Keep the Faith – Build Your Skills and Learn From Every Experience

I loved Lisa’s response to my post on managers and culture and honestly couldn’t have summarized it like her. Very pragmatic and direct.

It is well documented that managers influence work climate and success and is it also known that staff leave organizations due to their managers. Nothing can save an organization that looks the other way when managers exhibit poor behavior. Extolling values and culture on one hand and then ignoring managers who kill the climate only builds a negative atmosphere and impacts all team members.

Climate is how staff perceives the way the organization is and that gets shaped by how managers act, talk and listen.

Anil needs to view this scenario as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. While it is easy to say that he needs to continue with his work despite the hostile environment Anil can flip this episode and reflect on how to deal with difficult bosses.  That doesn’t mean he has to take a leaf out of how Akash manages Neha but he can step back and explore other ways of gaining ground without eroding ethics.  

For example, he can take time to build skills and competencies that will hold him in good stead when he opts for a job change. He can volunteer to run training sessions for the learning and development team and network with staff – hoping to attempt an internal job transfer, if one exists. He can offer his knowledge to the industry and share best practices he has learnt on the job or publish papers or articles.

Anil can look for a mentor within the organization to get a third party perspective on his situation.  It is possible that Anil’s haven’t understood Neha’s style of working and can make an attempt to understand her expectations better.

Lastly, Anil must share his feedback with the organization via the ombudsman or the company hotline so that leaders are apprised of this situation. Many may however disagree with me – thinking that by taking such steps can hurt Anil’s chances when he looks out for another opportunity. I would think otherwise – if you are confident of your abilities then you needn’t worry about landing another job. The job will find you. But if you allow your confidence to be beaten by bullying in the organization then you will be stranded. What is important is how authentically he communicates who he is and what he believes in.

Lisa’s recommendation for a robust 360 degree feedback mechanism can ensure organizations weed out managers who can’t build trust and take their team along.

All said and done, life is too short to get worked up about managers who don’t see your value and help you integrate.  

As Sheryl Sandberg, COO – Facebook said at a recent Class Day keynote address, “as you lead in this world, you will not be able to reply on who you are or the degree you hold. You will have to reply on what you know. Your strength will not come from your place on some org chart; your strength will come from building trust ad earning respect. You can going to need talent, skill, imagination and vision, but more than anything else, you are going to need the ability to communicate authentically, to speak so that you inspire the people around you and to listen to that you continue to learn each day of your job.”