Akshay, a senior Project Engineer, was thoughtfully adding sugar to the almost-black coffee that he had just prepared. This was his third cup in 4 hours. What could he do? He needed some stimulants to stay wake and finish his task-at-hand. He'd just started sipping his coffee when he heard someone laugh heartily. He turned to find a senior-looking woman and an apparently younger man shaking hands. He recognized the woman immediately! She was Aarti, the manager of the group that was being spoken about a lot these days! It was the group that had been flooded with many a project recently! It was great news, but he was also aware of the fact that there were many delivery pressures that the group was bound to have given the volume of work. And here she was laughing like a child! He was almost envious of the magnetism and cheerfulness that the woman displayed. How was it that some people seemed to be nonchalant at all times?
What happened next was amazing! It was like as if God had heard his question and decided to give him the answer! The man talking to Aarti posed an even more elaborate question than the one that Akshay had to her! Aarti, I am curious about something. I know I can ask you this question. How is that you manage to get so much work done and don't seem to have to worry about delivering so many products? How do you influence and inspire your teams to do so well? How is it that you are so respected and listened to? I am sure that I have a lot to learn from you on these things!
Akshay almost pricked his ears up like a dog.
Aarti replied spontaneously Let me share some stuff that I've learned and experienced time and again. If you need to achieve and accomplish your objectives, first of all you need to understand that you cannot do it alone and need a team of people, with different competencies, chipping in. That understood; if you want people to join you in accomplishing something, you need to be able to influence and inspire them to join you. Now, how can you influence people?
You can't just order people around and expect things to be sustained for ever! If you share your knowledge and explain the why and how of things and let others take equal ownership of your idea, it simply means you trust them. Trust brings the best out of people. For people to trust you and look up to you, you have to obviously share your knowledge and nurture your team members. You can't expect to be trusted, recognized and looked up to if you hoard knowledge! You'll only be suspected, stayed away from and be seen as selfish.
The person who had asked Aarti the question interrupted excitedly and said YES! It is so easy for me to understand now! I know for a fact that the most popular and successful people are those that don't hoard knowledge but share! After all, they not only are recognized and respected for it but it also so happens that because of the exchanges and interactions that ensue, they learn so much more from the environment as well! They get what they give!
Aarti laughed her hearty laugh again and said Bingo! Akshay suddenly found himself trying to sip from an empty cup but his mind was brimming with freshly brewed thoughts! He almost smiled into the cup.
Yes ! Knowledge sharing is probably the most trusted and sure-fire way of attracting strong forces to join you in accomplishing your objectives.
