Second instance in just a couple of weeks. I am not happy. As a manager, I do not make unreasonable demands of my team members. There’s no ‘my way or the highway” type rant. I believe in team work, sincerity, honesty, making people happy, dedication, loyalty and bonding. And I believe that the results will come naturally. Infact, if the others are in place, the results will be just that much sweeter when it comes.

As a manager (and I’m not bragging about this) I’m one of the most sweetest and people centric persons around. Don’t take my word for it. HR says that. My boss says that. His boss says that. Other people’s bosses say that. Other bosses’ subordinates say that. The center level DGM knows that. My teams says that. So I hate it when it seems as if I am being taken advantage because of it.

One of my team members has over taken her leave for her engagement a couple of weeks back. Inspite of me giving her the required 4 days and asking her to join us for a big meeting (and I only wanted her to attend the meeting and be gone back home 6 hours later). And it wasn’t like I was asking her to attend the meeting as on the same day of her engagement. This was two days before the engagement. I was angry but calmed down when she came back and it was all ok.

For her wedding leaves, I gave her 2 weeks leave – from the 5th to the 19th – and this was agreed upon without any issues. Now today she sends me a text message saying that she wants an additional week of leave and asking me to “do the needful”. I’m struggling as it is bur I wasn’t planning on asking her to cut short her leave. And is this the way someone asks for an extension of a previously agreed upon 2 week leave? I’m ashamed about this fact, very upset that she doesn’t even have the courtesy to give me a call and ask me about the possibility.

I sent a couple of messages back stating that I’m having a shortage of members in the team as it is and that I couldn’t afford it at the moment. I think she got the message.