That’s all that it takes — a simple step to set an environment — set a tone and develop a workplace ethos. My father ran Computer Education centres when the tech industry had just taken off in India. These centres were populated with young aspiring individuals and he was the senior most person in the room (both in terms of age and rank).
And yet, I distinctly remember him referring to all his staff members — as Sir or Ma’am. I didn’t think much of it then as a kid. It was the only workplace I had seen and so I assumed that that’s just the way workplaces worked. Apart from this the only other formal setting I experienced was my school where the only way we addressed our teachers was as Sir or Ma’am. But as I grew older and experienced different workplaces, I realised that this was not the norm.
So why did my father do that? He was not obligated to address anyone as Sir or Ma’am. No one would have taken offence to not being addressed as Sir or Ma’am — after all he was the senior most person there.
He did it to set a tone. We often hear that children learn what they see, they imbibe what they see. Well employees learn what they see too! The first few days in a new workplace are when you get a feel for the place and understand what it is like to be a part of that entity. At my father’s centre — from the very first minute — you saw him addressing everyone as Sir or Ma’am. This of course trickled down to all employees and as a result the only natural way to hail a colleague, a senior or a junior was by adding Sir or Ma’am after their name.
Just like at school, we could never fathom calling our teachers simply by their name, at my father’s centre no one really thought about not using Sir or Ma’am. To quote The Mandalorian ‘This is the way.’
This simple little step set the entire tone of the workplace. It made one feel respected. Whether you were new or experienced, young or old, junior or senior — everyone commanded the same respect when being spoken to. And there is something about using the terms Sir and Ma’am. You just can’t be too mean or impolite in the same breath as you are speaking these salutations.
This might not be the trendy way to do things. And it may never become a popular corporate culture. But I’ve followed this practice everywhere I go. Sometimes people are surprised, but its always a warm and pleasant surprise.
As business leaders, not all our steps have to be big and complex. Its actually the simple steps that we take everyday, consistently without fail that create the culture of a workplace. And it’s this culture that nurtures employees and keeps everyone working together towards a shared goal.
