62. SURVIVING OFFICE POLITICS (YEAR 1993)

 STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN 

The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World

CARE: This is Chapter 62 of my book Stress, Success and Everything In-Between. These are individual anecdotes but to understand the professional journey in totality, I would recommend reading the book right from Chapter 01 onwards.

My first day after taking charge as head of Public Relations was full of activity. I was summoned by the General Manager to participate in a meeting for arranging the inauguration function of the computerisation of a branch. The event was significant as the Prime Minister was the chief guest. While the Branch Manager was to organise the overall event, the General Manager asked me to coordinate media coverage, ensure the presence of media persons, issue an effective press release, and do everything to ensure good coverage of the event in print as well as in the electronic media.

I knew the concerned Branch Manager from my earlier days. I was aware of his innate skills in office politics. As we were concluding the meeting, he suggested that the photographer be arranged by my department. I noticed his sly look when he said it and immediately sensed a trap.

The inauguration venue was like a fortress with multiple layers of high security. Only those with prior clearance were granted access. I was the only one from my department for whom the Branch Manager got an entry pass issued. He also got an entry pass for the photographer to enter the venue at 9.15 am.

As the big day approached, my team and I meticulously planned everything with the minutest details. As is my wont, I arrived early at the venue to look at the layout. 

To my surprise, the senior officials of the Bank began arriving well before 9.30am, the scheduled arrival time of the chief guest. I looked at my watch. It was only 8.45am. I wondered why they have come so much ahead of the time. The air was thick with anticipation, the hushed murmur of conversation punctuated by an occasional sound here and there.

That is when my colleague, with a smug grin stretching from ear to ear and his right hand waving questioningly at me, asked sarcastically in front of all the seniors in a loud voice, “Madam, where is your photographer? Why has he not reached? PM should be reaching any moment now.” 

I realised that the inauguration schedule had been changed, and the Prime Minister was arriving early. Neither I nor the photographer was informed of the last-minute change. Was it a carefully laid noose to snare me?  

It was the pre-cell phone era. I frantically ran to the branch on the first floor and tried to reach the photographer, but his studio was closed. I called his residence, and his wife informed me he had already left. I rushed back to the venue, my heart pounding against my ribs.

The photographer reached at 9.15 am sharp as per his entry pass. But the VIP motorcade reached the premises simultaneously, and he was stopped at the gate of the building. The net result was that his camera could not capture the moment of our Chairman presenting the bouquet to the Prime Minister.

The next day, the Branch Manager took the album to all the seniors, highlighting at every forum the lapse he had cleverly orchestrated and attributed to me. He repeated to everyone that the most important photograph of the Chairman presenting the bouquet to the Prime Minister could not be captured as the photographer, arranged by the Public Relations Department, was late. Nobody knew that he was the real culprit who had purposely not informed the change in timings either to me or to the photographer. 

Fortunately for me, the journalists covered the story well, and it was published on the first page of all the national dailies with the photo of the Prime Minister addressing the audience. My seniors were pleased with the incredible media coverage, which saved my role reputation from being dented. They did not heed his repeated efforts to project me in bad light. Don't they say in Hindi, "जाको राखे साईंयां, मार सके न कोय l "

I learnt a valuable lesson that day: office politics can be treacherous. It is like a minefield filled with hidden dangers and unexpected twists, and one must navigate it carefully. I also realised that office politics is an integral part of corporate life, and one must master appropriate skills to counter it to survive in the corporate world.

(To be continued...)

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