Dânesh Zaki

It was around 2.15 PM and I was going about my usual routine today. I was talking over phone with a client discussing an issue and the possible resolutions to it when I was thrown into a meeting with absolutely no idea why. In the room, I found about 5 people and my supervisor’s boss. He is a notorious guy known for drilling people to the maximum extent possible. If he did not get answers, he would make it clear to you that you were supposed to know it (even if you were not!). So, here I was with him and these people who were staring at me as though I was some expert ready to answer all their questions.

And then it began. A barrage of questions after a one line briefing of an issue they were discussing. This issue, was something not related to my area of work and I had no idea about. I am not sure how much difference it would have made, had I been informed about it earlier. So, not surprisingly, I was not able to answer even one question. Wow! I did not know anything on the subject they were discussing and did not know until the meeting that I was supposed to know!! There is hardly any documentation on it and the people who know about it are already overworked and exhausted. So, the barrage continued for a few minutes and then it stopped. He, my boss’ supervisor, realized that he was not getting anything out of me and called another person and got the answers he needed. By this time, I was mentally defeated and wounded. Still, he was not done with me, he asked me more questions and I was literally down and out.

Then, after another half hour, in which I managed to answer two out of umpteen questions, unconvincingly, the meeting ended. But it had a lasting effect on me, as though someone had manhandled mentally.