In every organisation, there are three clocks.
đź•™ No. 1 is the wall clock.
⌚ No. 2 is the employee clock.
⏱️ No. 3 is the leader’s anxiety clock.
And the third clock runs about three times faster.
Let me explain.
When a task appears, the employee clock says, “Okay, we can do this later.”
The wall clock says, “It’s only 10.15am, still a lot of time.”
But the leader’s anxiety clock, oh dearie, says, “If this doesn’t move now, the timeline slips. If the timeline slips, the client calls. And if the client calls… especially me… please be prepared to be killed!”
That is why when someone says, “Relax lah… ada masa lagi…” the leader’s eye starts twitching a little.
So if your boss sometimes looks a little intense when things move slowly, don’t worry. They are not necessarily angry.
They are just looking at a different clock.
And unfortunately for them, that clock never stops ticking.
So maybe… just maybe…
When your boss asks you to act on something, consider moving with a little more urgency.
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
P.S. True story. When I was a young executive, my boss once asked me to act on something and I didn’t move fast enough. Let’s just say I learnt very quickly that when my boss’s anxiety clock is ticking, her tasks become my priority! đźŞđźŞđźŞ
