During my service in the police force, we once had a massive political riot after which, we arrested about 200 people.
Now, before producing these people in a magistrate’s court, we had to do a lot of paperwork. So I put a team of officers on the job.
After sometime, my boss called me to ask whether the arrestees had been produced in the court. I told him that it would take some time.
After that, every 30-60 minutes, he would call me for a status update, saying that the DGP (our super boss) was getting impatient.
When I spoke to my Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), he said, “Sir, it is going to take time as we have to do paperwork for each of the 200 fellows. Putting pressure on the team would be pointless.”
The next time my boss called, he was agitated. He said, “Ask the ACP to explain the delay.” I told him that it won’t be appropriate as he and his team are working really hard.
On hearing this, he flared up and said, “The DGP actually called for your explanation,” implying that he was being soft on me by putting my subordinate on the line.
I have failed many times as a leader but that day, I put my foot down — I told him, “Sir, I will send my explanation to the DGP.” He frostily disconnected the call.
Ultimately, nothing happened and all this pressure was just made up. All my boss had to do was to explain the practical challenges to the higher ups but he found it easier to transfer the pressure down.
One of the biggest leadership traits is holding back unnecessary pressure instead of passing it down. It is hard and that is why leadership is hard.
And by the way, this is “What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School” (or for that matter at any business school 😊 )
Most leadership lessons are learned under fire. And you can’t simulate that.
– Rajan