Dance Party I.N.D.I.A.

I manage two teams in India: an EDD processing team of 7 people and a Data team of 5 people and one joint supervisor. It's a 24/7 operation with three shifts (morning, afternoon, and night). One of the amazing things about my team is that there are more post-graduate degrees in the room then there are people (I hold none of them).

I met with the leadership of our India company and with (all three shifts of) my India team. Both were great meetings.

The staff meeting in particular was terrific. It turned into a 80 minute Q&A/open forum/free flowing dialog on everything. It was awesome. People I had talked to on the phone who I always felt were tremendously shy opened up and provided some great insights. I got feedback on all sorts of topics. They had suggestions for their US counterparts and even for our project managers. It was very interesting to hear their take on our process and work flow. I really enjoyed the whole session.

Later, I got a tour of the facility and met with the Coding managers and then with their team. The next logical step is to merge Coding with my team and I think we laid the groundwork for that.

Sunil and I went to lunch with the CEO and my Indian counterpart. We went to a fancy Chinese restaurant (second time in India). Good food, good conversation. I finished the day with a tour of our India company's other two offices. While we don’t work with their other core businesses, it's always good to know what else is available.

That night Sunil and I wanted to host a happy hour for the entire team including management, Coding, and support staff. We had a bit of a dilemma on our hands: my team runs 24/7. Do I make a handful of people work while all their colleagues drink, or shut down for 4 hours to let everyone attend? Keep in mind that 8pm-12am IST is 10:30am-2:30pm EST (our prime work hours in NY and DC).

I opted for a full shut down for the 4 hours. It was a slow morning back in the US anyway, and with our NY team available to cover, I felt we could chance it. The only stipulation I put in place was that those going back to work within 4 hours of the end of the party were not allowed to drink. Seemed the most fair.

The evening started out kind of funny. Whether it’s a cultural thing or a group dynamic/ personality thing, when we arrived everyone was in full-on 7th grade dance mode: guys and girls were divided on opposite walls. We got a few drinks and tried to mix the two crowds. It just wasn’t taking.

Then the DJ arrived and the music started blaring. Immediately, it was a completely different party. Guys and girls streamed to the dance floor. It was hilarious. People were having a great time.

Like I said, we were planning to host a happy hour, so I thought it was odd that they kept referring to it as a "Dance Party". I do not dance. I mean, I have danced and I am physically able to dance (although not well), I just choose not to. I dance at weddings when Jess requires it, but NEVER go to dance clubs. It’s just not my scene.

It was odd; I have done things for political reasons before, and what I mean by that is I am great at the office politics game, but DANCE?, come on, that’s a line I wasn’t mental prepared to cross. It was funny though. There were a few holdouts, wall hangers (my people) but once both Sunil and I were out there with the masses, not a single other person stayed off the dance floor. People seemed to be having a great time. Everyone was so pleased that Sunil and I danced. The whole atmosphere was so festive.

After 1am, when Sunil and I got back to our hotel and chatted, he and I both confirmed a few items we witnessed:

1. Of the few that were going back to work, not a single one of them had a drink the entire night (which I find to be impressive)


2. Not one of the unmarried women had a alcoholic drink (that either of us saw)


3. None of the unmarried men danced with woman (only by themselves or in groups)


4. When management was around/included in a group discussion, all people seemed to put their drinks down as to not been seen drinking. When the manager would walk away, they would immediately pick up their beers and continue. When I mentioned this to one of the other VP’s, he confirmed that it is in fact a cultural thing, and that he often uses it to monitor/help pace some of the more "exuberant" team members.

I had planned to work after the happy hour was over. A handful of beers and the fact the dinner wasn’t served until 11pm made it clear that that wasn’t going to happen. At 10:30pm, I called off work for the night and even shot off a message to cancel a 2am IST/4:30pm EST conference call.

Dispite breakfast, it turned out to be a great day.