which in turn needs outlet to release the same.
• It brings sanity – Many of us regret decisions which we take during rush hour and reason for the same is that we are so caught up in the loops that we swing towards a dimension more because of emotional reasons, than rational. During this time since you are with yourself it helps build sanity in you and your thoughts, which is a strong foundation for taking decisions in rush hours

The journey towards the 25^th hour isn’t an easy one, we will face many hurdles ranging from being guilty that one hour we are living for ourselves – to missing the buzz of our mobile phones- to feeling the terror of silence in the beginning & many others. But it is imperative for us to understand and appreciate that we must overcome these and make way for the 25^th hour so that we can go to bed every night with a contended smile.

You can download the new SoSial App and take the test: New Age Maslow which will help us identify our Drivers and a simple self-refection exercise can narrow down what should become our priority and are we spending enough time around it.