Gopal Gopalan

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Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Over time, some of these relationships evolved into mentorships. These individuals not only taught me technical skills but also helped me recognize my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and transition from an individual contributor to roles in project management, program management, and business leadership. Even today, more than 45 years later, I continue to learn from these connections\u2014many of whom have become lifelong mentors and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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\n
When I began as a software developer, my background in electronics engineering left me with little knowledge of programming or computing. Though company training programs helped, my true learning came from my peers\u2014friends with more experience and deeper knowledge in the field. These \u201cbuddies\u201d played a crucial role in my development, generously sharing their insights and guiding me as I navigated my early career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over time, some of these relationships evolved into mentorships. These individuals not only taught me technical skills but also helped me recognize my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and transition from an individual contributor to roles in project management, program management, and business leadership. Even today, more than 45 years later, I continue to learn from these connections\u2014many of whom have become lifelong mentors and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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The relationships formed during this time were more than just professional alliances. They became a source of learning, support, and mentorship. While technology has made maintaining these connections easier, some relationships remain special because of their impact on personal growth, not just career progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I began as a software developer, my background in electronics engineering left me with little knowledge of programming or computing. Though company training programs helped, my true learning came from my peers\u2014friends with more experience and deeper knowledge in the field. These \u201cbuddies\u201d played a crucial role in my development, generously sharing their insights and guiding me as I navigated my early career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over time, some of these relationships evolved into mentorships. These individuals not only taught me technical skills but also helped me recognize my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and transition from an individual contributor to roles in project management, program management, and business leadership. Even today, more than 45 years later, I continue to learn from these connections\u2014many of whom have become lifelong mentors and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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In both companies I worked for, batch recruitment was a norm. Groups of fresh graduates or early-career professionals joined together, underwent training, and started their careers simultaneously. This initial phase\u2014classroom sessions, group assignments, and practice exercises\u2014created a camaraderie reminiscent of school or college. Friendships naturally formed, and many of these bonds endured well beyond those early days, thriving even as people moved on to different roles, locations, or companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The relationships formed during this time were more than just professional alliances. They became a source of learning, support, and mentorship. While technology has made maintaining these connections easier, some relationships remain special because of their impact on personal growth, not just career progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I began as a software developer, my background in electronics engineering left me with little knowledge of programming or computing. Though company training programs helped, my true learning came from my peers\u2014friends with more experience and deeper knowledge in the field. These \u201cbuddies\u201d played a crucial role in my development, generously sharing their insights and guiding me as I navigated my early career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over time, some of these relationships evolved into mentorships. These individuals not only taught me technical skills but also helped me recognize my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and transition from an individual contributor to roles in project management, program management, and business leadership. Even today, more than 45 years later, I continue to learn from these connections\u2014many of whom have become lifelong mentors and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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When I look back on my career, the one constant that stands out is the power of human connections. My journey began in a young organization\u2014a joint venture of two established companies\u2014that had just 200 employees when I joined. Over the 15 years I spent there, it grew to over 2,000. From there, I went on to co-found my current company, which is now in its 30th year. For most of this journey, our team remained between 50 and 75 people, only recently expanding to nearly 100. Through all of this, I\u2019ve been deeply intrigued by how people interact, how friendships form among colleagues, and the profound impact these connections have on professional performance, engagement, and personal growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In both companies I worked for, batch recruitment was a norm. Groups of fresh graduates or early-career professionals joined together, underwent training, and started their careers simultaneously. This initial phase\u2014classroom sessions, group assignments, and practice exercises\u2014created a camaraderie reminiscent of school or college. Friendships naturally formed, and many of these bonds endured well beyond those early days, thriving even as people moved on to different roles, locations, or companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The relationships formed during this time were more than just professional alliances. They became a source of learning, support, and mentorship. While technology has made maintaining these connections easier, some relationships remain special because of their impact on personal growth, not just career progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I began as a software developer, my background in electronics engineering left me with little knowledge of programming or computing. Though company training programs helped, my true learning came from my peers\u2014friends with more experience and deeper knowledge in the field. These \u201cbuddies\u201d played a crucial role in my development, generously sharing their insights and guiding me as I navigated my early career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over time, some of these relationships evolved into mentorships. These individuals not only taught me technical skills but also helped me recognize my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and transition from an individual contributor to roles in project management, program management, and business leadership. Even today, more than 45 years later, I continue to learn from these connections\u2014many of whom have become lifelong mentors and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept of buddy systems is universal, whether it\u2019s pair programming in the software industry, police partnerships, or even informal peer relationships. The essence is simple yet profound: having someone who looks out for you, guides you, and shares their experiences. In my experience, such relationships can do more than boost professional performance\u2014they can unlock your full potential as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect on these relationships, especially during Thanksgiving, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the buddies who shaped my journey. They are the reason I\u2019ve been able to grow and succeed, and they\u2019ve enriched my life in ways that go far beyond professional achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s one lesson I\u2019d share, it\u2019s this: build your own network of buddies\u2014people who will guide, challenge, and support you. These connections are invaluable, not just for career advancement but for personal growth and fulfillment. Invest in them, nurture them, and be a buddy to others in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all my friends, mentors, and colleagues who\u2019ve been part of my journey, thank you for making me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing this reflection isn\u2019t just about gratitude; it\u2019s about encouraging others to recognize the power of connections in their own lives. Build your network, learn from it, and pay it forward\u2014you\u2019ll be amazed at what you can achieve.<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-power-of-connections-a-personal-journey-of-growth","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-02 12:05:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-02 06:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=999475","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":998444,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2024-08-04 10:27:47","post_date_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:47","post_content":"\n
Three decades ago, inspired by Lego\u2122\ufe0f, we founded a software company with a strong business case for developing integrable application components for custom software applications. We had a solid technology foundation and a clear vision. Over time, we navigated various hurdles, capitalized on tactical opportunities, and maintained our focus on core technology, finding challenging work in the enterprise software space. Our business model evolved and only stabilized after nearly ten years. Even today, it continues to adapt to market demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the company was incorporated, one of our early team members, who championed our HR systems, helped us establish foundational values that would guide everything we do. These values are Integrity<\/em>, Quality<\/em>, Openness<\/em>, Respect for Individuals,<\/em> Teamwork<\/em>, and Meritocracy<\/em>. We believed these values should not be mere words but should be understood and embraced by everyone joining our organization. To ensure this, all our systems were vetted against these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We implemented systems to reinforce our commitment to these values. For example, we included these traits in our 360-degree appraisal system, ensuring precise and explicit documentation of practices reflecting these values. Additionally, we introduced an annual award system to recognize exemplary performance while highlighting these values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thirty years and numerous iterations of our systems, processes, and rituals, we realize how critical these values have been to our survival through tough times. These values provided strength during challenges, and many long-standing members deeply understand their importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lately, we've noticed a shift in how newer team members perceive these values. Some of their actions and behaviors disturb us, leading to simplistic judgments. One member said, \u201cthe new generation lacks values.\u201d Another remarked, \u201cthese kids don\u2019t appreciate the values; they come with an attitude of entitlement.\u201d However, when we engage in serious discussions with the younger generation, we realize it\u2019s not necessarily a conflict of value systems but rather a difference in interpretation and practice of the same values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, consider the value of Meritocracy. In the past, we measured contributions regardless of the support provided, with individuals striving to perform under various conditions. In contrast, newer members expect essential provisions to be in place for optimal performance. It\u2019s not a lack of the value but a difference in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, with Respect for Individuals, everyone subscribes to this value, but the way respect is demonstrated has changed. It can often be misunderstood as lacking in value due to different expressions of respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we started in the industry over 40 years ago, we recognized that while values may be the same, their practice varies based on cultural, family, upbringing, religious, and spiritual beliefs. Most of us, with similar backgrounds, practiced these values in similar ways. Now, an additional factor influencing behavior is the cultural shift within our society. We often discuss these changes in our social circles but fail to notice their impact in the workplace.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Principles and Practice","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"principles-and-practice","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-08-04 10:27:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-08-04 04:57:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=998444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20171,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:45","post_content":"\n
EmpFirst Inc, decided to reopen their offices after Covid subsided and the government removed all related restrictions. However, many employees had settled in their new mode of working and some had also relocated to their homes elsewhere in the country. EmpFirst decided that return to work will be decided team wise and gave the choice to the team leads to choose between, full return to work, full remote or hybrid mode. Few teams decided to return to office fully and stop remote work option since the operational overhead was far too much to support. However, the recall to work from office did not bode well with some of the members. Couple of the team members who had joined from out of town, decided to leave, while most grudgingly restarted commuting and working from office. There were some genuine issues which required some team members to stay at their home and their request to work from home temporarily was permitted. This action appeared adhoc to the other team members and there was pressure to formalize a policy, which permits work from home without a subjective assessment. The team leaders were not convinced of having a policy since planning will be compromised with such flexibility. If you were to advice EmpFirst to address this issue, what will be your recommendation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to recognize the changing work culture across the globe. It is also important to make the teams realize that business demands and customer priorities needs to be addressed, without a compromise. Once the core principles are understood, some guidelines can be worked out in collaboration with the leaders and key members of the team. Such a policy should at best be a guideline, rather than a set of rules, since business demands can be dynamic and the leaders responsible for meeting customer demands should have the final say in the implementation.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #301 - Policy and Pragmatism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-301-policy-and-pragmatism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:19:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20171","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":20165,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-07-01 00:44:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-30 19:14:07","post_content":"\n
When we were forced to move to WFH in 2020, with the onset of Covid, a lot of people did not enjoy the model. In addition to the established challenges of working from home, many of us missed coming to office and networking with colleagues. After being forced to manage working from home for a couple of years, we decided to open up the office and return to the traditional office based work model. We did anticipate some resistance to this move, since it is normal for people to oppose any change. However, we thought that most will welcome the thought of returning to office. What we found is not just reluctance to return, but pretty much a refusal to want to go back to work from office. That too on a regular basis. Given a choice, a majority of employees prefer to work from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most companies have been compelled to provide the WFH option. Providing flexibility to each employee, to choose the work location, is becoming the norm. Even industries that were thought to be unfit for remote work, are finding ways to provide workplace flexibility to most, if not all employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many technologies are evolving to enhance the ease of working remote. Many systems are being developed to support remote collaboration. We need to see how the emotional aspect of human collaboration is going to play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enough discussions and articles have been shared in the net, about the difficulties and advantages of working remote. After reading many articles and talking to many people about the challenges and advantages of remote working, a strikingly strong point came out while talking to a couple of young developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People seem to feel more secure while working from home. Guess it is only to be expected that people feel safest while they are in their own territory - physical or otherwise. As a result, even while participating in virtual meetings, since the participants are in their respective homes, feel freer. Many find their voice in virtual meetings, whereas they would have just been quiet, if the meeting was physical and in the presence of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, being a minority of any kind in a team can be challenging. Many times, hidden biases play out. A quick glance from some co-participants can be unnerving for some. This aspect is completely eliminated in the virtual meetings. In remote working, people feel they are judged less for being different; and there is more focus on work related matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associating people with their profile picture (or DP image), and not having a personal connection in the traditional way, felt uncomfortable to many of us. The lack of personal connect loomed large in our mind. But the flip side is, many feel secure behind their virtual facade and enjoy the freedom from judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May be remote collaboration lead to a more objective functioning of teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the newer technologies eliminate the inefficiencies of remote collaboration, may be we have a win win situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With more and more automation and mechanization in manufacturing and agricultural sectors, human resource deployment will be more and more in the knowledge industry. And knowledge industry is going to leverage human resources, wherever they are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid has provided the fillip that the industry needed towards this move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Pandemic Positives!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"pandemic-positives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:57:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=20165","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19763,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:56:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:26:19","post_content":"\n
Asin is a bright fresh recruit in the mid-sized organization that you lead as the CEO. She wanted to specialize in cyber security. Asin had joined with tremendous anticipation. She had picked your organization in preference to two other big names during the campus placement. Prior to deciding, she had actually visited your office and experienced the free and the people-first environment, interacted with your people etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Once on board, her first assignment was with a maintenance team servicing one of your long-standing customers. The customer is a highly-trusted financial services organization headquartered in the north-eastern US. Asin was a bit disillusioned to find the work appeared nowhere close to being engaging and interesting. The team lead convinced Asin to take it up and learn the process steps in commercial software development. The team was a long-standing one and the apps being supported were mature (but quite critical for the customer). The team\u2019s effort was mostly to keep the lights on and make small improvements. Asin came up to speed quickly and soon started directly interacting with customer-side support staff and managers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"\"$ <\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Asin frequently came up with ideas on how to improve things for remote support. She developed minor tools for automating things which she shared with the customer staff. All was going well. One day one of Asin\u2019s tools caused a major disruption in deployment to production with potential data breaches. A furious customer VP has called you, pointed out the tool\u2019s design flaw and asked for Asin\u2019s immediate removal from the team. How would you and your organization address the situation at hand (corrective and preventive)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preventive measures:
<\/strong> Asin being new to production environment and critical support, the team management should ensure increased supervision of her work and added some extra reviews and tests, before releasing her work products to the client to avoid such critical lapses. Even though Asin developed tools outside of the main application, towards automating some processes and remote support, they should have been subjected to the same rigor as the main deliverables. Particularly since they were being given to a customer and were impacting the live system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corrective measures:
<\/strong> 1. The management should own up the fault as a systemic failure, arising out of compromised supervision and implement a more rigorous process for tools related to the customer, even if the tool were not part of the main software solution.
2. Asin should be protected from being made the scapegoat by including her in the new process being designed for release of tools. An objective retrospective, that identifies the specific mistakes which lead to the disruption, should be done.
3. If the customer insists on removal of Asian from the team, move her to any project in her area of choice, \u2018cyber security\u2019. It is important for the team to know, it is okay to falter, as long we learn and correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #286 - A clash of journeys","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-286-a-clash-of-journeys","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:44","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19763","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19752,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2022-03-20 19:54:33","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-20 14:24:33","post_content":"\n
Let me narrate three observations from my life, to share something that I have learnt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is about my love and hate for the Tamil language. Till I finished high school, I learnt Tamil language formally. I loved Tamil poetry and the great literary works. However, I did not enjoy the aspects emphasized by the education board. They were Tamil grammar and memorizing verses from various Tamil epics. I decided to avoid writing Tamil exams, when I pursued higher studies. However, I realized that I needed to get through the examination system, including Tamil, in order to pursue higher studies, and I did. I came into a professional course and avoided Tamil language courses. Even today, I continue to love Tamil literature and poetry. I also realize that the grammar that I was forced to learn, makes me enjoy Tamil literature even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second is about what I wanted to pursue in higher education and the package that came with strings attached. I chose the engineering curriculum. I was very happy that I don\u2019t have to write exams in subjects like history, geography, and biology. Even then, the curriculum required me to take subjects like thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 most unwelcome for me! . But they were integral to my plan of pursuing further studies in electronics. So gritted my teeth and cleared those \u2018disliked subjects\u2019. As with Tamil grammar above, I have developed a lot of interest in history, geography, biology, and material sciences. Now-a-days, I read books and watch many videos on these subjects. I find myself enjoying them and keep wondering why I did not like them in my early years. I may even take a shot at developing an interest in thermodynamics and material sciences \u2013 just kidding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third and final experience, I would like to narrate, is when I started on my first job \u2013 a campus offer in a multinational, hard to say no to. But imagine my disappointment when the I found that job was just coding to start with. Far removed from my love of electronic instrumentation engineering. But I continued - a reluctant participant in the company organized job-oriented training sessions and was completely at sea in commercial application development. Having taken up the job, I believed that I did not have a choice but to learn all that was needed to do well. So, I did. But another door did open and an opportunity to do systems and network programming showed up. I just grabbed it, really liked it and built it further from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a common thread in all this, I noticed that while I was pursuing what I really wanted to, there were things I needed to do \u2013 the strings - , which were not of my choice. Without doing those, I would not have progressed in the path I set out. In fact, in some cases, the very same things that I disliked, made me appreciate what I was working towards even more interesting and made me more broad-based and efficient. Also, only with the exposure and experience in different aspects\/subjects, you realize what you like and what you don\u2019t, what you really enjoy and what you excel in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After years of doing a variety of roles, I realized what satisfies me most. It is creating high performing technical teams and rallying around such teams to deliver world class products. Even after many decades of refinement, I do find that there are aspects of my responsibilities that I do not enjoy. However I am less stressed about doing them. They are just some more strings and I am now adept in dealing with them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for those of you who are starting out your careers and are disillusioned with some aspects of your job responsibilities, don\u2019t despair. Don\u2019t be stressed out about having to do those tasks. Pause and reflect on your life and you will see patterns like what I have shared. You may discover some things which you see today as strings are actually not so in retrospect \u2013 they may actually be guide wires in your development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember Yin and Yang \u262f\u262f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember the direction and the journey are more important than goals and achievements, in career and in life.<\/p>\n","post_title":"No Chords Without Strings","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"no-chords-without-strings","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:56:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19752","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19404,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:12:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:42:00","post_content":"\n
Managing a business or leading a team requires effective delegation of responsibilities. However, we often see this not happening effectively and as a result, progress gets hampered in many fronts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegation is something we are exposed to a lot in our life, both at work and otherwise. Even as a bunch of kids, when we set out to steal some mangoes from the farm, we divide into teams - one to watch for the security personnel, one to climb the tree and pluck out mangoes and the third to collect them. in our own family, we have seen our parents share the responsibilities and assigning smaller responsibilities to the kids for effective management of the household. When we take up our jobs, we get to know our roles and responsibilities, which are designed to contribute to the overall objective of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We notice that such distribution is of two kinds - one in which we are asked to do a specific task and the other where we are assigned an area of responsibility. For example, your mother may ask you to pick up some groceries, from a specific shop, on your way home from work. Over time, you may be made responsible for ensuring the house is always well stocked with groceries. Even in this example, picking up specified groceries on the way home, demands much less compared to being responsible for ensuring the groceries are always available per need. It is easier to meet expectations when you just need to pick up specified list of groceries. Managing groceries for the family demands a lot more knowledge and training. Still the expectations are less defined, creating a challenge to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we become project managers, we learn to plan the project and assign resources. We are told to define the various components of work needed to accomplish the project completion and detail out the components in the most unambiguous way, and get them done by using the allocated resources. Is this delegation by the project manager? Yes, it is. However, the scope is limited and the distribution of tasks is by design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we grow to be business managers or managers with a team of people, we assume our responsibilities as part of the role. Each member in our team also have their own responsibilities as a part of their role. However, we come together to ensure we deliver what is expected of the team. There are a lot of overlaps and gaps that we find and we learn to course correct. However, many of us, as managers assume that our managerial responsibilities cannot be shared with our team members. For example, we are managing a team that had 4 members and we managed these people directly. We trained these 4 people directly, assigned their daily tasks, guided them and provided feedback as needed. Over time, we have a more people joining the team and the team size grows to 8. Having become more adept at handling the team directly, we extend ourselves to manage the 8 people directly. Then again, when the team becomes 12, we stretch ourselves to the point of burning ourselves out but do not utilize the senior, capable members to help manage our extended work load. This happens due to several reasons. Some of them are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not see the growth\/learning on the part of the early team members and fail to recognize their ability to take the responsibility. It is like a child, who never is an adult, in the eyes of the parent.<\/li>
You continue to see the errors in execution by the members and do not feel confident in what they can deliver.<\/li>
You do not feel safe giving up control of your tasks.<\/li>
You feel it is easier to do it yourself than to guide somebody, who could learn and do.<\/li>
You are uncomfortable with any method\/style other than your own in getting things done.<\/li>
You see yourself as a protector of your team members above all other responsibilities. You are anxious that your team member may fail and may be detrimental to her\/his growth. Yes, we may misjudge their capability while delegating. Even then, it is better to delegate and recover any mishap than not to delegate at all. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it boils down to lack of trust, risk aversion, extreme sense of ownership, protectionist attitude, inability to mentor and groom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such apathy towards delegation, is equally harmful to all concerned. The manager shuts down self growth as well as growth of the team member, and over time, the organization will suffer. Awareness about such traits in oneself, openness to work with some one and building them up for a higher responsibility, will go a long way in cultivating effective delegation, a key skill in successful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Delegate - for betterment","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"delegate-for-betterment","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:53:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19404","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":19408,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-11-19 13:11:02","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-19 07:41:02","post_content":"\n
CleanEnv Corp, was building an eco system that will protect people from harmful pollution, by providing warning over personal devices like mobile phones, smart watches etc. One of the cofounders, Roger was an ace developer and was entrusted with the development of a mobile app, a prototype which will demonstrate the power of the solution. The prototype had to be developed in record time, with the help of few inexperienced but brilliant engineers. Successful demonstration of the product using the prototype was the key to winning the funding from a large and reputed venture fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roger, a brilliant developer, slogged and created the prototype in record time. He wrote the key portions of the software and pretty much created pseudocode for the whole app. The smart engineers in the team, followed the pseudocode to deliver a robust application, which helped the team win the funding. The next step was to develop the full scale system on the cloud with multiple data feeds from across the world, access data relevant to a specific locality and generate appropriate warning for the user. The effort was humongous and a larger team was being put together. Roger assumed the role of architect and Engineering manager. As a funded startup, CleanEnv got a good response to their recruitment drive. However, within couple of months, they noticed heavy attrition in the development team and Roger was clearly showing signs of burn out. Roger felt that the team had some good engineers but all of them needed handholding, to deliver the kind of product being built. The senior management, primarily the founding group could clearly see the big issues in development and needed to step in and help Roger manage. If you were tasked with getting the situation corrected, what would you do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suggested Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this situation is far too common, the best approach is for the founding team to sit together and focus on the need to decentralize control of software development. Roger is likely to come up with genuine reasons for not distributing and highlight potential risks in entrusting responsibility amongst the team member, their lack of awareness to important issues involved and the team\u2019s inability to comprehend the enormity of the challenge etc. He is doing so to make sure the development initiative is a success. However, some reassurance by citing examples of smart management by the founding team members and the inevitability of taking risks to survive may help convince Roger to take the necessary steps to delegate. High intellectual caliber and extreme sense of ownership, which are great traits, actually come in the way of making things work. Honestly, there is no quick solution to this issue. Roger will need sustained mentoring and counseling to understand and effectively delegate.<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #273 - Perfectionist manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-273-perfectionist-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=19408","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18981,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:33:17","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 11:03:17","post_content":"\n
Patrick was asked to join a new project for a healthcare company. He found out that the project is in a platform that he has good familiarity and also understands the domain very well. He was also preparing a paper as a part of his online certification course in financial management. Towards that, it would have been better for him to another ongoing development project for a bank. Though he was disappointed, he felt that working in a known platform and known domain may give him some extra work on his paper. On the way to the project initiation meeting, Patrick stops by the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee. His attention was drawn to someone arguing over phone, which sounded personal and so Patrick ignores. With a cup of coffee in hand, Patrick walks into the project initiation meeting. The person who was on the phone in cafeteria, follows Patrick in to the room and Patrick finds out that he is the new project manager, Palani! Patrick has heard that he is a demanding manager. Soon, during the briefing, Palani shares the pressures in the project and importance of making a strong initial impression, to avoid political pressures from some of client\u2019s management folks. Patrick finds out that he has to assume a tech lead role, with a lot of work to be done upfront and fears that it will impact his paper submission.Patrick tries to convince Palani to assign him a lighter role, which Palani refuses and tries to explain the situation. Patrick is upset with the lack of empathy by Palani and finds it hard to contribute to his potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were Patrick, how would you handle the situation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution to the CHOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It so happens, Patrick\u2019s mind is preoccupied with his online course and tends to look at any work load as hinderances and those who want it from him, like Palani in this case, lacking in empathy. A normally congenial and empathetic person, Patrick, due to this situation is unable to show empathy towards Palani. The prejudices he quickly built towards Palani block him from being open. If he overcomes these obstacles and opens up to Palani to understand the situation, Patrick could not only help project to be a success, can also find ways to complete the paper that he very much wanted to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #257 - Have some empathy","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-258-have-some-empathy","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:51:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18981","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"2","filter":"raw"},{"ID":18977,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2021-07-25 16:26:51","post_date_gmt":"2021-07-25 10:56:51","post_content":"\n
Often we look at \u2018empathy\u2019 as an ability that is much needed in leadership roles. It is always an ability expected from people higher in the ladder towards those who are below them or at best towards peers. By focusing heavily in this manner, the need for any member to be empathetic towards leaders\/managers is not given any attention. It is as though managers (or those in supervisory position) need to be empathetic toward their team members but not expect any such empathy in return. Such imbalance seems to be an outcome of the hierarchical structures that have been the norm in most organization for ages. With the advent of the knowledge industry, those norms are breaking. A flatter organization is becoming de-facto standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through our student life, we look up to our teachers. We expect them to know the answers to every question we have on the subject. The gap in knowledge between the teacher and the student keeps reducing as we grow, but still in our declared roles as students and teachers, the looking up is mostly one way. When we get into our working career, we look up to our first bosses like we looked up to our teachers. Yes, the bosses knew more, having been there a bit earlier than us. However, at work, particularly in the knowledge industry, the challenges are new, technologies keep evolving and your boss is exploring solutions for the challenges with you, though may be more adept at doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just in knowledge, even in emotional development, the gap between a team member and the leader\/manager is not significant. Very often the person in leadership could be experiencing a higher emotional stress than the team that she is managing\/leading.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I often do, I was looking at such situation in sports, say cricket. Let us say you are in a team that is chasing a big total. You are the designated number 4 in the batting order. You have a good strike rate. The captain decides to promote a lower order batsman to go in at number 4, and, keep you to anchor and take the innings deep, in case the gamble doesn\u2019t work. You know you are the better rated batsman and you are keen to go in as number 4, and you are close to a personal milestone that you would like to reach. You will be very upset that your captain lacks empathy towards your needs. This in turn stops you from becoming objective and results in misunderstanding with the captain. And if the pinch hitter sent in fails, and your turn is up, you will find it extra hard to regain composure - resulting in poor return for yourself and your team. Let us say, at that juncture, you try to see the captain\u2019s point of view (which is possible if youtry to be empathetic), Your handling of the situation would be way better. Your empathy would result in helping you and your team succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being in the middle, managing the upper management, the client and the demands from the team demands a lot. Many such relationships are clinical and your manager\/leader may be struggling to meet expectations from multiple stakeholders. During these times managers\/leaders tend to lean on the team and most times team members tend to observe this as unreasonable behavior. Also, the manager\/leader is most often conditioned not to expose their pressure to the team. In such situations, if the team members understand the leader\u2019s position and are empathetic, the whole team wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, our empathy towards our manager\/leader, helps us perform better and the outcomes are better. Lack of empathy, adds to our stress of having to do our job without full appreciation of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I started writing down my thoughts on this topic, lots of ideas come rushing and I believe it is a critical aspect that needs to be understood by everyone and in any position. I am sure, everyone has a view on what I have shared, let us call it \u2018selective empathy\u2019. Please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gopal<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"YHTAPME - Empathy, the missing angle","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"yhtapme-empathy-the-missing-angle","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-24 07:50:09","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=18977","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"9","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

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Gopal Gopalan

Personal Growth

The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth

by Gopal Gopalan
December 2, 2024

Leadership

Principles and Practice

by Gopal Gopalan
August 4, 2024

Chow

CHOW #301 – Policy and Pragmatism

by Gopal Gopalan
July 1, 2022

Leadership

Pandemic Positives!

by Gopal Gopalan
July 1, 2022

Chow

CHOW #286 – A clash of journeys

by Gopal Gopalan
March 20, 2022

Personal Growth

No Chords Without Strings

by Gopal Gopalan
March 20, 2022

Leadership

Delegate – for betterment

by Gopal Gopalan
November 19, 2021

Chow

CHOW #273 – Perfectionist manager

by Gopal Gopalan
November 19, 2021

Chow

CHOW #257 – Have some empathy

by Gopal Gopalan
July 25, 2021

Leadership

YHTAPME – Empathy, the missing angle

by Gopal Gopalan
July 25, 2021

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The Power of Connections: A Personal Journey of Growth

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Delegate – for betterment

CHOW #273 – Perfectionist manager

CHOW #257 – Have some empathy

YHTAPME – Empathy, the missing angle

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