Workplace Dynamics with Kamal Karanth

If you are not getting along with your boss, what do you do? You work harder? Shoulders drop? Work lesser? Look for a job?

Is your resignation letter turning into a showcase of past achievements? In this episode of Workplace Dynamics , host Kamal Karanth explores the psychology behind career transitions and why professionals often feel the need to overcompensate when stepping down. Tune in as we dissect resignation contexts, discuss how to avoid common pitfalls during exits, and share actionable advice on leaving your...

What does HR do? Have you ever asked that question aloud, or within yourself, and you're frustrated? In this episode of Workplace Dynamics Podcast, I'm going to think aloud with you on what are the various roles we expect HR to do.

Do you think there's an inner circle with every boss? You see that your boss has a small coterie of people who are very close to him, and you're unable to get into that inner circle... what do you do?

How do you feel when some of your colleagues or ex-colleagues leave you with the feeling of them being ungrateful? Or when they appear more entitled than you think they should be?

This episode is a reflection on how and why we oversell ourselves in the job interviews and what are the costs and consequences to be prepared for.

Were there moments in your career that you felt there were no well-wishers left in the organization for you?

The dilemma of whether to tell our colleagues 'as is' or to give the cliched version? But our colleagues know we are being economical with the truth! #CorporateLies

You know your boss isn't tenable to you, your peers, and maybe to the organisation. You escalate, but still nothing changes.

How we fail the leaders we hire/promote? Some confessions!

What if you say in a job interview that the reason to leave the previous company is a "relationship breakdown with your ex-boss/team"?

Why isn't the women CXO needle moving beyond CHROs? How about CFOs?

Having a retention conversation after someone resigns... is it a waste of time? What's the enterprise philosophy of retention, if there's one. The best opportunity for a Supervisor is to do the right things for their people when they are working with them, not after they resign.

Large enterprises announcing layoffs often add-in severance packages to soften the situation at both sides of the table. This episode discusses if there's a severance package that's generous enough to reduce the sting of the sense of rejection that layoff comes with.

What motivates you the most at work? Is it Money? Affiliation? Achievement or Power? If it's Affiliation and Connection... what are you more connected to...? The Enterprise or Brand? Your Manager? Your team or peer group? Or your role?

What's your definition of Freedom at the workplace? Choice of work time, space, location, colleagues, bosses, tasks... and beyond.

Are company dinners with bosses and colleagues the time to connect with them or enjoy the meal? Are there official DOs and DONTs for informal lunch or dinner meetings with super bosses and colleagues? Should HRs also set out guidelines for the same?

If you know your colleague's salary and use it, is it a breach of confidentiality terms signed with your employer? What do you do if you get to know your colleague's salary or increment percentage or bonus amount? How can we get caught up with others' pay information?

A top reason for candidates dropping out of a recruitment funnel is the time taken for the hiring process. Is it the system or the process of meeting multiple candidates or unusually high number of rounds or something? Irrespective of the technicalities, isnt it the Hiring Manager who is to be blamed for inordinate delays causing candidates to dropout? Can Hiring Managers step forward and own up t...

If you send an acknowledgment note to an interviewer, after your interaction... would that look like desperation or seen as someone who takes the initiative or being participative? Has the lack of participation in enterprise initiatives become a common occurence? If yes, why so? Why dont we participate in events, ritual and processes of the enterprise? Why and when do we give things a cold shoulde...

What do you do if your peer or counterpart is out of line? Do you let it pass or confront them? What's the forum of expressions of our views or opinions against our peers? Take it up with the boss or share with peers or in a public forum or a one-to-one setup? Is one-to-one the most potent or challenging setting? With no authority over peers does this become complicated?

Have you complained to your super bosses, about your immediate boss? What are the consequences of taking on the bosses? Did you have the resilience to handle the consequences of taking on your boss head-on? Can performance be the shield... always? Without performance can one get away with just logical arguments? How can one balance standing up for oneself versus switching jobs eternally?

Have you heard of leaders being let go because they had high attrition in their team? What matters... is it WHO left or HOW MANY left? If performing leaders have high attrition, would you punish them? Is there a balance between high performance and talent retention? Is it prudent to look away, if high attrition teams are also the best performing ones?

How safe should one feel at workplaces, especially when it comes to being candid with your colleagues? Is hyper-caution increasingly needed in a highly digitally intruded space? Is it a thin line between the within and without of the organization? How safe is your internal townhall video from being posted on a public social media platform? Are we heading towards paranoid organizations asking emplo...

If you are not the top performer this year, what would you do? Play victim, quit or fight back? Have you experienced lean patches of performance and the connected feeling of irrelevance at work? What did the organization do to make you or your team feel irrelevant? How did you or would you fight the situation?