Scribbles from my District Training

On a bright sunny afternoon in LBSNAA, the order of my probation district being Hazaribagh came. I had heard several good things about the district- its pleasant weather, pristine beauty, greenery, it being a traditional training district and so on. At the same time, the very thought of shifting away from the Academy's bustle to the district's loneliness did hit hard. After all, we had heard from our seniors that life is very lonely and boring in districts, with hardly any company. With all these preconceived notions, the seven of us landed in our respective districts with the promise that we will meet every month and there will be no space for even an iota of loneliness. 

On the 27th of September 2022, I formally joined the district as Assistant Collector, Hazaribagh and out of the experiences gathered in this short period, I will be sharing some of the noteworthy experiences from the people around me, primarily my Deputy Commissioner, line departments with which i had my attachments, and my staff .

1. Do not let the power get to your head- as soon as we land up in the districts for our training, we get an accommodation in the circuit house along with a vehicle, a driver, a PSO and an attendant. These are meant to make our lives easy so that we can complete our attachments without any hassle. Experiencing these at such an initial stage in our career might develop a sense of entitlement in us. Beware!! Always remember, these things are temporary and till your retirement, if you get habitual to these, your post retirement life could be a nightmare. 

Someday try driving your personal car to the market, you will realise that the greetings, pranaams that you receive on the road are only because of your official vehicle and the PSO and not because they know you by face. We are nobody without them. So be grounded, do not let this sense of entitlement get to your head and remember that you will continue to be an officer, rather a more respected officer even if you do some of your work on your own.

2. Keep your humane side alive- While you are at work, your staff, the driver, PSO and attendant are waiting for you. You may be occupied in some meeting or program. Make sure you give them standing instructions for lunch. Treat your staff well, take care of their basic needs, breaks, food. Join them for their family functions, celebrations and festivals; your few moments can create everlasting memories for someone. If you are returning late from work, offer them dinner; for instance your PSO might be from the police lines and the mess might be closed by the time you return. To the extent possible, extend help to them in their work like property registration, school admission, etc. A single phone call from side can make their job easier, faster and without bribes. 

3. You do not have to be the "knowledge centre" to be able to make a difference- As and when a situation emerges, we can always refer to guard files, relevant circulars, precedents and talk to experienced officers in the line departments to get the job done. We cant and should not use 'abhi toh mai probationer hoon' as a tool for not delivering. But, we must be willing to learn on the job and develop the ability to deep dive, read up and collect all relevant documents till we have clarity to make a decision on any emergent situation.

4. Use your probationer status judiciously- Do not play the probationer card all the time. Your seniors in service will never assign controversial tasks to you, they will always protect you and rope you in for developmental work. Yet, you might be given odd tasks, even controversial ones by other officers. In those circumstances, all you need to do is to tell them 'abhi toh mai probationer hoon' and report the matter to your Deputy Commissioner and act as per her direction. 

At times, media people will chase you for statements and bytes, for them you are a new and relatively free subject and seniors are too occupied to give statements. My Municipal Commissioner taught me that as a probationer, we are to stay away from these as one wrong statement can flare up things badly. Also, know it as a thumb rule that only the senior most, for instance DC, SP, Municipal Commissioner are to give statements and bytes and we are to say 'abhi toh mai probationer hoon' 

5. Take a stand when required, learn to say 'no' to unreasonable demands- There was a request from a political representative to get a Transfer Certificate issued from a school where the student remained absent for the last 2 full years. On verification of the Admission register and Attendance register, it became clear that the child didn't attend school for the last 2 years and hence the TC cant be issued. I explained this to the political representative with all the politeness and logic that I had and he accepted my 'no' gracefully and didn't push further. Learning to say 'no' politely and yet firmly early on in your career helps you steer clear from unlawful demands in the long term. 

6. Do not feel low if your DC is not able to give you time as per your expectations- As a female officer, I was fortunate to be tagged with a female DC, you learn a lot of softer aspects simply by sitting near her and observing her silently, for instance how to deal with non performing officers, how to take review meetings, how to be kind yet strict, how to dress for different occasions, people management, and a lot more. 

As a probationer, if you expect her full time and attention, you may end up being disappointed every other day. We have to be patient, more so in the initial few weeks and months when we try figuring out her model of mentorship. In the initial few weeks, it is advisable to spend maximum time with your DC. Some DCs rely on giving independent charges as a way of learning, others may leave it to the probationer to find their way up, still others may be indifferent. 

I spent my initial few weeks like a 'child in a mother's womb', I would sit at a right angle continuously with my DC, observe her, keep asking queries between her work. Slowly i graduated to asking "Maam, mai yeh school dekh loon ? yeh kaam dekh loon ?" followed by independent inspections and tasks to independent charge of Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Circuit House nodal and a lot more. 

Patience is the key, rather than cribbing about your boss being busy or not being able to give you time and attention or not delegating work to you, you can proactively ask for tasks. Once you start delivering well on those, you will surely be given umpteen tasks. Also, we should continuously be in touch with our batchmates and keep ourselves updated about their experiences in their respective districts. Infact, we have taking ideas from one another and implementing in our districts, for instance "No single use plastic" campaign of Hazaribagh, "one model village per block" idea from Dumka, etc. Discussing work with fellow batchmates both within the cadre and outside helps us understand and execute some of the best practices in our districts and also complements and supplements our learnings.

7. Hard work and intent matters more than present knowledge - As a probationer, you may not have complete knowledge about most of the processes, this is completely understandable. You still can make a difference with the right intent and a little bit of hard work. Every single day, you will receive many applications and meet many people coming with genuine and basic problems. 80% of the problems that they come with are very basic , like birth certificate, drain, road, and expectations are also bare minimum- if there work is done in time and without giving bribe they are more than happy. All we need to do is call for the corresponding officer, read the relevant rules and notifications, and find a way out. If we are able to solve these basic and genuine problems, we earn a sense of fulfilment and their purest blessings. Above all, with our hard work and intent, we can keep enhancing our knowledge levels. 

8. Be speech ready, always- As a probationer, you will be called for umpteen programs, cultural and academic, meetings and conferences. None of them will ask you to be prepared for a speech, because they feel that giving a speech would be like a cakewalk for us. But, let me tell you, giving a good speech is an art and it cant happen without adequate preparation. You need to know the theme of the program/meeting/conference, you need to know the audience and participants to be able to address them effectively and engage them well. People look up to you, and sometimes, all you have are words to offer. Using them effectively is a power you own.

9. Dress as per the occasion- and dress well. All my life i have been justifying my 'out of the bed look' saying that my work, not my appearance shall speak for me. In Public Service, people look upto you, you are expected to create lasting impressions, you are known even before you step inside the room. You can certainly become a change agent through your work, but there is no harm in sparing an extra 5 minutes in the dressing room. I have seen my DC pay special attention to dressing appropriately for every single occasion, for instance, red saree for ramleela, sarees for junta darbar, yellow for ramnavami, white suit for holi, ceremonials for formal occasions and so on. However busy her schedule may be, she will find time for dressing up to the occasion.  

10. There is a big difference between armchair and on-field bureaucracy- As a probationer, we have all the time to move around for field visits, but as we go up in the hierarchy, we are more likely to be occupied in our office spaces and with file work, leaving very less time for field inspections. But, we must keep in mind that the real picture is captured only when you are a frequent visitor to the field. There is a stark difference in delivery outcomes between armchair and on-field bureaucrats. We deliver better when we are aware of the actual onsite challenges, the exact expectations and the hurdles and this is possible when we are close to the grassroots, interacting with the intended beneficiaries and other common people forming the ecosystem. 

11. Our frequent visits to schools, anganwadis and hospitals strengthens them - It may not be a big affair for us to visit some of the schools and anganwadis around us, first, as we have enough bandwidth and second, it is the most non controversial thing you can do as a probationer. But our visits to the schools can motivate a hundred minds, can sow seeds of ambition in the young minds, can persuade the parents to send their wards to school. Our visits will reveal gaps in infrastructure or otherwise, for instance, utensils in AWCs, toilets in schools, beds in hospitals, etc. We must remember that we are the eyes and ears of our DCs and these visits will enable the administration to plug these gaps better.

12. Share everything with your DC- As a probationer, we are our DC's child and just like a child shares everything with its mother, we must share everything with our boss, for instance, where we go, what tasks we take up. Make sure your DC is aware of your moves, because suppose you land up in trouble, she is the one who will rescue you. Also, sharing even small things such as activities you have planned for yourself and taking her go-ahead for that gradually builds a bond of trust and confidence. 

There are instances that i recall when i have made mistakes and shared with my DC and jointly figured out the way forward. There might be instances where you are given tasks by officers other than your reporting senior, its better to discuss about those and seek her buy-in before proceeding with those tasks. We must know with clarity that we may have several seniors as a probationer but we report to the DC and hence no communication shall bypass the DC.

Probationers will come and probationers will go. Deputy Commissioners will come and Deputy Commissioners will go. We have heard stories about times in the past, say five decades back, when probationers lived with the DC in the DC residence as a family member. I can only imagine the kind of bonds one shared with their training DCs back then. Each probationer goes through a unique experience, and as they say- 'A probationer's experience in District training is a function of your Deputy Commissioner's thoughts'. Rightly so. We have also learnt from our seniors that a training DC is a mentor for life. With gratitude in my heart and hope in my mind, i hope i will inspire confidence when, on the other side of the table.