Message From MD – December 2018

Dear friends,

When December enters the calendar, it’s time to look back at the past 11 months of hard work, the sincere approach to excel and the end results. Definitely there can be a gap between what we expected and what we achieved. Psychologically the wider gaps may create larger fear in the minds of team members which may further decrease their level of performance. So what should we do? We should create a psychologically safe workplace, where people are fearless and not trying to cover their tracks to avoid being embarrassed or punished. It is very important to understand how and why a culture of willingness and courage to speak up is a strategic asset and should be developed in our organisation.
What I am advocating is candour. Being open and transparent. And sometimes that might mean being direct to a fault, knowing that you have a right and a responsibility to ask hard questions about work.
Is this the right decision?
Are we using the right data?
Do we know the impact this might have on others?
Is this the right salary I deserve?
Are we creating products worth value for money?
When we are psychologically safe at work, we’re willing to accept that we can be ignorant about many things and very smart about others. Psychologically safe employees are more interested in learning and excellence and in genuinely connecting with others than in looking good or spreading scandals. That sounds like what everyone wants, but as human beings we’re hardwired and socialized to care about what others think of us. This is not bad or good, it’s just true. And it is sometimes unhelpful in knowledge-intensive organisations like ours. We may need to override some of our very human instincts – the instinct to look good instead of being truthful, to avoid hurting someone’s feelings instead of being truthful, or to agree with the boss instead of saying, ‘I’m not sure that’s going to work’.
I care about psychological safety and the impact it can have on business risk. Without psychological safety, there’s greater risk of cutting corners and people getting hurt, whether employees or customers. Project launches might fail because we didn’t listen when colleagues asked hard questions about how the project would perform in a market. In short, without psychological safety, people can’t bring their full selves to work.
Friends, let us create a fearless group of team members, who are psychologically fit enough to challenge and guide the managers with clear vision and motive.

Regards,
V Sunilkumar