The Modern yet Traditional Manager

Welcome to the new generation of Personal Relationship Managers – a term commonly used for those employees dealing with anything between 10 to 200 or even more consumers/ business relationships on a day to day basis. Many of us have either had some brush or been in the above (or similar) role in the past. My discussion here is about this term which is has now become so common without getting into any judgmental undertones about them as professionals.

There was a time, when we used to depend on a ‘Sharma Ji’ or a ‘Gupta Ji’ for simple to complicated service related requirements. They were usually the ones who would join an organization to spend their entire lifetime there. At times they were really efficient and at times exact opposite. However, they were people whom we had known for a long period of time and had a relationship with. We would not think twice before going to them for any kind of work. Most of our interactions with them would not be limited to work. They loved talking as much as we did and conversations would include anything and everything under the sun. What mattered was the fact that a relationship was being developed and the person could be banked upon in times of need.

When we look at how things have changed around us today one observation is that we rarely remember the names of these people who continue to play an important role in our lives. Our relationship is now with a place-holder instead of a person, which gets filled by different people over time. There is rarely a constant and with opportunities opening up in the country, the rate of such transfers is faster than ever before. What is interesting to note here is that the act of being into a relationship with a specific individual has been converted into a role which a person performs. From a time where relationships with specific individuals used to be everlasting it has now reached a stage where it is completely replaceable.

Also, it is true that the concept of ‘Relationship Manager’ finds a large amount of acceptance in India today. Had we been missing the personal touch and warmth of ‘Sharma Ji & Co.’ we would not have accepted this new definition easily. However, it is interesting to find several people who swear by their relationship managers these days.

If we try and look a little beyond the obvious, there is an interesting point to note here. The term ‘relationship manager’ is very similar to the kind of people we are today i.e. ‘modern yet traditional’. The word ‘relationship’ takes care of our traditional dislike for transactional based functional method of working. At the same time the word ‘modern’ adds the touch of professionalism, knowledge and skills, experience and expertise to the person.

With the influence of media, mobility and money we are getting better exposed, lonelier and more demanding. While our expectation from such professions increases; we are still somewhere rooted in our traditions of the past. We want the modern but not at the cost of doing away with the past. This I feel is one of the key reasons for this term becoming a part or our language today.

The traditional Indian social networking

Indians have kept alive the tradition of every single person engaging with everyone else in the extended family and community even though it gets a little difficult with the challenges of modern day living. To understand this, lets look at a few observations from our lives a couple of years ago and how they have changed today.

What was commonly practiced on most social get-togethers is the introduction and greeting of every member with everyone else who is present at the event. The younger ones were expected to bow and touch the feet of the elders and take their blessings. A small kid from any particular family usually had a harrowing experience of constantly bending and being introduced to an army of people for reasons he didn’t understand. At the same time, he was expected to answer a flurry of questions thrown at him with a smile on his face and showing the least amount of disgust. He was forced to participate in the proceedings and when he tried to escape to play with the other kids, his mother would tell him that it is bad behavior. This round of socializing was done with every family attending the function without thinking much about the bi-lateral relations between the families.

At these event, another common practice is that of clicking pictures in all possible combinations so as to ensure that all those present have a picture individually as well as in all possible group formations (based on sex – all girls, age – all kids, family – entire family, entire extended family, etc.) with everyone else.

Another common Indian practice is that of sending Post cards and Greeting cards on festivals and other occasions. What is interesting is that one would ensure that the names of every single family members are present starting with the head of the family. Often, the last name to sign off would be that of the new born or the youngest kid, thereby introducing the addition to the receiving families. While addressing these cards, the common practice was to write, “Mr. and Mrs. _____ and family,” to make sure that nobody is left out. Addressing to the elder most was un-questioned and was considered as good as addressing the entire family.

What we can understand from such practices is that as a culture we lay tremendous amount of emphasis on engagement with all known social contacts. Social networking with limited amount of technology is something we had perfected long ago. A person was always known as a part of the family in which he was born and not in isolation. The number of people one knew was the social currency he owned. The number of people who knew him was a manner in which is social standing was determined. For every member in the family, all possible care was taken to ensure that one never gets secluded from the society. An independent form of existence within the society was unthinkable and highly detested.

Today, with nuclear families becoming the norm, people travelling across the globe in search of opportunities, paucity of time and advent of newer technology, there is very little face to face social interaction which is seen. However, what is interesting to observe is that although we have moved ahead to become modern in most ways, there are still small traits of our tradition which surface from time to time.

One such example is that when phone calls are made to wish others during festivals. Even today, it is commonly seen that each member of the family has a quick word with everyone in the other family. When a younger one speaks to any elder, he normally seeks their blessings over the phone. For those who are not present during the call an advice is usually left to wish the person once he returns. And not to mention the world of questions which are usually asked and which one has to keep answering.

The only change is perhaps is with the medium of interaction. Even with increasing distances, what is still alive in a small way in India is this tradition of social interaction.