19th Floor, Plaza OSK

Managing people is tough work indeed.

I've got three subordinates (2 gals and 1 guy) in my little team, all with very different characters, and it's really been a challenge adapting to each individual's style of communicating, working, and understanding.

X, the second person to join my team and the longest serving member among the three (the first guy resigned over a year ago), is a really fun guy to be around. Slightly chubby, his incessant cravings for KFC, ridiculous jokes and occassional childish antics make for good entertainment in our department when we're bored. Smart guy, but he mostly thrives on spontaneity and I think doesn't process ideas rationally at times. Pretty often, he speaks faster than he thinks. Not really advisable when you're advising clients on multi-million ringgit deals! Aside from that, he has contributed his fair share to our bottomline, and pretty much gets the job done.

Y, the most senior among the three, gives me the most headaches. She is my age and had worked for over 3 years in Ernst & Young before joining OSK 2 years ago. So, if experience is determined by the number of years one has worked, then she definitely has got one up on me as I happen to be the youngest team head here. So what's my problem with her then? I've thought hard about this and I think it simply boils down to the feeling that she doesn't take too well to instructions and wants to do things HER way (inspired by Dr M presumably). Well, while I think things have improved, it used to be a real struggle communicating my ideas to her because it always seemed as if she was not keen to listen, or that maybe she considered my ideas not really worth her "precious time". Can you imagine two people talking at the same time?! That's what happens sometimes when I try to explain something to her! I don't know whether the "lack of respect" is derived from the fact that she supposedly has got "more experience", but working with her has been challenging to say the least. And it's not exactly that she does a great job with her work anyway.

Z is the baby of our team, being the youngest among the three. I think the relationship initially started off pretty frostily with her seeming quiet and even aloof at times. Thankfully, all that ice has melted away and she is really quite a darling not just within my team, but throughout the department. She learns things fast, is critical in her thinking, is quick and efficient, and possesses an independent attitude that's really congruent with my style of working. I think all those attributes more than make up for her lack of experience.

As I draw closer to my 4th anniversary in OSK, I guess a question that's been playing in my mind is whether it's time to move on to other pastures; whether the next step of growth actually lies somewhere out there in the corporate wilderness, rather than this grassy plain that I've grown so accustomed to.

I'm certainly praying that God will reveal to me a clearer picture of His plans for me for the future. But wait, perhaps I misunderstand how God works. He's no fortune-teller.

It's about trusting him to lead me into the new Promised Land which He has prepared for me. It's about putting my hand in His and letting Him lead me in this dance of life.

I may not get a clear picture of God's plans for me, but I'll follow Him nonetheless and trust that He knows the way.

Well, I guess that's faith for you. And that's enough.

*****

This post has been subsequently edited.

My sincere apologies go out to those who may have been offended by the contents of this post. Please note that while it was never my intention to offend, I maintain my stand that this blog represents my honest and private thoughts, which I do hope you would respect.

To YOU who thrives in spreading discord, I don't know what YOUR intentions are, but let me just say that abhor YOUR actions. I'm disappointed in YOU.

And to YOU, please do not take my silence as ignorance. Don't think for even a second that I'm ignorant of what YOU did. If there's one thing I despise about people, it's the horrible habit of gossiping and I certainly do not appreciate YOU going around and talking behind my back. While I have forgiven YOUR actions and put the past behind, forgetting doesn't come so easy. Don't take me for a fool.