If there's one human endeavour that's as old as humanity and that's vital to our existence itself, I'd say it's Leadership. Every nation, every age, every philosophy and every man on earth always required a leader to flourish. I never thought that I'd be able to lead a team - but when I learnt I can, it was a fulfilling experience that no money could buy on earth. Now, a short story on a "leadership" experience that I encountered during the latter half of last year.
I lead a team of guys who are best described by many nay-sayers as "craps" (I learnt they are not, during the next couple of months). One fine day in August 2007, I was on a status update call with my customer. Due to past experiences that left a bad taste in his mouth, this customer was enraged. He wanted us to prove our capability by completing certain goals that he set for us. By November 1st, if we didn't complete the goals, he threatened that he'd pullout and take that business elsewhere. (It's a different story whether it's easy to pullout given the complexity of that enterprise system). But something made me take that very seriously (I'll be writing in another article what that "something" is). It touched my ego and I was determined to take up the challenge. With the help of my team, I was able to see it through to a level of completion that made this customer happy. But above all, I learnt few lessons in leadership that I'd never forget in my life. So, here are they!
1. Leaders have clarity.
This is the first and foremost quality that I've observed in every successful leader. A leader must know his raison d'être - what makes his existence as a leader.
2. Leaders believe in themselves.
Even a grain of doubt in one's own capability makes the person get into a negative spiral.
3. Leaders trust people.
Trust, enormous level of trust in people they lead! Without people, a leader is really nothing. A leader doesn't (and can't) achieve anything on his own.
4. Leaders are action oriented.
A leader knows instintively (by practice) how far to analyze the problem and when to get into action. He doesn't overanalyze things.
(This is one thing that I'm still trying to get a hang of! :)
5. Leaders acknowledge mistakes.
Mistakes are never hidden for long - so a leader acknowledges his mistakes publicly. But at the same time he doesn't brood over them. He does the next step!
6. Leaders never stop learning.
No leader sleeps peacefully if he doesn't learn something everyday.
7. Leaders are energetic and passionate.
If you're around a true leader, you can see that he exudes energy that's infectious! Energy and passion are two things that never run dry in a leader.
8. Leaders communicate.
Effective leader communicates clearly, communicates beautifully, communicates honestly and communicates often. I'd never forget the day I communicated the grave situation to the team after my client threatened to screw us. It made me understand how supportive my team was in achieiving the goals.
9. Leaders know when to give up and when not to.
It might be a surprise, but a leader give up too - but unlike others! He looks for signs all around and gives up only when he knows for sure that sticking on will never practically solve the problem at hand, or even brings more problems.
10. Leaders never complain.
A leader never looks out for reasons to complain. How many ever negative people a leader runs into, he stays positive and never complains.
11. Leaders delegate.
Doing everything on one's own is a recipe for disaster if you want to be a leader. But at the same time .... (read on)
12. Leaders are hands-on and lead by example.
True leader loves to be on the field leading the team by example rather than by command alone.
13. Leaders are great in attention to details.
Whatever your area of specialization is, attention to detail is one thing that a leader should never compromise on.
And most important of all ....
14. Leaders create leaders!
This is the only way a leader can leave his legacy.
(And a secret about great leaders: they have big - but justifiable - egos that can make or break things! So, better don't mess around with a real leader! :)
