The Long Game

Tara began her new job with excitement & anxiety. Her team was helpful with the initial setup of the required software, access, & trainings. As the pandemic allowed team members to work in a hybrid model, she met her colleagues weekly. The team used the opportunity to set up video calls with their London-based counterparts to catch up on work progress.

A few months passed, and Tara bonded with the team & guided the team efficiently based on her technical expertise. Tara's popularity grew beyond the team as she was social with other colleagues in the office. No sooner did she think that the new workplace was pleasant than the wind changed.

During one of the calls, a team member shared the requirement for a new module. The entire team listened attentively & absorbed the details. As per the team structure & Tara's expertise, she was to provide the solution. Instead, the team lead, Amar, intervened & declared a solution.

Tara raised concerns about the possible roadblocks the team would encounter. Amar insisted that the team follow the solution he had proposed. Tara had a flashback about her previous organisation & manager. She brushed off stressful thoughts & focused on the issue at hand. She took a deep breath & calmly detailed a list of problems they would run into. After half an hour of discussion, Amar demanded that they follow his solution. Tara chose to be silent. Amar was elated that he had shown Tara her place. In contrast, the team aligned with Tara's thought process were startled by her silence.

The team began by proceeding with the module build based on Amar's guidance. The daily status call was a platform for Amar to boast. His arrogance & dominance were expressed on the call, to show Tara that she was new & he called the shots.

Amar voiced, "Tara, the solution that I provided is working."

Tara replied, "Yes, Amar, that's what I hear on the call."

Daily, Amar ensured to ask the same question to Tara by rewording. Tara would promptly reply, "Yes, you are right." "Sounds good." "It's your call."

A few months passed & team mentioned that they had hit a roadblock. Amar provided possible workarounds & nothing worked. The team's work was on hold for a week & panic had set in.

Amar questioned, "Tara, what is the solution?"

Tara replied, "You are the lead; whatever you say must be followed. Team did the same, how can I say anything?"

Amar panicked, "Yes, they followed my solution. Now work is stuck. What do we do?

Tara went on, "How would I know?"

Amar persisted, "You are the subject matter expert. You should provide a solution."

Tara questioned, "Who? Me?"

Amar flinched, "Yes, you are the expert"

Tara lazily said, "I don't think so."

Amar was furious & yelled, "Design & solutioning is your area of expertise. Krish hired you for it."

Tara replied, "Well, I categorically called out not to pursue this solution. Also, we would eventually encounter these issues. Yet, you decided to follow the current solution. So, it's up to you what you want to do next."

Amar directed the team to try a few resolutions over the weekend & accordingly, they would proceed further. Team members were under pressure from Amar & reached out to Tara for help. The ever-helping Tara expressed that the team had to follow whatever Amar had suggested & there was nothing much to do.

The weekend passed with no luck in cracking the roadblock. On Monday, the entire team huddled in a conference room, and the atmosphere was that of a war room. Tara stayed out of the conference room & relentlessly worked on her laptop. Around noon, it was time for the meeting with the London counterpart. While Amar was restless, Tara entered the conference room & settled into a chair.

While the team prepared to join the call, Amar asked, "Tara, what do we tell the London counterparts?"

Tara continued to type on her laptop, without looking at him, and replied, "It's your call, Amar."

Amar & the team were confused as to why & how Tara was so indifferent to the whole stressful situation. Amar was mentally preparing for an earful from Krish. The video call started on schedule, and Amar could hear his heartbeat. Tara sat at the table, unaffected & continued to work on her laptop. The team members provided updates & it was Amar's turn to raise the issues or risks on project execution. Amar shared an elaborate saga of the approach & the roadblock they had encountered.

Krish from the London office bombarded with questions & Amar had no response to most of them. Krish's attention shifted towards Tara, who hadn't uttered a word from the beginning of the meeting. He had hired her after an intense one-hour interview. He noticed that it was very unlike Tara not to jump in & provide a solution.

Krish shifted his attention to Tara & addressed, "Tara, what do you think?"

Tara warmly smiled & greeted Krish. As she connected the HDMI cable to her laptop, she mentioned, "Ideally, we shouldn't have pursued this solution."

No sooner did she make that statement than she looked at Amar & so did the entire team. Krish's eyes also moved towards Amar. Amar swallowed hard & wondered what came next. Tara settled back on her chair & shared a detailed presentation with the audience. The presentation detailed the requirement, the roadblock the team had encountered, the solution, along with timelines to close the module. Krish questioned Tara on every point & she had prepared answers. The items she wasn't sure about, she quickly made notes & guaranteed she would get back to them soon. After half an hour of grilling, Krish was satisfied with the solution.

As they were closing the call, Tara addressed Krish, "Anything else you would like to discuss?"

Krish replied, "Sounds good."

At that time, Amar realised what Tara meant when she said, 'Yes, you are right. Sounds good. Your call.' It was sarcasm, not an acknowledgement of his solution working. Beads of sweat formed on Amar's forehead & he could feel his feet go cold. Finally, it sank that he had won the battle & she the war. The team understood that Tara played a long game.

Tara closed the call with assurance, "Krish, I will edit the presentation with the pointers discussed & send it to you tomorrow."

As Tara walked out of the conference room, she sneered at Amar. That look could have burned him down into a pile of ash. While Krish noticed the warning sneer & suppressed a laugh, he made a mental note not to mess with Tara.

Takeaway: Tact is the ability to tell someone to 'go to hell' in such a way that they look forward to the trip.