MARISAMY THE ROLE MODEL
The question uppermost in your mind now is “who is Marisamy”?
Mari (I take the liberty to prune the name) is not a rabble-rousing politician with a gift of the gab who commands his followers by the use of words. Nor is Mari an actor who impresses the audience using a duplicate. He is also not a trail blazing business icon busy counting his billions made by swindling the banks!
Mari is a simple housekeeping staff member in the restaurant(Saarangaa Bhojan Shala @ Mankhool) I frequent. A typically unremarkable personality, he would normally be busy cleaning the tables or the glass windows or the wash room. I am yet to see him idling or engaged in gossip. If you have spoken with him, the best you get out of him is a simple unassuming smile.
While Mari impressed me with his industriousness, what I found awesome was his view about his job. Just the other day, I met him in the wash room of the restaurant and my “Hello Mari” got a fabulous reply.
“Sir this is my territory. Boss has always given me the total responsibility to keep it clean and neat . So I walk in once in a while and ensure the wash basins are dry, the paper dispenser is stocked and the toilets are clean. i enjoy keeping the place clean and dry … because I have the responsibility for this room..” His joy in doing that work was evident and the sense of pride was even more transparent. While he maintained a humble posture, his head was held high in being the responsible person for that 100 Sq.ft area.
As I returned to the table and sipped my coffee several thoughts flooded my mind.
As an individual do I really sense and nourish that sense of pride and possessiveness in whatever I do? Or was it merely an exchange of my time and skill for the remuneration? Was there something for me to model based on how Mari viewed his job?
More pertinently how many times do I recognise that sense of pride another individual has for whatever be his engagement? Be it the taxi driver or the watchman, do I really bother to see them as human beings each doing a job that not only remunerates them but also gives them that sense of importance. I had to painfully accept that I did not even know the name of the person who has been serving me coffee so devotedly for the last several months at the restaurant! I realised I noticed the watchman only when he did not greet me as I walked out of the building!
As a manager running a team, I wonder if I recognise a similar sense of ownership and pride that each member of my team cherished in the work they were delivering. Could I allow myself to appreciate the awesomeness of what they were doing?
Plenty of thoughts taken home to be mulled and imbibed as a human being and as a manager.
R Ganesh
01-01-2020
