What is Heard and What is Felt
May 15th, 2013 // 7:07 am @ Tanmay // One Comment
This may sound very simple but communication is all about transferring emotion and energy. Words are simply carriers of that emotion. Yes, choice of words matter, but that is not communication. Consider this example. The new sales director was on boarded with a lot of frenzy. In his first address to all the team members, [...]
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Clearing the Fog in Communication
May 8th, 2013 // 7:36 am @ Tanmay // 5 Comments
Our communication at workplace needs a lot of simplification. Have you seen leaders who throw jargons and so called “hot words” that leave people more confused? When a boss says, “We need to get this done soon”, people are left to wonder what soon actually means. I once observed a senior leader who was approached [...]
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Great Story: A Manager’s Function
April 17th, 2013 // 5:48 am @ Tanmay // No Comments
I recently re-read a fantastic book “Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams” by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister. The book is filled with hard-won wisdom about executing projects and managing people for highest productivity. Here is a real-life story from the book that underlines importance of the “human aspect” of our work; especially creative work that [...]
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Hansei and 6 Pitfalls to Avoid in Reflective Exercises
April 15th, 2013 // 7:22 am @ Tanmay // No Comments
As individuals, teams and organizations, how much we learn from our past is critical for our improvement and future success. Hansei (meaning self-reflection) is an important part of Japanese culture – an exercise undertaken to look at past mistakes, outline the lessons and pledge to act on those lessons. According to Wikipedia, “Han" means to [...]
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20 Signs of Leadership Indifference
March 19th, 2013 // 7:57 am @ Tanmay // 2 Comments
One of my consistent observation is: “Indifference is the enemy of great leadership.” Indifferent leaders make a statement, “I don’t care” through their thoughts, words and actions. Indifference in leadership can manifest itself in one (or many) of the following ways: 1. They are unable to decide: In difficult situations, people look for leaders to [...]
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What We Need: Compassionate Compliance
March 13th, 2013 // 6:29 am @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
Compliance stems from our need to ensure certainty, reduce variability and adhere to a certain structure or model. Compliance may be explicit (e.g. to a certain process model like ISO) or it may be implicit (e.g. to a certain specific belief system, way of working or ideology). Focusing on compliance means that you have a [...]
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Leadership: 6 Pointers on Having Face Time with People
March 7th, 2013 // 6:41 am @ Tanmay // 7 Comments
In case of my 7 year old daughter, all significant behavioral and habit changes have been a result of “face time” – time spent one to one to inspire, inform and involve her. Face time is an oasis of meaningful conversation amidst the hustle and bustle of life – a place where positive difference and [...]
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Do KRA’s and Rewards Help in Quality?
February 23rd, 2013 // 7:05 pm @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
When kids don’t comply to your instructions, you tell them, “Do it and you will get a surprise gift.” Some parents I know use scoring system (with negative marking) to keep kids focused on living within the rules. Each time they comply, they get certain points. Once these points total up to a certain agreed [...]
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Using Kaizen for Employee Engagement and Improvement
February 15th, 2013 // 6:14 am @ Tanmay // No Comments
Kaizen is a Japanese term that means continuous improvement. It all sounds good on the surface, but the reality is that very few companies fully embrace kaizen. They say, “But we’re improving all the time.” That may be true, but it’s the way in which companies make improvements that matters. In companies that truly embrace [...]
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Leading Others: How NOT to be in Control
January 30th, 2013 // 7:55 am @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
Excessive use of positional power: I was interacting with a leadership expert recently when he said, “If you have to use your position to exert your power, you are not powerful.” Being at a certain position within organization means that you have a higher visibility which needs to be extended to others. Your position is [...]
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