‘Be aggressive with action, not voice’: Mumbai entrepreneur on leaders who shout at colleagues

The Mumbai-based entrepreneur said that shouting in organisations should not be “normalised” just because it was “glorified 20 years ago”.

A Mumbai-based entrepreneur recently shared his thoughts on social media regarding leaders who shout at their colleagues or team members. He expressed that just because this kind of behaviour was glorified 20 years ago, it doesn’t mean that it should be normalised. Additionally, he offered some advice to those who have bosses who shout at them.

Arindam Paul suggested that one should not tolerate their bosses shouting at them and should speak up and address the issue directly. (X/@arindam___paul)

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“Anyone who shouts at colleagues/team members has no business being a leader. And no business being in a corporate set up,” wrote start-up founder Arindam Paul on X.

He said that one should not “normalise shouting in organisations”, and added, “If you get shouted at, call it out.”

Paul further suggested that one should be “aggressive with actions, not voice”, and that can be done without being “rude”.

Here’s what the start-up founder posted on X:

The post was shared two days ago on the microblogging platform. It has since then garnered more than 62,000 views and over 600 likes. The share has also received numerous comments from X users.

Check out how people have reacted to this post here:

“I have heard of a top industrialist (one of India’s richest) in the early days often throwing his shoe at people in leadership meetings when angry. I am hoping these remain legacy and aren’t the news from today’s boardrooms,” posted an individual.

Another added, “Very true, I had many experiences at my previous company. Managers used to be extremely rude with different teams + Delhi slang, of course. I had to call it out a bunch of times and correct them privately. If you don’t know how to operate with people, you shouldn’t be in an organisation, in my opinion.”

“Respect yourself: walk out of such meetings, discussions. It is very difficult to confront such persons especially at such times. Walking out could be simpler: this is a very tough situation to be in and one could freeze, try and remember to respect yourself and find the strength to walk,” expressed a third.

“So well put!” shared a fourth.

A fifth joined, “Absolutely! True leadership is about respect, collaboration, and constructive communication.”