Corporate Manners

Corporate culture must be pure and pristine for it to not only give the highest productivity but also to ensure the sustainability of the entity over a long-term time scale. Organisations decay and die if they pay no attention to the development of a healthy working culture within the institution. Corporate manners will always remain the determining factor for establishing a sound corporate environment. Culture must be anchored in impregnable good manners.

The question that demands an answer is: who is empowered to create “Corporate Culture”? It is undoubtedly the Board of Directors who, in conjunction with the CEO and senior management, determine the contours of the environment they wish to establish in the entity. People act and react in consonance with the nature of the organisation. A board that is a prey to progress at any cost, or a senior management that acts against reason, cannot create a positive environment for all to perform at their best. Managerial impotence against greed, selfish desire to swallow in material growth, with compromises, shall remain a stumbling block in the development of an acceptable culture. A management that is willing to dance with no inhibitions to the dictates of the owner/stakeholder is equally guilty of promoting sycophancy in the culture of the organisation. CEOs who love to hear, “All is well,” actually indulge in digging their own graves.

Any management that dishonours itself by not designing desirable social skills amongst the rank and file of all colleagues is actually an excrescence upon the otherwise flawless inherent purity of people. The shunning of the highest ideals of life leads to the growth of a management abscess that ultimately, of course, bursts over time and takes a very long time to heal. A CEO, alongside his/her team, must reckon with the downside of such an event happening in their institution.

The primary job of a leader/CEO/manager is to push followers and colleagues much beyond their known levels of performance. People must be herded towards a common objective; once tasked, they invariably deliver results. I learned from a senior colleague, Pervez Shahid, that annual budgets must comprise fifteen months of budgets that must be squeezed for achievement within a twelve-month cycle. As CEO, I accepted nothing less than a fifteen-month financial performance condensed within twelve months; nine out of ten times, all colleagues delivered with success. The culture of outperforming one’s previous performances ultimately took very deep roots in the organisation. Demands for extraordinary performance are normally met with stunning performance. The manners of a leader become a tool of inspiration for all workers.

Manners must not be a hypocrisy. Straightforwardness should not be the knife under a cloak; nothing is more debasing than to use the attitude of frankness to insult coworkers. This type of behaviour must be shunned by the demands of the principles of corporate culture that prevails.

Retaliation to anything untoward must also be confined to the issue, and the lens need not be focused on people. Reprisals and surprises by the manager towards his/her direct reports must be kept in check. There should be no allowance given for “revenge.” Confucius had rightly said, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice; a good one supplies everything (Baltasar Gracián).

The nobler a person, the more courteous he is. Whilst interacting with female colleagues, due attention should be attached to remaining gracious, graceful, and chivalrous. Informality must remain controlled within the shackles of decency. The choice of words must be elegant in conversation with them. Regardless of age and position, gentlemen are expected to rise for female colleagues. It is ill-mannered to keep a female colleague standing while you sit in the throne of authority and keep conversing or directing them about tasks to be undertaken. It is indecent to sit with the ankle of one leg resting upon the knee of the other; sitting cross-legged is unacceptable and uncouth, especially if the shoe is pointing towards others. The feet in a cross-legged position must face downwards; this posturing applies regardless of the gender across.

Corporate gossip is a reality. Embrace it. The manager must learn to break the ice in relationships and to nip in the bud the negative implications of gossip. Small talk in the corridors should not be viewed as a preparation for revolt. On the contrary, a break during intense work must be undertaken by walking around tables—smiling, thumping a pat on the back (if culturally acceptable), shaking hands with a few—and then back to work. This is a two-dimensional exercise in motivation. Colleagues feel good. Supervisors feel good. For a good culture to prevail, one must know that good manners are a recipe for an excellent culture.

Sirajuddin Aziz
The writer is a Senior Banker & Freelance Columnist.