1. Corporate Column
January 1-15, 2017 / Corporate Citizen / 13
Mantrafor
ManagerialSuccess!
Being responsive
of aggressive behaviour
during childhood or early
career life and as a result
unknowingly picked it
as best practice. Another
case could be that such
person is a victim of low
self-esteem or superiority
complex and demanding
respect. Often such managers follow theory X
(Theory X is a behaviour where there is a con-
stant need to supervise, punish or penalise em-
ployeestogetbetteroutput). Intheirmanagerial
roles, such people create a lot of unpleasantness
in the work environment. Consequently, prob-
ability of anxiety and distrust among the team
members is high, they may not be able to take
decisions on their own, and may resort to ap-
pease the boss. As a result, long term goals may
get sacrificed. Who would excel in such an envi-
ronment? What can be done to curb the aggres-
siveness? According to me, responsive approach
is appropriate. When we look up for meaning of
the word responsive, we find receptive, open to
suggestions, approachable,sensitive,empathetic
etc.asalternativeswords.Well,alltheabovedoes
bring in some energy and freshness, doesn’t it?
Let us now look at the qualities of a manager
who adopts responsive approach.
• They do not intimidate or get intimidated by
the team members.
• They work from the position of collaboration
and interdependence.
• For them, public victory and team victory is
what matters.
•Theyarebeyondpersonalgains,staysgrounded
and understands the team.
• They are able to pre-empt situations and works
towards resolving it.
• They may use stern messaging to
communicate the emotion, but not by shouting
or being offensive.
• They stand up to their word.
• They act as a facilitator for team and expect the
team to respond appropriately.
• They lead by example and are self-disciplined.
The advantages of being responsive are far
reaching. There is overall positivity, mutual re-
spect and an environment of trust and confi-
dence in the team. Such teams are able to take
betterdecisionsandareobjectandgoaloriented.
Amaturemanagerneedstobeincontrolofemo-
tionsandshowresilience.Hemanagesangerand
apprehension and think with clarity during test-
ing times. The manager resolves conflict and
creates an environment of cooperation. This is
essential for making appropriate decisions and
inspiring the team members. The team looks up
tosuchmanagersforguid-
ance and support. Despite
all this there may be situ-
ations where things can
go out of hands. What ap-
proach do managers take
during such times?
Here are some practices
used by managers
who adopt responsive
approach.
• Control the urge to react,
respond instead.
• Check on your impulses.
• Take a step back and analyse the situation.
•Beobjective;separatetheissuefromtheperson.
• Understand the triggers of what caused the un-
expected/ unwanted behaviour.
• Show emotional resilience.
• Use empathy; understand others point of view
with an unbiased approach.
• Have a collaborative approach to solve issues.
As Peter F Drucker says, “Managing yourself
requires taking responsibility for relationships.”
Managers need to do a balancing act. They need
to meet organisational goals without jeopardiz-
ing the work environment. Let’s look at respon-
siveness as a Mantra for Managerial Success and
derive the desired results.
“A mature manager
needs to be in control
of emotions and show
resilience. He manages
anger and apprehension
and think with clarity
during testing times”
vasudevan.easwaran@wipro.com
Vasudevan Easwaran
Senior Manager,
Centre for Behavioural
Excellence, Wipro Ltd
“I want this to be done at any cost, I don’t
care how!”
“If you can’t do it, we will get
someone else to do it!”
“Shape up or Ship out!”
“I am not here to solve your problems!”,
Do these words sound familiar? Have you come
acrosssituationswhenyouhaveseenbosseswho
are mostly loud, on the edge of their emotions
and create threatening environment at work?
Some may call this behaviour as aggression.
Alongside the aggression, such managers may
exhibitfewotherbehaviours.Theymaydisregard
other’s opinions or be ruthless in communica-
tion and behaviour. Leader with such behaviour
would be devious, use volume instead of reason,
insultandusefearorthreattogettheworkdone.
They may end up being undesirable for subordi-
natesandpeers.Aggressionitselfisnotanegative
behaviour, but the way in which it gets demon-
strated matters.
Won’t it be interesting to know as to why
certain people behave in this manner? Often
it is seen that people who are aggressive have
reasons for that. They may have been victims