People Leave Managers, Not Companies.
“Some time it is important to work for that pot of gold but other times it is an essential to take time of and to make sure your most important decision in the day simply consist of choosing which colour to slide down on the Rainbow”
Being in Corporate world for plus 36 years. The biggest lessons I have learnt “Work for living. Don’t live for working.” And “Never bear or run away from corporate abuse.” Especially in the corporate. This is the biggest mistake of my life.
The fact remains that “Biggest concern for any organization should be when their most passionate people become quite.” and “Talented People Quit” I firmly believe that a lot more needed for corporate leadership to invest in their employees’ mental health and mangers to create a friendly positive work environment to help their subordinates rather allow them to quit.
I personally experienced some of the top reasons which are found more commonly at corporate houses. The cause is unknown but likely involves a combination of manager’s genetic and environmental factors. We need a focused approach as “KRISHNA helped ARJUNA” than only the corporate organizations could save from losing their loyal professionals to quit:
- BOSS MANAGEMENT
• Managing boss is more important than managing Job. Mold yourself as per nature of boss but don’t flatter. Don’t confront your boss or management directly even if they are wrong.
• Always appreciate his good deeds and never highlight his weaknesses until unless he asks himself.
• Let your Boss take credit for your work with his seniors. You might feel this is a cheating or so, but your boss’s boss would most probably listen to your boss only.
• Never break hierarchy and always follow proper channel. Don’t bypass him until unless it is must. If you are sending any important Email, or/and verbal communication than put your Manager in the CC every time.
• If you want your boss to do something for you then say indirectly like “Sir please enlighten me with your knowledge and guide & support me for this task”.
• Don’t confront people of other departments directly and request your boss to help you in getting the work done from them.
• Always try to come before your Manager and leave after he goes.
• This is a universal truth that every human wants to be praised. Many of the people I have worked with in last 3 decades having the art of flattery (yes! this is an art too) have progressed well in their careers despite not doing much.
• Your Boss can make you little even if you are doing great in job and for his favorites even the smallest of work can be greatly lauded and rewarded. Conversely, for your smallest of the mistakes, your Boss can make it look as you have killed someone and for his favorites even the biggest of mistakes are just a learning phase. In all try to be in good books of your Boss. If not, at least don’t make him see you as a threat to his authority.
• Bad bosses are temporary. They will either get fired or you will move to a new job anyway. Do not change jobs because of a bad boss.
• The toughest thing in the corporate life is to work with a idiot boss. If your boss has low intellectual level than yours then you will have a tough time.
• Lastly if you need promotion the amount of labour you put in will not count instead how you have behaved with your reporting Manager will be counted.
2. WORK PLACE
• In India all corporates want IIM and IIT students but not all students from top business schools and engineering colleges are smart. Some of them lack complete common sense. I have seen many such examples in my life.
• Many people on top positions in corporate world are due to their degree or connections. Very few are due to their experience and leadership.
• HR are the biggest troublesome in the corporate world. They lie to the employees and employers. They are busy saving their jobs. So learn HR rules to over smart them.
• Smart work is required rather than just hard work. You must highlight your achievements regularly to maintain a good impression on management.
• Always document your concerns and tasks. Management can ask for it any time. This seems insignificant but is very important in long run. Also your words will have no value until unless it is documented in email etc.
• Keep on taking new Initiatives and try to do things differently to get highlighted. Always complete your tasks before deadlines.
• Always try to solve issues by proper one to one communication personally or over phone. Use mail/letter as last option.
• Never respond to any harsh mail immediately. Draft it, save it and forget it. See after one-two hours and now you may feel that there is no need to reply. Also you may send it after deleting strong or harsh words which can be misused against you anytime.
• Learn MS- Excel and MS- Access well. Working in corporate world will require you to have full knowledge of these programs.
• Don’t be attached to people and the place of work.
3. CHARACTER & PERSONALITY
• Maintain integrity and righteousness in your actions and never compromise values for money or other things. This is your biggest asset. You will have great peace of mind and internal contentment.
• Be straightforward and transparent but in a polite and dignified way. Raise you arguments and not the voice.
• Never do anything against company policy like wrong commitments or bribe etc for short term gain, even if boss says you to do so. Complain to next immediate boss in this case and keep recording of his voice for future.
• Keep on improving yourself but don’t compare yourself with anybody. You can have a glimpse of others to know where you stand. Everybody has got different strengths and weaknesses depending on their karma so all are unique. Your purpose should be to discover your best.
• Your first job will be your best and worst experience of your life.
• You can easily guess about the company’s work culture through your job interview. If the interviewer makes you wait for a long time without any reason and is irritated while interviewing you then understand that stress levels are very high in the company.
4. PEOPLES MANAGEMENT
• Don’t disclose important and personal things to anybody. Most of the people are jealous of your progress and can go to any extent to pull you down. Most of the people are insensible also. They are only emotional for their family or some loved ones. Rest people are like things for them.
• Focus on your Job rather than unnecessary criticism and thinking about what others think of you. But be very alert on what others are doing. I directly confront and warn such people if I get 100% sure of somebody’s negative acts or strategies against me.
• Maintain relationships with people of all departments like HR, Finance, Admin, Logistics, MIS, IT etc. But don’t trust anybody blindly. A lot many tasks are done easily when you have a good Personal Relation.
• You will learn that art of manipulation soon and you will have prefect fake smile ready all the time.
• Never trust anyone. Your colleague is not your friend. People are looking ways to back-stab and sabotage your career.
• Generally people are liars and would lie plainly to save their asses. And hence keep a trail of communications to defend yourself when you find you have been falsely implicated or held responsible for no fault of yours.
• Most people in the corporate are unhealthy and eat shit. Very few people actually build discipline around their lifestyle to eat clean and healthy. If you eat healthy and workout properly, you can eat anything at any age. Don’t listen to people. Eat clean and healthy from your 20s, if you want to have a rock solid body which is under your control in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.
• You may think of most people around you as friends and such – but, the day you leave your company – within two days, you’ll be forgotten. Once you’re gone, nobody talks about you. Nobody remembers you. It’s as if you didn’t exist there.
• People will tell you they’ll miss you, when you leave, mostly in a farewell they organise for you (if you’re a senior person) or when you collect your belongings and leave (if you’re relatively new). The truth is, they won’t.
• Men are the biggest gossip in the corporate world.
5. PERSONAL LIFE
• Work is never ending process so don’t compromise your personal life because of it. Leave your work in office itself and don’t let it affect your personal life. When you are at work, just work and when you are at home be physically, mentally and emotionally at home.
• Never become slave for your work always try to give 60-70% of your potential, because you are being paid for that much amount only.
• You will realize your value when you ask for leave. It seems that company was running because of me only and sky would fall down if I go on leave.
• Don’t compromise health for money and job as it is the most important thing we have. Take care of your mental, physical and emotional health as a whole.
• Learn to say no. Don’t say yes to every job thrown at you. Soon you will be the one who would be doing others’ jobs as well without been given any credit for the same.
• Don’t expect people (including residential Doctors of medical professionals) to care about you. Just that it’s not about you. Nobody cares about you. They may care about many different things. You are not one of those things. Care is a huge word to be throwing around in an office environment, in the corporate world.
• There is no such thing as employee loyalty. If there is a recession or the company is doing badly it will fire you irrespective of whether you have been in the company for 3 months or 3 years or even 30 years… I have seen it happen many times in my 37 years of corporate career.
• Never stop learning. The day you stop, your career ends.
6. TEAM BUILDING
• Learn to delegate your tasks otherwise you will be overburdened. It helps in development of your team members and will give you additional time for other important tasks.
• Always appreciate good deeds of your juniors but also keep close watch on their working. Don’t take advantage of your position and harass them unnecessarily but don’t be too liberal also that they start taking you for granted.
• They will not do what you say but will do what you follow up. Keep reminding them about the task you want them to do. In case of its incompletion you will be held responsible and may also be blamed of incapability of handling team.
• Networking will get you opportunities. So never burn bridges with people. Use linked-in smartly.
• Never ever be rude to anyone. You might not know who is your next boss or biggest career break.
• The more connected you are the better paying opportunity you will get.
7. TIME MANAGEMENT
• We all have 24 hours in life and the need of efficient time management became must as we grow up in ladder.
• Make a to-do list on the basis of priority and importance of tasks. Wake up early and follow schedules otherwise you may collapse mentally and emotionally because of overburden.
• Learn to say no and avoid talking with time wasters. Such people are free and want somebody to listen to their stories.
• Always keep at least one hour free for unexpected emergency tasks. Normally a mail comes once or twice a week which says to submit a particular data urgently.
• Most meetings are irrelevant and a waste of time. Find a way to avoid meetings irrelevant to you. Even then, get the minutes of the meeting from someone who attended it, so that you’re always up to date.
• Most emails are just undesired. In fact out of the 1000 emails in your inbox, you could do away without seeing at least 800 of them. Learn to manage emails and respond only for those that is directly relevant to you or something that you can contribute to.
8. BUSINESS ASSOCIATES / CUSTOMERS / CHANNEL :
• Don’t commit them anything wrong or make false promises for short term gain unless it is clearly stated by management.
• Don’t drink with them privately. You and only you will be blamed in case of any mishap and you may be kicked out of company without any explanation.
• Don’t take anything personally if somebody say negative about company. Company will not support you in case of your argument or fight with them.
• Don’t take any favor from them like money, gifts or personal support etc . You never know when and how they will misuse this fact.
• Don’t talk anything wrong or speak negative about anything or anybody over phone. Always keep in mind that your voice can be recorded and misused.
THE LESSON LEARNT AND MY RESOLUTIONS :
If you look in real life, it is very hard to describe people as good people, bad people, heroes or villains. People aren’t bad people. They all have their justifications. We are all good fellows — except the bad ones, of course. Yet, I shall observe in passing that among us, perhaps, there are no bad people at all — maybe, only wretched ones. But we have not grown up to be bad.
- I truly believe that Right is Right, even if everyone is against it, and Wrong is Wrong, even if everyone is for it.
- I Step outside of my comfort zone to do something daring. It’s good for the soul and forces me to learn new things.
- I stopped Arguing/convincing people who’re adamant with their own ideals. Because it’s a total waste of your time.
- I stopped comparing myself with other. I learned how to accept the things which I have and never feel bad for what I can’t afford.
- I stopped overthinking. I stopped thinking about my past and future. I’m just trying to live in present.
- I preserve my Dignity & Integrity in any situation, till end.