During my service in the Army, I have often come across senior officers boasting, “I tore that fellow apart. He will remember it for his life!” There are also a number of retired generals who have had the reputation of being abusive. At the same time, I also fondly remember seniors who were understanding, courteous, and helpful. They would listen to their subordinates. When the juniors committed mistakes, they would correct them and move on.
In a position of authority, it is easy to humiliate subordinates, mostly because they don’t retaliate for the fear of losing their jobs or earning a black mark that would affect their career.
The insult certainly does not boost output, but it leaves a scar on the person, demoralising them and marking them negative and remorseful.
It happens in schools also where children are humiliated and ridiculed by teachers. It could be for coming late, not doing their home work, or even for asking a “stupid” question.
When you ridicule a student openly, you hurt his or her psyche. The student will not only withdraw and sulk, but also lose interest in studies. Teachers need to be understanding and affectionate. If students make mistakes, they need to be guided, not ridiculed. Punishment should be corrective.
Similarly, at a workplace, good leadership is when even the junior-most worker becomes a motivated member of the team. The worth of each person should be realised. Only then will the organisation be vibrant with each member giving their best. Let’s not forget that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
While commanding the Army transit camp in Jammu, one of the biggest in the country, in 2006-07, I realised that with the staff strength of barely 100, we efficiently managed more than 5,000 transients daily. During rainy season, due to land slides, the Srinagar highway used to close down, and the strength would increase to even 8,000. Still, we managed to reach a very high level of satisfaction among the troops, and even won the ISO certification for excellence in security and administration. We achieved it by sheer team work. There was no question of “tearing apart” anybody.
As seniors, we should remember that when we hurt a man, we hurt his soul. Let us remind ourselves: Big people make small people look big; small people make big people look small.
ripu_d2003@yahoo.co.in
