Here is an article from Amber Chand, Co-Founder, Vice President of Vision, Eziba, North Adams, MA, US.
Quote:::::
"One of the most painful periods for me as a leader in this company was the time just after the tragedy that happened in New York City on September 11th through Christmas, 2001. We were restructuring the company and looking seriously at our goal of being a profitable organisation.
As a result we had to look closely at areas of the company that were not cost-effective, which then required us to let some people go. This happened very quickly and it was very painful for me. Here was a company that had promoted itself to be a kind, thoughtful, compassionate company and people came to work here because they had a sense of alignment with our mission of doing good for the planet.
And yet, I had to be realistic about the early, start-up phase that we were in. There were no guarantees, we were not a solidly profitable company yet, we were still young and our roots were still not embedded. Once we had communicated to everyone about who would be laid off, we had an open forum meeting with everyone in the company. We clearly expected people to express their distress, unhappiness, frustration and anger. I stood there in front of everyone along with the other members of our senior team.
Even though some people did become quite angry, I could feel my heart accepting all of this. I genuinely felt that there was a reason for all of this anger and frustration and that there was no harm in it. I knew that the last thing we needed to be was defensive. There was a moment when one of our senior members became defensive and it sparked a battle between two wills; it was awful. Everyone looked so sad and devastated. At the end of this, there was just this silence.
I then very quietly went and stood in the centre of the room and I looked around the room at everyone and said, "I am so sorry. I apologise for the way this has turned out." At that moment the faces of the people began to soften and a spaciousness was created that let them know that this was not about us versus them. It was simply all part of the journey of this company. The apology felt like a quiet, but powerful flame within me.
It was a moment when I stretched inside. I was accepting the responsibility for what had happened in the company and was also acknowledging that there was no right or wrong. It simply was what we needed to go through. I stepped into the circle, stood in my own space, and felt all of it. To me it made a great difference.
Humility would be the word I would use to describe that moment. It was in this humility that I found my greatest courage. Courage to me is not when I raise my voice and act aggressively and defensively against others; it is when I feel responsible and responsive to their needs. In that moment I literally re-defined what a leader was meant to be. We have become so consumed by the idea that leaders are strong and in charge, and that they are the captains of the ship. I am most interested in incorporating the great feminine principles into leadership: bringing in the art of grace and humility, dialogue, soft speech and deep listening, and eyes that may water, and allowing all of that to be there.
This is what it means to me to be a servant leader. This is very much how I see my leadership role in this company; I am founder-servant. I have always known that I was here to serve and anytime I forget this, I lose my way. Without this faith, this spiritual source, I do not feel it would be possible to be an exemplary leader."
Unquote:::::::
Thanks
Bala
From India, Madras
20Quote:::::
"One of the most painful periods for me as a leader in this company was the time just after the tragedy that happened in New York City on September 11th through Christmas, 2001. We were restructuring the company and looking seriously at our goal of being a profitable organisation.
As a result we had to look closely at areas of the company that were not cost-effective, which then required us to let some people go. This happened very quickly and it was very painful for me. Here was a company that had promoted itself to be a kind, thoughtful, compassionate company and people came to work here because they had a sense of alignment with our mission of doing good for the planet.
And yet, I had to be realistic about the early, start-up phase that we were in. There were no guarantees, we were not a solidly profitable company yet, we were still young and our roots were still not embedded. Once we had communicated to everyone about who would be laid off, we had an open forum meeting with everyone in the company. We clearly expected people to express their distress, unhappiness, frustration and anger. I stood there in front of everyone along with the other members of our senior team.
Even though some people did become quite angry, I could feel my heart accepting all of this. I genuinely felt that there was a reason for all of this anger and frustration and that there was no harm in it. I knew that the last thing we needed to be was defensive. There was a moment when one of our senior members became defensive and it sparked a battle between two wills; it was awful. Everyone looked so sad and devastated. At the end of this, there was just this silence.
I then very quietly went and stood in the centre of the room and I looked around the room at everyone and said, "I am so sorry. I apologise for the way this has turned out." At that moment the faces of the people began to soften and a spaciousness was created that let them know that this was not about us versus them. It was simply all part of the journey of this company. The apology felt like a quiet, but powerful flame within me.
It was a moment when I stretched inside. I was accepting the responsibility for what had happened in the company and was also acknowledging that there was no right or wrong. It simply was what we needed to go through. I stepped into the circle, stood in my own space, and felt all of it. To me it made a great difference.
Humility would be the word I would use to describe that moment. It was in this humility that I found my greatest courage. Courage to me is not when I raise my voice and act aggressively and defensively against others; it is when I feel responsible and responsive to their needs. In that moment I literally re-defined what a leader was meant to be. We have become so consumed by the idea that leaders are strong and in charge, and that they are the captains of the ship. I am most interested in incorporating the great feminine principles into leadership: bringing in the art of grace and humility, dialogue, soft speech and deep listening, and eyes that may water, and allowing all of that to be there.
This is what it means to me to be a servant leader. This is very much how I see my leadership role in this company; I am founder-servant. I have always known that I was here to serve and anytime I forget this, I lose my way. Without this faith, this spiritual source, I do not feel it would be possible to be an exemplary leader."
Unquote:::::::
Thanks
Bala
From India, Madras
This is really inspiring bala. We ought to take the role of servant leadership, which is actually mentioned in one of the books called Guts!. Really good article....
From India, Bangalore
From India, Bangalore
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