Changing colors

Whenever I see people with authority, bosses, principals, and the like, I am always consumed with curiosity – how were all these people when they were young, in school and in college? When they were just faces in the crowd like you and me? Somehow, the picture never forms in my mind, so used am I to seeing them on a high pedestal. So I just end up assuming that maybe they were like this always… well, I am imagining a miniature version of my grey haired, pot bellied and moustached boss running around in khaki knickers with a water bottle round his neck and a hanky with his name on it pinned on his front… believe me, funny as it may be, it is wholly unbelievable!

So yes, the conclusion is that these were ordinary people at one time, before they were touched by the winds of authority. And once they got the power… poof! The TRANSFORMATION!

Many who haven’t seen such a transformation before their eyes might find it hard to believe what I say here. But trust me… this is real!

I am really happy for my friends who have got promoted in the recent days. But what gets to me is how their personal relationships change. All at once, I become a subordinate from a peer and a friend. And their interactions with me get limited to getting work done.

I am now sent mails with subject lines like – “report expected”,” whats the status” etc, from the same people who used to earlier send me frivolous forwards and indulge with me in random chats.

People who used to take queries from me with utmost patience earlier are now saying “main check karwata hoon!” which means, they no more handle these queries, instead, they have subordinates to do that. The fact that we used to use these query calls as a means to catch up in the earlier days is quite conveniently forgotten.

People who used to sit with me earlier and crib about the system, the office politics and the like are now a part of the same system – and I end up cribbing about them now…!!!

Two things which this scenario brings to my mind are (a) do I need to be more sympathetic to those friends of mine now coz they are under much more pressure than me? (b) as and when I shall go up the hierarchy, will I also change so?

It is likely that my newly promoted friends are really under too much stress. The amount and nature of their work has changed and they must genuinely not have time for inanities which they had earlier when they were not at managerial level. With time, it is possible that people adjust and settle down and forge new equations, though not as informal as before, but definitely more workable.

And as and when I go up the ladder, these events will have taught me a lot – on what not to do! Subordinates need not cease being friends. The very fact that someone goes up earlier than the others means that he/she is now ready to handle a more leadership role. Being a leader does not involve alienating juniors but taking them along in your new journey. And that is what I hope to follow.