Gandhi-giri or Gandhi-ism – does it really work in our day to day work in office ? What do
you think ?
Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence, integrity, truthfulness,
honesty etc – does it sound too bookish and idealistic to be followed in
practical scenarios where politics and rivalry are rampant ? Though I am a
great fan of Gandhi, these questions plagued me too.
So , I decided to do an experiment and in this
blog post , I will describe my experiment with Gandhi-ism at my workplace.
As in any organization, there are managers who are effective and liked by his/her team and there are managers who are not so effective and usually not liked by his/her team but in general have good rapport with the senior management.
There
was one such manager of the latter kind who invariably tried to put me down in
some way or the other. My team loved and respected me and were really peeved
whenever they heard or saw something which went against me.
One day , in my weekly team meeting, I saw
people looking at each other as if they wanted to say something. My team
meetings were open and everybody had the right to speak and say “No” or be the
devil’s advocate. I sensed something and smiled and nodded – triggering them to
open up.
“Ma’m”
they said, “In the management review meeting yesterday, you were on vacation
and XYZ said our team could not complete
the assignment on time... quality was poor ..... “ and they went on and on.
“Ma’m, this is always the case, whenever you
are not around, all these things are being told ... We said something on your
behalf, but since so many senior people were around , it would have sounded
inappropriate if we said anything more ..... “
They were really hurt.
I
was silent for a few seconds and then smiled.
“Well
... Is it the truth ? “
“No”
“Do we have the data to prove our statements ?"
“Yes”
“Do
you think XYZ did the right thing?”
“No”
I
smiled again – trying to keep my stance by remembering Gandhi.
“Ma’m, XYZ’s team has asked us to help them for the
next 2 weeks for completion of their tasks ... but we will not do that...we
will mess up their work and it will serve them right ....”
“You
will do no such thing” I said. “We will help them fully and after completion of
the task, we will send XYZ a thank you note saying you liked helping his team
and in future, if the need arises, you will help them again ... “
The
team was stunned and nobody spoke for a few minutes.
I
said “If we also act in a retributive
way, then what is the difference with us and them? Let us follow the path of
truth and peace and non-violence ...”
Though grudgingly, my
team did exactly what was told to them.
After
a few weeks , again we had to help XYZ’s team and we did the same , with a
smile on our face.
After
two months, we had the Management Review again.
XYZ
praised my team profusely. After the meeting, he personally came to me and
again thanked me for the co-operation for which he could meet the deadline
which was so important for his promotion.
In his eyes , I could see the guilt
and repentance for his earlier behaviour ... words were not needed.
I looked up at the sky and thanked Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi and his leadership principles.
My experiment with Gandhi-giri was
successful.
Do
you have any such experience to share ? Do write about them in the comments.
