Horse-riding and Management lessons…

It is quite fashionable nowadays to tag anything other than learning of “true management” to management lessons. And so I thought I should also contribute to this confusion (read innovation) and in this post will attribute my horse-riding lessons to how I think they can be mapped to some management lessons.

“Why horse-riding of all other hobbies and sports?” you may ask.

Let me come out clean here. One, I want to tell the world that finally I am learning what I loved to do always – control an animal (that is tamable). And two, why not? This is a fairly expensive sport, alright. But so are classical dance classes and golf classes!

Riding a horse gives me a sense of utmost freedom and a spirit of holding the reins (in true sense!). And so, hearing me rant about this life time wish of mine, my hubby gifted this course as a surprise on my birthday. Mind you, only the initial deposit and first month fees are from him as a gift. I have to manage the monthly fee myself, on an on-going basis.

Management Lesson #1:

Listen to the coach. Now this is absent in most of our systems. I mean the “listening” skills. We assume we know everything. Only when we actually start the job we realize how much there is to learn to become an expert. We can avoid quite a few mistakes if only we “listened” to our coaches, as they advise, rather than on hindsight.

Management Lesson #2:

Learn the basics well and thoroughly. This is important. Most of the times, we imagine that we can manage without knowing what it takes to build software or what it takes to manage finance. This is entirely a wrong approach. I think it is a must to know the basics. Else the horse, over a period of time, will push you down.

Management Lesson #3:

Don’t ever try to overdo at least in the initial stages. Learn slowly but steadily. Overdoing in the initial stages causes a lot of harm than good. This is personal experience. In our eagerness to learn and implement all at the same time, we do not realize that we are putting quite a few stakeholders in trouble. Also, it is difficult to retain the same pace after we start full-fledged. Expectation setting is a must to avoid burn-downs. Go slow, but be steady and focused.

Management Lesson #4:

Observe from other riders (both their mistakes as well as their expert strokes). As I ride, I made it a habit to look around as well. Their seating posture, the way they hold the reins, the way they trot, the way they keep their feet in the stirrup, the way they hold the whip… especially from ace riders, there is a lot we can learn just by observation. In fact, I had video shot myself and started checking my mistakes. If only we could do that in the real life corporate management (I mean the self video shooting)!!

Management Lesson #5:

Go with the rhythm. There is a certain rhythm in everything we do or see. We need to understand and imbibe that. In fact, the very 3rd class, the senior most coach commended me on my rhythm and he said that was the most important skill in horse-riding. Getting right the balance and the rhythm of the place where we are is a key to success. Drawing comparisons to workplace, we need to see if the culture and the values of the teams that we are in, are in tune with our own. Where the rhythm does not coincide, it is sheer cacophony!

Management Lesson #6:

Do not lean (forwards or backwards); sit upright and be alert. While riding, this is one important thing to maintain – the posture. If I lean forward, my coach keeps shouting “do not lean; sit back straight”. Does he realize that my back is breaking?! He knows and he says learning to ride was my conscious decision. So is management! No manager can afford to stoop (read crumble or lose balance) as he is running his team. This will result in the manager crash landing on the team’s neck and choke them as well. How true! Remain balanced; Be alert!

Management Lesson #7:

Hold the reins firm…else you may be in danger. Please read this again. I have not said hold the reins tight. I have said hold them firmly. We maneuver with the reins. If we lost control or hold them back tight, the results will not be what we desire. We should know when to hold firm, when to let slightly lose and when to pull back!

Management Lesson #8:

Stay connected to the horse. Stay connected always with the teams. This is one of the biggest secret recipes to success. Knowing the pulse of our people is essential. We should know (like the back of our palms), how teams will react and who in the team is our spokesperson and who is not (and why). This is possible only if we stay connected.

Management Lesson #9:

Nudge and/or whip the horse when it slows down; don’t beat. My coach taught me how to nudge the horse on its belly with my heels and how to whip in such a way that it does not hurt the horse (really) but makes it run/trot. Key thing here is to pass the message without a lot of heart burn and still get desired results/productivity J

Management Lesson #10:

Show the horse some carrots (at least occasionally). The very first class, my trainer told me, “Next time, get some carrots for your horse. It takes all your burden and runs. Show some kindness in return”. Can we show the same carrots, again and again, over a period of time to the horse? No way! It has to be fresh carrots every time! Got the message, yeah?!

Management Lesson #11:

Realize when your horse is tired. You don’t have to neigh but make sure you understand the horse’s language. Surprisingly, after learning all the tricks, I realized that to whatever extent I used them, the horse refused to move after let’s say a 40-45 minute ordeal of me trying to trot on it. That’s when the trainer said, that the horse gets tired and that I should know it by now through its body language!!! Tell me how many of us truly realize when our teams are worn out or burnt out? Do we even stop by to check on them? This is an extension on my Management Lesson #9 (if you have forgotten, please read this again) J.

Management Lesson #12:

Make it appear pleasurable and effortless. Can you imagine someone riding the horse sweating and fretting and giving you an impression that he/she would fall-off any moment; the horse might tumble and fall down right now? What does it indicate? It is not a pleasant sight, right? Holds good in terms of Management as well! Who will want to see a team run by a panic-struck manager/management? It has to look effortless but the biggest of crisis should be solved. Possible? Why not!!

Management Lesson #13:

Finally, don’t blame the horse if you don’t win! Do I need to explain this further?!

PS: I realize that from every aspect of what we see in life (from the holy books to something menial) there are quite a few hidden treasures of management lessons. If only we cared to understand all those and implement?!

Ask (stupid) questions!

I remember being hushed in classes ever since my IV or V grades for asking questions that are ‘silly’. I have not stopped asking questions though. I had (and still have) this problem of asking whatever questions that come to my mind when a particular subject is being discussed. Many have advised me not to exploit my ignorance in public. But with every question’s answer sought, doesn’t that ignorance die away that moment? I have never felt shy of being ridiculed for my silly queries. I can’t remember admonishing my stupidity even once after asking a question.

There are also funny questions that I ask for which I really got teased by my friends and family. For example, in a textile store, to the salesman, many times I ask while purchasing clothes, “Will this cloth long last?” or “Will the color bleed out of the cloth?”. My hubby used to cross-question me once outside the shop, “What did you expect the salesman to tell you? Yes Ma’m, this cloth is the most horrible one you could select. It will tear the moment you bill. It will look bleached just after your first-wear and wash?” For which, though I would secretively laugh (but not feel embarrassed) at myself, I would quickly cover that up and say with a serious, straight face, “You see, when we ask such questions, the sales guy would know that I cannot be fooled. He will think that he has an alert customer to handle”, showing that proud grin but looking away from my hubby’s eyes, for I am sure that he would give such a sarcastic and a strong look which will discourage me from asking any questions in life to anybody after that.

Coming back to the main topic of discussion… in India (I can’t talk about other countries as much), right from one’s childhood, we are mocked for asking questions either because they are considered as not good manners or because the questions are silly. This kind of upbringing leaves Indians silent for most part of any transaction or conversation. I would attribute this particular way of bringing up and ridiculing people for silly queries as the main cause for many amidst us who fear to talk openly to the customer, ask questions or seek clarifications in any part of the engagement, remain stoic when it comes to any of the wrong doings of any one (starting from the neighbor to the guy on the road to the Government of India). If we are given the right for freedom of speech as per our constitution, does that not include, right for freedom of asking questions?

I for one, encourage my teams and my children (as many as comes to their little minds) to ask questions. Not that I am able to answer all (or even most of their questions). But at least they would shed their shyness and not get into a shell and will not stay ignorant for the rest of their lives.

And the best manager award goes to....

"Mother"

Mother - The Best Manager…

Have you seen or observed a mother handling a house-hold? Not only in these recent years where most mothers are also ‘working’ in offices/schools but ever since time unknown. In fact most management principles would have cropped up from observing such mothers. We would have heard this concept so many times. But I thought I should give it my share.

What are the basic expectations of a good manager? Some of my friends tease me for using an oxy-moron here. But I beg to differ! There are of course very good managers on this earth. Coming back to the point…so what makes a manager good? Efficient planning, Proper scheduling, Foreseeing risks, Preparing workable mitigation plans for those risks, being pragmatic in approach and style, quick decision-making and owning up the decisions made, gluing the team that works under him, understanding each team member’s strengths and weaknesses and playing to that, rewarding them in public and reprimanding in private, understanding business needs, realizing the operating margin at the targeted level, keeping the customers happy, the management proud and the teams wanting and deserved!

Now let us see how many of these qualities we can naturally derive from most of our mothers (working or unemployed, educated or uneducated). First, she is the undoubted Finance Minister in the house. She carefully plans for the budget of the family, keeping the income in mind. For turbulent times she also sets apart an amount in reserves. In this context, she has to collectively work with her husband to make the savings and mitigate any cash-crunches for the family.

Not only for the future that will come in years/months, she deftly plans every day. Her chores are pretty mundane in one sense but the challenge is to handle the curves that life throws at her at the dawn of every day. When does this girl, who was until marriage and child-birth was only a playful lass, mature into a “woman”? Is it when she has to be managing her own household or is it when she mothers her first kid? This multi-tasking ability of a woman which really gets showcased especially only after she has her own family seems like an innate thing in every woman.

Her sense of planning/scheduling the day is just amazing. She knows what she has to prepare in the kitchen and makes all prior arrangements. Once done, she immediately starts attending to the other cleaning/washing activities. Even working mothers will have to do all this either by themselves or with the help of a domestic servant. The onus on the woman is much more in these cases as she has to make sure work is done on time and in the right way.

Whenever there is a rift/tension in the family, whether it is a joint family or a nuclear one, she acts as an ambassador and makes every effort to ensure that the family gets back to its harmonious state again. She has to be the glue in the family binding the members together.
In times of depression and despair, she ends up deciding for the family. She acts as the captain of a ship and steers the family with so much will and grit. This unique ability of women sometimes makes one wonder if she is really a weaker sex!

If the in-laws can be called customers, she listens to their needs and caters to them. So also, she makes her “management” proud by bringing them good-will and great reputation. Here parents of the woman could be compared to the “management”. And finally, the team, including her husband, is her family! Of course, it is for them that she performs these superb feats!

Is it now wrong to say that mothers are indeed the best of managers?

‘Technical’ or ‘Technological’?

How ‘technical’ are you? Or, are you ‘technological’?

The dictionary meaning of ‘technical’ plainly means ‘technological’, ‘procedural’ and some more similar words are enlisted. When I was a developer, I used to be asked, “Are you technical?” What I assumed it meant was “Are you hands-on in any technology?” I would answer in the affirmative. Days passed by. I eventually became a manager. Again, when I was asked if I was technical, don’t know why but I am confused.

Does being technical mean:
a) Knowing/understanding/comprehending technology?
b) Hands-on in a particular or many such technologies?
c) In one’s line of specialization (Project Management), being technical? As in, knowing the nuances of Project Management and applying the same in projects effectively?
d) Process-driven?

If it means (a) or (b) above, then does it mean Managers/Quality Personnel are not technical? In which case other professionals like a carpenter, architect, designer or a plumber, not ‘technical’ in his/her line of specialization?

Where I am coming from is – the moment I say, “I am not technical any longer” (what I mean is I don’t work hands-on with technology any more), I am given a sheepish look by some and some look at me in awe! Is this something to be ridiculed at?

How easy or difficult is it for a Manager to stay in touch (I mean hands-on) with technology? Is it really required? Or is it sufficient if one can comprehend technology and relate to the customer’s line of business and apply his ‘technical’ concepts on the job?

Is this ‘technical’ business only in IT? Or, do other fields face the same criticism?

Fairer sex in the board?

Cross-posted from my blogpost inside my company...
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Tamil Nadu SSLC results were announced today. Girls have topped across the state. Makes me think…when girls could top the ‘board’ why is that we have very negligible women population in our ‘board’ rooms?

Women are meticuluous, sincere, hard-working, great team makers, intelligent, tech-savvy, studious and what not?! What makes that population wear-off as they enter the work force?

At the bottom of the pyramid, we have almost an equal ratio of men:women. Very soon, may be that would change and women would be more there than the men. As we go up the ladder, women fizzle out and then become almost invisible at the ‘board’? What skills do women lack to reach there? Can the system produce only one Indra Nooyi? only one Kiran Bedi? only one Chanda Kochar? one Barkha Dutt?

Where is the problem? The attitude of these women? Their families’ support? Society’s suppression? Men dominance? Where is the problem really?

Research says that women make better managers and CxOs. They bring in so much harmony. They focus better on deals than the men. So where and why are we missing that smart lot in the board rooms?

Parenting & Management - any resemblance?

Should we treat our children like our team members OR should we treat our team members like our children? I have found that most times emotional approaches do work with both categories. They stay bonded with you for long even if they MUST leave the project/place that they share with you.
Usually, we are asked not to spoon-feed kids and allow them to make mistakes and learn their own lessons. In the corporate world, we only have to make sure that we dont commit many costly mistakes. Everyone feels they have achieved only if they are given the freedom to experiment and show results.
I used to tell my son that I had a mobile primarily because I wanted to hear him when he is back from school. I also found myself telling my team members, that when I am away, it is to hear their stories that I carry a mobile.
I used to criticize my son in private lest he get insulted in front of all. Do we not apply this in management as well?
Lavish approbation when he does something worth praising in public makes him feel so motivated and encouraged. Team members?…likewise!
Ya. I know we do not have formal appraisals for our children but if we did, it would only open room for conversation and better understanding.
In all, any human would only like to be treated that way. It does not matter if he/she is your child, peer, subordinate, neighbour, parent, brother, sister, et al!!! All that it takes is good managerial skills.

Manager? Whats the big deal?

Why should there be so much hype about 'Managers'? We all are managers in our own respect, aren't we? Let me tell you how.

When you are a team member (does not matter if you are a developer or a tester), you need to 'manage' your code/testing with the time allotted and the quality expected. Other than this you also need to manage very well your peer groups, coffee sessions, luncheons, outings - all this and more without creating a dent on your work! Though your official responsibility ends ONLY with your work, since what you do is the 'core' of software services, there is so much more responsibility on you!!

When you become a 'Lead', you once again 'manage' your time with your deliverables, deadlines, quality, teams, management, personal life, et al. Here you are held responsible not only for your work but also that of your teams.

The 'Manager' is a little more loaded because for no fault of his, he can actually be punished. So, if the manager is smart, he will know how to delegate work to the right people and stay in peace. This is the main challenge as a Manager. If this hurdle is crossed, then what is the big deal being a 'Manager'?

Thought will pick your brains on this.