The Manager Who Allowed Violence as a Treatment!

Once my senior hit me while having lunch.

It was my first job, my energy & excitement was at a peak.

I was trying hard to please everyone.

So, when he hit me, I turned back & smile over that.

He gets the confidence to bully me. Kick my ass whenever boss kicked his ass.

He sublet his part of work to me; curse me if something gets wrong.

Then after 3 months of exploitation, the bubble of patience brushed.

I decided to take this matter to my boss. That time I was near to cry, rubbing my eyes.

My boss told me that you both are assets to our company & this problem is not our problem.

If he is exploiting you, you must raise your voice. Be gentle although.

I was in shock, that now my tears have no value.

After a depressing session of self-analysis, 3 days of rest & hours of pep-talk.

I finally get the confidence to talk to him.

But while I was about to dial his number, I got a call from another colleague.

He told me that, "Shashank reach office as soon as possible. Boss is summoning everyone."?The call gets disconnected.

It was confusing, don’t know what's happened.

Reached office, everyone was in Boss's cabin.

When I reached there, everyone was starring at me like I am somehow a criminal.

Those cold-hearted eyes were haunting me.

It was a failure of an order, the boss was under pressure from management & we are standing on fire.

Now it was the time when the boss turned over me. Started shouting at me for limitless faults. some I even don’t know.?

While blaming me for the failure, something happened. I can't even dream of it. Amit interrupted & taken the blame by saying that, "He suggested I skip the test for some other work." (Amit the one who bully me.) He defended me.

The fire turned over him. Soon the steam settles down but his behavior put me in shock for a long time.

I was again in the self-reflection mode. Blaming myself for no reason, feeling a bit of guilt & confused with his defending.

I need to talk to him.

Without losing any moment, I turned towards his area and reached him in a minute.

He was in a very calm mood now, with no sign of strain on him.

I ask him, "Why?... " and he interrupted. Ask the boss first.

My mind was blowing with another piece of surprise.

"For god's sake, how does the boss included in this?", I asked him.

He replied, "He was the one who suggested me do this?"

Again shocked me, "Do what? To protect me."

Amit replied in a firm tone, "Not to protect you, buddy, to bully you."

My brain was blowing at that time.

While in shock, he interrupted again & suggest I talk to the boss.

I looked at him with doubt.

Again questioned him, "But why did you defended me in the meeting?"

He replied, "I don't, I tell them the truth."

"But you can stay silent, right? You have that option." again confused me.

He replied, "Look, I don't want you to be the Hero, even I don't know the exact reason, but I do not want you to be punished for wrong reasons. It may hurt your working spirit & super dedication to your job. You may lose trust & interest in your work. I don't want it."

I was not in this world at that time. He has shown me the best gesture of honesty & care at the same time. I was speechless.

He again told me to visit Boss.

I ran towards his cabin & knock it for permission.

"You can come in, Shashank." his calm voice allowed me to open the doors.

Again there is no sign of stress in that situation. He was calm & doing his work.

I was loaded with a series of questions.

"Why did you suggested him to bully me?"

He interrupted, "It is my job."

"Your job to cultivate a stressful environment?", "I am not getting it exactly, Sir!" I shouted.

I was confused, in shock, filled with anger & stress. He was still calm.

He replied, "Please, take a seat."

Ah! I was completely stunned. Standing there for a while. He was acting like there is nothing serious happened. I mean come on "Somebody bullied me whole the whole time of my training & you are the one who gives him the idea."

Before I speak out anything, he started with a heavy tone.

"Look Shashank, That was I who suggested Amit, to bully you."

Before you ask me, Why? I told you already, "It is my job."

My job is to take care of all my assets including human resources, which are no doubt the most important ones.

In your case, There were two things which I have to take care of.

Number one - To nourish you as a fresher with a lot of energy & no experience.

Number two - To settle down Amit as he is one of the experienced & smart working people in the team.

As you know you are in the same department as Amit. (I nodded my head in yes.)

He once reached to me with a feeling of jealousy & misery.

He asked me, "Are you replacing me with a new guy?"

He told me that, he always feels less comfortable while working with you. You are filled with an immense amount of energy, no doubt. But he is equally important.

I can't give him pep-talk all the time, so I allowed him to bully you.

"But, Why to bully me? you can counsel him." I interrupted.

Boss replied, "If I counsel him with some nice words and motivation, that mere talk will be temporary. He would not satisfied with his soul. So I allowed him to go to the edge."

"You might be wondering, why he defended you in the meeting, right?"

"Yes, I am confused."

"This is my work, you see. I bounded both of you as a team, not two disturbed humans."

"This is the sauce behind this whole scenario. While bullying you, he interacted with you more, he gets in human touch with you. With the passage of time, you become a part of his work life. He started relying on you, and soon abound created between both of you. At the same time, he guides you with organization culture, works procedure & nourishes you with his experiences."

"Isn't it a win-win situation for both of you? For me too of course." He laughed.

"From a competitor to a team member." "Now he appreciates you. Trust you & moreover defend you. This is what a worthy team does, right?"

"Now if you don't mind I have a lot to do, I hope I satisfied you. You may leave now."

What were the last words of that conversation? I left his cabin, moving slowly like a turtle & swallowing this whole scenario.

At that time, I don't know what just happened. But now when I look back, it was a deep lesson that nourishes a growth environment around us.

Sometimes it's not easy to tackle human emotions & we are dealing with them all the time.

So, here are my takeaways from this story -

1. Learnings can be in any form, you must open yourself to adopt them.
2. A manager's role is to take care of their assets not to manage them.
3. A leader must allow enough time for interaction between their subordinates, it creates a strong team.
4. At the end of the day, we all are humans filled with emotions to come over it you must pass through it.

There are many stories I can share with my experiences, from being a trainee to Assistant General Manager of a reputed export house or from my entrepreneur journey. There is a lot to share & learn.

Hope you enjoyed this story. Let me know your feelings, likes, or dislikes towards it. Let me know in the comment about your takeaway.

Stay connected, stay tuned & blessed. With love & respect.