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Business News/ Specials / Leadership/  Being denied your due: Fight, don’t keel over
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Being denied your due: Fight, don’t keel over

Will failure to acknowledge a potential winner's performance affect commitment and future performance?

India’s L. Sarita Devi cries looking at a medal after she refused to accept her bronze medal during the medal ceremony at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Photo: APPremium
India’s L. Sarita Devi cries looking at a medal after she refused to accept her bronze medal during the medal ceremony at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Photo: AP

Indian boxer L. Sarita Devi broke down and refused to accept her bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games, after she felt she was denied her victory. Will failure to acknowledge a potential winner’s performance affect commitment and future performance? We ask leaders.

Make your displeasure known

K. Ramkumar, executive director, ICICI Bank

The world is not a fair place," says Ramkumar. Being a sportsman himself, Ramkumar says he believes wrestler Sarita Devi’s gesture of not accepting a medal holds a lesson for companies dealing with unfair decisions. “While it was important to stand up and make a statement, I don’t approve of the tantrum of not accepting the medal," he says.

In a company, a lot of unfair decisions can be taken against you. You may be subject to unfair performance ratings, passed up for promotions or pulled up for things you are not responsible for.

“The longer you linger on what happened, the more damaging it is for your future performance," he says. That is why it is important to address the issue immediately, he adds.

The important thing here is to make your displeasure known to your reporting manager and communicate the lack of acknowledgement, says Ramkumar.

“It is also the duty of leadership to reach out and convey that it was not a deliberate decision and make known that the employee is not (being) targeted," he says.

Gracious leaders will work to see how the issue can be addressed in a clear time frame, he adds.

The affected employee too should wait for action to be taken instead of adopting an I-want-action-now approach, says Ramkumar. However, if the organization does not acknowledge your concern, you should not be working there, he points out.

Look at ways to bounce back

Subramaniam Ramnarayan, clinical professor (organizational behaviour), Indian School of Business

The behaviour of a person who is not given credit for his or her work is almost a grieving process, says Ramnarayan. And in a grieving cycle, there are several topsy–turvy emotions a person goes through. “In the initial phase, there will be anger; at certain stages, there is a feeling of helplessness and depression. A person feels that he may have lost out," says Ramnarayan.

In the initial stages, a person needs to allow himself to go through those emotions because that is natural. At some stage, however, the person needs to shift to the thinking level. “That is where one needs to assess what the options are, how to re-evaluate those options, what are the messages that are perceived," he says.

Ramnarayan says he believes employees must look at how they can bounce back. “They need to look at what is the learning and what is the way forward," he says.

The inability to move on may result in an aggravated situation that could be difficult to tackle. “People get into a negative cycle and get stuck there, and then the problem-solving will not happen. After that stage, it becomes a vicious cycle," says Ramnarayan. The inability to handle frustration is the reason why many careers get derailed, he says. People become cynical and think the organization does not treat them fairly anyway and find no reason to continue, he adds.

It is natural that a person conveys his feelings to the supervisors about the unfairness imparted to him, Ramnarayan says. According to him, communicating the dissatisfaction, be it about a promotion or recognition, is key to making the situation easier to handle.

Believe in yourself

Harish H.V., partner, Grant Thornton

A leader should be self-motivated. Getting recognition from others definitely boosts confidence and further encourages a leader to stick with the goals that he has set for himself and the organization. “Several times, however, the efforts made may go unrewarded. This is a common phenomenon," says Harish. It is, therefore, more important to be driven by belief in oneself. “If a leader goes about chasing recognition, it is likely to invite more criticism," he adds. External factors should not deter a leader from the goals.

In case he is part of the senior management, the leader should figure out a mechanism to ensure that the employees who have worked hard do not go unrecognized and unrewarded. Empathy and a composed attitude are attributes people expect from leadership. A leader should talk to the employees and effectively communicate on how they can improve further. “It is equally important to figure out how genuine a complaint is, as several times people overestimate the amount of effort put in by them," says Harish.

Again, a person with leadership qualities may not be part of senior management. In such a scenario, he should do some introspection on why his efforts are not being recognized and if this is a regular occurrence within the organization. “The matter should be taken up with the senior management in the most professional way," says Harish.

A leader charts his own course. To make an organization a better place to work, a leader should focus on building a workplace where mutual recognition and motivation are encouraged.

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Published: 07 Oct 2014, 06:20 PM IST
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