Book review | SV Nathan's 'The Heart of Work' foregrounds lessons personal and professional

Representational image. (Photo via Unsplash)

SV Nathan, who is a partner and chief talent officer at Deloitte India, and also serves on the talent executive leadership of Deloitte Asia Pacific, has written a book called The Heart of Work (HarperCollins, 2022). It is a walk down memory lane to reflect on lessons learnt during his own career, and also a guide for younger professionals dealing with challenges at work. It would be particularly useful for those who believe that they need to improve their people skills. Professors at business schools, and consultants who specialise in human resource development, could also benefit from the stories in the book.

The Heart of Work is divided into 10 sections: Values at Work, Emotional Intelligence, Career-building, Culture-building, Habits and Behaviours, Coaching, Hiring Right and Wrong, Recognition, Leadership, and Getting Better. Each section has either seven or eight chapters, which are real-life stories accompanied by the author's commentary on what he gained from his experiences and what others can pick up. These sections open with quotes from leaders belonging to different walks of life — MK Gandhi, Maya Angelou, Abraham Lincoln, Ratan Tata, Steven Covey, John Wooden, Peter Schutz, Mother Teresa, Sam Manekshaw, and Mark Twain.

It is remarkable that the author does not hesitate to share anecdotes portraying himself in poor light. He is more concerned about putting certain values and qualities in the spotlight rather than himself. In the chapter titled "Driving a Lesson in Humility", for instance, he recalls the time when he was "a freshly minted graduate of a leading B-School" appointed as a management trainee at a multinational company's plant. He was so deluded by his arrogance that he mistook the chief executive of the factory for a driver, and spoke rudely to the kind man who gave him a lift. When the truth was revealed to the author, he did not know where to hide his face. He writes, "My ego came crashing down, and that day, I lost my imaginary epaulettes and stripes."

On another occasion, the author learnt how to encourage those who are burdened by their sagging self-esteem. He writes about this incident in the chapter titled "Performance Evaluation and Evocation". When he had completed a year of being a management trainee, he was asked to set aside two hours for a performance review with his boss. It sounded a bit excessive, so the author began to feel anxious. Instead of grilling him, his boss spoke with a smile and a soothing voice. He asked, "How was the year that's gone by? Do you believe we have lived up to your expectations? What does your conscience tell you?" This warm, welcoming demeanour put the author at ease. When he became a boss, he decided not to scare people off but use the review session to give "developmental feedback", "shore up their confidence", and participate in their growth.

This book urges readers to learn not only from higher-ups in the organisational hierarchy but also from subordinates. In the chapter titled "Of completed staff work", the author writes about a new hire who impressed him with her integrity. When she got the offer letter, she first rejected it saying that she felt the only reason she had been hired was that the author was her father's friend. This "undue influence" seemed unfair to her. This "principled and value-driven" stance made the author even more determined to hire her. The decision was never regretted because she went out of her way to anticipate the needs of her manager, and also thought of the organisation as a whole instead of focusing only on her success.

The author was not so lucky with all the people that he hired but these failures brought home some insights that have found their way into the book. In the chapter titled "A Wrong Hire and a Lesson Learnt", he opens up about a man who resigned six months after he was hired. He wanted to be a painter but his coding job required him to be with the computer all day. The author had been unsure of hiring this person in the first place but put his doubts to rest after his fellow panelist at the job interview convinced him to hire the man. The resignation was upsetting for the author. He thought that he would never be able to forgive himself for making such a terrible decision but he learnt to cut himself some slack when he met other artists later in life, and realised how frustrating it is for artists to not pursue their art.

As rightly mentioned in the preface, this book is for people who are "fond of light reading". The author is not trying to teach any concepts. His intention here is simple: to present a collection of stories that people can dip into when they want to energise themselves with a shot of inspiration. He wants to remind readers that the workplace is not only a place to get things done, it thrives on relationships, mutual respect and kindness.