The uncomfortable truth

Musings 1 Minute

As a manager, sometimes my days felt never-ending:

“Can I check something?”
“Do you have 2 minutes?”
“Can you approve this?”
“I need your guidance.”
“Can you step in?”
“Can we discuss?”
“Can you escalate this?”
“Who should handle this?”

I felt drained, overwhelmed and even irritated.

Then I asked myself a hard question — why does this keep happening?

The answer was uncomfortable: I was the problem.

I HAD NOT

  • provided adequate clarity or set clear expectations
  • carved out time for guidance
  • empowered enough
  • adapted my style to the needs of the team member
  • protected focused time

The moment I shifted my lens, everything changed.

Interruptions weren’t annoying noise. They were feedback. A signal that something in my leadership needed fixing.

Now every “do you have 2 minutes?” tells me something worth listening to.

What do interruptions tell YOU about your leadership? 👇

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Published by Padma Rajeswari

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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