My HoD... a character?!

#SunilFridayThought #Friday Thought 84

The person had just finished explaining the difficulties and challenges he had at the workplace. The list was a long one indeed. Further interesting fact was that his manager was not of much help.

"If your manager is not of much help then may be it's time to talk to the HoD," I said.

"No! I cannot talk to him, " he said immediately as if he had got an electric shock.

"And, why is that?"

"How can I say? Well - , " he paused for a moment and said, "My HoD is a character"

I have heard managers and senior managers being called by various names, sometimes fairly and sometimes unfairly. It is their perspective. However, I had not heard someone being called a 'character'. Honestly, I did not know what to make of it. I just kept quiet and looked at him. After a few moments, he explained what he meant.

"To begin with, half the time, he is not available. When he is available, he is not exactly approachable. And I am not sure how he would react to my problems. He may get upset with me for taking my problems to him or he may use them against my manager, " he said, "Therefore, I cannot talk to him"

This was a sad situation. Sometimes, it is good to push your team members to solve and resolve their own problems. At times, though, one needs to be 'an available resource' for the team. Even if you don't provide the solution directly, listening to them is quite important. Asking meaningful questions, challenging their ideas and perhaps just spending time is equally important. And when the team members become scared of reaching out for support, it is not a healthy sign for the organization.

Anyways, I was not going to directly provide any solution to him. We brainstormed together about various options he has, including the ways to seek out help from the concerned HoD.

At the closure of our meeting, when we were grabbing a cup of tea, the person was checking his mobile. Suddenly he had a smile on his face. Seeing a question mark on my face he just handed over his mobile. I curiously looked at it. The concerned HoD had posted a long message about leadership qualities and being approachable was listed as one of the most important one. Reading it put a smile on my face too. I suggested, "Why don't you seek out his appointment under the pretext of discussing his interesting article? It will give you an opportunity to talk about other things as well." That was another idea added to the list we had prepared while brainstorming together.

What's your take on this? Have you had similar experiences? Do share your views.

Sunil Bhave has written over 90 interesting articles, many of them before starting Friday Thought series. Read Sunil's previous articles. Sunil is an international certified executive coach and certified transformational leadership coach with vast industry experience, Business and Strategy Consultant, Management Development Professional with specialization on creativity, innovation and transformations. He regularly conducts workshops and speaks at many forums.

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