“When you come to office, you should keep your personal
matters behind” I remember being told by my manager as a young sales
professional almost 2 decades ago. Your manager never asked you about your
personal life, as it was unprofessional and intrusive. Running a personal
errand or moping about something back home during office hours, was frowned
upon. Every hour at work was precious and those who separated their domestic responsibilities
from their professional ones received much admiration. My father missed not a
day at work when my mother was ailing and didn’t reveal any of his anxiety. His
colleagues who learnt much later of her condition, publicly applauded him for
being so dedicated and ‘professional’.
Over the years the definition of professionalism has seen a
sea change. Our personal lives which were out of bounds till now are actively
welcomed without denting one’s professional image.
Pictures of diaper changing CEO daddies receive the maximum
likes and comments as they reveal a more real person behind the title.
It’s perfectly ‘professional’ to interrupt a strategy meeting
to take Big Basket deliveries at the door.
It’s alright to be choked with emotion when speaking about
the loss of a dear colleague.
Several
studies by academic institutions such as Harvard extol the virtues of subtler
yet sterling qualities such as empathy, compassion, authenticity in the making
of a great leader, a leader of our times. https://hbr.org/2020/10/todays-leaders-need-vulnerability-not-bravado If you are a number crunching leader
with no tender bone, you are not likely to be high on the popularity charts.
Up until a
few years ago, meditation and other such practices were seen as spiritual and fuzzy
stuff outside the ambit of corporate lingo. Effective trainings were those that
were designed based on well researched western psychological frameworks. In recent
times, mindfulness practices are strongly advocated by senior leaders, many of
whom are skilled practitioners.
What we are witnessing is a heartening change whose time has
come. The tough and competitive work culture is softening to reveal its humane
and compassionate side. Qualities such as risk taking, problem solving, high achievement are a routine
expectation. Leaders who can co hold these with softer, more feminine qualities
such as compassion, inclusion, humility, empathy, will be the ones sought
after.
As the demarcations between home and work fade, more
employees will seek personal comfort and professional fulfilment from their
work spaces. Increasingly leaders will
be compelled to shape organizational cultures that promote inclusion, empathy,
individual fulfilment; while pursuing business imperatives. They need to be
profit driven and people focussed, competitive and caring, drive innovation and
be inclusive.
It would be prudent to keep in mind that manifesting these qualities
needs conscious and sustained effort. This balance of co holding seemingly divergent
qualities, that are masculine and feminine; is not easy to come by. There are
many leaders who are struggling to make this transition. A young colleague from
a legal firm complained how ruthless her boss had been when it came to taking
leave for her husband’s covid treatment. To quote her- “he said he understood
my plight, but also expected that deliverables get met. I am under a lot of
pressure now and I don’t think he gets me.” Being empathic is not a skill acquired
based on cognitive thinking. It’s a transformative process that arises out of
deep self-exploration.
Organizations that are committed to the power of personal
transformation in its senior leadership will leverage its undeniable advantage
in the way they run their business. They will be tough in their strategic
pursuits but also compassionate in their people orientation. In keeping with
the times, they would be exemplary examples of a more holistic definition of
professionalism.