Starting out at a young age, being financially independent and the risks taken early on, paying off well, did wonders to my morale and confidence. My supervisor valued my inputs and we did some commendable work that year.

This was an interesting phase of my career, from being a sole contributor; we had to get more hands on board, to manage the ever increasing workload. Soon, we had three more people join — and in no time, we were a gang ‘The fantastic 4’. When we were together, office never felt like work, it was simply fun. We would work over time, come on weekends to meet deadlines. Not once, were we jealous or insecure of each other’s accomplishments. We always had each other’s interest at heart.

With my supervisor, I had a special bond, during our free time, we would chat over a cuppa tea, speak coyly about our fascination over a senior leader and I would often tease her for obsession with Shah Rukh Khan and his movies. She always wanted me to marry a man like Shah Rukh Khan; and many years later, just to witness it, she traveled all by herself to Jalandhar for my wedding.

We all continued working together for a couple of years, until my supervisor had to move out of the city, making me in charge of one of the verticals under her portfolio. Giving me, my first opportunity to manage a team.   

Some bonds are meant to be unbreakable, and ours was one of them, leaving an impressionable imprint on my mind and personality; paving the way, for developing many more strong bonds over the years, as I moved across locations and organisations. 

Conclusion:

In the initial years, I spent more time with my colleagues than family. Because of our beautiful bond, we were ready to take on any challenge and executed them successfully. We never experienced any job related stress and harmoniously celebrated each other’s achievements.

Basis my experience; sharing some techniques that helped me build a strong bond with colleagues:

Respectfully welcome them:

When I look back and recall how it all started, how we became such a close knit team. Well, it started from day 1, welcoming them:

• Showing the facility
• Introducing them to key stake holders & leaders
• Helping them logistically with equipment, ID etc.
• Familiarising them with the processes, reports, day to day tasks etc.
• Respecting their inputs on the current functioning or problem solving situations and have an honest communication style

Getting to know one another:

We took breaks together and had non-work conversations over lunch or tea breaks. Spoke about anything and everything and in the midst found a lot of commonality amongst ourselves.

Circle of Trust:

What we spoke or shared was always exclusively between us. We never indulged in any toxic gossip and if something we did bothered anyone of us, we honestly shared our feelings. We were empathetic and genuine in our dealings.

These simple yet small gestures helped in organically developing a strong bond. Today, we may not have spoken to each other for years or wished each other on festivals or birthdays, but if we happened to meet, we all will be just the way, we were in 19 years ago. ‘The fantastic 4’.

Dear Readers,

This blog is a brief narrative of one of many bonds; I built in my professional journey.

In the upcoming blogs, I would be sharing tales of my transition from an individual contributor role to managing a team. So stay tuned!

I’d love to know your thoughts on the blog; know your story or if you would like me to write on any topic do leave a note in the comments section.  

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Thank you for reading and have a blessed day!