Leadership
Yesterday someone shared a note from one who had retired talking of leadership. Largely by default and sometimes by design I have found myself in leadership positions all my life and felt inspired to share my thoughts. I have learnt from many and that is a blog which is work in progress but delayed due to ethical dilemmas of what I can share or not share. But with due credit to every one of the bosses in my life - and barring for some unpleasant episodes - I can claim to have worked for some of best bosses that anybody could have worked with, unlike the popular opinion on bosses. So, here’s my thoughts on leadership, not in any particular order.
Leadership is situational and not a
title or position. We often forget this in the cloud of our ego. If you are the
head of a huge organisation and have a security detail or caught in a fire, you
will obey the instructions of the guard or fireman even if you think he is way
down the food chain and you are the top boss. HE/SHE is the leader in that
situation and you will obey them, not the other way around. So, anybody however
deep down in the hierarchy - just shut up and listen to them when they are doing
their job, don’t throw your weight around.
Information is king but don't confuse
data with information. Information is about the market, the people, the
customers, the politics, the economic strategy, global affairs, the war in some
far away country etc and with time you will develop the ability to connect dots
well in advance and be a soothsayer who can often predict events and de-risk
them for your organisation by converting information into knowledge.
Data is what Dr. Google today throws
at you, information is what you gain from that data, knowledge is what you gleam
from analysing that information and wisdom by experience is what helps you take
decisions based on that knowledge. Often many people confuse the data for
information and forget the wisdom needed.
Spend maximum time with customers,
buyers, users, other stakeholders even if disconnected by a step or two &
they will teach you far more than anybody else. They will give you perspectives
on issues you didn’t even know existed and help you re-plan your work for
better results. They have solutions for every problem, so ask them, it makes
your job easier. But to ask them you need to develop relationships and retain
them all the time. This story of the late Alyque Padamsee probably best explains
this learning by a leader.
Courage of conviction. Don't be afraid
to articulate your views & also don't be afraid to listen to other views. But
first you need to develop the courage to start following this dictum. It is
only when you hear contrarian views that your own views get sharpened. In today’s
artificial intelligence-based algorithms and an overt dependence on Dr. Google
we are forced to live in an echo chamber reinforced by data that only reflects
our own thoughts and never the complete data. So, it is essential to go search
for opposing views.
In the era of mobile phones we have
forgotten the art of conversation, gossip over chai, sharing stories, building
relationships in the way humans should as a society. So, it’s all the more reason
for future leaders to develop this habit. For all you know the most important
trait for a future leader could be their ability to deal with humans at a
personal level rather than via electronic media.
Listen - listen - listen. A leader can
never be good at everything. So that's why you have teams. Encourage your team
to question you, challenge you & argue with you. Stir the pot if needed to
make the team react. Then keep listening and finally you will have heard so
many views that your decision making becomes easier and better. I had a board member
who stayed silent for the most time and the other Directors would “complain”
jocularly – this chap always has his way. The secret was that he would listen
to spirited discussions and once everybody was silent, he would give his opinion
based on the sea of arguments he had listened to.
Dr. Verghese Kurien, father of the milk
revolution in India taught me the most profound lesson in my life. He said that
the culture of an organisation can usually be gauged by the cleanliness of the
workers toilet. Over time this has proved so true that no wonder we called him
Dr. God.
A leader needs to be good at only one
or two things to gain respect but there are many other things he can do to make
the respect grow till finally nobody knows what you are good at except as a
leader. So, stop trying to be that all knowing person to your team.
Follow the dictum - The credit is
yours, the debit is mine. It's hard at first but over time the performance you
get from your team is fantastic. It empowers the team and their confidence so
much that they will do wonders.
Praise in public, criticise in
private. It’s far more effective and earns you respect. And while on the
subject also remember – Respect is always commanded and never demanded.
Never assume and never get trapped in
the paralysis by analysis trench. It's like Bungie jumping. Anything can go wrong and kill you but if you
keep waiting you will never get anywhere. The choice is between getting on a
tread mill and actually running. So, develop the discipline of cutting short
the endless discussions and take decisions when needed.
Planning for success is far more
challenging than failure. The former can hurt you much more than the latter. Its
very easy to plan for failure, you have nothing to lose anyway.
Always remember - you don't know what
you don't know. This will make you keep your eyes, ears open and save you more
than once.
Everyday ask yourself at the end of
the day a) What did I learn today? b) What did I accomplish today? c) what did I
achieve?
A Good decision is where both feel
they could have done better. Never try to walk away from a decision point where
one of you is exuberant. Often that will come back to bite you. You should both
walk away feeling that you gained but lost something and often that creates a
stronger relationship between the two parties.
Don't believe in your own bullshit. We
often bullshit so well to convince people who are listening to us that sometimes
we start thinking it to be actually true.
First know the facts, then you can
distort it as much as you want. Often when putting forth arguments to the other
side, we walk along the thin edge, skate on thin ice, are economical with the
truth but if we have not digested all the facts – however bitter it may be – we
will only get into the quicksand rather then take acceptable risks and solve
problems. We become the problem rather than the person trying to solve the
problem.
Sometimes you have to do a lot of what
you don't want to do to get to do what you want to do. A Pilot in United Airlines
said this. In other words, life is about 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration.
A true leader makes himself redundant
as soon as he can, that's the only way to grow. Leadership is not being Chairman.
The head gardener is also a leader and at every stage you need to outgrow your
job. The most classical example is a former colleague of mine – Bhaskar is his
name – who started as the guy who handled despatches. Every job you gave him he
would systemise it, develop someone to handle it and then come back saying – I am
jobless. Today he heads an organisation in which if I had continued working, probably
would not have headed. In other words - If you can’t be replaced you can’t be
promoted
Leaders recognise Kodak moments and
seize it. Life throws up moments that are so sudden and unexpected that it
needs talent to spot it, grab it and convert it to your advantage. This also comes
from having the ability to be very clear of your own priorities, but more
importantly to be aware of the other persons priorities and see how to merge
the two – in that one moment.
A Swedish HR trainer once told me - Competence
can make you a great No. 2, but to be No. 1 you need to understand politics. Here
politics is not a bad word. Its about managing a large herd of people into
believing your cause and supporting it. It requires the ability to manage
contradictions, contradictory positions, rival opinions, competitive demands. Politics
is the ability to be the puppet master in a manner of speaking except that the
number of puppets is many, and they must not know they are being used as puppets.
I once had a talk with my Vice
President about the promotion process where apparently a good experienced
person did not get the rewards he deserved. He said – “I want people who are
more educated, knowledgeable and better than me. I would be most happy if
someone working for me becomes my boss.” So always hire/ promote only those who
you think are better than you and for who you will be ready to work for. Such a
team will give you results which automatically give you your own rewards. Leadership
is about managing those better than you.
Don’t confuse between personal
ego/arrogance with the ego and arrogance given by position. Every human has ego
and arrogance and is understandable. But the moment you confuse that with the
ego and arrogance that comes with your position, you are heading for a downfall
that is very hard.
A good salesman converts biz
opportunity into a sale, a good marketing person can sense a biz opportunity
and create a product to sell but a politician can create a biz opportunity and
sell a product that does not exist. A leader often must be able to do this. Create
passion and belief in something that does not exist as yet, but still get the
team to run chasing that dream and often this inspiration can transform
ordinary people into extraordinary heroes. Wars demonstrate this far better
than any other situation and this is worth reading.
Comments