My FIRST EDIT for Financial Chronicle: ON BEING A BOSS!!

A recent survey conducted by Korn Ferry International has revealed that 85 per cent of Indian executives would rather be giving orders than taking them. In other words, they want to be in their bosses’ position. Giving orders is definitely a more lucrative prospect than being at the receiving end. And being held in awe, or in some cases, in fear is infinitely better than living in the dread of being hauled up, or worse, sacked. In terms of aspirations, Indians are certainly doing better than Americans, where only 67 per cent of executives want to be the boss, happy as they are to be on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. Obviously, the Indians, undoubtedly an aggressive lot, want to be their own masters. However, the survey also reveals that more than half the Indian executives are satisfied with their current positions, highlighting the fact that it’s not just a craving for a better economic status that drives the urge to be the boss. What’s more, it also underlines the quintessential trait of Indians to be optimistic in the darkest of situations. Which is why the slowdown doesn’t act as a damper on our spirits. In fact, the down-in-the-dumps feeling spread by the slowdown could also have acted as a catalyst to fuel the drive to get to a position where you are the one doing all the threatening, rather than the other way round. In sharp contrast, the satisfaction level of Americans is a mere 37 per cent. It speaks volumes about the Indians’ inherent sense of contentment with what they have. But what’s remarkable is that this contentment doesn’t drive us to stagnation. We are happy with what we have achieved, but a little more won’t hurt. That in itself is a quality to be proud of — to be contented yet competitive. But workers who are drawn by the power of being in charge and able to praise or criticise, retain or remove at will, also need to be given a reality check. Unquestionably it is a good feeling to be in the commanding position, as long as one remembers that concomitant with authority is the entire burden of responsibility. The executive might resent getting flak from the boss for some mistake, but it is actually the top man who will ultimately face all the flak for the combined mistakes of all his subordinates. While he may have his subordinate staff on a string and be able to toy with their future, he also wears the not so enviable crown of thorns of being the chief one responsible for the future of the organisation, its successes and more importantly, its failures. So those who wish to be bosses would be better off remembering that only if they’re willing to face the music now, will they be ready to wear the crown in the future. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that the aspirations of working India run high which obviously translates into a greater zest for working harder and moving faster. That, surely, is good news for the economy and the nation, although it might make the bosses toss and turn. One last point, it is easy to allow success to get into your head, and be a tyrant in positions of power. It might not be easy for everyone to become a boss, but it doesn’t take much to become another Hari Sadu, the rogue boss immortalised by a TV ad of a company.