CAN YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR BOSS?

Published on June 6, 2012

For a link to the Hindu Opportunities please click here

Befriending and socialising with co-workers is one thing, but what about the boss? Again, being on good terms with the boss in the office is one thing, but what about hanging out with him after work?

Conventional logic dictates that it's better to keep a distance from the boss and avoid building potentially uncomfortable, improper relationships. Not only does befriending the boss cut away at their authority, but a perception of favouritism is bound to creep in soon enough.

Such friendships fall victim to malicious office politics and can also get the boss in trouble with the management!

It also blurs the lines and makes it difficult for both boss and employee to switch between the friendship/professionalism modes as and when needed.

It can be quite difficult to really see someone as a boss after becoming close friends. Hardly surprising then, as per a recent survey, only 21% of respondents are Facebook friends with their work supervisors, compared to 74 percent who aren't! Yet, feelings often have a way of defying the sanest of logics! Think when you work together for long hours on a harmonious footing, is it not inevitable that good friendships will blossom? What when you have common interests and complementary sense of humour?

Just like co-workers, out-of-hours friendship with bosses has the makings of some great work relationships. For one, it gives you a role model to look up to and motivates you to work much harder.

It makes work enjoyable and promotes loyalty as well. In fact, a professional HR consultant supports, “I actually encourage friendships between bosses and their employees. People like to work with people they like, and if you can develop a friendship with your boss, you'll want to be more productive. You'll want to work harder, and you'll probably want to stay in the company.”

Rising to the challenge

You can forge valuable, intimate and enjoyable connections with the boss. However, this friendship needs some definite and sensible rules as operating on unclear boundaries will surely set the odds against you. So, outline an explicit list of dos and don'ts right from the start.

Always maintain professional decorum and don't do anything that can embarrass you later. So, you can always have dinners, watch cricket or play football together, but never make the mistake of going on binge drinking or gambling expeditions.

Confiding intimate details or spilling other secrets is another bad idea. Keep your guard and be careful about what you speak as it can be used to judge your performance potential.

Maintain a genuine friendship and not just use it for expediency. Also, try and keep it low-key without boasting about your friendship in the office. Another point – never gossip with the boss about other staff members or discuss the boss' affairs with co-workers behind his back. Never ask the boss personal questions or offer needless opinions about the work either.

Keep the friendship strictly external and let it not impinge on the work. Remember, he is the boss first and has to be tough, give you orders, reprimand your behaviour/performance and can even fire you anytime. Do not take it personally or feel offended when he is just doing his duties.

You also cannot take him for granted and have to respect him and his position of authority. In other words, treat him as a boss and do the job expected of you! Keep the relationship on a fair footing. Do not build inappropriate expectations or unrealistic concessions like granting favours, sharing confidential information, ignoring blunders, shielding you for performance issues, standing up for you or according any kind of special treatment.

On the other hand, do be prepared that your genuine successes and progress can always be attributed to brown-nosing by jealous co-workers!

In short, continue to keep work relationships courteous, friendly and above all, professional.

And if at anytime you find yourself overstepping the boundary, move back immediately and keep the relationship primarily work-based.

To sum up, bosses are people too. And there's no reason why you cannot be friends with your boss as long as you both can remain professional in the working environment and know where to draw the line!

Payal Chanania

VOICE IN PRESENTATION

Published on June 6, 2012

For a link to the Hindu Opportunities please click here

Presentation skills are the sum total of your voice! Content matters for sure, but once that is taken care of, what is most important is delivery. In fact, the most innovative, interesting and top-notch material can fall flat if it is not articulated properly!

Voice is one of the most important tools that enables the speaker to express the essence of his thoughts, deliver a telling message and gives life to the presentation. It is what carries most of the content that the audience takes away. Else, you can be brimming with ideas but people will tune out all too quickly.

Most of us think that we speak reasonably well, but put on a stage we may just rush through the presentation at top speed, stutter around and end up gasping for breath. Others may sound high-pitched, frail, squeaky, and panicky or just drone on boring the audience to tears.

Contrast this to popular speakers who speak with such ease in a measured voice that seems to effortlessly inject thoughts and ideas into the minds of the audience – be it small or large. How do they manage to touch hearts and disturb minds in such a way? It is all in the power of the voice – that which can conjure up fantastic images to express the speaker's meaning as well as wow the entire world!

For a sonorous orator

Voices need practice, practice and some more practice so that they can get past the initial discomfort and hold up under pressure. Throat muscles and vocal cords are obviously unaccustomed to such demands and need numerous preparatory runs.

Start by getting used to hearing your voice. Try talking out aloud in an empty room or record yourself when speaking and you will be surprised by the unnatural loudness of your voice. Remember you will have to speak louder when there is an audience as bodies absorb sounds and have a muffling effect.

Attempt to project your voice in such a way that it has carrying power and gets across to everyone. For this, you will have to be at ease and intend to be heard. In fact, top presenters are those who intend to be heard and will be heard!

Moreover, as Janet Howd, a leading voice coach advises, “When you practise to deliver a convincing message, speak as if you are on a mobile phone in a noisy area. You will discover that by intending to be heard you automatically achieve the vocal pitches and volume necessary to connect you to your anticipated, real audience!”

Learn to control your breath and breathe out fully before breathing in deeply. The deep breath will activate your voice and help you to speak out loudly. Most importantly, speakers have to control the tones of voice so that spoken words are understood the way they are meant to be. Practice pronouncing words distinctly with crisp consonants and strong vowels to both increase your audibility and make your meaning crystal clear. Soften any sharp accents as far as possible.

Learn to modulate the volume (raise to make a point and lower to draw the audience in), vary the pace (slow when emphasising and fast when skimming over something) and alter the pitch (low when serious and high to generate excitement). Build in regular pauses as moments of silence when the audience can calm down, clean their palate and prepare for a new idea or change of mood. The pause also gives you a much-needed respite to catch your breath, think over what you will say and articulate better. Endeavour to add warmth and rhythm to your words as well so that people can believe and connect with what you are saying. Also, sip water at regular intervals to avoid your voice getting dried out.

Keep in mind that voice training under a professional too can help you develop a clear, fluent, vibrant and healthy voice. Along with the voice, posture needs working as well. Startling as it may sound, voices necessitate bodily support, so holding your back and shoulders upright, knees slack with feet a little apart and firmly on the ground, face and neck titled at the right angle will add power to your voice as well! This firm stance needs effort and training as well. You also have to speak with confidence as even internal squirming or discomfort will get amplified to the audience.

Another tip from Ms. Howd, “Let voice do most of the communicating and use only small amounts of pertinent visual aids!” So, polish up your oratory skills and go ahead and have your say.

Payal Chanania

EQUIP STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3423617.ece

Published on May 16, 2012

Most educational institutions excel at developing the intellectual skills of students and prepare them for academic success. Teachers too concentrate on nurturing the young minds in the best way possible – but what about their heart, spirit and emotions?

Pause and think – isn't today's generation marked by strong feelings of anger, frustration, agony, confusion and distress? Aren't respect, compassion, patience, perseverance, hard work and sincerity conspicuous by their absence?

Ms. Amritha V, Faculty in Soft Skills, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, Kerala substantiates, “The intolerance of students towards failure and rejection owes its origin to fast paced technology, momentary excitement from social networking sites and high demand from peers and family to be successful. The emotions are channelised only into the path of success, without any expectations of fallbacks. We are moulding a generation of impatient student community. They don't know what to do with their emotions and feelings, whether to express them or to bury them or just how to manage them.”

The impulsive emotions themselves make them feel threatened and overwhelmed and they manifest these by yelling, bullying, inability to accept rejection or failure, unwillingness to take risks and a predilection for safe ways of doing things. As a result, they are ill-equipped to face future challenges. All this is because they lack control on their feelings or what is known as Emotional Intelligence. As Dr. G. Srilatha, Senior English lecturer, P. B. Siddhartha College, Vijayawada opines, “Today, our youngsters lack emotional intelligence balance as they are carried away by whims and fancies wherein they give more importance to pleasure than values”.

Mrs. Neha Singhal, teacher, DLF School agrees, “70% of the students are not emotionally intelligent these days as they get upset with small things very soon, they are falling short of this maybe because they are running after money more than their dreams of becoming something. They just need easy money.”

Needless to say, students today face undue stress which can wreak permanent damage as well as fuel a self-destructive system of human society. So, can we still afford to ignore the importance of cultivating emotional intelligence in the children?

And there lies the difference!

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognise one's own moods and behaviours, control them and as a social being, be attuned to others' feelings as well.

Having control on one's emotions helps in more ways than we can imagine. It improves brain functioning with better concentration, attention span and ability to learn that translates into higher scores and thus academic achievement. More importantly, it inculcates character building – confidence, responsibility, self-control, resilience, dedication, determination, tolerance, flexibility, honesty, positive attitude, sense of purpose, dealing with stress and so on.

As Mrs. Meenal Arora, Executive Director, Shemrock and Shemford Group of Schools points out, “Emotional intelligence affects a student's ability to perform under pressure and also affects the achievement rate. It instils good values, positive attitudes and the ability to judge between right and wrong. It also enables a student to have a clear aim and goal which makes it possible to choose the right career.”

The emotional wherewithal also forms the building blocks of social competence that not just helps in making friends but also reduces aggression and violence and inculcates cooperation and communication skills, thus enabling them to skilfully navigate the interpersonal relationship waters. Obviously, this enhances career prospects and prepares students for the workplace.

The overall development translates into a happy, fulfilling and successful life with strong physical health in tow as they are well-equipped to effectively deal with the demands and pressures of daily living. As acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman sums up, “Once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school and healthier social relationships!”

The what and how of emotional learning

After parents, teachers are in an unenviable position to positively affect the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults. Yet, emotional learning is not happening consistently as both parents and schools concentrate solely on academic results, totally ignoring the vital social-emotional quotient.

Little wonder that today's students are overstimulated and lack the crucial inner balance. They are at a loss as to how to express themselves, let alone control the overpowering emotions or even empathise with others.

At this critical juncture, schools should broaden their narrow vision of education by integrating emotional competencies as a fundamental component of their culture, pedagogy and curriculums. Educators too need to learn to value the emotional well-being of their students and incorporate emotional learning in the classroom.

This is not as easy as saying, ‘Be kind' or ‘Be respectful'. Teachers have to first be aware of the students' emotions and help them understand what they are feeling. Always try to calm them down first and encourage them to talk through the emotions. Listen empathetically and validate the intense feelings by labelling them as love, fear, anger, disappointment, excitement, humiliation, etc. so that they feel supported and comfortable.

For this, teachers have to be understanding, patient, empathetic and able to guide them in right direction. Mrs. Meenal Arora concurs, “A teacher should work on the emotional intelligence of their students by being sympathetic, kind and firm but not strict. Teachers should exhibit emotional intelligence in themselves and develop an empathetic attitude to analyse and assess the Emotional Quotient of their students.”

Once the self-awareness and acceptance sets in, use the emotional expressions as opportunities to teach them to control their impulses and react properly. Merely saying that their reactions are inappropriate or excessive will only make them feel as if they should suppress them. Instead, model more constructive ways to express their feelings. You may help them to come up with appropriate ways to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue.

Use stories, role plays and audio-visuals, practice techniques to relax, pay attention and incorporate moments of reflection. Even Dr. G. Srilatha offers, “Emotional intelligence of a student can be improved by creating healthy learning environment, constructive thinking and by providing an opportunity to solve problems and foster leadership qualities.”

This will enable students to rise above self-doubt or impulsiveness and take responsibility for their emotions. Self-discipline and motivation to control emotions, responding not reacting, making responsible decisions and developing positive behaviour set in slowly.

In respectful, safe and challenging climate, teach students to tune into others feelings and accept them. As Mr. R Sreenivasan, Director, IWSB points out, “We need to find ways of making the learning process interactive and collaborative. The dialogues and arguments that would emerge out of such a process will lay emphasis on every learner to prepare more thoroughly, take stance, hear others' viewpoints, and appreciate and accept counter-arguments, be more open to accommodating and learning. Exposing children right from the school age onwards to things beyond the books, encouraging them to take interest and participate in activities beyond, is the key.”

Group discussions and team work can be helpful. This will teach them how to manage relationships, negotiate, solve problems and resolve conflicts peacefully.

Ms. Amritha goes a step further and says, “Every educational institution should have counsellors and soft skill trainers who can help students to mend their minds to respond and not to react.”

This kind of holistic development is needed for harnessing and controlling reactions to situations and developing caring, trusting and respectful relationships.

Payal Chanania

WORKING WOMEN AND THE EXAM SEASON

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3325873.ece

Published on April 18, 2012

Picture this: It is almost 7 p.m. by the time working mothers reach home after a full day's work.

There is an exam the next day but the children are sleepy with rapidly waning attention. Not to mention that dinner is yet to be cooked.

Time is in short supply; stress levels are at all-time highs; tears, tantrums and anxiety reign all around. What's more, the examination stress carries over to the next day, spilling into the work day as well.

Managing everything and still keeping your sanity intact is a tough balancing act indeed.

As Ms. Chitra Shyam, Group Manager-Diversity, HCL Technologies articulates, “For a working mother, managing the kid's homework and work itself can sometimes be really tricky; exam times may seem really testing!”

Then there is the overriding guilt of not being able to do justice to any of the demands!

To add to the prevailing apprehension, surveys place the blame of poor academics squarely on the working mothers' shoulders asserting that their children fare worse in various assessments and examinations!

Getting it as right as possible

For starters, keep those guilt pangs at bay as other studies reveal diametrically contrary results – they state that working mothers have positive effects on the social development, educational progress and intelligence of children (especially on girls)!

The key to the examination quandary is to ‘prepare in advance'. Instil good studying habits in the children so that they do their lessons regularly.

Keep a methodical track of their studies (use weekends) and clear their doubts as and when they arise.

As Mrs. Vandana Khosla, Founder, Director of Elvy Lifestyle elucidates, “When you get lesser time for your kids after work, all you need to do is set up a routine for your child and yourself.

The 3-4 hours you get after office should be utilised for your child. Have daily chat about his day while he drinks his milk and has his snacks after he comes back from school.

This helps you chalk out the evening accordingly.”

Armed with adequate advance preparation, children will only need to revise the day before the exam, putting paid to last minute burdens and tension.

When examinations are coming up, work out an appropriate study schedule along with the child (discuss syllabus and invite suggestions).

Show that you are always there to help and focus on ways to escalate your involvement in a sustainable manner.

Ms. Chitra Shyam explains, “Every night I ensure that I am well versed with her day/school routine, check her homework and the tests. This way I am much updated about her strengths and weaknesses in different subject areas.

Therefore during the exam time, in order to make the study schedule more predictable, I discuss with my daughter and freeze the study time and cartoon show timings.”

Mrs. Neha Singhal, DLF School, reiterates, “Always keep communication open with your child no matter how old he or she is.

Make a habit of leaving notes for your children, which they can read when they return home from school or tuition classes, discuss things with them and ask them how they feel about things.

During exams if proper care is not taken or if the small problems are not discussed then it may create chaos and frustration to a child.”

Apart from this, working mothers should accept that their work schedules may come in the way of studies.

Create a support system accordingly - split the responsibility with the husbands or seek the help of other family members. Else, opt for private tuitions if needed. Seek flexi-time work options if possible – work from home or come back home early. One working mother rationalises, “Try to work from home and follow the same routine but finish your work in the child's absence so that you will be able to spend more time with their studies once they are home…”

Prioritise very firmly; for instance the mopping can take a backseat for a while or cooking chores relegated to paid help.

Mrs. Neha Singhal, DLF School elaborates, “When the exams are approaching, a mother must give adequate time, love and attention to their kids.

A little rearrangement of schedule and a change in perspective will help”.

Above all, remember that the mother being stressed, nervous or unsure is extremely detrimental for the children and their performance.

What they need is peaceful care, support, guidance and encouragement at this crucial juncture.

No anxiety and definitely no nagging! And don't forget to celebrate once the exams are done!

What's more, the manner in which you handle examination time will set a precedent for shaping the children's own attitude to challenges in life! As Ms. Chitra Shyam continues, “The baseline is not to scare the kid with the term ‘exam time' but to try and keep it as normal as always and work to leverage on the child's strengths. As children of this generation face too much of peer pressure, so as parents, the least one could do is to not build any extra pressure in the name of exams!”

Payal Chanania

CORE STANDARDS OF TEACHING

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3325872.ece

Published on April 18, 2012

All teaching is designed towards preparing students for success in such a way that they emerge as responsible and grounded adults of tomorrow.

Teachers are the guideposts that show them the way for achieving high-quality paths ahead. But attaining such meaningful development requires educators to hold themselves up to certain definitive standards.

This comprises of the basic philosophy underlying their teaching and governing their conduct in the classroom.

What standards do you expect of yourself?

The personal vision or critical rationale that a teacher is committed to achieving is quite difficult to define. The challenge lies in carefully reflecting on and conceiving what you are really committed to (and how).

Most teachers echo that they see themselves as more of facilitators. Mr. Rajiv Sethi (Retd.), PhD Registrar and Professor of Finance, TERI University voices the sentiment, “The first thing I look at is to move away from the traditional role of a teacher - which was to ‘teach', and move into a slot where I as a teacher, ‘facilitates' learning.”

Ms. Joy Puvana, Faculty, Business Communication, TalentSprint expands, “The role of a teacher doesn't consist primarily of lecturing about a specific subject to students who sit in rows at desks, dutifully listening and recording what they hear, but, rather, offer every student a rich, rewarding, and unique learning experience!”

This will prompt a true love for learning in the hearts and minds of the students. But encouraging active learning requires the educator to be equally passionate and committed to the subject, as it proportionately influences student motivation.

Students will then be willing to push themselves, explore new dimensions and seek new possibilities. Promoting critical thinking and problem-solving is considered imperative as well.

Helping students identify and explore their passions so as to find what they truly love doing is next on the list.

In the words of Mr. R. Srinivasan, Co-Founder, CL Educate Ltd. and Director - Indus World School of Business, “It is all about enabling an individual to set goals for oneself and chasing them. Once that happens, everything else will fall in place!”

Imparting true understanding of the subject is an important teaching standard. Prof. R. Dheenadayalu, Dean (ICT), Saveetha Engineering College, says, “My personal vision is that every student understands the topic clearly and should be able to apply that when he encounters a problem.”

Even Mr. Ishan Gupta, Founder and CEO, Edukart.com agrees, “We aspire to make our participants understand the concepts of the subject and also imbibe experiential learning.”

Mr. Sethi especially mentions, “I should be able to connect new knowledge to today's context, so as to be able to pass-on a better understanding to the students.

I must be able to foster cross-disciplinary learning, so that the students can understand the nuances of every aspect of a problem and can then approach the problem in a holistic manner.”

Teachers also wish to build an engaging and joyful classroom atmosphere as it helps students truly understand and learn. Accordingly, they should draw on their expertise and aspire to make their subject matter as meaningful as possible.

Developing good ethics and values is considered important as well. This calls on teachers to highlight the importance of hard work, perseverance, honesty, integrity, courage in the face of adversity and so on as the ultimate path leading to true success.

The importance of fostering a collaborative, interactive and supportive environment is not overlooked either.

Incorporating a variety of instructional strategies deserves a special mention as it enables teachers to easily adapt to diverse learning styles of the students.

“Although there is no ‘right' method for teaching a particular lesson, but a teacher should be efficient enough to choose the right instructional method depending upon concept, context, topic and needs of learner”, so says Mrs. Meenal Arora, Executive Director, Shemrock & Shemford Group of Schools.

Putting the standards to work

To achieve these teaching standards, educators have to model the expectations.

Mr. Srinivasan explains, “I create experiences in the learning environment that enables learners to realise and comprehend the concepts through experiential learning, more than the theoretical lectures of the concepts.

So, for me, learning is bottom-up.” Even for Ms. Puvana, “Constructivism approach to teaching is best - activities that encourage students to construct pieces of learning by themselves.”

Mr. Sethi feels, “By moving away from just classroom lectures, to much more of classroom discussions and assignments which stimulate critical thinking.

By moving away from rote learning to learning from role-plays where one gets a chance to explore one's own knowledge, what one lacks, and what needs to be learnt to be able to meet the challenges ahead.” Believing in the students' abilities while providing due support and encouragement is also important.

When it comes to evaluating whether one has really accomplished the standards, Ms. Puvana offers, “I would like to evaluate my success not only by the student's scores, but also by their progress in their lives and careers!”

For Mrs. Arora, “The result of a teacher's efforts is visible in the accomplishment of her students.

If a child has understood and inculcated the subject and values being taught by the teacher, she would surely demonstrate a positive change in thinking and behaviour.”

To sum up, teachers play a very strong influence in students' lives.

But the core effectiveness of the teaching community does not rest only in their knowledge of the subject but also encompasses the overall standards, characteristics and behaviour when they actually teach!

Payal Chanania

EMOTIONAL SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN TECHNICAL SKILLS

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3325871.ece

Published on April 18, 2012

It goes without saying that team leaders need to be highly intelligent, skilled, knowledgeable and experienced as well as energetic, determined, forceful and charismatic. Analytical reasoning, big-picture thinking, visionary mindset and inherent charisma form a crucial part of the success equation. But is that all? Is the premium on technical and cognitive skills really justified? What about the emotional aspect?

Fact is that a high degree of emotional intelligence is the differentiating factor that can transform good team leaders into truly outstanding and successful ones. Little wonder then that people with high IQ levels still seem to struggle in their jobs and their analytical skills can hardly predict leadership abilities. Even extraordinary talent is often rendered useless sans the key ingredient of emotional perspicacity.

What is emotional intelligence and how it helps

EQ (Emotional Quotient) is a broad term encompassing awareness of one's own emotions and their effect on others as well as how to manage and restrain those emotions in a healthy and productive manner. In addition, it helps to intuitively read people's reactions and treat people accordingly which enables to build good rapport, trust, relationships and networks.

Emotionally mature team leaders are also intensely motivated and have a driving passion for their work. They are optimistic, resilient, adaptable, trustworthy and persuasive. Not only are they open to change, but can also lead change pretty triumphantly. The people skills help them to understand what makes team members tick and thus build, lead and inspire efficient teams towards success. Members depend on them for consistency, good judgment and the ability to do the right thing at the right time.

Emotionally intelligent leaders are often blamed as being too soft, nice and emotional.

But they can confront sticky situations with extreme self-confidence and behave assertively when necessary. This enables them to keep the team in an engaged, participative and collaborative mode while subtly moving them in the right direction. By successfully connecting with the entire team, they directly affect team morale, performance and efficiency.

Tipping the balance

This is not to say that good, old-fashioned intelligence or technical skills are rendered any less relevant.

They are essential drivers of a team leader's success but never as important as the emotional skills factor.

As Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence and co-author of Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence highlights, “They do matter, but mainly as ‘threshold capabilities'; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won't make a great leader!”

According to Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader, “In those fields I have studied, emotional intelligence is much more powerful than IQ in determining who emerges as a leader. IQ is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn't make you a star. Emotional intelligence can.”

Daniel Goleman further adds, “When I calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ and emotional intelligence as ingredients of excellent performance, emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all levels!”

Putting emotional intelligence to work

Powered with the compassion and understanding of human nature, team leaders can successfully manage emotional issues of their teams, deal with contentious members, respond genuinely to members' frustrations/concerns, handle unexpected disappointments and also accept rapid changes in the workplace, all with a level head and strong sense of self.

This is not to say that one has to be born emotionally astute per se. It can be strengthened and even learned with the right attitude, commitment to change and willingness to face one's own flaws. A combination of careful listening, observing and seeking feedback can help eliminate old behaviours and imbibe new approaches. But it is not easy and takes lot of persistence, practice and dedication to truly change for the better.

Even big organisations have taken to building competency models to help identify, train and promote emotionally intelligent employees for future leadership positions. To sum up, technical and emotional skills form two parts of the whole for a successful team leader. A right blend of both is what makes a team leader gifted and complete.

Payal Chanania

DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP IS THE FUTURE TREND

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3325875.ece

Published on April 18, 2012

Traditional bureaucratic structures have clearly given way to new, flatter forms in hierarchies, team-based structures and permeable boundaries in today's organisations. There is no longer a ‘great man at the top' as such.

Yet, most work teams are still frozen in the traditional authoritative leadership model with the team leader at the top of the hierarchical pyramid. The top-down format makes team leadership an extremely tough task today, given the rapidly changing financial, social, political, technological and environmental forces at play. Things are moving just too quickly and complex challenges cropping up everywhere, to rely on the efficacy of one sole team leader!

Given this situation, the next frontier for leadership is to spread it across multiple team members. And this paradigm shift is what distributed leadership is all about. This democratic format neutralises rank to an extent and calls on the collective efficacy of the entire team. With the liberating spread of influence and authority, unexpected people are bound to spring up and take charge of complex situations in the most unexpected of ways and thus successfully handle the complexities of today's business environments. They no longer need a formal leadership role but simply leap up and assume responsibility depending on the need, opportunity, expertise and personal desire to lead.

Collaborative or shared leadership signifies the end of team hierarchy and heralds the days of networks – both formal and informal. Even the team leader's responsibilities shift radically from the command and control approach to a more subtle cultivating and coordinating of the team members. And that spells true empowerment for the team. As top management expert, Ken Blanchard pronounces, “None of us is as smart as all of us!”

The consequences: Not only does distributed leadership mitigate risks and improve performance, it also enables the team to innovate and respond successfully to new opportunities. It proves especially valuable for virtual, globally-dispersed teams.

Instituting distributed leadership

Its true that we all need to lead and any team member who feels they can make a contribution should be able to do so by donning a leadership role. But actually instituting such distributed leadership is not as easy as it sounds. Powering teams is often done in a very non-effective way leading to further chaos, not to mention gross misuse of power.

Distributing leadership is a complicated process and requires organisations to craft a corresponding culture that truly shares real and effective leadership across the team. Effectiveness depends on the quality of people. As the head of the organisation, begin with fostering leadership ability at every level through adequate training and coaching to deal with the conflicts, dilemmas and challenges on one's own. Encourage them to look within for leadership rather than outside and willingly rise to take initiative whenever possible. Factor in sufficient ownership and accountability as well.

Shared values, responsibility, purpose and priorities are critical for success. Provide team members with access to necessary information to be able to act effectively and even take decisions on their own. Enable them to the extent that they can even redesign their jobs, yet keep them aligned to the objectives of the team and organisation.

The team as a whole has to take steps to protect the distributed culture with guiding principles and right mindset. Possessing an ‘I can' attitude goes without saying. Team leaders on their part have to be willing to let go a bit, boost innovation and accept ideas/initiative of others.

Yet, for all the collaborative leadership, there is still a need for maintaining a sense of centralised leadership when it comes to making key decisions and accountability. This has to be a strong visionary who serves as a clear and decisive authority in keeping the team aligned with the big picture.

To sum up, leadership exists throughout teams and organisations. Team leaders just have to recognise and accept the fact to be able to tap into the overflowing intellectual, interpersonal, rational, intuitive, conceptual and creative capacities of their team members. People are hungry for leadership and desperate for opportunities to shine. So, why not power them to play such key roles!

Payal Chanania

TEACHING IN TODAY'S INSOLENT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Published on March 21. 2012

Time was when ‘Acharya Devo Bhava' - treat your teacher as you would treat God – was the innate philosophy. Educational institutions were revered as temples of learning and teachers literally worshipped for their esteemed role in imparting knowledge.

A far cry from today's defiant times where students care two hoots about respect for authority. Educational institutions have jumped on the commercial bandwagon and are big money-spinning machines, nothing more! The irony here is that quality education is still reckoned invaluable; yet the means of acquiring the same are treated with much contemptuous disrespect.

And the damaging consequences are more than apparent for all to see. The focus is on marks and toppers, never actual learning or knowledge. Zero interest in studies, deteriorating moral and ethical values, apathy, bad behaviour, ineptitude and waning motivation spell the sign of the times.

And who's to blame? Teachers are constantly getting the short-shrift what with educational institutions charging them to finish curriculum quickly and garner top results on the one hand and parents deeming them as paid hands to serve their children! This audacious attitude is bound to rub off on the impressionable students who start failing to follow rules and directions.

Education in a crisis

Teaching was never easy, now the erstwhile ‘noble profession' has been reduced to a thankless job as well! Let's pause a moment and reflect on the passionate - yet hapless - teacher who is imperceptibly lost in the shuffle and emerges as the miserable victim of the entire affair. The smouldering fervour to not just teach but educate, mould students the right way and shape the minds of the future goes largely unrequited. The sad part of being a good teacher today is that while professional satisfaction remains an elusive dream, they end up feeling utterly helpless and dejected. As the Director of A.G and S.G.S. Junior College, Vuyyuru laments, “As a passionate teacher, if I am not allowed to take appropriate action, I feel defeated and failed to do justice to both my job and profession!”

Teachers' professional status and value is constantly undermined by both parents and administrators. Their hands are allegorically tied due to lack of management support and they are unable to take appropriate action against disruptive/undisciplined students, cutting away their effectiveness even more. Rajeev Ranjan, Assistant Professor, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Indus World School of Business rues further, “Its the attitude of parents more than the student that acts as an obstacle to discipline students!”

Reinventing the wheel

The teaching community has to take the lead with conscious efforts to win back the respect and recognition they so richly deserve. Making the classes more interesting and engaging is a step in the right direction. Teaching styles should be adapted to students' learning patterns and preferences and be discussion-based or other creative approaches to kindle a true love for learning.

Subtle disciplinary steps are bound to raise cooperation and keep disobedience in check. As the Director continues, “Based on the situation prevailing in the classroom, I try to implement my own methods to correct the students. I cite various examples related to discipline, values and importance of studies which may help them to change their attitude and divert their attention back to studies.”

Befriending students and maintaining frequent interactions will also help create a sense of community and instil deep respect and trust not just as a teacher but also as a friend, philosopher and guide. Mr. Ranjan elaborates, “Teachers should be more like the facilitators of information- seeking and exploration by students. With an element of mentoring/life coach thrown into the equation, the relationship goes beyond the in-class interaction.”

While teachers should learn to be more assertive with the management, educational institutions in turn should stop being presumptuous and empower/support teachers to lead with innovative policy initiatives. The administration should become more accountable and interact well with staff and students. Parents need to stop the blame game and synthesise their efforts with the teachers. Good education begins at home and it is imperative that parents set a good example and behave responsibly. To sum up, young minds are still receptive and can be moulded with quality teaching. Inculcating respect is the key – respect for each other, respect for the teacher and above all, respect for learning. The result will be caring and motivated students with a fiery desire to learn!

Payal Chanania

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3018525.ece 

COMBATING JOB MONOTONY

Published on March 21. 2012

It is true – you can actually be bored to death in a monotonous job! According to a recent report, “Those who are very bored are two and a half times more likely to die of a heart problem than those who aren't…”

What's more, various surveys peg that only 15-20% of workers are truly satisfied with their jobs; the rest fluctuate from discontent to jaded to down-right frustrated!

Everyone wishes to have a challenging job where they can experiment and have fun every day.

Yet, many people end up doing the same boring tasks again and again. They feel trapped as the drudge work seems to drag on forever. The result is plummeting concentration, performance, commitment and morale.

Sometimes to the extent that people start dreading going to work and even end up in severe depression.

While no job can let you do new things every day or not get mundane at any point, you don't really have to resign yourself to unending boredom.

Looking for a new job to end the dreary tedium is not a solution either. ‘But there's nothing I can do about it', is the common refrain.

Instead of just cribbing about the boredom, analyse what the root problem really is. Is it that what used to be interesting work has lost its lustre or is the routine creating disinterest?

Or does the problem stem from lack of connection with supervisors, team members or co-workers? Change in your own priorities can also lead to job frustration.

Also consider if you are operating from unrealistic expectations.

And while you are at it, stop hanging around other bored colleagues who cannot stop ruminating over the negative aspects of their jobs.

Needlessly dwelling on the tedium will only compound your dissatisfaction and prolong your agony even further. The rising negativity can even rob you of energy and not let you think straight.

Instead, try to cultivate a positive attitude and start associating with more optimistic people.

Adding a touch of humour can also make things more lively right away. As it has been rightly said, “Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity!” It is all what you make of it.

Now think of creative ways to deal with the ennui. Listening to music can lift your mood and make routine or repetitive tasks feel less mundane.

Taking a quick break now and then to stretch yourself, have a cup of coffee or stroll to the water cooler can clear your head and make work seem more bearable.

Dividing the work into sub-tasks and concentrating on one chunk at a time is another time-honoured technique.

Complete the less-appealing chores first before moving to the more interesting ones or try swapping tasks with a colleague if possible.

Setting targets like time-limits or doing things in a new way will add an element of challenge to the otherwise dull job.

Seek to understand how your job fits into the bigger picture of the organisation. Connecting your role to interesting goals can improve your perspective. Take matters in your own hands and seek newer opportunities.

Volunteer for additional tasks, request more responsibilities or start aiming for a promotion.

This will also help you gain recognition and approval. You can even seek a lateral transfer, job rotation or job redesign.

Bosses are known to accommodate reasonable requests in the interests of job enrichment.

Or, seek further training to improve your skills/learn new ones to not just enhance your job but also advance your career.

Sometimes, all you need is to take some time-off with a holiday or sabbatical as a much-needed respite from the monotony.

Relax your mind and body or have an adventure trip and you are sure to return refreshed.

Get a life! Things have a tendency to fall into a rut while we are not looking.

Pursuing creative activities, socialising with different people or even exercising in your off-time can reenergise your batteries and keep you raring to go at the same job.

If nothing seems to work and you have truly exhausted all options, the only solution is to look for another job.

Payal Chanania

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article3018521.ece

LEVERAGE SOCIAL NETWORKING IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

Published on February 22, 2012

Social networking forums are spiralling in popularity as people round the world use them to stay in touch with family and friends – be it to strengthen relationships, renew old bonds, forge new ones or just have fun.

With social media taking off at an unprecedented pace, their utility has crept into various organisational functions as well. And, with more and more customers using social networking its high time companies jump onto this customer service bandwagon as well.

A social networking service model will help organisations to actively engage, interact and service customers so as to boost both service quality and operational performance. This in turn improves relationships with customers by increasing their satisfaction, loyalty, retention as well as brand reputation manifold.

The next obvious question is how. Well, customers do not hesitate to declare their opinions on public social networking platforms and are especially vociferous when it comes to voicing their displeasure about a product or service. All it takes is one angry/annoyed post and the bad buzz can go viral for the whole world to see and form opinions accordingly.

Now only if the management were to tap into these valuable public mentions by monitoring where their company name pops up (Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, etc.), not only can it directly address the issues or concerns but also spot crucial opportunities for product improvement! A definite win-win for the organisation!

This can go a step further when customers can directly post comments on the product/service's Facebook page to voice their queries, complaints, demands or suggestions.

The organisation can capitalise on the ideas, expectations of change or even bad experiences and criticisms by regarding them as valuable insight and dealing with them accordingly.

For instance, take the legendary case of Jeff Jarvis who vented about his beleaguered experience with a ‘lemony laptop and tortuous service' from Dell in a catchy titled blog, ‘Dell is Hell'! This single experience gathered such steam that within a week, the New York Times and Business Day picked up the story. Soon enough, Dell turned itself around and harnessed the power of social media by creating a ‘Dell Community' where customers can post problems and browse blogs, forums and groups to find solutions and advice. The latest news is that Dell has launched a ‘Social Media Listening Command Centre' to leverage the power of social networking in customer service!

As Laura Thomas, marketing communications senior consultant at Dell propounds, “Thanks to social media, customers have a voice like never before. When customers wanted to discuss a product or service in the past, they'd dial a call centre and their problem would be addressed behind closed doors.

Only the customer and the company would hear the complaint or praise. Now, these issues are aired publicly to potentially huge audiences of potential buyers.

At Dell, we still rely on a number of traditional channels for help desk services, but are increasingly looking to social networking to actively engage with our customers and ensure they have a good experience with us!”

Not a cakewalk

Social networking channels do offer unlimited capabilities to gain valuable insight into customer demands, opinions and problems, but the most genuine of attempts can go awry if they are not handled carefully and attentively. Incorrect or too much use backfires and so do too many marketing or rehearsed responses.

Caution is important as customers may resent organisational interference in their personal interactions as they share views with family and friends. There is also the problem of unrealistic expectations as dissatisfied customers expect quick information and immediate interaction while the company may be unable to keep up with the real-time frenzy. Moreover, everything is transparent and visible. Anyone can see how a company deals with issues - which ones are resolved and which ignored – and draw their own conclusions.

At the listening post

Integrating social networking into an organisation's customer service strategy requires a dedicated and planned presence – not merely popping up to answer a few questions. While big companies can afford to have a dedicated ‘ social networking liaison' team trained in social media to monitor websites and blogs for their brand name and listen, engage and address customer issues, smaller entities too should actively use software intelligence to keep track of what customers are saying about them in the virtual world. Some tips:

Build a centralised response process and embed it across all aspects of the organisation that not only answers customer questions and solves problems but can also route issues to concerned departments.

Fashion an effective strategy of an initial live, public response to smoothen ruffled feathers and then take the issue offline by following up on more appropriate channels for extended help – email, chat, SMS or phone.

Set up a customer service presence on social networks with say, a separate tab on your Facebook page or dedicated Twitter feeds.

Enable customers to engage with community of peers as well as customer service agents who respond directly to them. You can also use them to incorporate special offers, competitions, surveys, etc.

Above all, customers will feel listened to and respected only when the organisation deals with the issues in a timely manner.

This level of personalised attention, service and support is bound to instil undying loyalty and trust in customers and very soon the brickbats will turn to compliments and recommendations galore!

Payal Chanania

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/article2917883.ece