Frogs, mistakes and tea sessions

Early in my career, mistakes – minor or major – resulted in a closed door team meeting at the end of which members walked out as if they had bullets riddled all over their body. There would invariably be an exclusive target – thrashed to pulp - who would disappear for ‘tea’ after the meeting. I’ve had several such ‘tea sessions,’ which was in retrospect a test of tolerance. And, it would result in two key decisions. One, never to commit such mistakes again and two, never to let people go for ‘tea sessions’ while working in a team. The stint in that company, and with that boss in particular was enlightening as it paved way for me to be more responsible – in work and with team members. When I moved to another organization which had quite a few people working with me, the lessons imbibed earlier were diligently implemented. In the first meeting after joining, my boss said, ‘there are 7 team members here and their growth is your responsibility,’ and he left. If he is extending that much freedom, the team would obviously expect the same from me, I thought.

While pondering over the new role and the responsibilities entrusted on me, my mind went down the memory lane – to the science practical periods in school. Our teacher used to push me to dissect more frogs than anyone in the class primarily to ensure that I overcome the irrational fear of ‘dissecting something alive’ and get best results. ‘The more mistakes you make, the better you will learn. They are an essential part of experimentation and the innovation initiatives undertaken every day.’ she would reiterate while I stood grief-stricken over yet another mistake – a dead frog. This unbearable exercise or practical learning crossed the threshold of my tolerance and during one such session, I put the frogs ‘allotted’ to me in the dust bin thinking they would escape or be safe. Well, sometimes action done under ‘good faith’ turns out be great blunders or mistakes. The frogs jumped out of the dust bin, landed next to the group of girls where our teacher was detailing the objective of the session. Once the ensuing pandemonium ceased, it was clear what the next steps would be – point fingers. It was difficult from then on to gain trust from the teacher but I still the remember the days when she would stand next to me until I produced results to her satisfaction, the bar for which she would raise higher and higher. The lesson from this, according to her was that she wanted me to not just learn by making mistakes but ‘master the art of dissecting’…something alive, I would add.

Cut to the new organization and the team of seven who was now having coffee with me. After getting to know them, I shared three of the following points:
1. Make mistakes – silly or grave.
2. Realize the mistake, own them and more importantly - learn from the mistakes.
3. Let me know the mistake before the client calls.

The tea sessions continue even today but with colleagues and more importantly as a team bonding exercise.