Leadership Lessons From Kids: Ways of Working

Leadership Lessons From Kids: Ways of Working

Leadership Lessons From Kids: Ways of Working

My kids have this 'thing' of showing up unexpectedly when I am on video calls.

It is fun for them but it isn't so much fun for me. I have tried explaining why they shouldn't make an entry or be party to my calls.

They listen keenly to whatever I say, understand and say OK.

For few days, they stay away. After some time they forget all about it - much to my dismay. Interestingly when they have their school video calls - they expect me to stay away always. And I do!

Recently, they made a 'special guest appearance' on a video call I was on despite me clearly telling them to keep away. I was annoyed but exercised immense self control and did not say anything. Just let the moment pass!

The next day when my daughter was on a school related video call, I showed up at class unannounced. She asked me to leave but I ignored her request and continued to make my presence felt :). After a few tearful pleas from her, I left.

I guess I made my point loud and clear. They learnt and understood the point - and hopefully will remember for longer this time!

The whole episode got me thinking about leading in the workplace.

As a leader, we all are faced with situations when the teams we are working with don't do as we expect them to - despite explaining to them the "Why?". How do you handle such situations? Taking a leaf from my story with the kids, sometimes the best way to impress a lesson is to give them a true, full and wholesome taste of the implications in their world.

I find this to be a powerful way to address the realities, differences and challenges of working in a multi-generational workforce. The mind-set, motivators and outlook to everything at work is very distinct and different based on whether you are part of Gen X, Gen Y or Gen Z. And yet when you work in a team and have to deliver on shared objectives against planned deadlines, some guidelines around the ways of working need to be sacrosanct.

What would you do in such a situation? Leave a comment to let me know.

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  • Danny Clarkson

    We can learn so much more from kids

  • Michael Scollay

    Each generation is different !

  • Michael Shannon

    Brilliant

  • Paul Brown

    Wonderful piece !

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Nischala Murthy Kaushik

Marketing Expert

Nischala is the Global Marketing Head at Wipro. She is a new age marketer who enjoys work which has a jazz and bass of logic, creativity and making a global impact. She is also an advisor / mentor with several global initiatives involving startups, technology consortia and #WomenAtWork communities. Her expertise is to craft and design high impact marketing strategies for emerging and high growth technology areas like blockchain, AI, next generation solutions. She believes the equation to marketing success is moving the dot from mind-share to market-share to profit-share. Her claim to fame is being among India's 2017 Top 100 Brand & Content Custodians, a TEDx talk, being among Twitterati and featuring in several global "Best in blogging" lists. Nischala holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore. You can follow her on Twitter @nimu9

   
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