So I have taken to reading Seth Godin's blog a lot lately.
Recently he wrote a post about how people's reaction to pressure is what really matters and not the pressure itself.
Which reminded me of one common feedback I received when I quit my job at Piramal.
"Even under the worst pressures, you will see Pallavi calmly doing her work, methodically, unfazed"
They even showed that in a video made about our team... everyone is running around, and I am sitting at my desk and calmly working.
And this feedback got me by surprise and in fact made me feel angry.
I remember those chaotic moments very well and I also remember that my mental state at that time can be described as anything but calm. I would always feel like I was on the brink of a breakdown.
but it appeared to my bosses that I was all gathered...
Yes, after the work was done or when I would finally come home, my husband could see the chaos in my head (and probably experience the 'heat' too)... but while at work, no one ever noticed!
And no, I did not particularly try to mask it... I was just doing my work and I knew that in chaos, chaos was counterproductive.
What is important here is not the part wherein I tried to do the job under pressure but the part wherein all my bosses (and superbosses) misunderstood me.
When a person is trying very hard to keep things in order in a hopelessly pressurized situation, the last thing she needs is an assumption from the bosses that she can handle pressure well....
and then be surprised when she finally snaps.
As a boss, your short term goal is to get the job-on-hand done.
But a seasoned boss knows that knowing exactly what the person working for you is going through can help him in the longer run...
