It’s 2.11 AM IST on a Monday morning, and I start to scribble on this topic because it’s close to my heart.
Work: Mommy Issues
A company is a Founder’s baby. Just like a mother, it’s a full-time job of complete dedication and commitment. The Founder seeks a Partner in Crime. However, it’s next to impossible to match the enthusiasm the Founder will have. That’s exactly where the frustration sets in. I often get angry about why the other person is not passionate about the idea I want to implement. This idea will, in the long run, benefit everyone. Like a mother, the founder looks from a long-term perspective, which the associates won’t be able to do. Even long-term colleagues can grow distant. As founders race ahead, others may hit a ceiling. And the gap grows.
Solution: The Leadership must speak regularly with their team members and communicate their vision. The vision statement needs to be spoken in the team members’ language. Also, “Your company becomes the people you hire.” Hire the folks who have the insatiable hunger to learn and, most importantly, implement the same.
What’s in it for me?
The Founder works extremely long hours (remember Narayan Murthy?) and expects others to do the same. When someone doesn’t do that, the Leadership starts to look down upon the associate as lazy and not hardworking creating distance and loneliness.
Solution: The employee will never get the same paycheck like Leadership and we need to acknowledge that.Incentivise associates whenever they work extra hours or publicly acknowledge their extra efforts. This motivates them to go the extra mile.
GenAI in the Bottle:
While the leadership of every organization untaps the potential of GenAI, they are extremely worried if their business will become obsolete. Also, the Leadership has no choice as customer expectations will keep on increasing due to hyper customization and segmentation.
The associates share the same fear as well thinking if an Agentic AI or a chatbot will be their replacement and start to look upon the management with mistrust and thus creating alienation and loneliness.
– Solution: The Leadership needs to be transparent and make team members a part of the GenAI transformation. Think tanks must investigate scenarios where GenAI can be put into action and assign Team Members to implement it. This creates an environment of collaboration and elicits 360-degree confidence.
Outside of work, family and friendships suffer. The work never ends, and while you’re physically present, mentally you’re putting out fires. But this too can be managed. Set boundaries. Prioritize health and relationships. Even scheduling family time on your calendar helps.
It’s now 4:39 AM—and I just remembered I have a client demo soon. Classic.
