Listen as much as you speak, cos tell managers

1. Listen as much as you
speak, cos tell managers
India Inc Promotes Active Listening To Avoid Subtle
Putdowns Women Employees Face

2. Contd…
When Nandita Shah (name changed), a manager at an MNC, pointed out to her immediate
superior that her views were brushed aside in internal ideation meetings, or she was
subjected to subtle putdowns, she was asked to `calm down'.US-based Vox Media was the
first company to have outlined in its code of conduct unwanted behaviour such as
mansplaining (where a women is interrupted while speaking even if she has subject
expertise), micro-aggressions or subtle putdowns, and even tone policing (telling a person
to calm down instead of responding to their concerns).
Rolled out late last year, its code of conduct in the context of mansplaining says:
“Remember that your colleagues may have expertise you are unaware of and listen at least
as much as you speak.“
Various studies, including that by Brigham Young University and Princeton researchers in
2012, show that men dominated professional meetings, giving women a voice share of
only 25%. Behaviours such as mansplaining and micro-aggression, whether intentional or
not, result in a climate of exclusion and a reduced contributory role by women in decision
making, thus mitigating the benefits of gender diversity at the workplace.

3. Contd…
While India Inc has recognized the value of gender diversity, as in most companies across
the world, Indian companies appear to have not defi ned and specifically banned
mansplaining via a policy document. However, through other means such as defining
inclusiveness as a corporate value, encouraging active listening and via sensitization
programmes, a few companies are ensuring that their women employees are equally
heard.
“By doing simple things, we subtly encourage the right behaviour. For example, we do not
close any ` All Minds meetings' (our open house meetings), unless there are a few
questions from the lady minds,“ says Parthasarathy NS, executive director & COO at
Mindtree. The Mahindra Group has guidelines for conducting meetings -the moderator has
to encourage participation by all members, who can give their viewpoint without any
interruption.
“It is just not listening but active listening and empathy that is sought to be encouraged
and assessment of such behaviour is done via performance appraisal and feedback
process,“ says M P Sriram, partner at professional consultancy Aventus Partners.

4. Contd…
Listening to others without deeply held biases and prejudices is actively encouraged at the
Mahindra Group and is a leadership criterion. At Citigroup, leadership standards include
interpersonal sensitivity and respect. Both these organizations deploy 360-degree feedback
to ascertain compliance with such behavioural criteria.
“One of the key characteristics of a Mahindra leader is being `Mindful' where liste ning is a
key behaviour that employees are required to manifest. To develop on this, we have a key
strategic initiative called `Reflective Conversations', which fosters powerful thinking
through practice of the key skills of active listening,“ explains Prince Augustin, executive VP
, Group Human Capital and Leadership Development, Mahindra & Mahindra.
Sensitization programmes have also helped. Says Anuranjita Kumar, chief human resources
officer, Citigroup (South Asia), “We conduct a sensitization program, `Respect at Work',
which highlights the importance of according respect for all colleagues to allow them to
voice their opinions in a non-judgemental environment.“

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