Are you considering "unfriending" your boss on a certain social networking site? How comfortable are you allowing your boss into your private space? This Boss' Day (October 16th), we probe experts.
Is a bosses pry, an employee's cry? With socialising becoming the need of the hour; it isn't new for corporate chiefs to take down the proverbial ‘glass door', thereby making themselves available and approachable to their workforce. While this enhances employer-employee ties, does it authorise our employers to stick their oar in their employees' personal matters? One instance of employer intrusion happens when employees today find themselves dealing with their boss' calls even after they're off the clock. "One of the key elements in project and team management is communication, briefings and debriefing meetings.
To allow employees to be effective and get a full-working day effort, the briefings and debrief meetings with the team should be done amongst the first few things of the day, with the latter part being kept for one's own tasks," voices Brian Almeida, MD, Direxions Global Solutions Pvt Ltd. While, Zuber Baig, COO, Chrisp Solutions is of the opinion that, since employers today are open to us indulging in our personal tasks (answering personal calls, engaging in chats, etc) during work hours, we should respect their authority if they call us post our office hours. "A boss will never call unnecessarily or for no legitimate reason. As he/she allows people to be social during working hours, likewise, it is the responsibility of employees also, to answer their boss' calls, even if it is post their work hours," he adds.
Our generation is under a ‘social media spell'. Virtual networking has deluged our channels of communication, thereby making us more accessible than ever before. The hitch lies in the fact that employers today, by the usage of telephonic messengers and social networking, have more access to their employees' personal information than they would bargain for. "Senior professionals in the industry believe that co-worker friendships on various platforms help build job satisfaction, teamwork and productivity, as long as it is within the limits of professional boundaries. However, being overfriendly on such forums might be taken in the negative sense. While social networking sites help in connecting people and breaking the ice; however, caution should be exercised against sharing too much too soon," feels Sanjay Ghanghaw, head talent management, Watson Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd.
Certain bosses' inquisitive nature causes them to get involved in their employee matters pertaining to their marital status, family disputes, financial impediments, or physical condition. "In this question, there seems to be an implication that if a boss were involved in their employees' personal life, it will mar his/her ability for effective and unbiased decision-making," explains G. Ravindran, CEO and MD, SHRM India. Ghanghaw further adds, "Bosses must be careful while inquiring on matters concerning their employees' personal life and should know their boundaries, thereby limiting their discussions to the individual preference, choices, hobbies, etc in order to break the ice and build relationship, but discussions around employees' personal life should be avoided."
It all boils down to one question, ‘where does a boss draw the line? "Employers should appreciate the fact that their employees come to the workplace to get a job done and that is the primary objective," explains Almeida. Hence, where bosses should be cautious about overstepping certain boundaries and becoming too ‘involved', employees should be flexible enough to accommodate some time for their work-related matters even when they're off the business clock. "Life is a two-way street; if the team has the freedom to call the boss, then the boss should have the freedom to call his/her team, post working hours. A boss and employee relationship should be that of self-determination and mutual respect. Thus, when it comes to people-relationship management – nothing is too much. In tomorrow's enterprise, people want to bring more of themselves to the enterprise. The question is - can the enterprise or bosses channelise and leverage that desire," concludes Ravindran.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Are you an obstinate workaholic?
If your work defines all your priorities, actions and thoughts, you belong to a growing breed of employees, commonly referred to as "workaholics". Read on to know more of this bunch of office species.
Modern-day offices are increasingly witnessing employees turning obsessive about their work. With huge workloads already granting little leisure time, these individuals manage to cram their hectic schedules further with even more office tasks. This is becoming a very apprehensive issue as workaholism is damaging both personal and professional lives of employees. It deprives them of mental and physical rest and in the long run, may even lead to depression.
Jayan Narayanan, associate VP and head, corporate marketing and communications, CSS Corp, tells us the various symptoms of workaholism and their general causes, "There is a thin line between working hard and workaholism. The typical symptoms of a workaholic would be a person working really late hours (whether required or not), proactively carrying work home on weekends and when on vacation, finding reasons to take on more work, micro-managing and getting upset when he/she does not see a similar attitude amongst team members and peers. There are many more symptoms to this, but clinically nothing has been proven yet. As HR managers, we believe that workaholics are usually the ones who are trying to divert their attention from some personal situations that they choose not to confront."
Workaholism often leads to an unhealthy home atmosphere as well. This is highly undesirable. Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla, director, Turtle Limited, elaborates, "Taking work home is not advisable as personal life is as important as one's career and work. Strained relations at home often lead to depression and dissatisfaction in the employee. Giving space and time to one's family and going on vacations are extremely important for keeping the mind fresh and having better concentration at the workplace. Workaholism often creates a chain reaction and disturbance caused by the same in personal life often leads to an employee spending even more hours at the workplace. Since workaholism generally begins to affect the productivity level of the employee, it may have an adverse effect on one's career prospects."
Many argue that workaholism is a direct result of job insecurity and the limited number of opportunities available in the market today. Namit Bajoria, director, Kutchina, counters, "To a certain extent, owing to fierce competition in the workspace and global price rise, the youth today tend to suffer from insecurity of losing their work positions due to failure. But generally, workaholism is a result of the over-ambitious nature of today's restless youth, who are often hell-bent towards achieving professional success in a short span of time. Initially, a hardworking person may win the recognition of his/her office management, but a workaholic is not well-accepted in the office; as, in a modern-day work set-up, a performing individual minus discipline and integrity is a strict no. Work opportunities are still there, but one needs to be consistent and patient in order to usher in a career of substance."
Hence, workaholism can prove fatal for the employee's career growth as well as personal life. It is essential that such a person receive the required counselling, guidance and support from his/her workplace and family so as to get out of this obsession. For a healthy career, work-life balance is of utmost importance.
Modern-day offices are increasingly witnessing employees turning obsessive about their work. With huge workloads already granting little leisure time, these individuals manage to cram their hectic schedules further with even more office tasks. This is becoming a very apprehensive issue as workaholism is damaging both personal and professional lives of employees. It deprives them of mental and physical rest and in the long run, may even lead to depression.
Jayan Narayanan, associate VP and head, corporate marketing and communications, CSS Corp, tells us the various symptoms of workaholism and their general causes, "There is a thin line between working hard and workaholism. The typical symptoms of a workaholic would be a person working really late hours (whether required or not), proactively carrying work home on weekends and when on vacation, finding reasons to take on more work, micro-managing and getting upset when he/she does not see a similar attitude amongst team members and peers. There are many more symptoms to this, but clinically nothing has been proven yet. As HR managers, we believe that workaholics are usually the ones who are trying to divert their attention from some personal situations that they choose not to confront."
Workaholism often leads to an unhealthy home atmosphere as well. This is highly undesirable. Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla, director, Turtle Limited, elaborates, "Taking work home is not advisable as personal life is as important as one's career and work. Strained relations at home often lead to depression and dissatisfaction in the employee. Giving space and time to one's family and going on vacations are extremely important for keeping the mind fresh and having better concentration at the workplace. Workaholism often creates a chain reaction and disturbance caused by the same in personal life often leads to an employee spending even more hours at the workplace. Since workaholism generally begins to affect the productivity level of the employee, it may have an adverse effect on one's career prospects."
Many argue that workaholism is a direct result of job insecurity and the limited number of opportunities available in the market today. Namit Bajoria, director, Kutchina, counters, "To a certain extent, owing to fierce competition in the workspace and global price rise, the youth today tend to suffer from insecurity of losing their work positions due to failure. But generally, workaholism is a result of the over-ambitious nature of today's restless youth, who are often hell-bent towards achieving professional success in a short span of time. Initially, a hardworking person may win the recognition of his/her office management, but a workaholic is not well-accepted in the office; as, in a modern-day work set-up, a performing individual minus discipline and integrity is a strict no. Work opportunities are still there, but one needs to be consistent and patient in order to usher in a career of substance."
Hence, workaholism can prove fatal for the employee's career growth as well as personal life. It is essential that such a person receive the required counselling, guidance and support from his/her workplace and family so as to get out of this obsession. For a healthy career, work-life balance is of utmost importance.
Why Good Bosses Tune in to Their People
Know how to project power, counsels Stanford management professor Bob Sutton, since those you lead need to believe you have it for it to be effective. And to lock in your team’s loyalty, boldly defend their backs.
Bosses matter. They matter because more than 95 percent of all people in the workforce have bosses, are bosses, or both. They matter because they set the tone for their followers and organizations. And they matter because many studies show that for more than 75 percent of employees, dealing with their immediate boss is the most stressful part of the job. Lousy bosses can kill you—literally. A 2009 Swedish study tracking 3,122 men for ten years found that those with bad bosses suffered 20 to 40 percent more heart attacks than those with good bosses.
Bosses matter to everyone they oversee, but they matter most to those just beneath them in the pecking order: the people they guide at close range, who constantly tangle with the boss’s virtues, foibles, and quirks. Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the head chef at a restaurant, your success depends on staying in tune with the people you interact with most frequently and intensely.
All bosses matter, but those at the top matter most. Whether or not they know it, their followers monitor, magnify, and often mimic their moves. I worked with a large company where the CEO did almost all of the talking in meetings, interrupted everyone, and silenced dissenting underlings. His executive vice presidents complained about him behind his back, but when he left the room, the most powerful EVP started acting the very same way. When that EVP left, the next-highest-ranking boss began imitating him in turn.
The ripple effects of this CEO’s style are consistent with findings from peer-reviewed studies showing that senior executives’ actions can reverberate throughout organizations, ultimately undermining or bolstering their cultures and performance levels. When CEOs have far more pay and power than their direct reports do, for instance, performance can suffer if their subordinates feel they can’t stop them from making and implementing lousy decisions.
A few years ago, I did a workshop with a management team struggling with “group dynamics” problems. Team members felt that their boss, a senior vice president, listened poorly and “ran over” others; he called his people “thin-skinned wimps.” I asked the team—the senior vice president and five direct reports—to do an exercise. The six of them spent 20 minutes brainstorming potential products and then narrowed their choices to the most feasible, the wildest, and the most likely to fail.
As they brainstormed, I counted the number of comments made by each team member and the number of times each interrupted someone else and was interrupted in turn. The senior vice president contributed about 65 percent of the comments, interrupted others at least 20 times, and was never interrupted. When I had him leave the room, I asked his subordinates to estimate the results, and they did so accurately. Then the senior vice president returned. He recalled making about 25 percent of the comments, interrupting others perhaps 3 times, and being interrupted 3 or 4 times. When I showed him the results and explained that his direct reports had estimated them far more accurately, he was flabbergasted and annoyed.
Being a boss, as this exercise shows, often resembles the role of a high-status primate: your subordinates watch you constantly, so they know more about you than you know about them. Likewise, anthropologists who study chimpanzees, gorillas, and baboons report that followers devote far more attention to their leader than he devotes to them. (Studies of baboon troops show that typical members glance at the dominant male every 20 or 30 seconds.) As Princeton University psychologist Susan Fiske observes, primates—including ourselves—“pay attention to those who control their outcomes.”
Linda Hudson, CEO of BAE Systems, got this message after becoming the first female president of General Dynamics. After her first day on the job, a dozen women in her office imitated how she tied her scarf. Hudson realized, “It really was now about me and the context of setting the tone for the organization. That was a lesson I have never forgotten—that as a leader, people are looking at you in a way that you could not have imagined in other roles.” Hudson added that such scrutiny and the consequent responsibility is “something that I think about virtually every day.”
The best bosses work doggedly to stay in tune with this relentless attention and use it to their advantage. They are self-absorbed, but not for selfish reasons. On the contrary, they know that the success of their people and organizations depends on maintaining an accurate view of how others construe their moods and moves—and responding with rapid, effective adjustments.
That view is invaluable for bosses as they try to carry out their first and most important task: convincing others that they are in charge. Bosses who fail to do this will find their jobs impossible, their lives hell, and their tenures short. Of course, taking charge effectively isn’t enough. The best bosses also boost performance by watching their people’s backs: making it safe for them to learn, act, and take intelligent risks; shielding them from unnecessary distractions and external idiocy of every stripe; and doing hundreds more little things that help them achieve one small win after another—and feel pride and dignity along the way.
Taking control
James Meindl’s research on “the romance of leadership”1 shows that leaders get far more credit—and blame—than they deserve, largely because, cognitively, it is easier and more emotionally satisfying to treat leadership as the primary cause of performance than to consider the convoluted and often subtle mishmash of factors that actually determine performance differences. It is especially difficult to resist demonizing the bosses of failing organizations, however irrational that may be. This bias toward glorifying and vilifying individual leaders (and downplaying the role of systems, collective action, and external factors outside management’s influence) is especially strong in the United States and many European nations. Yet the best evidence shows that bosses rarely account for more than 15 percent of the gap between good and bad organizational performance—although they often get more than 50 percent of the credit and blame. If you are a boss, this is your lot in life; make the best of it. If you claim that you don’t have much influence over what happens to the team or company you lead, your people will lose confidence in you and your superiors will send you packing. Here are four suggestions for magnifying the illusion of control (for more ideas, see the sidebar, “Tricks for taking charge”):
1. Express confidence even if you don’t feel it
In 2002, I heard Andy Grove, Intel’s legendary CEO (1987–98), interviewed by Harvard University’s Clay Christensen, who asked Andy how leaders can act and feel confident despite their doubts. He answered, “Investment decisions or personnel decisions and prioritization don’t wait for that picture to be clarified. You have to make them when you have to make them.” That’s why executives need to use what I call the faking-it-until-you-make-it strategy, which he also touched on: “Part of it is self-discipline, and part of it is deception. And the deception becomes reality. It is deception in the sense that you pump yourself up and put a better face on things than you start off feeling. But after a while, if you act confident, you become more confident.”
Research showing that “belief follows behavior” supports his argument. And confidence is especially crucial for inspiring your followers, because like all emotions, it’s contagious—especially when displayed by closely scrutinized bosses.
2. Don’t dither
Indecision, delay, and waffling are the hallmarks of a crummy boss; the best ones know that crisp and seemingly quick decisions bolster the illusion (and reality) that they are in charge. As late stage director Frank Hauser said, “You have three weapons: ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ and ‘I don’t know.’ Use them. Don’t dither; you can always change your mind later. Nobody minds that. What they do mind is the two minutes of agonizing when all the actor has asked is, ‘Do I get up now?’”
3. Get and give credit
A great thing about being the boss is that when your people do good work, you usually get too much of the credit. Smart bosses often use this to their advantage, knowing that people want to work for and do business with winners.
As a boss, you may already use subtle tactics to get credit, such as collaborating with people who are likely to praise you (so that you don’t have to brag) and, when you do mention your accomplishments, giving copious credit to others. David Kelley, the modest chairman and founder of design firm IDEO, is a master of the art of giving his people credit. I believe that one reason IDEO became a renowned innovation firm under David’s leadership is that he relentlessly thanks others for making him look good, gives them credit when the company does something great, and downplays his contribution—something I have observed him do hundreds of times over the past 15 years.
Indeed, the best bosses routinely give their followers more credit than they probably deserve. And when bosses do this, everyone wins. As the boss, you will get the lion’s share of credit because of the romance of leadership. Your immediate team will regard you as truthful. And your modesty and generosity will be admired—especially by outsiders, who will see you as both competent and generous.
4. Blame yourself
In August 2008, I listened on the radio as Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain made a statement about the deaths and illnesses traced to tainted meats produced by one of his company’s plants. McCain’s voice quivered as he announced its closure, apologized to the victims, and said that the people at Maple Leaf—including himself—were responsible and that it was his job to restore faith in the company.
His response is striking because it is so rare yet so consistent with research on how to fuel the illusion (and reality) that the boss is in charge. Unlike many people in such a predicament, McCain accepted the fact that he would be held responsible for what his people did, no matter what. When something important happens, the boss is expected to know. Rather than blaming others, McCain understood it was wiser to accept the blame and learn from it. Leaders who denounce outside forces for their troubles come across as disingenuous and powerless. By refusing to take responsibility, they implicitly raise a damning question: “If you didn’t have the power to break it, how can you have the power to fix it?” The public also sees a boss’s refusal to accept responsibility as a sign that nothing has been learned from the errors.
If you as a boss want to enhance the perception that you are in charge—and fuel performance at the same time—taking at least some of the blame is usually necessary. Experiments by University of Michigan professor Fiona Lee and her colleagues show that managers who take responsibility for problems like pay freezes and failed projects are seen as more powerful, competent, and likeable than those who deny responsibility. In another study, Lee’s group examined stock price fluctuations in 14 companies over 21 years. They found that when top executives accepted responsibility for problems, stock prices were consistently higher afterward than when CEOs denied responsibility.
The key, though, is not just to accept blame and apologize. You must also take immediate control in whatever way you can, show that you and your people have learned from failure, announce new plans, and, when they are implemented, make sure everyone understands that things are improving because of them—just as Michael McCain did. Although no one can predict his company’s ultimate fate, the Canadian press praised McCain for his clarity, compassion, and control.
A nationwide survey in December 2008 showed that among Canadians, confidence in the Maple Leaf brand had risen to 91 percent, from 60 percent, since August of that year. Although the company reported losses in 2008, it returned to profitability in 2009. As McCain said in February 2010, “The packaged-meats business continues to recover. Our brands and our reputation are intact”3—an assessment most analysts and customers echoed.
Bolstering performance
Bosses who ignore and stomp on their subordinates’ humanity sometimes generate quick gains. But in the long run, such short-sightedness usually undermines their followers’ creativity, efficiency, and commitment. The best bosses focus on boosting the performance of their people through stratagems such as the three that follow:
1. Provide psychological safety
Good bosses spark imagination and encourage learning by creating a safety zone where people can talk about half-baked ideas, test them, and even make big mistakes without fear of ridicule, punishment, or ostracism. I witnessed the power of psychological safety at a large media company where a new CEO was determined to drive out fear. A vice president had launched a magazine that ended up being an expensive, well-publicized flop. She would have been demoted and fired—and probably publicly humiliated—under past regimes. Instead, the CEO spoke at a gathering and congratulated her for her courage and skill. He emphasized that the decision to start the magazine wasn’t just hers; senior management had backed it. After his speech, every executive I spoke with portrayed the CEO’s comments as a watershed event.
An absence of psychological safety, in concert with fear of the boss, can be dangerous or downright deadly. Studies by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson and her colleagues show that when nurses fear their supervisors will punish and humiliate them for making mistakes, they hesitate to report their drug-treatment errors. The hazards of fearing authority also emerge from research with commercial pilots in flight simulators.
One study showed that when pilots faked mild incapacitation toward the end of a rough and rainy simulated flight, their copilots failed to take the controls 25 percent of the time—resulting in simulated crashes. The copilots knew the pilots were incapacitated yet failed to question their authority. Dysfunctional deference can kill real flight crews and passengers too. In 1979, a commuter plane crashed, in part, because the second officer failed to take control when the captain, a vice president known for gruffness, became partly incapacitated.
2. Shield people
The best bosses invent, borrow, and implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load heaped on their followers—and protect them from the incompetence, cluelessness, and premature judgments of fellow bosses or others who can undermine their followers’ work and well being. Followers who enjoy such protection (and who may be bosses themselves) have the freedom to take risks and try new things.
Annette Kyle, for example, managed some 60 employees at a Texas terminal where they loaded chemicals from railcars onto ships and trucks. In the mid-1990s, Annette led a “revolution” that dramatically raised her unit’s performance through a host of changes, including better planning, greater responsibility at the lowest levels, improved and more transparent metrics, and numerous cultural changes. She personally sewed “no whining” patches on workers’ uniforms, for example, to discourage the local penchant for complaining and auctioned off her desk to workers for $60 because, as she explained it, “I shouldn’t be sitting behind a big desk. I should be contributing to team goals however possible.”
This transformation virtually eliminated the penalties that were levied when ships arrived at the terminal’s dock but (despite considerable advance warning) workers weren’t ready to load them. These “demurrage charges,” which cost the company $2.5 million the year before the revolution, were down to $10,000 the year after. Previously, it had taken more than three hours to load an average truck.
Afterward, more than 90 percent were loaded within an hour of arrival. Surveys and interviews by University of Southern California researchers showed that employees became more satisfied with their jobs and felt proud of their accomplishments. I asked Annette how she could make such radical changes in her giant company. She answered that her boss shielded her from top-ranking managers—he found the resources and experts she needed but never discussed these moves with senior management until they succeeded.
Good bosses are especially adept at protecting their people’s time—for example, by eliminating needless meetings. Take a cue from Will Wright, designer of computer games such as The Sims: rather than automatically scheduling meetings, ask yourself if they are really needed. Wright employed a clever trick. Every time someone called a meeting, he charged that person a dollar. Although he collected a lot of dollars, this requirement made people “think twice, even though it was only a dollar.” He also used an employee-centered method to keep meetings short—inviting the creative but impatient artist Ocean Quigley, “the canary in the coal mine.” When Quigley raised his hand to be excused, “we knew that the meeting had hit diminishing returns.”
3. Make small gestures
The late Robert Townsend, CEO of Avis and author of the masterpiece Up the Organization, called the phrase “thank you” a “really neglected form of compensation.” The broader lesson for bosses is the importance of “the attitude of gratitude,” a line borrowed from Kimberly Wiefling, founder of Wiefling Consulting, who argues that too many projects end without acknowledgement and celebration and that whether a project succeeds or fails, the best managers take time to express appreciation. Conveying this attitude is especially crucial when the stench of failure fills the air—precisely the time when people most need support from the boss and one another.
Bosses with the will and the skill to provide that kind of support set the stage for learning from fiascos. Unfortunately, too many bosses have the opposite response and use such occasions to conduct “blamestorms” or “circular fire squads,” where the goal is to point fingers, humiliate the guilty, and throw a few overboard.
Good bosses don’t just get more from their people and do it in more civilized ways; they attract and keep better people. If you think your employees are deadbeats, downers, and jerks, look in the mirror. Why don’t the best people want to work for you? Why do people who appeared to be stars when they joined your team seem to turn rotten?
Of all the skills and aspirations good bosses must have, self-awareness is probably the most important. Cornell University’s David Dunning has shown that poor performers consistently overestimate their intellectual and social skills. In contrast, the best performers accurately judge both their strengths and their flaws. Dunning’s research has crucial implications for leadership. The best and worst bosses alike suffer from overconfidence and insecurity, from weaknesses and blind spots. Such is the human condition. Yet the best bosses are keenly aware of their flaws, work to overcome them and to reverse the resulting damage, and enlist others who can compensate for their weaknesses.
The most effective bosses devote enormous effort to understanding how their moods, quirks, skills, and actions affect their followers’ performance and humanity. They constantly make adjustments to be a bit more helpful and constructive tomorrow than they were yesterday. To be a great boss, you must constantly ask and try to answer many questions. Perhaps the most crucial is, “What does it feel like to work for me?” If your people answered this question honestly, would they say that you know the impact your words and deeds have on them—or that you are living in a fool’s paradise?
Bosses matter. They matter because more than 95 percent of all people in the workforce have bosses, are bosses, or both. They matter because they set the tone for their followers and organizations. And they matter because many studies show that for more than 75 percent of employees, dealing with their immediate boss is the most stressful part of the job. Lousy bosses can kill you—literally. A 2009 Swedish study tracking 3,122 men for ten years found that those with bad bosses suffered 20 to 40 percent more heart attacks than those with good bosses.Bosses matter to everyone they oversee, but they matter most to those just beneath them in the pecking order: the people they guide at close range, who constantly tangle with the boss’s virtues, foibles, and quirks. Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the head chef at a restaurant, your success depends on staying in tune with the people you interact with most frequently and intensely.
All bosses matter, but those at the top matter most. Whether or not they know it, their followers monitor, magnify, and often mimic their moves. I worked with a large company where the CEO did almost all of the talking in meetings, interrupted everyone, and silenced dissenting underlings. His executive vice presidents complained about him behind his back, but when he left the room, the most powerful EVP started acting the very same way. When that EVP left, the next-highest-ranking boss began imitating him in turn.
The ripple effects of this CEO’s style are consistent with findings from peer-reviewed studies showing that senior executives’ actions can reverberate throughout organizations, ultimately undermining or bolstering their cultures and performance levels. When CEOs have far more pay and power than their direct reports do, for instance, performance can suffer if their subordinates feel they can’t stop them from making and implementing lousy decisions.
A few years ago, I did a workshop with a management team struggling with “group dynamics” problems. Team members felt that their boss, a senior vice president, listened poorly and “ran over” others; he called his people “thin-skinned wimps.” I asked the team—the senior vice president and five direct reports—to do an exercise. The six of them spent 20 minutes brainstorming potential products and then narrowed their choices to the most feasible, the wildest, and the most likely to fail.
As they brainstormed, I counted the number of comments made by each team member and the number of times each interrupted someone else and was interrupted in turn. The senior vice president contributed about 65 percent of the comments, interrupted others at least 20 times, and was never interrupted. When I had him leave the room, I asked his subordinates to estimate the results, and they did so accurately. Then the senior vice president returned. He recalled making about 25 percent of the comments, interrupting others perhaps 3 times, and being interrupted 3 or 4 times. When I showed him the results and explained that his direct reports had estimated them far more accurately, he was flabbergasted and annoyed.
Being a boss, as this exercise shows, often resembles the role of a high-status primate: your subordinates watch you constantly, so they know more about you than you know about them. Likewise, anthropologists who study chimpanzees, gorillas, and baboons report that followers devote far more attention to their leader than he devotes to them. (Studies of baboon troops show that typical members glance at the dominant male every 20 or 30 seconds.) As Princeton University psychologist Susan Fiske observes, primates—including ourselves—“pay attention to those who control their outcomes.”
Linda Hudson, CEO of BAE Systems, got this message after becoming the first female president of General Dynamics. After her first day on the job, a dozen women in her office imitated how she tied her scarf. Hudson realized, “It really was now about me and the context of setting the tone for the organization. That was a lesson I have never forgotten—that as a leader, people are looking at you in a way that you could not have imagined in other roles.” Hudson added that such scrutiny and the consequent responsibility is “something that I think about virtually every day.”
The best bosses work doggedly to stay in tune with this relentless attention and use it to their advantage. They are self-absorbed, but not for selfish reasons. On the contrary, they know that the success of their people and organizations depends on maintaining an accurate view of how others construe their moods and moves—and responding with rapid, effective adjustments.
That view is invaluable for bosses as they try to carry out their first and most important task: convincing others that they are in charge. Bosses who fail to do this will find their jobs impossible, their lives hell, and their tenures short. Of course, taking charge effectively isn’t enough. The best bosses also boost performance by watching their people’s backs: making it safe for them to learn, act, and take intelligent risks; shielding them from unnecessary distractions and external idiocy of every stripe; and doing hundreds more little things that help them achieve one small win after another—and feel pride and dignity along the way.
Taking control
James Meindl’s research on “the romance of leadership”1 shows that leaders get far more credit—and blame—than they deserve, largely because, cognitively, it is easier and more emotionally satisfying to treat leadership as the primary cause of performance than to consider the convoluted and often subtle mishmash of factors that actually determine performance differences. It is especially difficult to resist demonizing the bosses of failing organizations, however irrational that may be. This bias toward glorifying and vilifying individual leaders (and downplaying the role of systems, collective action, and external factors outside management’s influence) is especially strong in the United States and many European nations. Yet the best evidence shows that bosses rarely account for more than 15 percent of the gap between good and bad organizational performance—although they often get more than 50 percent of the credit and blame. If you are a boss, this is your lot in life; make the best of it. If you claim that you don’t have much influence over what happens to the team or company you lead, your people will lose confidence in you and your superiors will send you packing. Here are four suggestions for magnifying the illusion of control (for more ideas, see the sidebar, “Tricks for taking charge”):
1. Express confidence even if you don’t feel it
In 2002, I heard Andy Grove, Intel’s legendary CEO (1987–98), interviewed by Harvard University’s Clay Christensen, who asked Andy how leaders can act and feel confident despite their doubts. He answered, “Investment decisions or personnel decisions and prioritization don’t wait for that picture to be clarified. You have to make them when you have to make them.” That’s why executives need to use what I call the faking-it-until-you-make-it strategy, which he also touched on: “Part of it is self-discipline, and part of it is deception. And the deception becomes reality. It is deception in the sense that you pump yourself up and put a better face on things than you start off feeling. But after a while, if you act confident, you become more confident.”
Research showing that “belief follows behavior” supports his argument. And confidence is especially crucial for inspiring your followers, because like all emotions, it’s contagious—especially when displayed by closely scrutinized bosses.
2. Don’t dither
Indecision, delay, and waffling are the hallmarks of a crummy boss; the best ones know that crisp and seemingly quick decisions bolster the illusion (and reality) that they are in charge. As late stage director Frank Hauser said, “You have three weapons: ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ and ‘I don’t know.’ Use them. Don’t dither; you can always change your mind later. Nobody minds that. What they do mind is the two minutes of agonizing when all the actor has asked is, ‘Do I get up now?’”
3. Get and give credit
A great thing about being the boss is that when your people do good work, you usually get too much of the credit. Smart bosses often use this to their advantage, knowing that people want to work for and do business with winners.
As a boss, you may already use subtle tactics to get credit, such as collaborating with people who are likely to praise you (so that you don’t have to brag) and, when you do mention your accomplishments, giving copious credit to others. David Kelley, the modest chairman and founder of design firm IDEO, is a master of the art of giving his people credit. I believe that one reason IDEO became a renowned innovation firm under David’s leadership is that he relentlessly thanks others for making him look good, gives them credit when the company does something great, and downplays his contribution—something I have observed him do hundreds of times over the past 15 years.
Indeed, the best bosses routinely give their followers more credit than they probably deserve. And when bosses do this, everyone wins. As the boss, you will get the lion’s share of credit because of the romance of leadership. Your immediate team will regard you as truthful. And your modesty and generosity will be admired—especially by outsiders, who will see you as both competent and generous.
4. Blame yourself
In August 2008, I listened on the radio as Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain made a statement about the deaths and illnesses traced to tainted meats produced by one of his company’s plants. McCain’s voice quivered as he announced its closure, apologized to the victims, and said that the people at Maple Leaf—including himself—were responsible and that it was his job to restore faith in the company.
His response is striking because it is so rare yet so consistent with research on how to fuel the illusion (and reality) that the boss is in charge. Unlike many people in such a predicament, McCain accepted the fact that he would be held responsible for what his people did, no matter what. When something important happens, the boss is expected to know. Rather than blaming others, McCain understood it was wiser to accept the blame and learn from it. Leaders who denounce outside forces for their troubles come across as disingenuous and powerless. By refusing to take responsibility, they implicitly raise a damning question: “If you didn’t have the power to break it, how can you have the power to fix it?” The public also sees a boss’s refusal to accept responsibility as a sign that nothing has been learned from the errors.
If you as a boss want to enhance the perception that you are in charge—and fuel performance at the same time—taking at least some of the blame is usually necessary. Experiments by University of Michigan professor Fiona Lee and her colleagues show that managers who take responsibility for problems like pay freezes and failed projects are seen as more powerful, competent, and likeable than those who deny responsibility. In another study, Lee’s group examined stock price fluctuations in 14 companies over 21 years. They found that when top executives accepted responsibility for problems, stock prices were consistently higher afterward than when CEOs denied responsibility.
The key, though, is not just to accept blame and apologize. You must also take immediate control in whatever way you can, show that you and your people have learned from failure, announce new plans, and, when they are implemented, make sure everyone understands that things are improving because of them—just as Michael McCain did. Although no one can predict his company’s ultimate fate, the Canadian press praised McCain for his clarity, compassion, and control.
A nationwide survey in December 2008 showed that among Canadians, confidence in the Maple Leaf brand had risen to 91 percent, from 60 percent, since August of that year. Although the company reported losses in 2008, it returned to profitability in 2009. As McCain said in February 2010, “The packaged-meats business continues to recover. Our brands and our reputation are intact”3—an assessment most analysts and customers echoed.
Bolstering performance
Bosses who ignore and stomp on their subordinates’ humanity sometimes generate quick gains. But in the long run, such short-sightedness usually undermines their followers’ creativity, efficiency, and commitment. The best bosses focus on boosting the performance of their people through stratagems such as the three that follow:
1. Provide psychological safety
Good bosses spark imagination and encourage learning by creating a safety zone where people can talk about half-baked ideas, test them, and even make big mistakes without fear of ridicule, punishment, or ostracism. I witnessed the power of psychological safety at a large media company where a new CEO was determined to drive out fear. A vice president had launched a magazine that ended up being an expensive, well-publicized flop. She would have been demoted and fired—and probably publicly humiliated—under past regimes. Instead, the CEO spoke at a gathering and congratulated her for her courage and skill. He emphasized that the decision to start the magazine wasn’t just hers; senior management had backed it. After his speech, every executive I spoke with portrayed the CEO’s comments as a watershed event.
An absence of psychological safety, in concert with fear of the boss, can be dangerous or downright deadly. Studies by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson and her colleagues show that when nurses fear their supervisors will punish and humiliate them for making mistakes, they hesitate to report their drug-treatment errors. The hazards of fearing authority also emerge from research with commercial pilots in flight simulators.
One study showed that when pilots faked mild incapacitation toward the end of a rough and rainy simulated flight, their copilots failed to take the controls 25 percent of the time—resulting in simulated crashes. The copilots knew the pilots were incapacitated yet failed to question their authority. Dysfunctional deference can kill real flight crews and passengers too. In 1979, a commuter plane crashed, in part, because the second officer failed to take control when the captain, a vice president known for gruffness, became partly incapacitated.
2. Shield people
The best bosses invent, borrow, and implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load heaped on their followers—and protect them from the incompetence, cluelessness, and premature judgments of fellow bosses or others who can undermine their followers’ work and well being. Followers who enjoy such protection (and who may be bosses themselves) have the freedom to take risks and try new things.
Annette Kyle, for example, managed some 60 employees at a Texas terminal where they loaded chemicals from railcars onto ships and trucks. In the mid-1990s, Annette led a “revolution” that dramatically raised her unit’s performance through a host of changes, including better planning, greater responsibility at the lowest levels, improved and more transparent metrics, and numerous cultural changes. She personally sewed “no whining” patches on workers’ uniforms, for example, to discourage the local penchant for complaining and auctioned off her desk to workers for $60 because, as she explained it, “I shouldn’t be sitting behind a big desk. I should be contributing to team goals however possible.”
This transformation virtually eliminated the penalties that were levied when ships arrived at the terminal’s dock but (despite considerable advance warning) workers weren’t ready to load them. These “demurrage charges,” which cost the company $2.5 million the year before the revolution, were down to $10,000 the year after. Previously, it had taken more than three hours to load an average truck.
Afterward, more than 90 percent were loaded within an hour of arrival. Surveys and interviews by University of Southern California researchers showed that employees became more satisfied with their jobs and felt proud of their accomplishments. I asked Annette how she could make such radical changes in her giant company. She answered that her boss shielded her from top-ranking managers—he found the resources and experts she needed but never discussed these moves with senior management until they succeeded.
Good bosses are especially adept at protecting their people’s time—for example, by eliminating needless meetings. Take a cue from Will Wright, designer of computer games such as The Sims: rather than automatically scheduling meetings, ask yourself if they are really needed. Wright employed a clever trick. Every time someone called a meeting, he charged that person a dollar. Although he collected a lot of dollars, this requirement made people “think twice, even though it was only a dollar.” He also used an employee-centered method to keep meetings short—inviting the creative but impatient artist Ocean Quigley, “the canary in the coal mine.” When Quigley raised his hand to be excused, “we knew that the meeting had hit diminishing returns.”
3. Make small gestures
The late Robert Townsend, CEO of Avis and author of the masterpiece Up the Organization, called the phrase “thank you” a “really neglected form of compensation.” The broader lesson for bosses is the importance of “the attitude of gratitude,” a line borrowed from Kimberly Wiefling, founder of Wiefling Consulting, who argues that too many projects end without acknowledgement and celebration and that whether a project succeeds or fails, the best managers take time to express appreciation. Conveying this attitude is especially crucial when the stench of failure fills the air—precisely the time when people most need support from the boss and one another.
Bosses with the will and the skill to provide that kind of support set the stage for learning from fiascos. Unfortunately, too many bosses have the opposite response and use such occasions to conduct “blamestorms” or “circular fire squads,” where the goal is to point fingers, humiliate the guilty, and throw a few overboard.
Good bosses don’t just get more from their people and do it in more civilized ways; they attract and keep better people. If you think your employees are deadbeats, downers, and jerks, look in the mirror. Why don’t the best people want to work for you? Why do people who appeared to be stars when they joined your team seem to turn rotten?
Of all the skills and aspirations good bosses must have, self-awareness is probably the most important. Cornell University’s David Dunning has shown that poor performers consistently overestimate their intellectual and social skills. In contrast, the best performers accurately judge both their strengths and their flaws. Dunning’s research has crucial implications for leadership. The best and worst bosses alike suffer from overconfidence and insecurity, from weaknesses and blind spots. Such is the human condition. Yet the best bosses are keenly aware of their flaws, work to overcome them and to reverse the resulting damage, and enlist others who can compensate for their weaknesses.
The most effective bosses devote enormous effort to understanding how their moods, quirks, skills, and actions affect their followers’ performance and humanity. They constantly make adjustments to be a bit more helpful and constructive tomorrow than they were yesterday. To be a great boss, you must constantly ask and try to answer many questions. Perhaps the most crucial is, “What does it feel like to work for me?” If your people answered this question honestly, would they say that you know the impact your words and deeds have on them—or that you are living in a fool’s paradise?
TechTarget’s all-new Cloud University -Class Has Begun - Enrollment is Now Open!
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This classroom, CIO Strategies for the Cloud – taught by Mark Bowker, Senior Analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, is designed to help CIOs navigate both business and technology obstacles on the road to cloud computing success. When completed, you’ll have a thorough understanding of the benefits and pressures a cloud implementation can put on your organization.
COURSE DESCRIPTION (Each Lesson Approximately 5 Minutes In Length)
Lesson 1: Doing the Math: Is Cloud Computing Right for your Business?
The old business maxim is especially true in cloud computing: You cannot manage what you don’t measure. In this first lesson, Mark Bowker shares ways to determine the benefits and drawbacks of the cloud for your organization, as well as methods to calculate anticipated costs and ROI of cloud initiatives.
Lesson 2: Understanding Cloud Strengths
Many organizations are attracted to cloud computing as a way to save on infrastructure implementations, software installations and other capital expenses - but cloud-based IT can often rapidly and dramatically improve things such as organizational planning and collaboration. In this lesson, Bowker explains how to make the most of a move to the cloud.
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Hybrid clouds that merge public and private systems are the logical conclusion for most enterprises considering virtual infrastructure. Check out this lesson to discover which flavor of cloud best suits each process in your organization and learn the technologies and skills required to seamlessly integrate public and private assets.
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In the final lesson, hear about successful cloud implementations at several large enterprises and see how other IT leaders handled the projects, from up-front assessment through implementation, monitoring and beyond.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
On angels’ wings
Do you believe in angels?” a student once asked me. “Yes, I do!” I replied. She continued, “With wings and white robes?” Smiling, I explained: “They wouldn’t require robes since they’re spirits who don’t have bodies to decorate! But, angels’ wings signify the assurance that God is near: protecting, inspiring and guiding me.” From the gates of Eden in its first book of Genesis to God’s heavenly court in the Apocalypse, its last, the Bible is full of accounts of angels. The word “angel” is derived from the Greek aggelos, meaning “messenger”, and is linked to evangellion, meaning “good news”. Angels bring God’s good news.Today Christians celebrate the feast of three archangels: Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. The names of the archangels end with “... el”, which is the Hebrew expression for God. Angels are intimately united with God and committed to executing God’s plans. Catholic tradition holds that God loves me and loves you so immensely that God entrusts each of us with a “guardian angel” whose feast falls on October 2.
Gabriel is God’s special envoy. He’s the one who brings a message to Mary, Jesus’ mother, that she will give birth to God’s son. The holy Quran also considers Gabriel as Allah’s messenger who reveals to Prophet Mohammed. There are times when I falter and fail. And I’m frequently fearful. Michael is the archang-el who protects against dangers and fights against evil. Similarly, like an antenna that picks up sound waves, my guardian angel sends signals of what’s sound, and what’s not, thereby shielding me from harm and arming me to face challenges that unexpectedly arise.
Raphael’s Hebrew name signifies “God heals”. In the Bible, Raphael cures Tobit’s blindness, accompanies his son, Tobias, on his travels and helps him to marry Sarah. Brahmacharis like me might not require Raphael’s help in finding spouses, but I often seek healing and harmony. It’s heartening to have an angelic assistant to accompany me along life’s yatra.
In my world where God’s word is often muted by my iPod and God’s will is overrun by my egoistic plans, my guardian angel advises me to take “time out” to review my decisions, renew my resolve and remap my route. Midst the dreary desert of daily drudgery, she cautions me about mirages and carries me to oases where my mind finds meaning, and my spirit, rest.
In Genesis, Jacob dreams of a long ladder with angels going up and down on it. That, in sum, is the main mission of angels: descending to bring me God’s good news and ascending to plant my prayers in God’s garden. Surely, one day, they will carry me on their wings back to God’s dwelling place.
A Word about 'DEW'...
"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” A CRACKED POT....
By M H Ahssan
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years, this went on daily with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the! bearer. "What are you ashamed of ?"
"I have been able for these past two years to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get the full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice of the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path ! and not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for who they are and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there. There
is a lot of good in us!
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years, this went on daily with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the! bearer. "What are you ashamed of ?"
"I have been able for these past two years to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get the full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice of the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path ! and not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for who they are and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there. There
is a lot of good in us!
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!
The Hindu Festival - Dashain
By M H Ahssan
Dashain is the 15-day national religious festival. It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the globe . The festival falls around September�October, starting from the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day of full moon.
Throughout the country the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual of holy bathing. This festival is also known for its emphasis on the family gatherings, as well as on a renewal of community ties.According to the myths recounted in the DeviBhagavata Purana and Kalika Purana, one reason it is celebrated because lord Ramawas successfully able to defeat ravana a very powerful king of Lanka projected as the "demon King" in the mythic lores.
The first nine days of Dasain symbolizes the battle which took place between goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura. The tenth day is the day when Durga finally defeated Mahishasura Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dasain. It literally means installing a pot which symbolizes Goddess. After Ghatasthapana, Fulpati is celebrated as one of the major days of dasain. The seventh day is known as �Fulpati� A parade is held in the Tundikhel ground in Kathmandu.
However, from the year since the monarchy system was removed from the country the tradition or the two-century old tradition is broken down and the holy offering of fulpati goes to the residence of Prime Minister. The eighth day is called the 'Maha Asthami'. This is the day when the most demonic of Goddess Durga�s manifestations, the blood-thirsty Kali,, is appeased through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of buffaloes, goats, pigeons and ducks in temples throughout the nation
The tenth day of the festival is the 'Dashami'. On this day, a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermillion will be prepared by the women. This preparation is known as "tika". Elders put this on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them abundance in the upcoming years. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders will give "Dakshina", or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time.
This continues to be observed for five days till the full moon during which period families and relatives visit each other to exchange gifts and greetings In several parts of Nepal, Dashain is an important occasion for people to buy new clothes. Animal sacrifices are often the norms during this time, as the festival commemorates the mythical bloody battles between the "divine" and "demonic" powers.
Lastly, happy dashai to all the nepalese, indian, asian and all the people. happy dashai 2011 to you all.
Dashain is the 15-day national religious festival. It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the globe . The festival falls around September�October, starting from the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day of full moon. Throughout the country the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual of holy bathing. This festival is also known for its emphasis on the family gatherings, as well as on a renewal of community ties.According to the myths recounted in the DeviBhagavata Purana and Kalika Purana, one reason it is celebrated because lord Ramawas successfully able to defeat ravana a very powerful king of Lanka projected as the "demon King" in the mythic lores.
The first nine days of Dasain symbolizes the battle which took place between goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura. The tenth day is the day when Durga finally defeated Mahishasura Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dasain. It literally means installing a pot which symbolizes Goddess. After Ghatasthapana, Fulpati is celebrated as one of the major days of dasain. The seventh day is known as �Fulpati� A parade is held in the Tundikhel ground in Kathmandu.
However, from the year since the monarchy system was removed from the country the tradition or the two-century old tradition is broken down and the holy offering of fulpati goes to the residence of Prime Minister. The eighth day is called the 'Maha Asthami'. This is the day when the most demonic of Goddess Durga�s manifestations, the blood-thirsty Kali,, is appeased through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of buffaloes, goats, pigeons and ducks in temples throughout the nation
The tenth day of the festival is the 'Dashami'. On this day, a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermillion will be prepared by the women. This preparation is known as "tika". Elders put this on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them abundance in the upcoming years. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders will give "Dakshina", or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time.
This continues to be observed for five days till the full moon during which period families and relatives visit each other to exchange gifts and greetings In several parts of Nepal, Dashain is an important occasion for people to buy new clothes. Animal sacrifices are often the norms during this time, as the festival commemorates the mythical bloody battles between the "divine" and "demonic" powers.
Lastly, happy dashai to all the nepalese, indian, asian and all the people. happy dashai 2011 to you all.
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