Harmony

Work Place Management

Offices are a microcosm of humanity. They are a mix of all types of people, with all types of personalities, quirks, challenges and goals, so for everyone to get along beautifully, it takes effort.

Maintaining team harmony in the workplace is becoming a critical skill in today’s world, and the  challenge of achieving this can never be underestimated as long as humans are running the business. When a clash of personalities corrupts a productive working environment it can be prevented by creating harmony in the office.

Disharmony at work can be an unfortunate fact of life. The key causes are poor communication and consultation, absence of shared vision, mistrust leading to interpersonal conflict, poor leadership, lack of emotional intelligence.

We should recognise any disharmony, face it head on and use it as a learning tool. By leaving it unresolved, conflict will grow in magnitude, lead to toxic culture syndrome and weaken the business. Introducing clear and unambiguous ground rules for everyone in their work lives to live by and operate within will be helpful. Once people buy into these ground rules, they will become self-policing. 

Regardless of titles, roles or expertise, each member of the team needs to ensure that he not using his authority to try and control the process.  The goal should be to empower everyone to be full contributors and participants.

The common false perception of leadership is the belief that the leader has to be the smartest person on the team. That's why employees struggle with change, as those in control tend to devote little time on understanding potential apprehensions of other team members, choosing instead to use their authority to drive decisions from the top down.

It is true that people in leadership positions carry the responsibility for outcomes of the team’s decisions. It is essential that leaders need to communicate by treating each member with the same level of trust and respect, irrespective of what individual roles might be outside the team.

In order to be effective leaders the leaders need to be good followers and maintain the work place harmony.

Aiyan Thiruvalluvar says

உலகத்தோடு ஒட்ட ஒழுகல் பலகற்றும்

கல்லார் அறிவிலா தார். (140)

जिनको लोकाचार की, अनुगति का नहिं ज्ञान ।
ज्ञाता हों सब शास्त्र के, जानों उन्हें अजान ॥ (१४०)

Explanation by Scholars 

Those who do not know how to act agreeably to the world, though they have learn many things, are still ignorant.

உயர்ந்தோர் ஏற்றுக் கொண்ட ஒழுக்கம் எனும் பண்போடு வாழக் கற்காதவர்கள் பல நூல்களைப் படித்திருந்தும் கூட அறிவில்லாதவர்களே ஆவார்கள்.