Aham Brahmaasmi - The Creator is the Destroyer

A blog that I published earlier on Linked In

The manager spoke and the team listened with rapt attention. She was a fantastic orator. She conveyed what she had to in few words and most of the time it hit home. They all knew that the organization held her in high esteem as they did too.

It was late evening but he was still at work. His manager had told him to stay back as she wanted to meet him after her team meeting. He knew it would be late in the evening before she came back from the meeting. But, something in her voice made him realize that it would be a career limiting move if he asked to re-schedule the meeting. So, he waited patiently.

He had started his career with the company twenty two years ago. He had enjoyed his stint here till this new manager came in to his life a year back. Over the years he had learnt to navigate the company well, survive the various changes and manage to turn in a decent performance year after year. His teams had liked his approach to work. He was an expert in his field. There was none within his organization who knew the job as well as he did.

This expertise was gained over years of reading and working in the field. He knew very little else apart from this field. He liked the work and the field of expertise. However, very few companies needed a skill like what he had. So, to a large extent he had limited career choices. Given that, he had carefully avoided passing on all knowledge to his team members. He had set up the team in a way where no single person would get the entire knowledge. He did not rotate roles in a hurry. So, many people had quietly moved on from their roles and did not want to work in the team.

This new manager of his had latched on to this. She was pushing him to cross train his team. She was pushing him to create few successors. The opening of the door brought him back from his thoughts as she walked in. She quickly greeted him, sat down and took few gulps of water. She was looking a bit tired but quickly got in to the groove. “What’s happened to our previous discussion? I had asked you to create few successors.” He responded stating that he was doing so but given the complexity of the job, the technical nature of the role and the relative inexperience of his team, it would take some more time. “How much more time?” she asked. He hesitatingly said that it would take few years. She lost it and screamed, “Do you know that you have now become a blocker for your team members? Top talent do not want to work for you because they do not see a career path. You have not grown for years now and seem to be contented with it. This has become a problem for the organization. I will give you six more months and if I don’t see a successor I have decided to bite the bullet and replace you.”

Many a time we create situations like this in our lives. Knowingly or unknowingly, we become blockers in the organization. We don’t re-skill ourselves so that we can stay relevant. We refuse to see the shifting sands. As a good leader or manager, your job is to de-risk the organization and ensure that you stay relevant.

He felt as if the earth under him was moving. He just could not imagine a life where he did not have a job. He needed a job to keep the kitchen fires burning. He was in a state of panic. Coming from a manager who had the support of the senior leaders in the organization, he knew that he didn’t stand much of a chance trying to argue. He looked at her once again and she looked like an angry Indian Goddess with various arms and with a weapon in each one. She was ready to kill. She could determine his life. His survival strategy by not creating his successor and specializing in only one area (at the cost of the organization) was working against him now. Suddenly, she had become the creator “Brahma” and as she continued speaking all he heard was, “Aham Brahmaasmi” (Translated as I am the Brahman or I am God - The Creator is also the Destroyer – The God who determines your life).