Uniinfo Blogs

As leaders, we often focus on the technical aspects of our roles - strategy, execution, results. But what truly sets great leaders apart is their ability to connect with and understand the perspectives of their team members. This is where empathy comes in.

Empathy allows leaders to:

Build trust and strong relationships with their team members, which leads to better communication and collaboration.

Understand and address the needs and concerns of their team members, which leads to a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Create a positive and inclusive work culture, where everyone feels valued and respected.

Make better decisions, by considering the impact of their actions on others.

Empathy is not a soft skill, it is a key competency for leaders to show their greatness and drive results. As a leader, make sure to take time to actively listen to and understand your team members, and show that you care about their wellbeing.

This will lead to a more engaged and productive team, and ultimately, a more successful organization.

#leadership #empathy #teamwork #collaboration #culture #leaders #wellbeing #team #strategy

 Line Manager- The term you get to know once you step into the professional mode. This may not be always applicable for the Startups, but applicable in most other cases.

Entering a job after University is a big shift. A big shift in your approach towards life, approach towards family and friends and specially you find a new- YOU. Once you start crossing the career path, you get to define yourself in a better, composed way.

In your journey, the person who can shape you up, is your line manager. He/She is someone who would drive you for the professional success and help making an invisible personal relation to improve your output.

In my journey so far, I have come across a few line managers, who are responsible for my growth, achievements and failures as well. You can never expect to get a good line manager always, but it is better to have a line manager than having none in the initial days of your career while you are playing the role of “Manage self”

Now tell me, did you always have the line manager you always wanted to have? I did not. Sometimes you get a good line manager, sometimes you get a bad line manager. But, end of the day, my realization is that, you get to learn a new thing from everyone. You know- even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day!

Having a good line manager makes you more accountable, innovative, involved; on the other hand, having a bad line manager can make you more calculative, more demanding, individualistic. Both the traits provide you some perspective for development. And you need both the things. You can never be a good boss to everyone all the time. Sometimes, you need to be cruel to be kind. And for that, you need to have some experience with both the good line managers and the others.

When I started working, I was told that, Line manager is your new guardian who would look after you. And, when I met my line manager, I was asked how my family was doing. This simple question from my line manager actually changed my perception. After university, you don’t normally expect that, someone who is not your relative or close would be asking you about your family. But, this simple question from my line manager made that impression that family is important and I might be out there away from the family but there is also someone who is interested to know about me and my family.

Family is always a very sensitive thing specially for Bangladeshis. Once someone shows interest about family; He/She gets a special corner (this is my personal belief). When my line manager asked me about my family and I replied about it; since then, I always have tried to know about the family of my team members. I have seen it really works. Because, I was really happy and satisfied when being asked about my family; so, I believe putting someone in my place would have got the same feelings in most of the cases. One of the reasons is that giving your team the sense of feeling that, you as a line manager is friendly and caring, you can move mountains with your team if you can sync well.

We all know who is a good line manager. But who is not? In my opinion, someone who is unable to guide you towards the right direction of working or motivate you enough to go extra miles is not a good line manager. I don’t see any industry where there is less pressure or challenges. From your point of view, you would say that you are facing most of the challenges. If even you change your job, you would still say the same. Challenges are always there, but you need someone who can steer you in these situations. And that is where your line manager comes into play.

Some of the qualities of a good line manager that I have seen are-

§ They are open to suggestions and create a more friendly approach

§ They are concerned about your development which might come in a hard way, but their concern is for your development. Period

§ They give you the freedom to explore new avenues and let you speak your mind if that is against his own belief even

§ They will not tell you, but show you or guide you to accomplish any task

§ They will trust you and you will feel that.

§ They will never threat you, but will give you warning if you are not following the right direction

§ They will give you the due credit you deserve and will stand for you when the time comes

§ You don’t need to say, but they will always be trying to give you the benefit and spend a good amount of time behind your development

§ They will share their both their joys and failure, will appreciate you on your achievement and will share your failure 

What do you think? Your thoughts on this will be appreciated. Remember, If your line manager is not helping you to develop, and giving you only freedom and benefits; and you are happy with it, you are actually wasting your time and potential. Either he is not capable to handle you, or you are in the wrong place. I gave the example of family in the beginning; because, I strongly believe a good line manager will care not only about you, he/she would be caring to your family as well. Whom I consider as good line managers, have portrayed this trait in my career.The ultimate good line managers create the environment for you, where you feel safe and flourish. period.

Now, let me share my views on the not so good line managers. In my eyes-

·        They are rigid, not open to suggestions

·        They will tell you/ instruct you to complete a task, but will not be showing you the path ( I guess even they don’t know ho to complete the task)

·        They will not trust you, will try to validate your statement/ actions from others

·        They will make you do so many things, but will take the credits if you succeed and give you the blame if you fail

·        They will try to give you some unimaginable deadlines and expect you to complete the task. You can do that, but, even you would know, no quality output will be there

·        They will not be good in calculation, they will focus more on their instincts, where they should focus on the data and the ever-changing dynamic business landscape

·        They would think everything with cost. To them, you are just a cost center. They would want the best from you, but in return, they would always think to give you as less as possible  

o   They would always try to consider you as his//her competitor. Bad line managers always have the inferiority complex, which make your life miserable

·        Their approach is always demanding. As a line manager, you should be demanding. But not always!

·        They would always try to impose their thoughts on you, and expect you to be aligned with his/her thought, no matter what garbage they say/plan.

 What do you think of this? Can you relate this in your case at any point of time?

The best part of having a bad line manager is that, you don’t have to use your brain or involve to a greater extent in any of the work. But I want to use my brain and get my hands dirty. The worst part in my eyes of having a bad line manager is that you stop learning and you stop challenging the status quo. These are two vital points for any business or individual to progress.

You can never decide who your line manager is going to be, but you can always decide whether you are learning from him or not. In my case, I have seen, under a good line manager, you give extra effort and you also take the ownership of anything assigned to you. And under bad line managers, you are concerned more about delivering the work (irrespective of the quality of the work) and you also become more individualistic, taking yourself in a shell, where you don’t want a team performance, and drive blame game whenever possible. Because, your line manager is also doing the same. In this type of situation, focus on yourself. As you know, you will not be developed from the organization, try to invest yourself in learning from all other places.

But, you know, as a true business professional, you need to see both sides of the coin. I consider myself fortunate enough to see it. The world is not a rosy place, and you should know it. The earlier you know, the better for you. Whether you will become a good boss or not, depends on what types of line managers you have come across and how you have learned from them. It is always a choice that you make- Whether you want to learn or not. Be it a good memory from a good boss, or a learning from a bad line manager.

But, from my side, What I have always tried to portray is showing the respect to my line managers. Because, end of the day, your career, increment, development depends on that person. If he is good and you are learning, respect comes automatically. But, if he is bad and you have stopped learning, please generate some respect for the position which he is holding and generate some artificial respect for the person (as long as you are there in the organization). If you can’t take it further, start exploring new opportunities.

just like you can’t choose your parents, you can’t choose your line mangers and remember your boss is your boss (be it someone who expands your brain cell or kills your brain cell)                                                        

·These are my thoughts only. I am not saying I am right or wrong. Please ignore if you don’t like it and share your thoughts if you like the writeup for more to come!

I am sure ,it is the caption that made you open the post. That is natural and fine. I have been transcending with this question for the last two and half decade and the whirlpool is settling, though not fully. What are these HR guys do whole day? I am sure all of you , who are non HR must have encountered this question. I know many of my colleagues who would say , next birth , I will make it a point to be in HR . The most envying would be the sales guys who have a target sword hanging preposterously all through out. They may be partially right too but whether HR is hard requirement or hardly required is a deeper perspective.
I also define HR as high resonance. Resonance and radiate are two distinct word in physics. In a telecom cellular network we have these towers that are called BTS, Base transceiver Station. These tower do both ,they receive and radiate. Interestingly what you resonate affects what you radiate and also vice versa. Resonance is more of relating , its about matching frequency and pulsation. HR also need to resonate with the business pulsation. They can not be only radiating the policies and procedures. Resonance requires relating and getting closer , it needs non judgemental movement and a desire to understand. Its about synchronicity. If the traffic and signalling is not proper and the required channels are absent the dialogue will fail. One relates with what one respects and believes to be value adding. Every human being is distinct and special and hence HR needs to have unflinching faith in human beings. They are responsible for people and they stay in people. It is through people they change and bring change. The continuity of this flow and appropriate understanding of the same will determine what HR brings to table. They are the part of the whole but are responsible for the whole. Hard Required!
I am there , I am not there but I am still there. Another understanding of the HR function is that they are invisibly visible. There are lot of tacit contribution that comes through professional HR team. Talent sourcing , learning and development , change management , creating responsible conversations in the organisation, understanding culture and building on it , the plate is unlimitedly full. HR bring a differentiated advantage to the business by being the only function which has presence every where and no where . They are the guys who have the wholistic view of the organisation. Sales Marketing will limit to their domain and may have no mutuality sense towards other function , while it is HR who is seeing what no body is seeing. Organisations are like living organism , all humans are same in terms of organisation but they are different in structure. All organisations are also like organism ( Check similarity in the words like organ , organisation and organism) but the difference is in the structure. They are the soft in the hard and hard in the soft , they deal with paradoxes. Hard required!
I go to lot of institutes to speak and they ask me to give analogy to the HR function and some of my favourite analogies are as follows
HR is like parents. Why do I say that? These days a school going child gets up in the morning and the parents push her to get ready to go to the school. The poor child ,whose weight at times is equal to the weight of the bag , has little choice . Willy nilly she dresses up gets carried to the bus stop. forty minutes travel to the school , by the time she reaches school , all mothers who had come to drop their children are still discussing the problems and comparisons of the maids. Some of them spent less time as they had to go to the office or their husbands had to leave for the office. Any way, the child travels to and fro and spends time at school with children of different background and values and come back home. Mother or maid , depends, feeds the child in the noon and the child gets ready to go to , what are called status classes, where the children are pushed. Painting , skating , calligraphy , sports and if nothing then tuition. Evenings are for watching cartoon and rest of the time some other electronic gadget. The quality time that the child spends with parent is minimal. Now in all above chorus , if the child has developed something that is a social taboo or behaviour that is not generally accepted , the response of other would be straight “ Parents have not inculcated the right values”. You may be called to the school and may also be made to confront the other complaining parent. I am sure your will get concerned and you will own it. You will try to talk to the child , some of us may fight with our spouses and play a blame game. Some of us may solve it while many may dissolve , looking for a change of school. The moot point here is that parents own. So is the HR , thousand KM away a Sales zone , the boss and subordinate are attending those classes in the evening or sharing glasses in the evening HR does not know but when the equation is not matching and resonance disappears , it becomes a HR problem. HR has to tell the employee that your performance is not up to the mark. Most of the HR guys here become the mouth piece of the line function and do great injustice to the values of the profession. Lot of wrong gets done under the guise of business and normal statement aired is “ It is business not charity”. HR needs courage and capability of a parent who has a special sense to understand , relate and help evolving the responsible behaviour. HR need to be fair , firm , furtive ensure absence of other F’s. Hard required!
Pandit in the Military Unit . I recently discovered that each military unit headed by colonel has a pandit. This pandit performs all pujas on all occasion of religious importance. He also is story teller who would share the mythological stories with the unit members and keep the morale upbeat. He is also considered close to the Colonel and can share the bad news also. His views are considered just and representative of the soldiers in the unit. He is the most are and involved human being in the platoon. There can be other religious representatives in the unit depending on demographics of the unit. In case of war they not only pep up the soldiers by intensifying the emotions but can also lift guns and shoot the enemies. The Pandit is HR and the colonel is COO. A true Pandit is a Hard required.
HR is like a House wife. Have you ever noticed that all that culinary competence that your wife has is not imbibed from the Bombay Catering College. She has also not done the course in biochemistry where she understand the chemistry and the reactions there in. She also is not a diploma holder in the inventory and warehouse management but ensure the right retrieval of all material in the kitchen allowing waste to the minimal. The similarity is predominantly in application of what is there in the kitchen , who likes what and in what format , she knows. She also know that the small rice has different application compared to whole and unbroken rice. She has a sense , a discerning sense. HR also has that discerning sense of where lies the talent , application of the talent and placing the right human resource appropriately in right time and format. Hard Required!
HR is Achaar (Pickle). If the organisation is a plate and other functions are main food then HR is like pickle. Pickle is less in quantity and get placed in one of the corner of the plate. It add distinct taste and if it is not there the plate looks incomplete. The most interesting observation is that Achaar is also made up of the same ingredients that other dishes in the plate are made up of. Hence a bit of HR goes with every dish in plate. It emulsifies with all that is there in the plate.
Seeing Beyond Business. All business operates in a context and understanding the context and comprehending it intuitively and futuristically is what the HR needs to be keeping an eye on. All other function only know their function and can see the future from limited horizon. I have observed in my 26 years that there are business heads who do excellent in terms of delivering business results but the sustainability is completely compromised. In a fast moving VUCA world , every body is determined to prove his presence and move forward once the desired flags are being hoisted. The organisation , the people , systems and structures takes a toll impairing the sustainability. This is where HR can be seeing that others can not. Organisations are societies and if the society is adversely impacted , over a period of time it will impact the business. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space is completely true for the corporate world more than any other sphere. Hard Required!
Making work work for people. All functions want a delivery to be done and targets to be met. Its all about , what does it take to do it? How does it feel like doing it is what HR needs to figure out. There is too much rationalisation around capability , competence but undervaluing contribution. Its not about turn around but its about transformation. Its not about the targets that are ti be given, it about giving employees the sense of abundance and meaning. How does their contribution makes difference to the organisation and society at large is an important motivator to the employees. Involving people in the bigger picture and a purpose that is more than them individually. Hard Required!
If the above Hard required are ignored HR is Hardly Required.

এমনিতে কিছু নেই, একটু কিছু সমস্যা হল, শেষমেশ বেরোল ক্যানসার। তার ওপর আবার অনেকগুলো স্টেন্স গড়িয়ে গেছে। এমনটা আকছার হচ্ছে। ব্রেস্ট ক্যানসারের কথাই ধরুন। একটু বয়সকালে মেয়েদের মধ্যে খুব বেশি দেখা যায়। ব্রেস্টে কোনও বাদাহীন লাম্প বা মাংসপিণ্ড তৈরি হলে সাবধান হতে হবে। মাে এক বার নিজে নিজে ব্রেস্ট পরীক্ষা করলেই ব্যাপারটা বেশির ভাগ সময় ধরা যায়। মুশকিল হয় কী, অনেকে ব্যাপারটা টের পেয়োও চেপে যান। তার পর যখন আসেন, তখন অনেকগুলি স্টেজ হয়তো গড়িয়ে গিয়েছে।

শুধু ব্রেস্টই নয়, শরীরের যে কোনও জায়গায় বাধাহীন মাংসপিণ্ড তৈরি হল, অথচ তাতে কোনও অসুবিধে না হলেই সতর্ক হতে হবে। ব্যথাহীন মাংসপিণ্ড মানেই ক্যানসার নয়। তবে হওয়ার একটা আশঙ্খা থাকে। তাই এ রকম কিছু বুঝলেই দেরি না করে ডাক্তার দেখিয়ে নিতে হবে। তাতে আপনিও নিশ্চিন্ত হবেন।

কিন্তু এ সব ক্ষেত্রে ডাক্তারের কাছে আসতেই ভয় পান অনেকে। কী না কী বেরোবে…।

কিন্তু সত্যিই যদি ক্যানসার হয়, তবে প্রথম অবস্থ পড়লে বেশির ভাগ ক্যানসারই চিকিৎসায় ভাল হয়ে যায়। দেরি করে এলে তো অনেকগুলো স্টেজও গড়িয়ে যায়। তখন চিকিৎসাটা একটু সমস্যা হয়ে দাঁড়ায়। আর ক্যানসারের উপসর্গ কিন্তু আরও অনেক ধরণের সমস্যার ক্ষেত্রেও হতে পারে। শুধু শুধু দেরি করে আসার কোনও মানেই হয় না।
আর যেসব উপসর্গ দেখলে সতর্ক হতে হবে এবার সে বিষয়ে আসি। ধরুন শরীরের কোথাও আঁচিল, টিউমার হঠাৎ করে বাড়তে শুরু করল। না তা্র থেকে ব্লিডিং হতে শুরু করল। শরীরের যে কোনও জায়গা থেকে অস্বাভাবিক ব্লিডিং হলে সতর্ক হতে হবে। কোথাও ঘা হল, সেটা কিছুতেই সারছে না। সেটাও দেখিয়ে নিতে হবে। বেশি না সারে, তবে ডাক্তার দেখিয়ে নেবেন। আবার ৩ থেকে ৬ মাসে যদি ১০-১৫% এজন কমে যায় তবে সেটা দেখিয়ে নেওয়া দরকার। আবার উল্টোটাও হয়। ধরুন কারও হঠাৎ করে ভুঁড়ি বাড়তে শুরু করল। সে ক্ষেত্রেও ডাক্তার দেখানো দরকার।

অনিয়মিত জীবন যাপন ও জাঙ্কফুড খাওয়ার কারণে সিংহভাগ মানুষ ওজন বাড়ার সমস্যায় ভোগেন। বারবার ডায়েটের উদ্যোগ নিয়েও অনেকে ব্যর্থ হন। দিনের পর দিন খাবার নিয়ন্ত্রণ করেও ওজন কমে না। অনেকে তড়িঘড়ি ওজন কমাতে চান। তাই দীর্ঘক্ষণ না খেয়ে থাকা, খাবারের পরিমাণ অনেকটা কমিয়ে আনার মতো নানা রকম ক্ষতিকর উদ্যোগ নেন। এতে সমস্যা আরও বাড়ে। তাই ওজন কমাতে চাইলে আগে জানা দরকার, কোন ভুলে আপনার ওজন বাড়ছে। ডায়েট করেও ওজন না কমার নানা রকম কারণ আছে। এর মধ্যে অন্যতম কয়েকটি হলো-

১. অভ্যস্ত হওয়া

দীর্ঘদিন ধরে কা শর্করাযুক্ত খাবার খাওয়ার ফলে আমাদের শরীর এতে অভ্যস্ত হয়ে যায়। তখন অল্প শর্করা খেলেও ওজন আর আগের মতো কমে না বরং একটি স্থিতাবস্থা লক্ষ করা যায়। তাই আগে নিজের শরীরের এই লক্ষণ শনাক্ত করা জরুরি।

২. হতাশ হয়ে অসচেতনভাবে খাওয়া

দেহের স্বাভাবিক প্রক্রিয়ার অংশ হিসেবেই ওজন কমার হার স্থির হয়ে যেতে পারে। একই রকম খাবার গ্রহণ করে অথবা ব্যায়াম করে এক মাসে যতটা ওজন কাল, সমান পরিশ্রম করে পরের মাসে সেই পরিমাণ ওজন না-ও কমতে পারে। এটা শরীরের একধরনের প্রক্রিয়া। কিন্তু অনেকে সেটা না জানার কারণে হতাশ হয়ে পড়েন। তারপর ডায়েট চার্ট অনুসরণ করার আগ্রহ হারিয়ে ইচ্ছেমতো খেতে শুরু করেন। এখানে ভুলটা হয়, যার কারণে ওজন তো কমেই না, বরং বেড়ে যেতে পারে। তা ছাড়া ওজন না কমার দুশ্চিন্তা থেকেও ওজন বাড়তে থাকে।

9. চর্বি কমছে কিন্তু পেশি বাড়ছে

অনেক সময় শরীরচর্চার কারণে আমাদের শরীরে চর্বি ক্ষয় হয় ঠিকই কিন্তু ওজন কমে না। কারণ, চর্বি যেমন কমে, তেমনি মাংসপেশি তৈরি হতে থাকে। মাংসপেশি রক্তে চিনির মাত্রা নিয়ন্ত্রণের পাশাপাশি আমাদের চালিকাশক্তি। তাই মাংসপেশি তৈরি হয়ে ওজন না কমলে আ পাওয়ার কিছু নেই।

দ্রুত ফলাফল পেতে এই নিয়মগুলো মেনে চলুন ১. উপভোগ্য ব্যায়াম নির্বাচন করুন: ওজন কমাতে আমরা যেসব কঠিন, একঘেয়ে ও বিরক্তিকর ব্যায়াম নির্বাচন করি, তার জন্য মোটিভেশন ধরে রাখা অনেক সময়ই অসম্ভব হয়ে পড়ে। তাই এমন কোনো শরীরচর্চা নির্বাচন করুন, যেটা ওজন কমানোর চেয়ে আনন্দ লাভের জন্যই বেশি করতে ইচ্ছা হয়। যেমন শিশুদের সঙ্গে মাঠে দৌড়ঝাপ বা খেলাধুলা করা। মোটরচালিত বাইক ব্যবহার না করে সাইকেল চালানোর অভ্যাস করা যেতে পারে। সাঁতার কেটে গোসল করতে পারেন। একইভাবে জুমা বা অ্যারোবিকসের মতো শরীরচর্চাও নিজেকে ফিট রাখার জনপ্রিয় কৌশল। এই উপায়গুলো ওজন কমানোর জন্য উপভোগ্য হতে পারে।

২. স্বাস্থ্যকর খাবার ওজন কমানো মানে খাওয়াদাওয়া ছেড়ে দেওয়া নয়। প্রক্রিয়াজাত খাবার যথাসম্ভব পরিহার করতে হবে। তবে আঁশ জাতীয় খাবার যেমন ফল, শাকসবজি ইত্যাদি পুষ্টিকর খাবার খাওয়ার অভ্যাস বরং ওজন কমাতে সহায়তা করে।

৩. পর্যাপ্ত ঘুম : কম ঘুম শরীরের জন্য ক্ষতিকর। এটি ওজন বাড়িয়ে দেয়। তাই ওজন কমাতে চাইলে অবশ্যই স্বাস্থ্যকর ঘুমের অভ্যাস গড়ে ভুলতে হবে।

৪. মোটা দানার শস্য: খুব সহজেই খাবার টেবিলে কিছু পরিবর্তন এনে ওজন কমানো যায়। যেমন সাদা চালের পরিবর্তে লাল
চাল। লাল আটা দিয়ে রুটি বানানো ইত্যাদি। ওজন কমানো কোনো স্বল্পমেয়াদি কার্যক্র নয়। রাতারাতি পরিবর্তন আসবে না। কিন্তু কিছু দীর্ঘমেয়াদি স্বাস্থ্যকর অভ্যাস গড়ে তুলতে পারলে নিশ্চিতভাবেই ওজন কমিয়ে স্বাভাবিক জীবন যাপন করা সম্ভব।

ওজন না কমলে হতাশ হওয়া যাবে না।

ইসরাত জাহান, পুষ্টিবিদ