An incident from yesteryears remains etched in my memory. It was late in the evening; I was on a call. My son, who was barely 7-8 years at that time, needed something urgently from me. But he patiently waited for the call to finish. He said, “I knew you were speaking to your boss, so I didn’t disturb.”
This was an organization where everyone was called by first name including the CEO, thus there was no ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’. Yet, he understood from the way I spoke that I was speaking to my manager.
How often do we realize that our tone and pitch of voice, choice of words – all change based on who we are speaking to.
While speaking to someone senior or important, we become deferential. And with juniors, we tend to become a tad authoritative! All this without a trace of awareness or conscious effort from our side. Yet, its easily recognizable even by a child.
Thus, hierarchy is expressed via micro actions, not just through titles or size of the office or reserved parking. The latter undoubtedly matter, what matters more is the micro actions as they trickle in imperceptible ways. For example, they determine who speaks more in meetings, whose ideas are readily accepted and whose go unheard, who is left to do the housekeeping chores!
While the tangible elements can be changed, albeit with some difficulty, the micro elements are invisible and hard to change. They can be changed only through individual awareness and conscious action.
At the outset, I would like to thank you for stopping by my Blog.
I believe that there is nothing right or wrong in this world. What’s right in this moment and context may be wrong in another moment and context. This belief has inspired me to name my blog ‘Perspectives’.
Perspectives is a platform for me to share my experiences, thoughts and perspectives on various subjects. You may have a different point of view. I look forward to hearing them, these are the triggers for rich and deep conversations.
On personal front, I live in Mumbai, India. I love to read; Somerset Maugham and Nevil Shute are my favorite authors. My favorite books are The Razor’s Edge, Mrs. Craddock, Chequer Board and Gone with the Wind. I am thankful to my father who inculcated the habit of reading in me early on.
I am also passionate about traveling, I have been to most parts of India and to several countries across the globe.
On professional front, I work in Human Resources function. Over two and half decades, I have worked across multiple industries and cultures. I focus on Leadership Development, Talent Management, Visioning and Culture, Large-scale change, Employee Listening & Engagement, Employee Well-being, Inclusive work culture, HR effectiveness, Behavior and Mind-set shifts through sustained interventions
I currently lead Organization Effectiveness Function for Aditya Birla Group, a $44.3 billion conglomerate with 120000 employees across 35 countries.
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading my blog. I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions.
Thank you!
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Perspectives 