There is no big shot in our team!

“THERE IS NO BIG SHOT IN OUR TEAM!”, a phrase very commonly heard at any workplace. Doesn’t this statement seem bit contradictory? We refer to a TEAM and yet look for ONE big shot. Where is the team work, where is the leveraging of team members’ strengths as a whole? Is the vast ocean made of [...]

Turning employees’ emotions to their/team’s strengths

The early morning breeze felt so soothing and rejuvenating that the day already seemed too positive and brighter to me until I saw Ritika [*name changed to ensure privacy] sitting with a gloomy face as soon as I entered my work area. I instantly felt that I could ‘choose’ between getting upset on seeing Ritika [...]

Chak De! – Use right experience at the right moment and place!

CHAK DE, the Bollywood flick imparted great lessons. The final hockey match made it very clear that using the right experience at the right moment can turn a losing game to a marvelous victory. Here is a case in point, wherein proper experience mapping helped retain a highly experienced team member, who had already submitted his [...]

Fix the ‘SYSTEM’ not the ‘PROBLEM’!

Higher attrition rate and low morale of any team is always a nightmare for the managers. Following experience illustrates how just a small ‘twist’ in approaching an issue made a big difference! [This approach was actually implemented and it worked!]: [*Names changed to respect privacy]: Sherry had always been a victim of the so called ‘classes’ [...]

Random experiences during team management

Managing teams and working in groups has always been one of the best ways for me to learn and grow. Here are some interesting observations that I have made during past few years of handling teams. Few of these have helped me to a great extent in improving work environment, understanding team/individual and organization’s expectations, [...]

INTERNAL CUSTOMERS: Value the unidentified ones!

Much to the knowledge gained through reading organizational Vision and Mission statements, Corporate Strategies and Business Initiatives, our definition of Internal customers is restricted to the employees. The strategy sheets very proudly lay down next steps and highlight accomplishments related to employee performance and team growth. Though the internal customers [still restricted to employees] are [...]