During my college days, I tried my hands on preparing a few dishes based on Kerala cuisine. While the success rate on those were not that great, over a period of time I mastered the art of making a good tea with milk.
Hence, after Ruby and I got
married and settled down at our one-bedroom apartment in Bangalore, one day I
told her I will make a special tea for her. While sceptical, she agreed to that
idea and watched me making the special brew for her.
Milk, water, tea powder and
sugar, all found its way one after the other into the saucepan. Then came my
secret ingredient, cardamom, also known as the Queen of Spices, for the
distinct flavour and aroma it brought to any dish prepared with this unique
spice. It gave an even more special effect when used to make tea. I must also
add here that cardamom is one of the most expensive spices you get to buy, with
some of the best quality ones costing as high as USD 100+ per kilogram.
As I was preparing the
magical potion, I took a couple of pods of cardamom and started to peel the
outer shell. All the while Ruby was watching me with eyes filled with
curiosity. All of a sudden, I could see an unexplainable burst of emotion in
her eyes followed by a loud cry! That was the exact moment when I finished
peeling the cardamom and added the empty shell to the boiling tea and promptly
trashed the seeds that were inside the shell.
In the same tone of the cry,
she asked me why I threw the seeds. With all the innocence in the world, I told
her, I always used the shell and threw the seeds away. That perhaps was the
first time I saw my darling wife totally speechless. After the initial shock,
she regained her composure and with an amazing sense of patience, explained to
me what a historical blunder I was doing all the while.
The seeds in fact were the
essential part of that exotic spice. I listened intently and since I wasn't
easy convinced, I did my own research and realised that my sweetheart was
indeed right! From that day, the cardamom pods at our home had been thanking me
for making real use of them.
The best part of this
incident was not just knowing the correct use of a spice. On the contrary, ever
since the incident, I had been telling my better half about writing a story
about this. She was the one who didn't agree, as she was concerned about it
would influence the perception of others.
For me, this is true
leadership. A good leader will give constructive feedback on mistakes by a team
member, irrespective of the gap in hierarchy between them. At the same time the
leader will ensure enough privacy so that perception management is achieved as
well.
Just like how effective
feedback helped us to have better tasting tea, professional environment demands
meaningful exchange of constructive criticisms which all parties involved need
to provide and receive in the most practical sense.
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