Love at work
April 2013
by V Venkat
V. Venkat, vice president of Life Positive, shares his mantra of love to fuel the morale and commitment of his colleagues
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I thought you were family.” These words will remain with me forever. I had gone to visit one of my colleagues in hospital as he was admitted there since a few days. I didn’t do anything special, neither did I go out of my way to show concern. I simply went there as a friend concerned about another. All I did was to offer my support to him. And it felt great when the doctor mistook me for a family member. In that moment, I was not a boss, just a person filled with love and concern for another person. His family took to me with so much warmth. And after this incident, his output, his dedication, his services – everything towards his work increased. All this was the result of love.
When you work in an environment where your boss is not just your boss, but also a part of your life beyond nine to five; where your colleagues become part of your extended family; where work is not just meeting deadlines but a source of satisfaction at the end of the day, then you grow. You grow not just professionally but also holistically. And this is the kind of growth I see in the Life Positive family.
Whatever the department, be it subscription, circulation, production, marketing, events or editorial, each works in tandem with the other to come out with a good product. Of course, that happens in almost all organisations. What’s the difference, then, between them and us? The difference I see is love. Love catalysis the bonhomie among employees; it gives them an environment of comfort and security.
All of us work amidst work pressure but many a time the pressure becomes intense; tempers fly high as deadlines draw near; people snap and tension hangs in the air. The best way to defuse these situations is through love. By now my colleagues and I know that we’ll sail through any crisis because we love and respect each other. I would like to share another instance where one of our executives’ commitment towards work and the organisation touched my heart. On the second day of our recently concluded Life Positive Delhi Expo, one of his very close friends expired but being a senior member, he continued to steward the event. He didn’t need to do this as his presence was much required at his friend’s, yet he was there. It was love towards the whole team and an acknowledgement of everyone’s collective hard work which inspired him to pull his weight along with everyone else.
Management fundas learnt in MBA classes can only take you so far. What carries you beyond is the power of love. Little acts of concern touch a deep chord across many hearts. Texting a simple ‘How are you feeling now?’ is sufficient to induce warmth in an employee who is on sick leave. I work with love. I use love as my management tool. I give love and receive love and respect. And this love and respect has helped me achieve more than what was expected out of me. I have always performed a step higher because of the mutual love between the whole team. It helps us in achieving goals collectively. I consider love to be the most important tool even for marketing. It’s a very practical approach where love flows out and business comes in. People conduct motivational talks and workshops to enhance employee output. I spread love to achieve the same. ‘Let’s all keep loving each other to perform well,’ is the mantra I follow and urge my team to follow too.