Leadership and What It Entails

According to Webster's Dictionary, a leader is someone who has the capacity to lead: the office or position of leader. The keywords in the two definitions are "capacity" and "office". The leader is the person who is willing to listen, make decisions and most importantly takes the hand of his subordinates and inspires them to deliver their best. So, how do we judge who is a good leader? Simple, we look at his subordinates. If they seem motivated to go that extra mile for the company, if they are proactive and willing to take on new things, if they whistle and work even if there is overtime of  3 hours.... look for the person who is standing behind and smiling. He is a true leader. A leader is not just about the office or the designation- it is about the spirit of professionalism, honesty and dedication. 

According to Revenue Journal two of the important characteristics of true leadership are- being non-judgmental and being able to communicate clearly, precisely and concisely. In Indian context, I would add another characteristic- Being Fair-minded –to identify competence and do away with prejudice. Prejudice is numero uno enemy of just and fair. A leader should also display high emotional intelligence quotient. This calls for being sensitive to people’s problems, feelings.

A person who continuously flogs a subordinate for slipping or a fault , that too in public  cannot inspire anything positive in his subordinates. It shows that the leader is not honest, neither responsible.  Rather it creates an atmosphere of distrust. This may be conducive towards individual success but surely not a recipe of good team work. In fact, I call such a place as “ saving your own behind at every cost”.

As Indra Nooyi says, “your compass must point towards true north all the time, all the while.’ I have seen many offices of leaders being occupied by just highly efficient managers. Now, there is a difference between managers and leaders- a manager will run the daily chores while a leader would have a vision and an action plan to achieve that vision. Many companies in India has made their CEOs to parrot the jargon of leadership- team work, proactive, professionalism. However, they need to learn and learn fast that they cannot expect professionalism from their subordinates if they donot deliver it themselves- a case in point- many companies make the subordinates work overtime, work during holidays and crib when the employees take leave… they forget that they are not paying for the overtime, they are not taking measures for safety of their women employees, that there is rampant nepotism at various levels of the organization, gender bias.

I find that the best things come from the smallest packages. I find Harry Potter books a classic- it teaches without preaching. So here is something from Harry Potter.

“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows