22 •
The Lion King
• July - September 2015
focused on the big picture. You must
resist the temptation to be bogged
down by the day to day demands of
the work. In operations, providing the
troops with logistics to be able to be
effective is very important.
Across the leadership levels in
Operations, our goal is to walk the
talk of service. If we want our front line
officers to be excellent in service, we
need to show example. If we want
them to be exceptional, we must be
exceptional.
I remind my colleagues, who lead
in Operations that people pay more
attention to what we do than what
we say.
Effective communication is very impor-
tant when you lead a large troop.
You need to learn the art of getting
the message to everybody undiluted.
Sending emails is not enough. You
may have to call for face to face
meetings, you may have to use con-
ference technologies and sometimes
a phone call is sufficient. You can
never do enough of communication.
You supervise a very large division.
Is it possible to have a completely
motivated workforce in such a large
organization? If yes, how?
Yes, it is possible to have a motivated
workforce even in a large organiza-
tion. Any workforce looks out for an
authentic leader who is fair and walks
the talk.
We try every day to do this in
Operations. Do we get it right all the
time? No! But we are not ashamed to
acknowledge and apologize for our
errors and learn from them.
One of our goals is to have a complete-
ly motivated workforce in Operations.
It will take hard work and persever-
ance. We know it can be done and
we have started the journey.
Back office staff are known to work
late. Why is this so and what do you do
to ensure your staff do not stay too late
in the office?
Working late is mistakenly interpreted
as working well. I encourage my team
to work smart, close early and have
fun doing their work. However, if there
is work to be done or an assignment
that requires us to work late, we under-
stand it is in line with the territory. We
do it joyfully.
I salute our ATM team who work seven
days a week, including public holidays
to ensure this service points are up
and running.
Our philosophy is to work smart. We
are aligned with the bank’s ‘gospel’
of work life balance. Nobody gets any
credit for working late. We acknowl-
edge those who work smart.
What makes your day?
We serve our customers through
various service touch points. When
a customer writes in to commend
our service, it is my day’s high point.
Even when a customer complains;
an excellent service recovery is initi-
ated and where the customer leaves
commending the bank leaves a good
feeling.
However, bad things happen some-
times. We try to do an After Action
Review (AAR) to take away lessons.
The lessons from some of these ‘bad
events’ have in most cases prevented
more catastrophic incidents. Learning
every day from every incident makes
the day very exciting.
If you were not doing this job, what
would you rather be doing?
I love teaching. The men and women
who mould and shape our world and
next generation have my respect.
When I finally hand over the banking
baton to the next lions and lionesses, I
would count it a privilege to have the
opportunity to teach in any capacity.
What is work-life balance for you like?
Relaxing with a good book after a
hectic day helps to balance the day;
especially reading any of my favorite
writers - Dan Brown, Chimamanda
Adichie, John Grisham. Carol Kent
and Malcolm Gladwell.
Spending the weekend with the family
is very refreshing. It helps recharge the
batteries and make Mondays fun.
If you were 20, would you choose this
career path again? Why?
I will still choose banking. I have
had an incredible time in this industry.
The industry has helped transform our
country and economy. There is so
much the industry has done in the last
25 years. I am proud to belong to the
generation that transformed banking
in the country. There is so much left to
be done and I am glad of the chal-
lenges that each day brings.
