Seniority - The Other Word for Maturity!

There was an interesting episode today. Two colleagues involved in a project happened to show the kind of rift that would eventually affect the completion of the project itself. Without own conscious involvement, they seemed to have blindly believed their subordinates and almost ended up in a war of words. One subordinate happened to have known me and confided the state of affairs. A meeting then was arranged where I could interact with both of them individually first and together later. There were many ‘he said this first’ or ‘did this later’ and vice versa from both of them. Frankly, I had no other personal interest than being well known to them. After trying lots of logic and friendly ‘pressure’, the last thing that I could tell them was this story:

There was once this great king of the forest (Lion) who ruled over his subjects with as much benevolence as he was strict.

In the adjoining desert was the ship of the desert ‘Camel’ who was adored by his own clan.

And in the forest was also a minister (fox) who was counted upon by the king for his cleverness as well as cunning! Having fed on fair share of the meat of every kill made by the king, the fat fox used to go for long walks to shed some calories. In one of his sojourns to the edge of the forest he happened to eye the camel. Smitten by the beauty of his gait and health, the fox became hungry for his flesh. So he set upon his king feeding him every ill word purportedly spoken by the Camel about him.

He also set about befriending the camel and filled his ears with stories of the cowardice of his king and how the animals of the forest despised him.

In so doing, he arranged to have both of them meet so that they could ‘sort out each other’.

So, one fine day the lion walked to the edge of the forest and called upon the camel to face him in battle. However, when the huge but gentle giant of a camel strode up, he was totally taken aback by his size and apparent strength. The camel, similarly having never seen a lion before, was struck by the beauty and majesty of the lion. When both of them, face to face actually realized the poise, dignity and strength of each other, they set about praising each other and pledged to become friends.

Needless to say, the exposed fox ended up on the palate of the king!

Much to the delight of the dwellers of the forest and desert, both the kingdoms flourished by the friendships between the kings!

There will always be some subordinates who will be on their private agenda and ego trips. The more senior one becomes, the more we need to learn to accommodate others, after first understanding them. No one is holy. But then what is the use of all the years of sweat and grind, if simple understandings fail!

The story struck its mark. Have a great day!!