Tag: multi-cultural

D-I-Y- A four letter word

So what’s this DIY again? Seems as mythical to me as the Unicorn, Santa Claus or tax cuts. Did you grow up in India? Well, if you didn’t you probably have no clue what I am talking about do you?

I actually grew up in a quaint little town called Bhopal; Bhopal known world over for all the wrong reasons- The 1984 Union Carbide gas leak accident that left thousands dead. It used to be an erstwhile Kingdom and it was actually one of the most fun places to be in. I lived in a huge converted palace with god knows how many relatives. So big that it gave me plenty of secret alleys to hide in and it took me 6 months to realize who my brother was. That’s the thing about joint families, no one bothers and you basically get away with anything.

And then of course , being India, everything was done by someone else. D-I-Y? Well the only DIY we did was to pick up the phone ourselves and ask for someone to come over to fix a broken piece of furniture or wash the vehicles. And before anyone gets any ideas, we eventually moved out of that gigantic joint family and spent the rest of my formative years in a 200 sq feet tenement. So of course the only vehicles we saw were the ones driven by others and owned by the others. And how about laying floors, fixing a broken fence or assemble a bed? Now that is really pushing it because as simple as it sounds to you, its still rocket science to me. It just simply does not happen in India. We never got to do do anything ourselves. Someone else was always called upon!

So imagine the shock of it all when I started living in America. So the guy at IKEA hands me a compact box and says that’s my bed. If jumping out of one’s skin is possible, it actually happened to me then. So I am supposed to put this together? I am supposed to look at that sketch of that Apollo 13 and use the screws, nuts and bolts and assemble a bed? Sure enough being hard up for money, I attempted it. And of course after a sweaty, on-the-knees session on the bedroom floor, I thought it was mission accomplished. Then my eyes go and I see 21 screws quietly ensconced in a corner. May be the Swedes were generous and gave me that extra helping of screws? You can run your mind on what the bed looked like? Well it wasn’t exactly a square. If I call it pathetic it would be highly unfair since that is a superlative for the piece of wood that stood on three and half legs!Bad Assembly

And then there was this instance when I had to fix a couple of floor boards which of course involved some rather mule like adamant adhesive. After having smartly spread that adhesive on the floor board, somehow in a fit of extreme enthusiasm I ended up kneeling down promptly on the part where the adhesive was generously spread.So here I am in this position, stuck to the floor and by myself in my kitchen. I managed to slither and reach for my phone while still having my knees stuck to the floor. Voice recognition or Siri doesn’t recognize an Indian accent if you knew that. So 911 and here comes the guy a few minutes later and guess what he does? He laughs until he cries! He couldn’t stop and for him it was the most ludicrous thing he’s ever seen. And being at the receiving end, it was very unfunny to me. I am sure he must have thought- What’s Apu doing on the floor? Isn’t he supposed to be running the cash register at  7-11?

Since then I have vowed not to get too adventurous with DIY.  I will skip a meal a day, I will walk to work, I’ll try to live off one kidney so I can afford to pay those handymen that have absolutely no compunctions about charging me $50 for a 15 minutes check in. Of course if not for me, their families will die of starvation and I’d be accused of stealing those American jobs!

So much for D-I-Y! It is truly a four letter word!

The ethos of Multi National teams

The concept of travel and time and travel in time have been fascinating forays for most of us; travel enhances the outlook no doubt. Wheeling and dealing and working in teams that afford complete engagement with multiple cultures and nationalities is the pinnacle of diversity. As the world started to shrink in the late 90’s and global village came into existence, goal oriented teams became the norm, irrespective of who the team members are or how diverse they may be or what corner of the earth they may be based in. And speaking as someone who grew up in a socialistic Indian public sector, the limited exposure of dealing with someone outside of India was the Soviet influence in setting up steel and heavy industrial plants. Then the 90’s happened.

The IT sector may be what is perceived as a classic case of the culture mixer, but EPC industries have possibly made this step way before the rest. Imagine this- A team working towards constructing and commissioning an industrial plant located remotely at a fast trace pace with just over 200 people thrown in. This is where a team will thrive like a bunch of seamen thrown together in a submarine for a few months. During these times, boundaries cease to exist and focus of the individuals becomes the common goal, the goal to deliver.

Being part of a multi cultural team and even better leading a multi cultural team is seen as a person’s forte. An effective leader is thus born; any leader that can get a project delivered through a multi national, multi cultured team can inevitably motivate and bring a diverse group of individuals together .These are the people you want in your organization for these are the people who will deliver when it matters.

Speaking from personal experience I can lucidly express what it means to be part of such a team and lead such a team. Its the unbridled joy in formation and motivation of such teams that leads to the feeling of a job well done. I can see how its effectively facilitated project delivery.

 

1-Team members do not see themselves as “from somewhere”, they see themselves as part of a focus group that is in this together to deliver. Nothing less

2- Keeping the group motivated by means of an engaging blend outside of work; i.e. highly informal team building sessions. This makes it easier for people to look forward to come back to work on “Monday”

3- Freely share cultural experiences between team members. If I know more about the South American culture or the Chinese culture now, its not because I “googled” but I had a few team members who shared this freely with me. And its incredible how much further this goes in fostering a better working relationship.

4- People are people, so the usual tenets of recognition, attaboys/attagals, celebrating success and lending helping hands to the weaker links will always work.

Nothing gives me a better sense of satisfaction than delivering a project while working in a team of people from all over the globe. Its my “United Nations” and its where you not only build projects but you build values, professionalism, networking and life long memories.