STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World
CARE: This is Chapter 72 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 on the link given below
https://ranjanabharij.blogspot.com/2023/06/stress-success-and-everything-in.html
I had
barely completed two years at Dehra Dun when I was abruptly transferred to head
the Okhla Industrial Estate Branch in Delhi. A well-meaning friend warned,
"Do not go there. It is a disaster. You will ruin your career. Whatever Brahmastra
you have, use it now to get your posting changed."
I
confronted the HR Head, "I am not a credit-oriented person. The Bank
always denied me credit-related positions. Now, I am expected to head an
industrial estate branch? Is this fair?"
"I
know that and said the same thing to the circle management, but the big boss insisted upon your posting there. The branch is in bad shape, and he believes you can turn things around. He also said that we need a leader there. Credit
can be handled by her juniors." HR Head sounded helpless.
Aha!
They had finally recognised my leadership skills, I thought and thus, arrived at Okhla
Industrial Estate in April 1999.
The branch was a mess, with the NPA to Advances ratio being 62%. The atmosphere of the branch was bleak, employee morale was low, and the staff seemed resigned to failure. Customer service was at its lowest ebb. The otherwise impressive building was splattered with red paan stains in every corner. The entire top floor was full of discarded items which had never been disposed of. The employees' union was strong and defiant and unwilling to cooperate. My next-in-command felt threatened working with a female boss and acted defiant. He even flexed his muscle to threaten me during his speech in my predecessor's farewell party. The Accountant, on the verge of retirement, did only essential work and deflected all his duties towards me. My immediate boss wanted me to focus on an improved rating in the ensuing inspection and audit, which was only nine months away. Overall, everything appeared to be dismal. It was a huge challenge to bring the branch back on the rails. Or so I thought?
I
began by implementing a series of reforms, but were the employees willing to
cooperate? I soon realised this team could not be handled by adopting a
benevolent management style. I had to be tough.
I used
a two-pronged strategy, one to create a fear of authority amongst the
delinquent employees (will share it in the next episode) and the other to keep the house ready for the ensuing
inspection and audit. The factor that was pulling the branch inspection rating down in a big way
was high NPAs, which could not be addressed as all these cases were with the
BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Restructuring) under Govt of India and
were to take years to settle down. The only thing I could do was to ensure that
even the minutest procedural details of branch functioning were taken care of.
The inspection manual immediately became my favourite book, and I set out to
put the systems and procedures in order. Simultaneously, I focused on improving
the image of the branch and building relationships with customers.
Taming
delinquent employees was another area to be addressed to establish my authority
in the branch. I had understood that being polite would not work here. I
started using overt and covert means to threaten the delinquent employees.
In this mayhem, two people out of the team of 62 became my secret agents of change and helped me silently without their colleagues getting wind of it. I shall forever be grateful to them for the covert support they provided to me in turning the branch around from a third-rate branch to a top-performing entity.
(To be continued...)
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