Some workplace lessons to learn from Panchayat

The third season of Panchayat released on Amazon Prime last week. A highly awaited and popular series, Panchayat, is not just another OTT show. The characters of the series teach us that no matter how tough a situation might get, unity has the power to withstand it.

The second season concluded on a highly emotional note with the untimely death of Rahul (played by Shiv Swaroop), son of Prahlad (Faisal Malik), in an encounter, at the LOC.

The situation further worsened when the residents of Phulera learnt about the transfer orders of Sachiv-Ji (Secretary, played by Jitendra Kumar). However, the villagers stood united against the rough-tempered MLA (Pankaj Jha), whom they accused of manipulating the transfer.

The third season started with the resistance of the villagers against the MLA to reverse the Panchayat secretary’s transfer order. It is pertinent to note that the two problems are dealt with one solution--‘team building’.

A distressed father, who lost his young son, finds immense emotional support from his neighbours and colleagues. Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) tries hard to make sure Prahlad is in a sound mental and physical state.

What are the workplace lessons to learn from this?

 Employee wellbeing

The show teaches us that a well-built team cannot just help meet the KRAs, but also contribute to the holistic and mental wellbeing of employees. In the series, Manju Devi is the depiction of a manager or team leader who is seen empowering her team and taking control of things in difficult times.

A good team leader or a good manager is the one who empowers the team and sets it on auto-pilot mode, yet keeps an eye on everybody’s performance, strengths, and weaknesses. A right manager knows the pulse of his/her team and thus, will not need to micro-manage.

However, he/she never leaves the employees alone in tough situations. It is very crucial for a manager to master the art of listening. It is not easy for an individual to perform well with a heavy heart. In such cases, the onus is on the manager to address the issue sensibly.

 Mutual support

Tough times can be emotionally and mentally draining. However, when a team stands strong and united with mutual understanding, crossing rough patches becomes easier. This unity strengthens the team’s ability to withstand difficult situations and work together towards common goals.

Sachiv-Ji, who prepares for MBA entrance exam receives support from the Pradhan (Raghubir Yadav) and Vikas (Chandan Roy) as he juggles between work and education. Eventually, this helps him regain confidence.

Problem-solving

Cooperative team members make communication easier. This automatically opens up more ways to address complex issues and solve problems. When a sense of tension developed between Sachiv Ji and the MLA during the second season of the series, his (Sachiv Ji’s) colleagues and other villagers stood up for the former in the end showing resistance against the latter.

In addition to these, Panchayat brings to us several other lessons of life like respect, friendship, unity, and team-building. The series is like the fairytale which teaches people to fight tough times and negativity with positivity and mutual support.