It is tough to work with Indians. If you are thinking this as a politically incorrect statement reeking of prejudices and a sure fire way to get sued to the end of the world, hold your horses. When the person uttered this, there was no hatred in the statement, only exhaustion. And the cute young girl standing next to the person tightened up, throwing a furtive glance at me. The glance was to check what kind of emotion played on my face, hurt or offense or mixed with both these emotions.
To be frank, my face only showed exhaustion, the one created by a strong gush of work immediately following the lull accompanied by a vacation. A poor infrastructure and an alien language for all parties involved used as the medium of communication can make normal work turn into exhaustive, demanding and draining. Add to the potent mixture, the nature of communicating news; be it bad or good. The entire exercise will drain you of all energy.
As the week progressed, there were a sense of deja vu. I heard this expression two more times. The second time was spoken out when the guards were done at the end of a day. He also looked tired. The third time was a taunt from a colleague. Is it really bleak? I will not hesitate in answering that. No. The answer is this not because I am an optimistic. Even though one of them uttered the disturbing sentence, he also pointed out the fault lies in both parties. "We also need to change", his own words. "We need to understand what you are trying to say". He concluded with a statement which is also funny. "Currently, we both agree there are deliverables. But our view of what needs to be delivered is different from your view. We need to bridge the gap".
To conclude, an equilibrium or a stable state is reached if given time. I was in a meeting on Friday where the first guy who uttered the statement was on a conference call with his counterparts in India. When his team members in France could not fully comprehend what was being discussed, this guy could fully understand, agree and also explain to his local team members.
I cannot comment on your experience but my experience is, people are tough to work with.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting view point. Echoes my sentiments too. In a team, there is diversity. The easiest way to find diversity is by gender or country. But if we look deeper, you find diversity in everything for the simple fact that no two people are alike.
Deletesometimes yes...but not always... ;)
ReplyDeletehe he. If you say so.
Delete