Becoming a Leader...........

R Ravichandran, Director Sales Intel South Asia:

Leadership is not about position, title or grade; it happens in conversation demonstrated in situations in situations and is definitely a state of mind/ body language that one caries most of the time. Leadership abilities include listening effectively to one and all to learn and understand and by respecting views of others and empowering them to deliver.

Umesh Dhal, VP - HR, M/s LG India:

            To become a true leader, one should have the confidence to stand alone; courage to take decisions; courage to lead from the front and by example; compassion to listen to others and also the ability to understand others emotions.  Lead the team by trusting them taking on the challenge is one of the two trades of the leader.  Leader should take ownership of failures and dedicate the success to the team. MS Dhoni is a perfect example.

A S Mehta Marketing Director, JK Tyre &Industries Ltd.,

    Manager become a true leader when he or she takes responsibility and gives due recognition to his / her own people.  Helps sub-ordinates to discharge the responsibilities well.  Adds value in the competence of the people and make their life comfortable and happy.

Shashank Mehrotra, Director -- Strategy and business development, Directi Internet Pvt., Ltd.,

Leadership is about behaviours.  Not everyone become a true leader, but having the right opportunities and experiences as well as the humility to learn the right lessons along the way can certainly be a positive step towards becoming one. 
    
Source: The Economic Times, 28the June, 2011, p 6

Leadership vs Management

R Ravinchandran, Director Sales Intel South Asia:

       Leadership is about influencing views on what needs to be done while mnaging is about guiding actions on how it needs to be done.

Umesh Dhal, VP - HR, M/s LG India:

     The major difference between a leader and an manager is the way they motivate people who work or follow them.A manager has to provide leadership to his /her groups, where as a good leader is one who can effectively put people of a company, coming fro various backgrounds, with different mindsets and talents, in a singular direction.

A S Mehta Marketing Director, JK Tyre &Industries Ltd.,

     A manager is to manage affairs and discharge his / her key responsibilities where as a leader is to lead and create more leaders.

Shashank Mehrotra, Director -- Strategy and business development, Directi Internet Pvt., Ltd.,

     For roles with a limited scope and which are clearly defined, low risk objectives, "Managerial skills" such as supervision, scheduling setting goals., etc., are just fine.When operating on a larger scale, a manager must incorporate very different behavior and methods, a leaders is focused in getting the job right.



Source: The Economic Times, 28the June, 2011, p 6

Leaders Vs Great Leaders

Vishal Gupta CEO, SECLORE says:

"Difference between leders and great leaders is that leaders create folowers while great leaders create great leaders. Great leaders use effective distribution of power, responsibility and accountability to create a sense of ownership amongst their team.

Accountability ensures that value is delivered. Dreams n their pursuit keep the passion up and rising Team management principles: combine power and responsibility, listen listen, and listen to the team; ensure that every one in the team is able to voice his and her ideas. The people hired should have the enthusiasm and the right attitude."

Source: The economic Times, 28th June 2011, p6 

Clasic Quotes

"Doing the right things when required, is a calling from high, do it boldly, do as you believe, do as you are.".................Eiji Toyoda, former president of Toyota, in HBR says:

A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action................Jawarharlal Nehru

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.........Aristotle

He that would be a leader must also be a bridge ..............Welsh Proverb

Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach..................Rosabeth Moss Kantor.

Eagle’s Personality

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (proverbs 29,18)

The Eagle is the "King of Birds". It is a powerful symbol of America as a leader of the free world. A Leadership lesson learnt from an Eagle is Vision. At the age of 30 years, the eagle goes through a process of renewal. Hiding high in the mountains, the old eagle with curved beak begins to claw at its face, and tear out the old feathers that by now become less airborne. As a result, it bleeds badly.  The eagle does this to gain its strength and to build its Resilience (another lesson). In Chinese culture, the eagle symbolizes an individual’s, strength, ambition and emulation since (s) she can fly as high as (s) he desires. The turbulent ocean is never an obstacle for the strong and determined eagle. The depiction of an eagle personality can normally be taken as being optimistic, as they are endowed with a strong will and determination, and a desire for freedom and independence. Eagle is Self-reliant and Self-sufficient who would prefer to stand on their own two feet rather than rely or depend on others, or to ask for help. When needed an effective leader requires working with and motivating others, a quality some Eagle personalities may lack, preferring at times to go it alone. Eagle personalities may appear to be bossy, arrogant, overbearing, bullying, and selfish. Eagle personalities are generally visionaries, trend setters, and pioneers with strong mental faculties that enable them to come up with fresh new ideas, handle tough problems, and see solutions that others can't.  An Eagle vibe means that you send out the vibrations of independence and leadership, and a flair for doing things your own way.  Eagle bosses are Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and Martin Luther King.  If you are often the one that comes up with original fresh new ideas, think of yourself as an "out of the box" thinker different from the rest; thank the Eagle for endowing you with these superb attributes.

Quotes on Leadership

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been .........Henry Miller.


To lead the people, walk behind them ..........Lao Tzu


Leaders should be able to Stand Alone, Take the Heat, Bear the Pain, Tell the Truth, and Do what's Right..........Max DePree


True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders ........Robert Townsend.


Leaders teach, Teaching and Leading are distinguishable occupation, but every great leader teaches-- and every great teacher is leading ..... John W Gardner.

Connect with People

Leadership is the ability to see ahead, take courageous stands and inspire others, magical ability to persuade and inspire others.

Leadership happens between people in a particular situation or moment, it is a social process; leaders play roles for and with others , sometimes as hero or scapegoat  looking for opportunities amidst these dynamics.

Leaders have to connect with people to become effective.

Leadership is context specific ie., context with which people are working.

Leaders can not transform their business environment, organisational culture, people and group dynamism in the way they hoped.

Leadership is subtle and situational. Leaders are real not wearing mask or pretense; uses all their humanity, intelligence, their emotion and intuition they play a role that suited them. Coming alive to the moment is also another ability i.e focusing on the people in front not the other pressures. 


Leaders and followers are at times unclear, confusing and difficult but they need to be often engaging, stimulating, exciting and rewarding.  

"Leaders command respect because they are real, passionate, hardworking and committed but not perfect."

Source: George Binney, Gerhard Wilke and Colin Williams, (2005), Living Leadership, Prentice Hall, p.5

Words of Wisdom of an "Average man"

Chairing the 30th Annual General Meeting for the last time on May 11, 2011,                       Mr. N R Narayana Murthy said :

The crucial things we have to do are: be firm in pursuing our values, recognize our weakness, embrace meritocracy, be open-minded about learning from people better than us, learn from our mistakes and not repeat them, be humble, honest and courteous, be firm in taking quick decisions.

He said,  "I am an average person with many below average attributes .......... my little story should be a confidence - booster for every average person in the world so that he or she can make a difference, at least in a small way, to this world ............innovation at every level and create a worthwhile vision and improve every day."

Source: Times of India, May 12, 2011

The Essence of Leadership

Excerpts from the farewell letter written by N R Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys to all the share holders:

Many intelligent people possess a high ego and low patience to deal with people less capable than themselves. Leaders have to manage this anomaly very carefully; counsel these errant people from time to time, and allow them to operate as long as they do not become dysfunctional and start harming the organization. If they do cross the threshold it takes courage to inform the individuals that their time in the organization is over and that they have to leave. However, one aspect that marks out a truly superior organization is the ability of its employees at all levels to be driven by values and to ensure adherence and compliance under any circumstance. No individual is high or important enough for an organization to put up with non compliance.

Leadership by example is what creates trust in people to follow a leader. As long as a leader is able to show his or her sacrifice and commitment to a cause others will follow him or her I am glad we decided on respect from our stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, vendor, partners, government of the land and the society) as the primary objective of the company.

Leadership is about taking bold and firm decisions with incomplete information in an environment of uncertainty: Leaders who waffle do not inspire confidence in their people. It is important to use as much data and modeling as possible to eliminate clearly bad decisions.

Every leader must have a mental model of his or her business with at best five to seven parameters that determine sensitivity to revenue and net income. It is important to update that model suitably as the business landscape changes. Any leader who cannot quickly do such sensitivity calculation would not be able to take quick and bold decisions

Generosity is an essential part of a leader. It is the foundation on which teamwork is built. The ability to share the limelight with ones colleagues, the ability to step aside and give opportunity to younger people when they want that fame, power and glory: and the ability to provide a safety net of advice for them is an important aspect of strengthening the future of an organization. It is not easy to give up power, particularly when you have been the object of so much adulation.

First Priority of Leaders.

George Binney, Gerhard Wilke and Colin Williams in their book "Living Leadership" indicates that the first priority of leaders is to" get connected.". By getting connected they mean that:

1. Enough openness and trust to confront difficult issues openly;
2. Enough respect to make people want to work with others and make the extra effort for them;
3. Enough shared values and perspectives to enable effective joint working;
4. Enough conflict to widen and deepen the exchanges and make real trust possible.

Source: George Binney, Gerhard Wilke and Colin Williams, (2005), Living Leadership, Prentice Hall, p.14

Popularity of Leaders

Kesahav R Murugesh is Group CEO, WNS Global Services says...................

"Leadership is not about just giving orders, its about walking with your team mates--- hand in hand. A good and a well - accepted leader can only act as that common force to lead diverse group of people. Popularity should not be the ultimate ambition of any leader; taking tough calls, delivering results and growing a company in a world class manner should be the focus which will automatically give recognition."

Source: The Economic Times, May 29,2011, p.22

Leadership is Character & Excellence

Ganesh R Shermon- partner and country head of P&T, People and change practice, KPMG says:

"Accountability -- that is what leadership is all about. Leadership is rarely about popularity,  it takes courage and charater to use leadership. Leadership is a complex process by which a person influences others to accomplish a task or an objective and directs the organisation in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. A person carries out this process by applying his /her leadership attributes (beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills.) Leadership makes people want to achieve high goals and objectives. Leaders do not command exxellence they build excellence. Excellence start with leaders of character who engage in the entire process of leadership. and the first process is being a person of honourable character."

Source: The Economic Times, May 29, 2011, p. 22