Facing the interview…in people/team management – A different point of view.

A sweaty palm, increased pulse rate, butterflies in the stomach and in some cases hyperventilating – who doesn’t know about interviews. I know interviews can be nerve- wrecking sometimes. I have been through a lot of them, having a firsthand experience of it. I know that there are a lot of great inputs already available on the net. This post is just an extension to all great points and importantly providing a different point of view to an interview. This article is a result of requests from few of my friends who have understood, tried and benefited out of this different point of view of an interview. Now as I think and write this post after counseling a lot of people on how to ease this entire process; I wish I did this a long time ago.

This post does not talk about do’s and don’ts of an interview, instead, it speaks about what your interviewer thinks about your interview and what should you think about your own.

Interview, as we know, is a process of two people exchanging views with different purposes. The interviewer’s role is to assess the interviewee’s credentials and capabilities. Interviewee, in turn, ascertains the same through documentation or verbal explanation. The result of this process could be varied.

Most of the people who face an interview make the same mistake of over thinking, interpreting the result and allow it to mess; what otherwise could have been a good interview process. I am sure I would be right if I say -In fact, most of the times we can’t help it. However, the following changes to our point of view may change things differently and work to our advantage:

·         The outcome of the interview is a major worry haunting us – the only two outcomes can be whether we are successful at it or we are not.

·         Interview like any other process has various drivers that determine its outcome.

·         Understanding the drivers instead of focusing on the outcome will take us that far towards success. (For understanding the drivers better please refer to my previous post: Knowing the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) well.

·         A key component assessed during an interview along with KSA’s, is our capability to withstand pressure. (All the more reason for our thoughts of the outcome not to mess with the process itself.)

The suggestions above will leave you thinking how it will benefit me should I adopt this approach? A very valid point, once adopted, these suggestions will not ensure that you crack every interview you face. However, one thing it can do is prepare you to face the toughest of interviews; help you give your best shot in each interview you face.

The Interviewer, on other hand, has a set of prerequisites for the role such as KSA’s behavior, composure, ability to handle pressure etc. You are evaluated against your competition on these parameters. The sooner this process is complete and the best match is obtained the better for him/her.

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the posts and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post, share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

Magic Quotes - A collection of wonderful quotes that inspire, motivate and celebrate a journey called "Life"

Magic Quotes:

Magic Quotes is a handpicked collection of wonderful posts from great people that really inspires, motivates and urges one and all to celebrate a journey called  - Life. Please find the link below :

Magic Quotes Collection

Majority of these inspiring posts are sourced mainly from my acquaintances on Google+. I would take this opportunity to thank one and all for their contribution. I will update this collection with meaningful posts constantly. I have enjoyed reading the posts and the learning has benefited me immensely. I hope the readers enjoy the posts too and find the learning helpful.  

I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post, share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

The good, the bad and the ugly in us ...in team/people management. – start making a difference.

Understanding the wolves within us

This post is in continuation to my previous post. We all are aware that there is good, the bad and the ugly thoughts are present in all of us. It is a very natural process, the bad and the ugly thoughts in us too have a definite purpose, they serve as an early warning system or they are useful in moments of danger when we sense a threat and so on. However, here we will discuss the role of these emotions in our regular day to day scenario. In most of the situations these thoughts or expressions work in conjunction with each other even without our knowledge. In situations, our mind quickly calculates and provides us with multiple solutions or options. The above-mentioned emotions form a vital representation in such calculated decisions we make. These tendencies result in a fundamental guidance system and have a direct impact on the quality of our decision making.  These qualities are observable in our decisions by some of the following attributes:

Good - Honesty, absence of ego, gentleness, modesty, proactive helping nature etc

Bad - Selfishness, greed, bias nature, indulging in things that have a favorable outcome etc

Ugly - Hypocrisy, anger, harshness, arrogance, pride and ignorance etc

The list is exhaustive and varies from person to person; it will vary with different situations, surroundings and people involved. These qualities try to dominate each other influencing the decision-making process. The process involved is a complicated one. A similar situation might not have the same outcome when a different individual is involved. In fact, there are hardly any set rules to guide us through this process.  The absence of a standardized approach can make this task, even more complicated, confusing and very often embarrassing. Hence, the effort through this post is to realize the need to standardize this procedure and understand its benefits as far as possible. 

Like all other good qualities that we possess this great structure too needs a solid foundation. Encouraging the good thoughts in us to dominate the other two is a good way to begin. Few other pointers in this process are:

·         A strong foundation based on good principles ensures a long lasting ‘Quality Decision’ making capability. 
Not giving up for some temptation.

·         Being decisive irrespective of how many ever times similar situations arise; similarly not being biased to a particular situation or individual.

·         Emphasis on ‘standardization rather than making exceptions’ will further reinforce your self-confidence.

·         Strict adherence to your principles even when things do not work in your favor will improve your resolve even more.

These methods that are tried and tested, that works out better to you will ensure that you always make quality decisions. It not only helps you take impeccable decisions always but also help you stand as an example and improve your relationships both personal and at work phenomenally. 

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the posts and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post, share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

Do we understand enough? In people/team management – practice to perfection.

Yes in a situation do we understand enough? And most importantly is our understanding right? There is a huge difference between both as we will discuss further in this post. This aspect does have a great impact in our day to day situations and without any doubt is imperative in our toughest situations with people. I cannot emphasize enough on this ‘Deal maker or breaker’ ability. We often encounter simple problems escalate to a mess, as either due to a lack of understanding or failure in understand it right. Either ways it spells disaster in relationships with people when handled incorrectly.

Just the other day, I was facing a difficult situation with a person. We had to arrive at a resolution for this ongoing issue. I just did not know how to come out of the situation. The other person’s opinion and solution seemed so unfair. I did not understand why his decision in this situation was so different from an exact similar situation that he was involved in the past. I was getting extremely frustrated as to why the other person is so unreasonable. The situation was so intense probably one of the biggest turmoil of my life, involving sensitive decision making. I wanted to be doubly sure on my decision hence I thought would discuss this with my friend (sort of taking a second opinion).

I discussed this with a nice friend of mine explaining him the facts of the situation, references of the other person’s judgment in a similar situation in the past and his total unreasonable behavior in the current situation. I narrated the entire episode to my friend and asked him for his opinion and support in arriving at a fair resolution to this issue. Following are the pointers that he suggested in resolving complicated issues, especially when things are sensitive.

·         We need to understand the basic thing that when the other person is at loggerheads and arguing in a situation they feel they are right in their thinking and have their own reasons in thinking so; irrespective of how you or others feel.

– Reason being they lack the general understanding, or could be under wrong influence of others, or are obsessed with their thought and hence simply not willing to understand.

·         When discussing a particular situation we should not refer to any past experiences involving either person; (however similar situation it may seem).

– Reason being both parties would stress upon their favorable outcome of the past situation and imply it on the current situation; an aspect which will not be acceptable to the other person. 

·         While discussing in a situation we always need to leave the emotional baggage out and be as practical as possible (I am aware that this is most difficult part in relationships as our emotions bound to jump in at all times).

– Reason being our emotions act as a catalyst and quickly escalate a problem into a mess. We are bound to take fair and strong decisions only if take care of this aspect.

For further impacts of emotions such as anger, frustration and hate please refer to my previous post:

“Dealing with'Emotional warfare in mind'.

I will add to the above, sensitive discussions like these are best resolved on an open, face to face conversation rather than over the phone. These one to one conversations done in person tend to be more fruitful and binding rather than other means of communication.

Normally we tend to resolve most of the situations by ourselves; even complicated and sensitive ones. There is no harm in taking a second opinion from a trusted friend or an expert. Things would be much simpler if we take good advice from friends and well wishers; especially when we are unsure or have a slightest doubt. I am glad that I approached a right person for advice. I really appreciate my friend’s maturity of thinking. His suggestion to approach an issue devoid of emotions has seen me out of what otherwise was a really complicated situation.

The learning out of this entire episode will emerge as an important experience in life and guide us take “Quality Decisions” whenever and wherever similar situations arise.

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the posts and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post, share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

"Value addition" a perfect formula in both professional and personal life...in team/people management - Discovery vs Invention.

Discovery vs Invention

The term "value addition" refers to a specific skill, ability or benefit that comes in addition to the standard features of a product or a service. When we buy a good or a service we judge by the "value for money" aspect that it comes along with the specifications. Similarly, we need to understand that our job is also evaluated with the value addition that we bring along to our existing role. The person who offers value addition in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities stands a better chance to a person who does not. For a better understanding in KSA's (Knowledge skills and abilities) please refer to me previous post:

Knowing the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) Well.

Same goes with our personal relations as well. Only here the "value for money" is replaced with "quality time" that we spend with our loved ones. The more quality time we spend translates to better and meaningful relationships. In a constant endeavor to achieve value addition we strive to better ourselves with new inventions and discoveries acquiring new skills and abilities. We need not invent new methods each time we are challenged with a situation. There are few tips through this continuous betterment process.

Inventions and discoveries are a vital part of the human evolution, one cannot imagine today's world without them. Let us understand the difference between an invention and a discovery. An invention is a unique thing found out or made, that did not exsist previously. Whereas discover is finding or learning something for the first time. For example :

Thomas Edison 'invented' the electric bulb as against Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America.

Now coming back to our topic, relating it to a real life situation, we strive towards finding new outcome to a problem or an unique solution to a situation, than to explore the existing means by which it can be attempted to resolve. 

"In our quest for an invention we let so many valuable discoveries pass by".

In our day to day roles, both in career and personal life, we look at problems in a different angle. We strive to arrive at a unique and permanent solution for a problem. We often do not explore research alternate solutions, or to arrive at results with the readily available skill sets. In order to explain this better, I will share with you an incident. 

Like any parent, I was determined to coach my son with his school subjects, science social and maths; And like any other kid he was not very keen to learn them unless forced upon. Now I was pursing this task since a long time without any tangible results (I tried different methods explaining him with patience, sometimes warning him stern action, even bribing, etc but all in vain). I simply did not understand why he was not understanding the lesson. I was hell bent on ways and means of inventing new methods to make him learn. This was going on for quite sometime. 

Recently, I tried out a different method. I started teaching him the entire lesson as a story, explaining him the practical implication of the lesson and how it fits the big picture, made notes relating one thing to the other (basically the way I learnt the lesson even before explaining to him). He understood the lesson better this way. This got registered in his mind and he remembered the notes even long after it was taught. Together, we discovered that reading the lesson by making simple notes of key points was much easier. Better still, he started making notes on his own. Initially he used to make exhaustive notes but eventually he got better at it. He fine tuned the process and now he makes excellent notes of any given lesson and is quite successful at it now. The point is the ability to learn by making notes was always in him, it was just a matter of discovering the ability. The discovery of course was a life saver to me. I realized such a simple thing took so long for me to discover.

It is just a matter of exploring, discovering and tapping our hidden talents to find a solution to a problem in our career or personal relationships. We do not have to reinvent the wheel, we just need to discover how to use it for our situation. 

I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the post and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post,share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

People Management a culture, not a course...in team/people management. - Live it.

A Big Thank You

PS: Before I start writing this post, I want to convey my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all readers. The reason I am congratulating you all is that  I consider this blog as "Our blog" as you all are equally responsible and an integral part of the success. I really appreciate one and all for your inputs, continued support and success of this blog. Words can't express my feelings. 

It all started with my SEO training that I had got enrolled to. As a part of the training, I got to know that I could write articles on topics (that I know a thing or two about) one that i wanted to do since a long time. And ...It was the beginning of it, what started as a hobby quickly became a passion! The blog that started as a single post is today a collection of 50 posts and has clocked 12000+ views worldwide on the home site and affiliated sites. A small milestone crossed (I know it is a small number nevertheless a great beginning). 

Thanks to one and all...family, friends and especially to the readers for their continued support without which this was not possible.

I would be happy if the articles is helpful at least to a few people and they are able to use the learning and create a happy and successful work environment for themselves and others. Having said so, I am always eager to learn, should you find objection/difference of opinion to any part of the article/s, or think otherwise please feel free to let me know.

Looking forward to your continued support!!!

People Management a culture, not a course...Live it

That is right people management is a culture and not a course. As with a course, it cannot be taught over a specific duration of time. It needs to be learnt only by practicing and living it. It can be witnessed only by the development in people's life that you are associated with; the personal satisfaction that you derive out of it. 

Let us first understand what is culture in general and why its important to embrace valuable and beneficial practices as a part of a culture. Culture is defined as a way of life of a group of people--their behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication  and teaching from one generation to the next. Over a period of time, the culture that people adopt becomes their identity. It forms a sole purpose of their existence; so much so that they defend it with their life, should there be a need. A misrepresented culture can have a disastrous outcome. Unfortunately, frequently it results is creating bias, injustice, discrimination and fanaticism. Now for the advantages of a good culture: 

• always promotes the good in a group or society. 

• it preserves the best practices and passes on to the next generation (so that they do not have to re invent the wheel). 

• always provides the desired good outcome from time tested methods.

Having discussed about the need to adopt treasured practices as part of a culture, we will now focus on advantages of people management as a culture. People in general always require a leader who can teach them by practical behavior. The various roles that we are part of in our day to day life, like a good friend, father, mother, brother, sister, teacher etc are all to be considered as natural leaders in general. All such natural leaders have a great responsibility towards their dependents to lead them towards progress. Remember, a leader is not born; a leader evolves of training, education, learning and a never-ending passion to work with people. Starting from an early stage in our life, we knowingly or unknowingly display leadership traits throughout our life. It is only a matter of realization of our capabilities and a constant effort to fine tune it. Generally, in the above mentioned roles, it is usually a single person's development that we are centered on. Whereas in the modern day work environment, it is a group of individuals that we need to focus on. The dynamics may be different as you are working with different individuals simultaneously, yet have to deliver results of the group as a "single entity". However, the fundamentals remain the same, which are:

• Genuine interest in the betterment of each individual and the group.

• Guiding the group with strong principle based leadership.

• Providing guidance devoid of perception towards any individual or entity.

• Encouraging the participation of the individuals for a common cause and also their own development in the process.

For a detailed explanation and an in depth understanding of the process involved, please refer to my previous posts below:

Key aspects of being a leader.

You and I…Together We Make a Great Team.

Breaking our perception barrier to work with people effectively.

As we practice, the leadership culture in our professional and personal life, we convert each task to success and every relationship into a meaningful one. Great leaders like Mother Teresa, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and so many others have inspired us going a step ahead, dedicating their lives for the betterment of  others. It takes great courage, sacrifice and challenges, to dedicate life for others. Such people are remembered for a real long time. They live even after their time and are remembered through their work. 

"Anyone can live life for their own self; the challenge and the beauty however, is living it for others."

I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the post and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post,share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!

Mind your mind...in team/people management. - Train the trainer.

Mind you mind

PS : The purpose of this article is to understand our mind a little better than that we are currently aware of. The posts from various renowned Authors included in this article talk about much more advanced concepts such as mindfulness - meaning and how to practice it. It is difficult to understand and practice these concepts unless we understand the basics. In this post we will discuss and focus on the basics of relation between mind and body, understand them, explore ways and means to benefit out of it.  

To begin with our mind can be better understood as a trainer of our body, a natural guidance system to see us through situations of threat, an information processor, a decision maker. It is a vital part of our body that guides the rest of the body, from simple day to day functions to much more complex things that we encounter. So what does it take to train this trainer? How can we get the best out of an excellent tool that is readily available to us? The answer to this is very simple, let us first understand what our brain wants and when will it function at its best. We will now look at a couple of scenarios to get an idea of what our brain wants and how does it influence our body. 

Scenario 1 : Now most of us can recollect the painful times of our childhood when we were told to get up early in the morning to study and prepare for the exams that are fast approaching. Imagine the plight of the body, when it had to wake up very early in the morning to study, with very little sleep, especially after a tiring day. How many times do we snooze the alarm? We literally force ourselves to get out of the bed and probably curse ourselves and hate the studies maybe our life too. 

Scenario 2 : Now imagine that it is your vacation and you have to get up early to go to a picnic or meet up someone that you are longing to meet. Even in this case you had an equally tiring day before and had very little sleep. But yet you get up in a jiffy. I am sure you can relate to this incident.

So whats the difference between these two instances? The answer is your mind's influence over your body. Mind prepares the body well in advance for things that it is interested in. It influences the body to act and react to different situations differently, as it perceives. The brain records all the conditions present at the time of the experience. It re enacts and influences the body when similar situation arises in future. Probably, that is the reason that you enjoy a movie or an outing with a group of friends, and you won't enjoy doing the same with a group of people that you are not so keen on bonding. 

The mind and body work closely together. They regularly influence each other. Understanding this process can be very helpful in improving our day to day activities and also in influencing our mental and physical health. Many medical professionals, scientists and researchers are now devoting much more attention to the mind and body connection with relation to restoration of health. If our mind can cause our brain to instruct our bodies to get sick, then it can also help us to get well. 

In order to understand in depth, we need to know a more advanced concept known as mindfulness. Please refer to the posts below to get a clear understanding of the same:

The Amazing abilities of the Human mind - Jayaram V

Health and the Mind and Body Connection - by Dr Deryck D. Pattron

Using Mind mapping for Creativity - by Dr Vijai Mariaraj

The meaning and practice of Mindfulness - by Jayaram V

The meaning of mindfulness : It means to be now and here and perceive with clarity what is going on in your mind, body and environment. Mindfulness is whole body awareness. The practice of mindfulness, although sounds easy, is rather difficult, because the restless mind does not confirm to a pattern of behavior without adequate preparation and strong commitment. However, at the most basic level, mindfulness can be practiced anywhere and everywhere by anyone with some discipline, guidance and preparation. Right mindfulness as an excellent tool on hand has many applications in the sphere of everyday activities.

I really appreciate your time reading this post. I hope you enjoy reading the post and find it helpful. I request you to share the learning as much as possible so that many more benefit from it. I would be glad to know your inputs both For or Against. Please feel free to post,share or like if you find it useful.

Happy Learning! and Happy Sharing!