I am quite sure that this post will certainly draw some interest, unlike my previous posts. My apologies to all THE MANAGERS, who would find the title of this post a bit insulting. However, if you have spare 10-15 minutes, please read on and I request you to please share your comments as well. For all those who are reporting to their respective managers, the topic would be of great interest, but there lies a flip side to all your thoughts and actions towards the manager. I just hope that irrespective of your role you enjoy this post.
It turns out to be the easiest and meatiest of topics for me to pen and pin down the insane, wily, scornful, dumb creature. Thousands of thoughts (though definitely de-meaning to my manager) come rushing to my mind. Alas, I am a human being and have the canny trait of cursing, criticizing and looking down-upon anything or anybody which does not suit my taste, my style, my thought-process and many-a-times my existence itself. Always and always my SIXTH SENSE points to something sinister about this UGLY MONSTER who is incapable, inefficient, dumbest of all but is smart enough to tame MEEEE, and scornfully. DISGUSTING. At the very beginning of the day (mind you, not at the end), I hate him to the core, want every bit of him to be decimated and finally unshackle myself from all his beliefs and perceptions that he has towards ME. Gosh, I feel like getting out of this stinking place which seems to be doomed just by the presence of this heartless and brainless human being. I pray earnestly every day, every hour and every minute "Oh Lord, please forgive me of all the sins which I did (intentionally) in my previous life and provide me with some succour from this bull-shit piece of flesh. All of a sudden I find my prayers are answered and dream comes true. Does that sound like GREAT ESCAPE. Momentarily yes. BUT HEY. I am trapped again. I find myself under a similar boss (in my new job) who unfortunately possesses more or less the same qualities as described above.
Ok...enough of being a true critic. It's time to do a bit of dissection and analysis as to why this situation always arises. Why does a team member many-a-times feels insulted and tormented. The equation between the manager and the team does infact gets worse over the time. Team wants to quit and sometimes so wants the manager. So what is the basic underlying which governs all this and leads to an embarrassing situation at least for one party (the team-member). Probably it's about the three letter word (hey, you dirty mind, it's not that), EGO. Yes, this little word makes all the difference. It's difficult for a boss to really digest that "ye kal ke launde (kind of new born babies)" are un-willing to accept his instructions (rational or irrational), are ready to confront him with any damn situation and also do question his existence all-together. At the same time, the team member questions the mundane, irrational tasks, yes they seem to be just the last thing on earth and many-a-times questions the rationale of questions posted by the BOSS. So this logic, illogic, rational, irrational keeps on going with great amount of energy (obviously not positive) from both the parties, until a day when of them decides to opt for some other avenues (and it's always the pathetic team member) and probably break this vicious-cycle forever. But alas, somehow or the other, this Pandora’s Box opens up again in the new job.
Let me attempt a kind of volte-face here. Why shouldn’t a manager be stupid. He is stupid because his boss is stupid and the boss is stupid because the boss’s boss is stupid. Probably, the top management of the company is stupid. And the stupidest of all of them is the CEO of the company. Gosh, it’s a mad-mad world. But, why this stupidity altogether. Why can’t it be just a plain simple company with simple thinking, simple vision, simple values and with NO ABSOLUTE STUPIDITY. Huh. Does it really require a few Einstein’s to be put together to really a rational answer as to why this STUPIDITY altogether. Nope, not all. The answer is pretty simple, infact. We are all human beings, who were barbaric till just a few thousand years back. We claim to have improved over the ages in a lot many areas (physically, mentally etc etc) yet, we continue to be irrational and insatiable species. We want MORE, and MORE, and MORE…probably try and defy all possible gravities on this planet. Hell, who wants to stick to a company which does not show double-digit compounded profits every quarter. Who wants to have a management of the company which “simply” says that exorbitant growth and results are not sustainable? Who wants to have a team which is complacent enough to sit and relax and not make things happen. NOBODY. So what does an individual (atleast a shareholder) want from the company. I guess STUPIDITY. Let me try an explain this. The top boss has to be stupid or unreasonable in order to make the company thrive, irrespective of conditions, challenges or whatever. The management of the company has to turn threats or risks into opportunities. And this cannot be achieved by having an attitude which is reasonable, relaxed and easy-going. Mind you, for every success there is a price to be paid, and it can be an individual or a team or a company as a whole which will ultimately pay the price for being successful. There are times and situations which really demand individuals or teams to leap out of their respective comfort zones and stretch themselves beyond limits so as to deliver the results. Every organization has a mix of people wherein there are out performers, mediocre and laggards. Typically, laggards who cannot cope up with the challenges and with the pressure and really the complainant lot. They can just crib and brag for any damn reason and curse their manager. A true champion in the team will not just outperform but will also attempt to lead the team and deliver the results, come what may. And these out performers will continue to be the cynosure of all eyes.
All in all, a manager will continue to be STUPID in order to deliver the results and make the ends meet. For a team member, getting frustrated and just cursing the manager will be of no possible help as this frustration will lead to further dis-alignment from the manager’s objectives. In this new age economy, where there are abundant companies and opportunities (surely, not at the moment), switchover is another proposition which is being regularly exercised. There are pros and cons of a switchover (I’ll not discuss them here). But my dear team-member, aren’t you going to report to a manager again in your new job. And where lies the credence that the next manager is not going to be STUPID anymore. I strongly feel that till the individual is enjoying the growth, there are no reasons to complain. Even tolerating and getting along with a STUPID boss can give some lessons which are worth to be referred to in future.
So all my fellow team-members (I am not a manager yet), let’s get serious, serious about our growth and value-addition which will be the only thing to boast about in future. After all, aren’t you smart enough to separate wheat from hay (and leave out hay). You have the only option to say “YES” to life. Just FORGET and FORGIVE the STUPID MANAGER.
It turns out to be the easiest and meatiest of topics for me to pen and pin down the insane, wily, scornful, dumb creature. Thousands of thoughts (though definitely de-meaning to my manager) come rushing to my mind. Alas, I am a human being and have the canny trait of cursing, criticizing and looking down-upon anything or anybody which does not suit my taste, my style, my thought-process and many-a-times my existence itself. Always and always my SIXTH SENSE points to something sinister about this UGLY MONSTER who is incapable, inefficient, dumbest of all but is smart enough to tame MEEEE, and scornfully. DISGUSTING. At the very beginning of the day (mind you, not at the end), I hate him to the core, want every bit of him to be decimated and finally unshackle myself from all his beliefs and perceptions that he has towards ME. Gosh, I feel like getting out of this stinking place which seems to be doomed just by the presence of this heartless and brainless human being. I pray earnestly every day, every hour and every minute "Oh Lord, please forgive me of all the sins which I did (intentionally) in my previous life and provide me with some succour from this bull-shit piece of flesh. All of a sudden I find my prayers are answered and dream comes true. Does that sound like GREAT ESCAPE. Momentarily yes. BUT HEY. I am trapped again. I find myself under a similar boss (in my new job) who unfortunately possesses more or less the same qualities as described above.
Ok...enough of being a true critic. It's time to do a bit of dissection and analysis as to why this situation always arises. Why does a team member many-a-times feels insulted and tormented. The equation between the manager and the team does infact gets worse over the time. Team wants to quit and sometimes so wants the manager. So what is the basic underlying which governs all this and leads to an embarrassing situation at least for one party (the team-member). Probably it's about the three letter word (hey, you dirty mind, it's not that), EGO. Yes, this little word makes all the difference. It's difficult for a boss to really digest that "ye kal ke launde (kind of new born babies)" are un-willing to accept his instructions (rational or irrational), are ready to confront him with any damn situation and also do question his existence all-together. At the same time, the team member questions the mundane, irrational tasks, yes they seem to be just the last thing on earth and many-a-times questions the rationale of questions posted by the BOSS. So this logic, illogic, rational, irrational keeps on going with great amount of energy (obviously not positive) from both the parties, until a day when of them decides to opt for some other avenues (and it's always the pathetic team member) and probably break this vicious-cycle forever. But alas, somehow or the other, this Pandora’s Box opens up again in the new job.
Let me attempt a kind of volte-face here. Why shouldn’t a manager be stupid. He is stupid because his boss is stupid and the boss is stupid because the boss’s boss is stupid. Probably, the top management of the company is stupid. And the stupidest of all of them is the CEO of the company. Gosh, it’s a mad-mad world. But, why this stupidity altogether. Why can’t it be just a plain simple company with simple thinking, simple vision, simple values and with NO ABSOLUTE STUPIDITY. Huh. Does it really require a few Einstein’s to be put together to really a rational answer as to why this STUPIDITY altogether. Nope, not all. The answer is pretty simple, infact. We are all human beings, who were barbaric till just a few thousand years back. We claim to have improved over the ages in a lot many areas (physically, mentally etc etc) yet, we continue to be irrational and insatiable species. We want MORE, and MORE, and MORE…probably try and defy all possible gravities on this planet. Hell, who wants to stick to a company which does not show double-digit compounded profits every quarter. Who wants to have a management of the company which “simply” says that exorbitant growth and results are not sustainable? Who wants to have a team which is complacent enough to sit and relax and not make things happen. NOBODY. So what does an individual (atleast a shareholder) want from the company. I guess STUPIDITY. Let me try an explain this. The top boss has to be stupid or unreasonable in order to make the company thrive, irrespective of conditions, challenges or whatever. The management of the company has to turn threats or risks into opportunities. And this cannot be achieved by having an attitude which is reasonable, relaxed and easy-going. Mind you, for every success there is a price to be paid, and it can be an individual or a team or a company as a whole which will ultimately pay the price for being successful. There are times and situations which really demand individuals or teams to leap out of their respective comfort zones and stretch themselves beyond limits so as to deliver the results. Every organization has a mix of people wherein there are out performers, mediocre and laggards. Typically, laggards who cannot cope up with the challenges and with the pressure and really the complainant lot. They can just crib and brag for any damn reason and curse their manager. A true champion in the team will not just outperform but will also attempt to lead the team and deliver the results, come what may. And these out performers will continue to be the cynosure of all eyes.
All in all, a manager will continue to be STUPID in order to deliver the results and make the ends meet. For a team member, getting frustrated and just cursing the manager will be of no possible help as this frustration will lead to further dis-alignment from the manager’s objectives. In this new age economy, where there are abundant companies and opportunities (surely, not at the moment), switchover is another proposition which is being regularly exercised. There are pros and cons of a switchover (I’ll not discuss them here). But my dear team-member, aren’t you going to report to a manager again in your new job. And where lies the credence that the next manager is not going to be STUPID anymore. I strongly feel that till the individual is enjoying the growth, there are no reasons to complain. Even tolerating and getting along with a STUPID boss can give some lessons which are worth to be referred to in future.
So all my fellow team-members (I am not a manager yet), let’s get serious, serious about our growth and value-addition which will be the only thing to boast about in future. After all, aren’t you smart enough to separate wheat from hay (and leave out hay). You have the only option to say “YES” to life. Just FORGET and FORGIVE the STUPID MANAGER.
