A while back, my then driver told me that he had bought his own car and wanted to run a taxi service. He added that he has been inspired by my entrepreneurial journey, and was eager to do something of his own!
Truth be told, I was slightly taken aback and I ended up portraying indifference to this news. My driver is my lifeline, and has been my trusted lieutenant. So when he broke this news, I had mixed feelings. While I was happy for him, I also felt a bit at a loss!
At that moment I remembered the time I was in a similar situation with my ex-boss (Founder of mig33). He was very graceful about it; in fact he is very supportive of Jombay even today!
How we respond to situations says a lot about us & about the direction of the eventual outcome. I could have remained passive and alienated my driver, but thankfully chose to actively ask him about his plans – and won over a lifelong cheerleader in the process! The other day he met my mother at a shop, instantly recognised her and conveyed how well he is doing and expressed gratitude for the support he got from me.
But it could be hard to be this all the time. We often see that leaders are rendered ineffective simply because they are not equipped to respond appropriately. That’s why, in our #DevelopmentJourneysByJombay, we often speak about the concept of having ‘active constructive’ conversations as many times as possible.
To boost work relationships, improve emotional intelligence & boost conversations, we have a very interesting activity that helps leaders identify their responses as “Active Constructive, Passive Constructive, Active Destructive or Passive Destructive”, We also help them list down practical ways in which they can listen to understand, not to respond. The intent is to help leaders be active-constructive most of the times by:
- Listening actively
- Showing interest
- Trying to be constructive, if not always positive
This activity has challenged hundreds of managers to think differently about how they and their teams communicate!
To discover our talent assessment & development solutions email us at hello@jombay.com or call us on +91 96733 10011
