Me with My daughter @ Marina Beach
I recently happened to visit the Marina beach with my one and half years old daughter and was in a dilemma as to whether to make her stand in the beach water. I was so protective that I almost stood frozen mentally near the beach for 10 minutes battling in my mind to make this decision. Finally, I decided to let go of my fear and made her stand in the beach water. Initially, she was afraid to go near the water but gradually started to enjoy and finally, when we decided to leave after nearly playing for 2 hours, she started crying and didn’t want to leave the beach. I understood that she enjoyed playing on the beach and felt good about myself for making the right choice.
A crucial aspect that helped me in making this decision is the popular animation movie – Finding Nemo. In case you’re wondering if I am serious, the answer is yes and I know that the next question on your mind would be – How? Anyone who has watched the movie could easily relate to what I said but for the others, here’s a short version of the movie to clear things. The movie is based on the relationship between a meek fish named Marlin and his son – Nemo. Marlin is very protective about Nemo due to a smaller fin that limits his swimming ability and thereby restrains him from going into the deep sea. Often humiliated by friends, he decides to show his mettle by venturing into the deep sea alone but, in turn, gets abducted by a group of travelers and taken to Sydney. Marlin sets on an adventure through the deepest parts of the ocean (beautifully filmed, especially loved the scenes involving the Eastern Australian current – kind of an underwater superhighway used by fish and sea turtles to travel down the east coast of Australia) to find his lost son. During this quest, Marlin discovers himself and starts to nurture a healthy relationship with his son after successfully rescuing him amidst great ordeal.
This experience changed my attitude towards my daughter as like Nemo’s father in the movie. Earlier, I was afraid of letting my daughter play on the rooftop or walk on the streets (she liked it very much) and mostly carried her on my shoulders, but now I let her go play on the street/ rooftop and ensure that I keep a watch on her.
Similarly, a close friend of mine had to make a risky choice in his professional career. He requested advice from his manager about the decision and instead of guiding him; the manager (like Nemo’s father) instilled fear in his mind and told him not to take risks. On the contrary, my friend made the hard choice and despite initial struggles, was able to grow in his career after the change. This is a common scenario in the corporate world, wherein the so-called experienced old-fashioned managers misguide their employees and stop them from taking the necessary risks. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen covey, one of the best-selling business books, elucidates the need for each of us to move out of our comfort zone often and take up tasks that would fall in our courage zone.
The 3rd Habit from the book – “The 7 Habits of Highly effective People“
Also, just like the deep unexplored abyss in the film, every organization has its own secret information vault that is mostly unavailable to the employees but rests only with the top management. This information gap is called as informational asymmetry by the economists. It’s not that all business related information had to be shared with the employees but the corporate world would be a far better place if the right information is shared to the right people (employees), at the right time, for the right purpose and also in the right way. This would help the employees to get a big picture of the organization’s current performance and future plans that could result in them being more contributive towards the organization’s goals. Frontline and mid-level managers shouldn’t just instill fear in their employee’s mind by hiding key organizational information as like Nemo’s father but should guide their Nemos’ through the unexplored abyss of the corporate world using the very same hidden information and their rich experience.
If you’re playing the role of Nemo’s father right now either in your personal or professional life, then it’s time to let go of your fear and undergo a metamorphosis as shown in the movie. Do watch the “Finding Nemo” movie for more courage and inspiration. I bet you wouldn’t regret making this change.
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