Building Relationships In The Workplace Philosophy Essay

I move from my previous company to Bank Mega on May 2005. My assignment in Bank Mega is as IT Development Division Head. I am responsible for all of application development activities to support banking operational, including the back office function. My previous company also a bank called LippoBank and same as in Bank Mega, my previous responsibility also in the application development.

My division in Bank Mega is under IT & Operations Director, and after we did some reorganization during 5 years period, starting last September 2010 I divided the division into 8 departments (previously only 5 departments), which are:

Asset / Loan Systems

Liabilities / Saving Systems

Card Application Systems

Treasury, Custodian & International Banking Systems

Customer Delivery Systems

Branch Delivery Systems

Management Information Systems

Corporate Function Systems

Since we add 3 new departments in our division, there are 3 vacant positions at department head level.

Most of department heads under me is already in that position before I joint, only one of them I promote from staff to be a department head. One of the most senior persons of them is Boy.

Boy has the same age with me, and he already worked for Bank Mega for around 10 years. He has many experiences about our banking system, especially in Loan systems. Due to the complexity of our systems, I need people like him that understand also the banking business process so it make easier to us to talk with the user and analyze their requirement. If we can analyze business requirement correctly than we can develop and provide the best system to them.

As a senior person, Boy has close relationship with others most senior division head, which also already worked for Bank Mega for a long time at more than 10 years.

I have no big issue since the beginning working with him. The banking systems we use in Bank Mega is different with my previous bank, but since both are playing in the same segment which is retail banking, so the concept is quite the same and not really difficult for me to get understanding on how the grand design of bank Mega system. However, I still need help from someone who understand the detail technique of the systems.

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From the technical point of view, I rely on his expertise and he can prove that he really has good understanding about detail of the system. He also will support at the best effort when we facing a system problem even at night, as long as the problem is related with the application under his responsible, if necessary he also not mind to come to the office. When doing development of new enhancement requirements, most of them he can deliver on time, even some of them he can deliver faster than target, only a few that he could not deliver on time and usually the reason more in the non technical issue, approval process, budget, etc.

Boy is very quiet person, he did not communicate well enough with other people in my division, also with other people from another division, he was not concerned with non technical affairs and social relationships. Any activities which, according to his thoughts there is no direct connection with his work and will disrupt concentration and focus in completing the work or will disrupt his personal affairs would be ignored.

At one time, IT has a 2-days important management meeting outside Jakarta and he has already asked on leave before and the leave schedule is the same with the first day of the meeting. I expected he can adjust his schedule so that it can follow the meeting starting from the night session of first day and so on until finished at the second day. But he gave reasons for not attending the first day and promised will be present on the second day.

In fact, he even did not attend the second day so he did not follow the whole meeting, and at that time he came to the office for work. This condition not only disappointed me but also made me embarrassed in front of my Boss, because even my Boss attending the second day to make a final speech.

In addition to the above case, on each occasion of IT gathering, he always gave a reason for not attending. Also when we have weekly IT meeting, when we discussed about issues in other department, he did not want to contribute much and even sometime he leave the meeting without permission and waiting until I call him back.

In my point of view, as long as he can deliver his job at agreeable time frame and with the good quality result, this condition is not really bothering me. My division can deliver what were user’s requests, I did not receive any complain about our jobs and our responsibilities. Everything was done well.

But, when I am thinking about his future, when someday I want to promote him to higher position, this condition will not acceptable enough by other people. There will be a rejection with his personality, with his leadership style. He has to improved his communication skill, and behavior.

Base on my experience, good attitude is more important than good knowledge, to get the better career and get the higher position.

Action & Reflection:

After I have got 4 half-day class about Developing People Competencies, I realized that I have made a mistake so far. I only think about my goals to deliver system on time with good quality. I enjoy myself to have my sub-ordinate work hard for me to get things done, but I never think about ‘developing people’ under me.

After I back to the office, I will take action to improve and develop my sub-ordinate competencies. I learned so much from the class how to develop people. To develop Boy, I have to do mentoring, not directing or even coaching.

First of all, I will concentrate to improve Boy personality, increase his ability in communication and change his behavior and make him to start thinking about non technical issue. I expect Boy will be the one of candidate of my successor, in the future.

Boy doesn’t need much technical coaching, he has more expert than me to do technical job. His leadership styles are:

Need achievement, he focus to do his job within targeted time and best quality

Need autonomy, he can decide and arrange his team to get the things done as expected. He also does not really concern about how other people thought of his behavior.

He has a motivation to improve his technical skill and even project management skill, but he doesn’t have motivation to improve his behavior.

What he need is someone who can quarry/dig what he really want in his life, in career, in social relationship, family life, etc. By understanding what is inside him, I can prepare strategy to motivate him, to see from another point of view to give him awareness is that really what he want to do, is that really what he should do?

First, I have to prepare some question to him. In my mind, probably I will start with talking about his sub-ordinate: who is the best, why is he or she considered the best, what he expected from his sub-ordinate should do and should behave, when someday he will promote his sub-ordinate to be a higher position like him, what kind of people he think deserve in that position, about the skill, knowledge and especially the behavior.

By evaluating his respond from our discussion, on how he thought about other people should be, I will know his value, maybe he has logical reason if he had has different priority with me.

If situation look allows me to discuss further, I will continue with some question about him: what is his priority in live (family?, friend?, career?), what is his expecting in career, what is his expecting from me, from his peer, and also from the company. Again, I will evaluate his answer about himself and about his expectation from the environment surrounding him, to get more understanding on him.

Second, after I understand more about him, I will give feedback to him. Feedback could be in another question, like ‘do you think when you react (as usually he react), you will get what you expecting’. Feedback also could be in ‘constructive’ statement.

Third, I have to make him trust with me. I have to show that I empathy with him. How to make him believe on me? By accepting his behavior, not humiliating him, not harassing him, not rejecting him, I think slowly but sure he will trust me.

When he already trust with me, I believe he will start to listen what is my point of view, what is my value, how I behave to my sub-ordinate, to my boss, to my peer. Why I doing this and doing that, so he can compare is that what he has done was really what he want? Is he going to get what he is expecting by doing that?

That’s what kind of action that I want to do with Boy, I hope my action will get the positive result, and Boy will be the better person in the future…..