How to become a good leader

A leader should never stop learning. A leader has to be a perpetual student and should keep learning from his co-workers, seniors, clients and of course, books; as every Human being has something to unlock or learn every day at every point of life, no matter what position he/she has attained in life. Whenever I go for a workshop, I am sad to see that Managers have stopped reading. Books have great transformative power. It is said that when you start reading a book and by the time you end it, you are a transformed human being. A leader cannot cease to grow.

The next biggest secret of leadership is to become trustworthy and create a climate of trust. How does one become trustworthy? The answer is behavior. Do I honour my commitment? Am I a consistent person? Nobody likes to be distrusted or doubted, so why the leader should keep doubting everybody around him? The leader requires growth as a human being. For example, if I say that I love you, the first response from you will be that do I truly mean it. However, when I say that I hate you, it will be accepted without doubt. Normally, hate is thought to be very natural. One must bear in mind that if one doubts something, there is a probability of being skeptical about something good. When a Sales person talks very enthusiastically about meeting the target, his boss thinks that he is trying to act smart or when the boss is good, the reportee begins to doubt him. Doubt is ingrained in our nature. That is why we doubt goodness of human nature and even God. It is very important to get rid of false alarm and fear.

Courtesy: AK Mishra Library

I know highly qualified people moving from one organization to another. After a lot of research, I have found that it is primarily because there is no sense of belonging. One has to pay heavy cost for not having the sense of belonging. The moment I have a sense of belonging, my organization and my client becomes my extended family. A good leader must create a sense of belonging. A sense of belonging is must for great performance and from the perspective of retention.

A good leader is a source of harmony within the organization. Harmony is possible only if the leader is aware of his strength. The conflict is a normal occurrence in the corporate world. There are a lot of instances where a person refuses to work under a particular boss. This is because the person is weak in spirit. A strong person will feel comfortable under anyone. There are leaders who are offended at the drop of a hat. It is very important to be strong and understanding human being. Ego does not work. It is absolutely essential that entire organization works with one mind. There are different personalities within the organization. Unless the goal is clear and accepted by everybody, the difference of opinion will keep cropping up and there will be utter disharmony.

A leader should be proficient in communication through presence. We convey message more through our presence than through our words. A baby looking at you does not have to say,’I love you.’ As an adult, we keep talking, discussing and arguing and yet we are unable to convince person sitting in front of us. Why does this happen?  The answer is simple. We do not use non verbal communication. If a person is full of anger or pent up emotion, one cannot communicate properly, effectively and freely. Effective communication is possible only when one is in high life condition, able to empathize with others and believe in win win philosophy.

The key to success in effective communication is when I precisely convey the intended meaning. I cannot convey and walk away assuming that the listeners have understood the meaning. I firmly believe that the best communicators are Bollywood actors. They get a script and they make you laugh or cry as intended. That is the power of communication. A very important point is to evoke a reciprocal response from whoever you are communicating with and this is only possible if one is truly integrated in one’s own life.

One of the most important qualities in a good leader is the attitude of a warrior. In order to realize dreams, warrior like quality is needed. Our corporate culture is clogged by a comfort zone attitude. We are afraid to be adventurous. Hence, a good leader has to inspire people around him. There is a difference between motivation and inspiration. We can motivate somebody by giving a few hundred rupees. However, such motivation is short-lived. If people are not inspired from within, it will be not possible to build a good work ethic. However, in most of the organizations work culture either revolves around inspiration or emergency deadlines or fear psychosis.