The Leader and The Boss

The football World Cup throws up many interesting facets that connect with you beyond the playing arena. This time, let me take you down the memory lane to World Cup 2018 in Russia.

Here’s a picture of the famous Brazilian coach Tite on the ground. He was celebrating Brazil’s injury time goal against Costa Rica when he ran into the field and tumbled on the ground. There is many a picture of the same coach dancing with the team after being victorious. The coach later said in some interviews that celebrating on the field helps build his connection with the young generation and it unites the team. I doubt if anyone disputes the gesture of the leaders celebrating good times with their teams. The juniors and youngsters feel happy when seniors join them in having fun. It is a great unifier and elevates the stature of the leader.

In the very next match versus Croatia, Brazil lost in the penalty shoot-outs and was eliminated from the tournament. The team was completely heartbroken, and long after the game was over, they were seen sitting on the ground with their heads down and some were even weeping. Having been winners in five editions of the World Cup, every time a Brazilian team gets down to playing, the whole country is never satisfied with anything less than winning the tournament. This has a huge impact on the minds of the players wearing the country colours. But where was the Boss at this point when things were down? He was seen walking quickly back to the dressing room leaving behind a sea of players and supporters in a state of sadness, desolation and regret.

Contrast this reaction with that of the Japanese coach in the same tournament when Japan lost to Belgium 2-3 in the Round of 16 after leading by two goals. The coach, Hajime Moriyasu, walked into the field, went towards the section where the Japanese fans stood in sadness and bowed to them in a gesture of gratitude and respect. Seeing him, the whole Japanese football team repeated the action facing the crowd of supporters in the stadium.

Reading about this story of the coaches, I was reminded of an incident way back in the summer 2009. It was a Saturday afternoon and I was returning home from Borivali Court, trying to get a Nationality Certificate for my daughter for her admission to a government medical college in Mumbai. She had her passport, birth certificate and multiple documents apart from newspaper reports of her being the national science topper for CBSE. It was a possible precursor to the SIR that is now underway. I got a telephone call from my branch office at Bandra. Even though we had a five-day official work schedule, the sales and operations teams usually worked on Saturdays as well to catch up on back log and training of employees and agents.

“Sir, there has been a serious incident in the office this afternoon between Saurav Sen and Sanjay Mahtre. Sanjay got pushed around, so he left the office and got in some tough characters who came into the office asking for Saurav. By then Saurav, had run away and switched off his phone. They then asked all the employees to vacate the premises and made the guards lock the entrance. They have taken four of our guys to Bandra Police Station and have said that they will not be released till Saurav surrenders and is punished for beating up one of their party workers. “

I asked for some more details and came to know that it was a minor scuffle and no one had actually suffered any injuries. The party workers who had entered were part of a local political force known for their aggressive and violent means of getting their demands met. Saurav Sen was unreachable on the phone. Someone must have passed on the news of the goons coming for him. I got the names of the employees in the lock-up and asked a few seniors from the branch to keep me informed of developments till I arrived.

I knew the situation was difficult and had never faced any such incident which had a political angle to it since my arrival to the Maximum City  eight years ago. My first reaction was to seek help from the seniors in the corporate office. I reached out to the Heads of Operations, Human Resources and Legal Departments. All three listened to the whole story, one by one, and all of them had the same piece of advice for me, “Just go to the police station and get the employees released. We are with you and you can reach us at any time if you need to.” Despite my requests, none agreed to come down in person and help resolve the crisis. These bosses ensured that the troublesome monkey stayed on my shoulders while they offered verbal moral support to me which meant nothing. I knew that if something were to go wrong in the case or if the goons were to get violent, the sole blame and the beating would fall on me alone.

I reached the police station quickly. Sanjay, who had a big bandage on his left arm and was sitting at the entrance, stood up and came towards me. With him came a few of those big-sized guys. Sanjay introduced me to them as ‘Sen Sir’. The others only heard Sen and thought I was Saurav Sen, the culprit they were all waiting for to give a good thrashing. Fortunately, Sanjay quickly clarified, “Yeh Sen Sir hamare boss hain (This Sen Sir is our Boss) and he is not the Sen who beat me up.” The thugs took a step back and I went to meet the police officer in-charge after speaking to Sanjay and offering him my wishes for an early recovery from his injury.

The police officer on duty was very clear. “Please sort out the matter with these people who are insisting on filing a police case against your office and these employees who we have so far not put them behind bars. If they approve, I will immediately release the employees.”

I now started my talks with four of the biggest and most ferocious looking characters. I felt like a lone striker in the opposing football team’s end with four formidable and aggressive defenders rushing to head butt, shoulder push trip me over and ensure that I leave the field on a stretcher. All my dribbling skills were of little use before these ferocious foursomes. When all my pleadings failed to melt their hearts, I raised my hands in total surrender and asked them if I could financially compensate Sanjay for his injuries. They flatly refused the deal. Instead, they shamelessly put forth their new set of demands. “You have to immediately terminate Saurav Sen from service; make Sanjay a permanent employee from off-rolls and pay us twenty thousand rupees. You know the police. We will have to pay them to withdraw the case plus we will pay for all the chai-pani for the party workers who have been working hard on this case since the morning.”

I spoke to the three seniors at office once again if I had any authority to decide on the demands that were put forth. None of them gave a definite answer- they were doing the tiki taka style of Spanish football where you constantly keep passing the ball from one to the other. I decided to act according to my judgement, keeping the interests of the employees in mind. I told the people on the other side of the table. “Hiring and terminating an employee is not in my hands but will raise the issue with the HR Department. It will take time. Secondly, I am not carrying so much money with me. I will need to go to the ATM nearby and get the same.”

 The toughies forgot their other demands and readily accepted my offer of paying them off. As I hailed an autorickshaw to go to the ATM, two of the toughies jumped into the vehicle without any notice. “We will accompany you. What if you also run away like the other Sen?” I nodded my head and found myself with a heart that was racing fast and a butt that had to be squeezed in on the smallest bit of space available on the passenger seat most of which had been taken up by the two muscular guys, smelling of sweat and tobacco, on either side. The auto reached the ATM. The duo got off and started following me inside the bank enclosure. I had to tell them to wait outside, to which they reluctantly agreed. I pulled out the cash from the ATM and they had a glee on their face seeing me back in their custody. The auto was kept waiting, and once again, the three of us somehow fitted into the back seat to reach the police station where I handed over the money to the party boss. He counted the money, smiled and shook my hands. He then asked the station officer to release the four employees.

The great rescue act was complete. Saurav was later transferred to another office. Sanjay quit work and never returned after this incident. The employees and their families were all happy and thanked me. I, too, felt a huge sense of relief and satisfaction.

Last Word: Tite is considered one of the greatest coaches Brazil has ever had. My intention is not to show him or my seniors down for this may have been a one-off incident in their long and illustrious careers.  Dancing with the team in good times is fine, and possibly, many a boss would happily do but standing with the team and your people in bad times and dark days like the Japanese coach is, possibly, what differentiates a leader from a boss.

Dancing with the Team 

SS

PS. World cups pics courtesy internet