The recent chaos at IIT Kharagpur which unfolded after a professor verbally abused her students has led to a lot of debate on a variety of issues. I decided to talk about some of the best ways we can rightfully object to superiors, bosses, politicians, teachers or anyone up the ladder.
The first step
Our unknown traits are what causes problems with others. It’s easy for us to blame others whereas we are totally unaware of what we’re doing to make the situation worse. The first step is to introspect and understand how or where we’re going wrong in making the situation worse. I’m not saying what the professor did was right but we’re focusing on the end result, which is her outburst.
Why is it important to stand up?
In numerous cases, the fundamental mistake that we make is giving in to authority. We’re either afraid of the consequences or give up even without trying, thinking that we can’t do anything to these people as they’re powerful. Yes! I’m not asking you to do something rash. I’m asking you to be able to voice your opinion. How? Read on...
Egoistic and Egotistic
When just one of the above is irked, it leads to unimaginable challenges. Imagine when both are irked. We are all, both egoistic and egotistic in different ways but when it comes to addressing anyone in power, we need to tread carefully. The first thing that each of us needs to be aware of is to ensure that we never hurt these two aspects. I guarantee that this is why many people often do not get the desired response as they would have hurt the other knowingly or unknowingly.
Communicate, don’t irritate
Another blunder that I’ve seen most people do is to irritate people or drive people up the wall. Open communication definitely helps. But here are some things to keep in mind: Ensure that you pick the right time and the right place to have this conversation. Avoid trying to ambush them in front of many people or cause embarrassment.
Social media — friend or foe?
Be very wary of when, how and why to use social media. It is definitely a great way to spread the word about a cause or escalate issues, but how you do it and when needs to be planned carefully.
There’s always a bigger tree
Just because your issue wasn’t addressed doesn’t mean that we stop trying. There’s always a person above to whom you can escalate the issue. But directly going over everyone’s head isn’t right and also paints a very bad picture of us. Going one step at a time isn’t just useful, but will help us make our case stronger. It will lead to swifter action from the concerned authorities as they will be able to witness your ordeal with proof. But you need to adhere to all the points above more diligently as you’re meeting a more powerful individual and all the aspects will get multiplied.
Every situation is different, every individual is different. Some attack us personally, some do it professionally but one thing that NEVER changes is, without resolution of conflicts, there’s no going ahead. It’s always the sooner and CIVIL, the better.
With Regards,
Adarsh Benakappa
Basavaraj
‘The Coach’
