Dear Wise Souls,
“What you become is way more important than what you achieve.” — Srinivas KM
That one line sums up our whole conversation, and maybe a whole career too.
Would you trust your boss enough to jump? In our new episode of Wise Owl Talks, premiering Friday, 2 October at 7 PM MYT / 4:30 PM IST, we sit down with Srinivas KM, an HRD Corp certified trainer and John Maxwell certified coach who turned a pandemic setback into a full-time career in training and speaking, to talk about trust, toxic bosses and what real leadership looks like.
🪂 Who Packed Your Parachute?
Very often, people who jump out of planes have no idea who packed their parachutes. They just jump.
Sri turns that into a question for every workplace:
“If your boss packed your parachute… do you have the courage to jump out? If deep down, even 1% says ‘I don’t know’… that’s the question.”
🧱 Values on the Wall, Not in Their Lives
Integrity. Honesty. Transparency. Most companies print them proudly.
“It’s on the walls, not in their lives.”
People don’t give their best because of salary or policy, Sri says. They give their best because of the culture leaders create, day after day.
🧛 Energy Vampires & the Wise Owl Way to Handle a Toxic Boss
Some people charge you up just by being around. Others drain you in 20 minutes. Sri calls them energy vampires.
So what do you do with a toxic boss when walking away overnight isn’t an option?
“There are people depending on you. You have bills to pay. That’s where being wise comes in, like a wise owl.”
The Wise Owl way:
- Handle it wisely, for a while
- Keep your distance
- Quietly look for new opportunities
- Guard your heart
“It’s very tempting to become what we despise.”
🏆 The Best Player Is Not the Boss
“In the best teams, the best player is not the boss.”
Great leaders hire people better than themselves, give them space to play, and aren’t threatened by them. The difference, Sri says, comes down to personal agenda versus organisational agenda.
🤝 Team Bonding ≠ Team Building
A day at a resort, a few games, a group photo… and back to office politics on Monday.
“One day is not enough for building a team. I would rename that into team bonding.”
Real teams are built on trust, and trust takes weeks, months, sometimes years.
💊 Candor: The Bitter Medicine
In 2015, Palash had to decide about a manager who wasn’t performing. Out of care, he didn’t push. Months later, the manager lost his job and asked: “Boss, why didn’t you pressurise me?”
Sri’s answer:
“Candor doesn’t mean you have to be blunt or rude. It means you have to be firm… If the trust is high, they get it faster. If the trust is low, God bless you.”
🦉 A Note from Palash
This conversation was a reminder that leadership isn’t a title. It shows in the small moments:
- Saying the hard thing, with care
- Hiring people smarter than yourself
- Protecting who you are when the workplace gets toxic
- Building trust long after the team-building photo is taken
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’d trust your boss enough to jump, this episode is for you.
📺 Watch the full episode: Would You Trust Your Boss? | Wise Owl Talks
🧩 Join us live and try the 3-question quiz under the video!
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Until next time,
Palash
Founder & Host, Wise Owl Talks
