KorporateKarma

  Among the colleagues I've worked with, I can broadly classify them under 3 categories - the Anticipator, the Bystander and the Chiller. A-Anticipator can predict any possible problems based on their understanding of a given task. They can judge people and situations accurately and are hence able to call-out any problem earlier than others. Even with one Anticipator the rest of the team can be pretty much stress-free. B-Bystander knows there is a problem only when it becomes bigger and significant, they generally don't want to invite lot of attention to themselves and hence need to be nudged to move out of their zone. C-Chiller doesn't understand the problem even if its staring in their face. Even one Chiller than spike the stress levels of the whole team, as whatever they miss will eventually overflow into other team members' areas. Fortunately, the Chiller is a minority group, but unfortunately so is the Anticipator.

  What happens when responsibility is given to someone who is obviously not qualified or does not have the right attitude for a particular job? This manager is extremely reluctant to upgrade or improve his product because there was no inclination to learn anything new in the first place. In the end, management pays the price for such a decision.

    It took me a long time to create this cartoon because it's such a sensitive topic and yet so obvious in the workplace. People being biased against those from the same cultural, racial, regional, linguistic background as themselves. For example, how many times have we noticed a manager hiring people from similar backgrounds as themselves and favoring them over others? It's like a silo that is invisible at first, but becomes clear when you look closer. In this cartoon, the headgears are used as metaphors to represent people from similar background. We can all agree that this kind of bias is bad for both the team and the company, but how do we break it? Sim's manager explains why she took the decision of rewarding Sim over her other team members who have a similar cultural background. I know this is far from reality but what is wrong is dreaming for a utopia? 😃 p.s: ive worked with Managers who only see the capability of the team member and not their identity. Though...

   I had a transformative experience during a meeting with Queen Empathia and a struggling team aiming to regenerate their data to meet standards. One of the colleagues, who was supposed to act as a liaison and inform them about the process, had left the company. So, we were caught in a storm which we didn't create. Known for her strict adherence to standards, Empathia revealed a different side during this meeting. Nobody could have called her out even if she didn't share her knowledge on the tool. A recent post in my feed captured her essence perfectly: "Just because someone is aggressive with the process they needn't be so with the people." Companies should hold such employees as role models.

  I had the privilege of working with a manager who embodied the role of a Captain Anchor for the team during challenging times. Unfortunately, the recent events at EY shed light on the lack of empathy and support from many middle-level managers when it comes to understanding their teams' needs in stressful situations or unreasonable deadlines set by top management. It's disheartening to see such incidents, but it's crucial to acknowledge and appreciate the minority of leaders who prioritize integrity, kindness, and empathy in their leadership approach. These individuals serve as beacons of hope in creating a positive and empowering work environment.

  One way to deal with Deflectors  is to remind them that they used to do these tasks they are deflecting. Its better if you have proof. On serious terms, Deflectors can drain the energy and time of those they work with as one has to do so much "research" (or escalate in worse cases) to get them to even do their job.  Common causes could be that they are genuinely over-worked, feel demotivated in their role etc. Hence, it's important for Managers to discuss with Deflectors to understand the reason behind their actions.