A Performance Review

Tribhuvan was infamous for being highly deficient in acumen & competence, which resulted in insecurity that surfaced from time to time. His toxic traits were evident as he did not share relevant information with team members, blamed the team & unfair to the team on all fronts. The entire team knew it wasn't the question of the team's performance or the quality of the deliverables. He did not trust the team, as simple as that. The only saving grace was that Tribhuvan was abroad & team did not have to deal with him all day. The unhealthy work environment stressed the team, but there wasn't much any of them could do with a dimwit. To add to the team's agony, the pandemic was rampant.

As the pandemic restricted movement, staying indoors & being stuck to work furniture affected Tara's muscles. She knotted her fingers & stretched her entangled digits towards the ceiling. She was very pleased with herself for resolving issues before the daily scheduled status call. No sooner did she think of the call than the reminder popped up on the laptop's screen. She removed her specs, used eye drops & closed her eyes to meditate. She needed her mind to be calm before the call began.

On the routine call, Tribhuvan enquired, "Tara, what is the update on the new feature release?"

Tara responded, "My product has no release planned or scheduled for the current month."

Tribhuvan asked, "I was asking about Vishal's product."

Tara stated, "I've no idea, is he not on call?"

Tribhuvan replied, "He is on paternity leave, so you must be taking care of the release."

Tara sprang, "What? I've no clue about his leave or product release."

Tribhuvan insisted, "He said he would be available on the office messenger. Can you contact him & work on the release?"

Tara was caught off guard & confused, "Okay, let me message him."

Tara texted Vishal on the office messenger. Vishal immediately replied with the implementation steps. Tara couldn't believe her eyes! If he could text the details now, couldn't he have sent those details through email earlier? She put a lid on her temper & told him to send details via email. Tara spent the next few days figuring out the code & implementation steps. She scraped through the process & met the timelines. A couple of weeks passed & Vishal was back from paternity leave. He thanked Tara for the support & backing him up.

Tara curiously asked, "You were aware of the due date, why did you not hand over the code or steps in advance?"

Vishal responded, "My wife had a routine checkup & the doctor said there was a complication. She had to go into an emergency C-section." 

Vishal narrated a long story about the hospital situation during the pandemic. Tara empathised & gave him the benefit of the doubt.

A few months passed & on a routine call, Tribhuvan enquired about a product release with Tara.

Tara responded, "My product release was closed last week."

Tribhuvan continued, "That I know. I was asking about Vishal's release."

Tara declared, "I've no idea"

Tribhuvan pressed, "Can you check with him?"

Tara assumed that the newborn child must have fallen sick & messaged Vishal. This time, Vishal called & recited a well-rehearsed long saga that his sister was going through IVF & he had to be in the hospital. Finally, it dawned on Tara that Vishal was playing victim & getting away with work. The next day onwards, Tara refused to take Vishal's work, citing that her product release had issues.

A few weeks later, Tribhuvan added several irrelevant tasks to Tara's bucket. When Tara provided a detailed explanation of the infeasibility, he was unreasonable. Tara tried hard each time & Tribhuvan was obstinate. She couldn't understand why he was being this difficult. In a technical line of work, if she could not convince him on logic, then what else could she possibly do? Tribhuvan & Vishal's collective unprofessional attitude,  continuous nagging, and toxic behaviour breached Tara's saturation point.

Then onwards, any task Tribhuvan assigned, she bluntly said, "No."

Tara would fight for an hour to substantiate her 'No', but never took up any unreasonable or illogical task. After every heated argument, she thanked Ben from the bottom of her heart for teaching her to say 'No'.

Almost a year had passed, the pandemic was receding & it was time for the year-end review. As luck would have it, Tribhuvan had travelled offshore to meet his family & he used the opportunity to meet the team. Tribhuvan had set up time with each team member for a year-end performance review discussion. Tara dreaded the meeting, but had no way to avoid it.

Tara walked into Tribhuvan's cabin; without wasting any time, he started to speak. She settled comfortably in the ergonomic chair & listened. Somehow, he had managed to flip all the work she had done to be trivial. Tara sneered through her specs at him. He moved to the topic that she did not back Vishal.

Tara pushed the specs up from the bridge of her nose & interrupted, "What was that?"

Tribhuvan stressed, "You did not take up the release activity in Vishal's absence."

Tara exclaimed, "I did for the first time when he was on paternity leave!"

He acknowledged, "Yeah, only after I asked about it."

She was appalled, "His wife's pregnancy wasn't a surprise. Was it? He knew it for atleast 6months. He should have planned better & kept the entire team informed about the release."

Tribhuvan argued, "You did not support the next time."

Tara erupted like a volcano, "Say that again?"

Tribhuvan was dim enough to repeat, with the assumption that he was winning the argument & fun to repeat.

She asserted, "My understanding was that I'm supposed to support his project in his absence. I wasn't aware I was to support the product when his wife went into labour & sister was to go through IVF. Also, shouldn't his brother-in-law be in the hospital for IVF?"

Tribhuvan defended, "We should support Vishal & his family."

She barked, "What? If that's the case, where is the support for my family & me? Vishal is conveniently unavailable to backfill for anyone, not just me. I have worked through sickness. I had to return from a family member's funeral & log in in the evening. I did not even have the time to bathe; I had to check & re-execute a critical failure."

Tribhuvan did not even flinch.

She continued, "It is a two-way street. How can you expect me to backfill all the time, when Vishal never does?"

Tribhuvan coolly switched to the topic of her turning down all the tasks. She sat back in disbelief that Tribhuvan lacked basic human courtesy, let alone humanity. He continued his monologue & she had a flashback of an entire year of hectic workload. Tribhuvan was unrealistic & illogical, and unprofessional to call on a personal phone at ungodly hours. Additionally, he held lengthy and futile meetings that led to frustration.

Tara recalled a conversation with her teammate, Snehal. Snehal had mentioned that Vishal would log in at Tribhuvan's day hours & discuss issues. That's the reason why Tribhuvan was impressed with him.

Tara's mind ran faster than the most efficient code she had built & two facts emerged. Firstly, no matter what she did, how good she was, he was not going to value her. Secondly, yet most importantly, if this guy could survive a client-facing role at the onsite, she could rule the world. Her facial muscles relaxed, temper came down & breathing returned to normal.

Finally, Tribhuvan asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

Tara voiced, "Your feedback is enlightening. I had a different approach to work, my role & responsibilities. Now, I understand your outlook towards my work. Also, how mistaken I was."

Tribhuvan smiled & reckoned, 'He had done it.'

Tara continued, "I do not think I have a place in this team or, for that matter, that I fit."

Tribhuvan hadn't even understood what had happened.

She guaranteed, "I think it's time you find my replacement. I will submit my resignation by the end of the day."

As she rose from her seat, she affirmed, "Thanks for your time, it helped me make a year-long pending decision. Have a good day & happy holiday."

Takeaway: Know your worth; it is not worth staying in a place where one is not valued.

P.S.: The story is a sequel to "A tough Client"