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She asked him to come in after ten minutes.
When he went in, she looked at him blankly and asked, "Yes?" Not sure whether
she had recognized him, Rohit introduced himself. She said, "Ok, but why did you
want to meet me?"
Rohit started to tell her about the problems they were having with the software. But before he could even finish, she told him that
she was busy with other things, and that she would send an email with
the solution to all the members of the team by the end of the day, and
that they could then implement it immediately.
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Rohit was somewhat taken
aback. However, ever the optimist, he thought that she had perhaps
already discussed the matter with the team.
Rohit came out of Aparna's cabin and went straight to where his team
members sat. He thought it would still be nice to bounce ideas off them
and also to see what solutions others might come up with. He told them
of all the solutions he had in mind.
He waited for the others to come up
with their suggestions but not one of them spoke up. He was surprised,
and asked them point-blank why they were so disinterested.
Sanjay, one
of the team members, said, "What is the point in our discussing these
things? Aparna is not going to have time to listen to us or discuss
anything. She will just give us the solution she thinks is best, and we
will just do what she tells us to do; why waste everyone's time?"
Rohit felt his heart sink. Was this the way things worked over here?
However, he refused to lose heart and thought that maybe, he could
change things a little.
But as the days went by, Rohit realized that Aparna was the complete
opposite of his old boss. While she was efficient at what she did and
extremely intelligent, she had neither the time nor the inclination to
groom her subordinates.
Her solutions to problems were always correct,
but she was not willing to discuss or debate the merits of any other
ideas that her team might have. She did not hold the team down to their
deadlines nor did she ever interfere.
In fact, she rarely said anything
at all! If work did not get finished on time, she would just blame her
team, and totally disassociate herself from them.
Time and again, Rohit found himself thinking of Suresh, his old boss,
and of how he had been such a positive influence. Aparna, on the other
hand, even without actively doing anything, had managed to significantly
lower his motivation levels.
Rohit gradually began to lose interest in his work - it had become too
mechanical for his taste. He didn't really need to think; his boss had
all the answers.
He was learning nothing new, and he felt his career was
going nowhere. As he became more and more discouraged, his performance
suffered. From being someone with immense promise and potential, Rohit
was now in danger of becoming just another mediocre techie.
Questions for Discussion
1. What, according to you, were the reasons for Rohit's disillusionment?
Answer the question using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
2. What should Rohit do to resolve his situation? What can a team leader
do to ensure high levels of motivation among his/her team members?
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