Disturbing Dialogues

BLOG 39/2025 DATED 26TH DECEMBER 2025

It was a winter evening in December with temperature touching 7 degrees. A regional head of a large bank accompanied me as I went there to precede over a customer relationship meet. The meeting was very successful as the regional head was very meticulous in executing the entire event.  His team was also busy with customers and the meet ended with positive leads and business gains for the organisation. We also met a few customers separately and in one-to-one meetings we could garner fresh business. We were convinced with the day’s performance. I actually appreciated the efforts taken by the entire team. The regional head told that it was a good day as they could recover a good amount of SMA accounts (Special Mention Accounts, the accounts that can default in a few days) as well but one very tiny account of just Rs.13000/- slipped to NPA (defaulted). Rs 13K for a large bank is actually equal to zero in any presentations and for all practical considerations.

Then came a call to the regional head from his controlling office, “What the hell you did the entire day, you can’t even save a 13K account,” the guy from the other end shouted with all his might, as I could overhear the entire dialogue. “Sir I saved the big accounts, and today we got …” RM replied looking visibly disturbed. “I will chargesheet you, don’t tell me stories”, the boss shouted again. Phone was disconnected, silence in car but for the traffic voice.

Let us examine why such a discussion happened that kept the listener and probably the boss also disturbed for some time. Someone who really did a good job the entire day, dealt with the harshest words. There may be various reasons for the disturbing discussion, some of them could be..

• The boss was in charge of all recoveries and he was fighting tooth and nail to avoid any sort of slippage.
• The boss might have been unaware about the other efforts taken by the RM, the entire day.
• The performance of the RM may not have been upto his expectations even otherwise and 13K slippage added fuel to the fire.
• The boos may have been under tremendous pressure from the Head Office or from his boss, a pressure that he could not handle and spilled out his anger on the RM.
• The boss may be lacking corporate communication etiquettes and did not believe in listening as part of effective communication. (Refer blog 22/2025 dated 19^th October 2025  Listening in communication – At Silly Point)
• People working under the boss may be a hard nut to crack and RM may be no exception.
• RM may be an extraordinary performer, still boss knew only one way to communicate.
• Boss may be an extraordinary performer and expects everyone to match him.

There can be many more.

This is not the only case of a disturbing dialogue; such things keep happening in a tense corporate environment. There are a few sillypoints that we may consider to avoid or to handle such situations:

For the Boss:

• Shouting results in increased BP and other health hazards. Avoid it.
• If there is undue pressure from the top, it need not be passed through.
• An anger of one failure need not be spilled out somewhere else.
• Even if such an event happens, show empathy and be friendly with the team.
• Take leave if possible and enjoy something that you like.
• A firm dialogue is possible even without shouting.
• Be updated about the other functions carried out by your team and assess with justice, then explain the shortcomings, if needed.
• Attending leadership workshops to know the importance of listening in communication, proves helpful for a healthy conversation.
• Sometimes, but seldom it is only shouting that will get the work done, then no problem in shouting as well, but certainly not at the cost of your health.

For the RM/any other employee who faces this:

• Have a good relationship with your boss.
• Keep your boss updated of your efforts and achievements.
• Discuss a few issues which are in your control, with your boss in an informal environment. This will make your boss more approachable and might avoid such conversations. You might not be a victim of your boss’s outburst anymore..
• Invite him to your official gatherings.
• Needless to say, that one should be committed and smart with his/her work.
• If nothing works, then please know that your boss is only a paid employee, leave him with his BP. Forget.

For the Organisation:

Discourage such disturbing discussions and advise your training team to emphasise on better communication skills.

Any other views, please write in comments to benefit all.