DELIVERY manager Rajagopal* quit IT organisation X to become the CEO of organisation Y (DMs engage with clients right from conceptualisation to final delivery of a project) .

Within months he influenced his team at X to join him at Y. And they did.

So why do you think people like Rajagopal influence their team to move with him to a new company ? Does it imply that people at Y are not smart enough to do the job?

Here's a thought. If a new manager arrives to manage Rajagopal's old team, then both the new manager and the team have to spend time learning how to work with each other. This might affect their productivity. A result-oriented team wants to be highly productive and this was the case with Rajagopal's team.

A large part of the workforce who report to a manager but are not designated as a manager, think they are not managing anything. But consciously or subconsciously, whether we agree or disagree, we are managing our managers apart from our work and co-workers.

*Name changed to protect identity

Managing people

I worked as a technology-cum-people manager in my previous stint. I learned how to work effectively with every individual in my team, to achieve good results for the organisation. That's managing!

I learned how to work effectively with my boss. If the process of learning how to work effectively with each individual who reported to me, can be termed as 'managing', what should learning to work effectively with the manager we report to, be called? Managing, again!

Some managers may not want to acknowledge that they are being managed by their subordinates. In this case, it makes sense to rephrase your communication with your manager.

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Illustration: Abhijeet Kini