My boss, or rather my project lead, is Indian relacated to the US. A Senior Director in the company, and may I add, rather good at her work, she does have a few issues.
1. She is, IMHO, in her early-forties…. And she is convinced that she is a decade younger.
2. She is the Delhiite-Kashmiri fair, and has coloured her hair almost completely brown. The brunette brown. And she is convinced that people mistake her for being white.
3. She, albeit a very good speaker, has the irritating Indian-American accent. And does not realise that. And pronounces a few words in the private-school Delhi way. May i insist, that is akin to the ‘incorrect-way’.
4. She is a little unsure of whether she is smart enough. Well she shouldn’t, because she is.
So, what does Retro do?
1. I discuss backpacking tours and treks, and other youthful things
2. I smile and nod when she mentions people mistake her for white, or that most Indian techies in the US speak in such accented english.
3. I mention all the time to her that she is very smart. This is the easy part.
Well, it works out fine. We get along reasonably well, she mentions to the CEO often that I am good at my work (and I am, may I add), she helps me out with my understanding of the business and the organizational politics of the client; and whatever needs to be communicated to the CEO or the client, but needs sugarcoating, I can get done through her.
Sometimes, going easy on the pride is a good thing.
It’s called old age.
I was at a wedding dinner table yesterday where the topic turned to “whether younger parents give birth to high IQ kids”. Someone-married-for-four-years-with-a-three-year-old-kid said, “Hormones are better when one is young, and it automatically implies smarter kids. The twenty-four year old woman at the table fought. I smiled, and changed the topic, and saved myself a whole lot of hormone trouble.
As you said, going easy is a good thing.
It’s called growing up, dear, not old-age.
You will get old quicker than I will ever be.