What it takes to be “The” Leader?

What it takes to be “The” Leader?

What is it that takes to be “The” leader? The world has pondered over this question since time immemorial. While pondering, we have also scrutinized and analysed the leaders that have existed. We love to criticize them and always hold onto the thought that we would turn out to be better leaders than our present leaders.

Think about it, doesn't everyone want to be a leader at least once? Unfortunately, we work under the impression that we are / will be good leaders. Because, this is fueled by our own “idea” of what a good leader is.

So, how do you find out if your “idea” is synonymous to the world’s idea? Well, we have highlighted 5 major skills or competencies that are the markings of a good leader. 

Shared Leadership

Being a leader is so much more than leading a team to achieve their goals. As a leader, your job is to know your organization’s vision and mission and constantly drive it within the team. To be a leader who is result oriented or profit oriented, you need to be able to connect with your team and counterparts at a personal level. You need to synergize partnerships with your stakeholders and most importantly, your customers. If you can create a bond with your customers then you can drive your team to please the customers as well. Being a leader is perceived as a solitary task and it sometimes is. However, a good leader will always bring people in together and then act rather than dictate what needs to be done. The central idea is be the leader who is a good follower.

Self Discovery

Who likes a leader who doesn't lead by example? It’s an age old wisdom that is often spoken but the meaning has become redundant. A leader is good only if s/he “Walks the Talks”. Live by your principles and preach them. Only then, will you have a team in sync with you. Be aware of your strengths and weakness. A leader is admired and respected if s/he accepts their limitations. Humility is a good trait to have in a leader. Be humble enough to open yourself up to learning new methods, but, always have passion to be the best. The key is to be humble and passionate which the team then perceives as approachable.

Supports People Development

Be a leader for the people. Easier said than done! Good leaders have good teams. Be a coach and mentor to your team. Empower by giving the space to explore and express. Demand excellence and motivate your team to constantly achieve more. However, in the end, be the leader who realizes that his or her team is humane and have issues far larger than work, as that’s the leader who is voted as the “best boss of the year”. 

Strives for Results

All the talk about being people oriented and discovering oneself is moot if you can’t drive results. It’s your task to set goals and find solutions. It’s your

responsibility to make decisions and execute them well. A leader is like the

captain of a ship, s/he needs to set a course, foresee problems and calamities and re – route the path accordingly. Lastly, deliver quality while meeting quantity. History proves that, a team that has delivered qualitative and quantitative results are valued more than teams with quantitative results only.

Strategic Innovation

Lastly, be a leader who lives, breathes and drives change. Don’t be the person who is comfortable with a system, so settles in and gets old living it. Be the change or be the one to help change. To state the cliché, change is the only permanent in life. You, as the leader, need to not only invite innovative ideas but also help your team to come up with ways to implement them.

In the end, be the captain who is approachable, humble, result oriented and drives change. To be an exceptional leader, use these 5 skills in tandem and you will have solutions to all problems you might face. Being a leader is easy, but being ‘The’ leader makes your team and you reach new heights.

THE SYMBIOTIC MODEL: NEXT MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Dynamics within organizations are fast changing. There is a vast difference in managerial and employee orientation in organizations. With the increase in young entrepreneurs, the need of the hour is changing drastically. Recruiters are now hunting for talent in innovation and creativity rather than just desired competencies. These changing trends call for a new model of organizational behavior which defines the intricacies of new organizations.

Organizational behavior has been present ever since the end of the Barter system and the start of the Feudal systems, although the term ‘organizational behavior’ was not coined until the 1950s. Models of organizational behavior have changed with the economic development in the world. The ever changing economic climate, now, demands a new model of organizational behavior.

The present state of the organizations

A leading magazine has published that the last decade has seen a sudden emergence of new, young entrepreneurs. Recruiters now are looking for talent that will take their organization further. The economy and technology is changing rapidly. With such changing times, it is necessary for employers to have a team of people with innovative and creative ideas. Organizations are now supporting new entrepreneurs instead of seeing them as a threat and waste for the company. Hence, the changing dynamics have opened gates for a new model of organizational behavior: The Symbiotic Model

 THE SYMBIOTIC MODEL

The Symbiotic model is based on a horizontal structure of organization where hierarchy is extinct. The components of the model are the organization and its partners who all work to accomplish a common goal. In this structure, the commitment felt only comes out of ‘symbiosis’. The partners and the organization trust each other with the divided work because each person has earned mastery in their field. Hence, there is no boss, only partners who are encouraged to give their ideas and suggestions.

The profit or the income is equally divided amongst the partners and each has a share of the organization in the market. The organization encourages its partners to open new ventures and businesses.

Basis of the model: This model is based on Autonomy. Every partner is responsible for his/her work. Thus would require people to have mastery in their field and the trust of the organization that ‘yes, the work will be the best’. Symbiotic model is based on a horizontal structure of organization; hence Autonomy is its key feature.

Managerial Orientation: The managerial orientation is partnership where the manager is present only to give support to start the work and later gains from the profit of the partner. The manager and partner work only till the time the apprenticeship is completed and then the partner is on his own.

Employee Orientation: The employee orientation is Ownership and Commitment. Since the worker or the partner has his own set-up, the partner is bound to take his work as his own baby. His sole responsibility is the completion of the work as no one else can do it.

Employee Psychological Result: Since the partners have a sense of commitment along with the reward of using one’s talent and earning every profit of it, the partner is left feeling Self-Actualized and content.

Employee needs met: According to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, by now the partners are at the highest peak wherein all their needs are met. At this point, the partners will have the need to give back to the environment. The need is to create new things, bring about innovations and contribute in the progress of the world. The ‘creative’ need met here is the self-motivating drive that is almost non-exhaustible.

Performance Result: The resultant performance is that of beyond commitment. The partner is self driven and constantly making his/her own goals and contributing to the progress of the world through the progress of the organization and oneself.

The model of organizational behavior is in sync with developing technology and the changing need of the people. As the world’s wealth of knowledge increases, people will resist the hierarchy structure or the idea of ‘working under someone’.

In recent trends many companies are giving financial backing to their employees to start their own ventures. Companies like Google, Infosys are providing loans to their workers to contribute to the growing technology. With such growing trends, a horizontal structure of symbiosis is not far.

This study describes the upcoming trend in the organizations and its relations with its employees. It can be used to prepare oneself for the change and plan the organization to adapt to such changes. One must welcome such changes instead of resisting it; after all, history has shown us that organizations that resist change soon die out in this fast-changing world.

Hence, this study is a good start

Scaling my Everest: Overcoming Stammering and Stage Fear

Though there are over 70 Million people who stammer and stutter and many million more who have stage fear, while growing up I felt I was the only one. Like so many others I felt lonely, ashamed, embarrassed, inferior and completely lacked Self-Esteem.

For as long as I can remember I stammered, sometimes slightly and at other times I would freeze and totally give up. I would want to hide and not speak to people at all. I avoided people in corridors and on the phone, because I was scared of stammering and stuttering when I spoke with them. In fact, I would walk the other way on seeing someone I need to wish. 

Saying “G..G…G…G…G…G…G..G….G…. good M..M..Morning” was no fun at all.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think, that one day, I would be a public speaker and make a living addressing many people.

Well, Let me tell you how I Scaled my Everest:

I was a shy, timid little kid who stammered whenever put in a spot or in the limelight. For years I wondered whether that shy, timid little kid who stammered, was shy and timid because he stammered or stammered because he was shy and timid??

Is it the problem that creates the mind-set or the mind-set that creates the problem?

While growing up I made myself believe the former and therein lay the problem; however, my life turned around the day I began to believe the latter.

 The 98-2% Principle

This is the Belief Principle that guides all the others. Without this belief no other holds ground. So what do I mean by this.

Well simply put….. 98% of all obstacles and problems are in the head, and the real problem is just 2%. 

It starts with your own belief in being able to overcome that mental obstacle in front of you. Once you truly believe, then 98% of the work is done and the rest remains in executing and following through on your belief.

Of course this is easier said than done, one needs to maintain the belief through all difficulties, failures and challenges one faces en route. 

Sometimes one can do everything right and still not see the light at the end of the tunnel, and here is where one needs to keep the faith and “bash on regardless”. 

Explore other ways of overcoming what’s in front, not because you have a ready-made solution to fix it, but as you believe it can be done.

Positive Self-Talk and Brainwashing

Once the first barrier of the mind is conquered one needs to build Self-confidence and belief in oneself. Many people say that confidence is the key to it all; however, very few talk about how to build it.

If I were to suddenly ask you the following questions:

• What makes you important

• What makes you competent

• What makes you likable

• What makes you successful

How long would it take you to answer these questions?

The trick is in making yourself aware of your strengths and also building on them by creating action plans to make oneself more Important, Competent, Likable & Successful.

Are they at the tip of your tongue? 

The fact is that most of us spend far too much time and energy focusing on the other end of the spectrum. 

We tend to ask ourselves 

“Why am I not important to them? 

Why am I not able to do……..? 

Why doesn’t he / she like me? 

Why don’t things go my way?”

The answers to these questions are normally de-motivating and demoralizing.

It is important for each one of us to remind ourselves and build on the following affirmation statements:

• I am important because……
• I am competent because…..
• I am likable because……..
• I am successful because…….

So how this work is, maintain a diary and every week write down what you did that made you more important, competent, likable or successful. If you don’t have anything to write, don’t lose hope instead create an action plan for how you will better answer these questions next week. Thus, building on strengths and finally confidence.

Now, whenever you are low on confidence or need a “Pick me up”, all you need to do is read your diary and I guarantee you will get a boost. 

This method of constantly reminding oneself of one’s strengths using affirmation statements is called Positive Self-talk and brainwashing yourself to look at the strengths in you.

Speaking slowly and pausing

The next step is to reduce your rate of speech and ensure that you have a slow and measured way of talking. 

• Start with some reading practice and bring your rate of speech down to at least 140 words per minute.

Some of the best orators like Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr, Adolf Hitler, Sushma Swaraj, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, etc are a perfect example of slow measured speech, using pausing and pace for effect.

While this helps with overall impact of the way a person speaks and sounds, it gives a person time to think ahead and plan what he or she is saying.

Most people who stammer and stutter are usually trying to say things in a hurry lest they forget. This way of speaking tends to become a habit and thus our words have a tendency to come out tumbling and stumbling over each other. 

Just imagine if all the students in a school decide to come charging out of a single door the moment the school bell rings. 

Can you envision a scenario where there are many kids stuck in a doorway? 

Well that’s exactly what happens to our speech when everything tries to come out at once.

The best ways to reduce the speed or Rate of Speech is 

• To practice reading children’s books. 
• Add the drama and expression in the story, as that reduces the speed even further
• Time yourself and be happy once you start reading consistently at about 120 words. 
• If you read at 120 you might bring speech down to about 140-150.
• To be able to effectively do this the last point plays a critical role.

Effective Breathing

The average person takes about 15-18 breaths in a minute. Try it without consciously slowing down.

• The aim is to be able to bring it down to 3-4 and average it out to about 7-8.
• Reducing your rate of speech is directly related with your breathing pattern. 
• Instead of trying to say all we can in a breath, we should use our pauses and punctuation for breathing; short breaths at comas and longer breaths at full stops.
• A stutter normally occurs when the vocal chords are stressed and stiff. Effective and regular breathing reduces stress in the body and vocal chords. 
• Whenever one gets stuck or feels a stammer or stutter coming, take a short pause, a deep breath and you will immediately feel the body and vocal chords relax, thus, freeing the voice.
• Good deep breaths also help in providing oxygen to the brain. When we are stiff and not breathing freely the mind tends to go blank due a lack of oxygen to the brain.
• Yoga breathing techniques are very helpful in creating a good breathing pattern and rhythm.

These points are not the only things that I did or feel are needed to overcome stammering and stage fear. 
However, I do feel these are the most important and critical, and were instrumental in me “Scaling my Everest”. In fact the first 2 points are universal to overcoming any obstacle or challenge in life.

So what is your Everest? What is holding you back? What do you want to achieve?

Do you need someone to talk you through it? 

Connect with me and I can share more insights on overcoming any challenges you might have.