Session 9: Contribution

I don't have clear notes for this lecture, but I try to do as much justice as I can from the few sentences I managed to write down in my note book.

DC talked about the geographical diversity of managers being a crucial element in the future. This is understandable, because of Globalization and the world becoming smaller and smaller because of trade and services between countries. As much as I wish I could agree with him, I feel that this statement is grossly incomplete. Let us take myself as an example here. I have a certain geographical diversity in me. I was born in Mumbai (West India), raised in Hyderabad (South India), did my engineering in Kurukshetra (extreme North India) and am doing my MBA in Lucknow (the land of dons and Yadavs). I have been to Chennai (TN), Bangalore & Mysore (Karnataka), Delhi and Chandigarh (Punjab). My closest and trusted friends are from Bihar, Assam and Rajasthan, with whom I interact almost daily. I have even to been to the USA (Boston, Virginia, New York State, NYC, Washington State, Florida) and have had significant exposure to their culture, even doing my Summer Training there. I think that is a fair amount of exposure. 

But will that make me a good manager? Now consider this: I am usually intolerant of North India and North Indians (primary because of the similar feeling that they echo towards us South Indians). I literally hate Delhi and many other areas here because of the congestion, pollution and the immorality I see around me. I dislike American double-standards and their hypocrisy. I love my state and my language deeply, even though I am not fully a supporter of my state's policies. 

So in my view, tolerance is the most crucial element of being a good manager. A manager can have all the diversity he/she wants to, but unless he/she is tolerant of different cultures, it will be very hard to become a good manager. That is the key world - tolerance.

DC also talked about something nice, something he said he himself follows (I don't have any proof to disprove his statement). He talked about "Contributing weekly to the lives of three people around you, without looking for a return on your investment of time and resources". This brings attention to another great quality of a leader - Selflessness. A leader knows the needs of the group and puts the group above self. He doesn't expect anything in return for this contribution. That was a good thought. But to follow it in action is not as easy as it sounds. What will the other person think about you? Will he take your help, even if you tell him that you expect nothing in return? Will the person take the help, if given to him discreetly? Many such questions do pop up in my head. I help people many times, but my main motivation for helping others is that I will, someday in the future, need a similar help from them. And when the day comes, I can ask for the help. An ulterior motive always exists (unless I am helping my close friends, in which case I don't think about returns) in my mind.