Software View

Problem

One of my friends who is working in a big company in Sri Lanka called me today and explained a most unwanted experience:

"My boss wants everything to happen through him. He asks me not to pursue new initiatives of my own, not to interact with people in other divisions unless such collaborations or communications are authorized by him.

Quoting Bill Cosby (Actor and Comedian):

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

And that holds true in your workplace as well. You may be the manager of a team of people. There can be many situations where your team members have compelling and conflicting opinions say on resolving an issue. Which opinion are you going to accept? And what if some team members are going to look at you with crooked eyes if you reject their opinion?

Another situation is that you report to couple of seniors and they have different opinions on how and what you should be doing.

 
“To find if one lies you, see if s/he lies others.”
 

A person’s decision on what is good and what is bad is contextual. And hence, among other factors, the reactions and dynamics of people in a workplace are much determined by the organizational culture. Culture sets a base for the people to reason and guides them in determining what their reactions should be for various forces external to the individual. Thus, growing the concept of egoless working in an organizational culture may prove to be fundamental as a technique in boosting the performance of individuals and the organization in general.