Category Archives: Leadership

Decoding Innovation

 

From the Crucibles of JPS Consulting                                       

                                Just Plain & Simple
                                ….. Helping Realise Potential
 
TRIM Quarterly ….. A Showcase of Industrial India, September 2010
 

We are ourselves creation of God and by being creative, we further continue the process set forth by Him. Not only is it in our nature to be creative, but by doing so, we give back to The Creator, in our own specific ways, His gift of creativity to us. Creation, in its very basic meaning, is a process of ‘causing to exist’. Life has, inherent in its nature, an element of creating ‘newness’ and ‘novelty’. The continuous cycle of Creation, Preservation and Destruction is The Cosmic Cycle of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva. When we are creative, we harness the universality around us and make it flow through us. Hence, creativity is life; it is opening oneself to GOD (Good Orderly Direction). When we refuse to be creative, it maybe self will, but contrary to our true nature, leading to things becoming static/still/dead.

 

Nature continuously plays out and demonstrates its tendency to create novelty. The process of evolution is one of the ways in which nature expresses it’s creativity. Evolution generally refers to the gradual process of development that we see in nature. This process has been going on for billions of years, from the time the first simple single cells were formed, through all the stages as life evolved into forms with higher complexity and order. The key routes to evolution were random mutation (once in millions of cells), trading of genetic pools (bacteria had access to a vast pool of genes, through which they passed traits in a powerful and efficient global exchange) and symbiogenesis (this is the key route of evolution for all higher organisms, in which there is creation of new forms of life through permanent symbiotic arrangements). The latter two are demonstrations of the powerful effects of collaboration, co-creation and co-evolution that exist in nature and these were then fine tuned and honed by natural selection. It seems that there is a grand design where collective memories and energies (without any regard to size, caste, colour and hierarchies) are at play to create ‘innovative evolution’ in an interconnected Dance of Life !!

 

Innovation stands for a new way, technique or method to do things. By definition, then, it is a creative process. Evolutionary history of life is full of examples of ‘innovative evolution’. Breathing and photosynthesis are excellent examples of this. When bacteria expanded, their energy needs led to shortage of hydrogen. Photosynthesis was an innovation to break water molecules using sunlight, to release hydrogen and oxygen. While hydrogen was used to build sugar and carbohydrates, oxygen was emitted into the atmosphere, leading to an oxygen crisis. Free oxygen is toxic as it produces free radicals and also causes combustion and corrosion. Breathing was the next innovation !!

 

Whether there have been challenges of the kind where an oxygen crisis was looming large, or whether the processes of mutation, gene trading and symbiosis were in any case running continuously, followed by natural selection, what is important in all these is that nature has its own ways of creativity. We can call it ‘Evolutionary Innovation’ or ‘innovative Evolution’, but this concept of ‘Creative Evolutionary innovation’ has elements of sharing knowledge, competition and collaboration, co-existing, adapting and growing. But ‘who collaborates with whom ?’ and ‘who adapts to what ?’ The species have an interplay with each other and also with the environment and the ecosystem, shaping and adapting to each other and the environment itself, thus Creating an Innovative Co-Evolutionary Dance ….. Nature’s creativity is boundless !!

 

Organizations can learn a lot from this process . Each organization itself is an ecosystem or an organism and has inter-relationships within and outside. Every function/department/location within an organization is also an ecosystem or an organism with such inter-relationships within themselves, with other functions/departments/locations, with the overall organization and with the external world. Such similarities with the way ecosystems and organisms are organized and behave in nature, cause organizations also to mimic the patterns and behaviour of species and ecosystems. Especially useful is the observation and learning attained through the processes of ‘Creative Evolutionary Innovation’ in Nature, no matter what the size of the organization ….. as is the case in nature, where size of the organisms is immaterial for this process to propagate; the smallest single cell organism or an amoeba or bacteria all played this game with equal adeptness, provided they followed the rules well !!

 

I understand that in organizations, or more so in the corporate world, innovation has to play a more practical and commercial role. It cannot be just a ‘nice to have initiative’ without any observable impact. Organisations exist to 1) add value for the customer and 2) create ROI for the investors. Both these can happen, ONLY IF ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE VALUE CHAIN, COLLECTIVELY STRIVE TO ACHIEVE them, by creating a Differential and/or Cost Advantage in a WIN-WIN situation for all. If this basic premise is accepted and understood, the parallel drawn till now can make sense. Otherwise the organization and this discussion both can become extinct.

 

Creativity can be a lone/solo process and we have heard about many creative people who operate alone and do end up creating masterpieces. However, there are also the creative masters like Edison, who actually had the benefit of learnings of a whole team with him. There definitely are stories of creative geniuses who worked alone, but we are talking here of common people and minds, working in day to day operations in closer to ground organizations. How do they bring alive creativity in their work ? A streak of genius happens once in a million, like random mutations in nature. Rest of the story of evolution is about the other two avenues of gene trading and symbiosis, honed by natural selection.

 

What then, could organizations do ? Draw on learnings from nature and life. The simplest life forms could have Creative Evolutionary Innovation. Organisations will not achieve it only by the chance stroke of a brilliant idea that occurs to an employee in romantic environs on a Sunday afternoon, relaxing on a hammock in the sun, glass of beer in one hand and cigarette in the other ….. He can probably keep waiting for that once in a million random mutation to strike. Or can organizations actually engineer the creative process proactively ….. by drawing on the know how encoded in the gene pool of the system and using symbiotic relationships to collaborate and co-evolve innovative solutions, taking the organization to the next level of growth and existence.

 

The fact is that every organization has tremendous information encoded in its DNA and the irony is that managers think that they know everything and do not need help. Even if I know that I do not know something, how can I be seen as admitting it in public ?? It was this ego that the primitive species did not have and hence continued to collaborate and evolve ….. and mind you, this was not only collaborating with other members of the same species, but at times with species competing for the same resources, to create a dynamic balance with win win for all. While bacteria are associated with disease, they are also vital for our survival ….. The story of evolution of life on our planet is one of cohabitation and co-evolution, rather than of combat and rivalry !!

 

Creativity, evolution, growth, learning and innovation are the lifeblood of any dynamic organization. Continuous learning and improvement are the hallmark of an adaptive organization. These organizations keep trying various things/doing things differently, some work some don’t ….. very much like natural selection ….. but the key element is their continuous effort to stimulate progress. They keep evolving and growing. 

 

What I suggest here is a process and mindset, which further reinforces and structures the same. This not only supports evolutionary growth, but also, in the way we look at innovation in more practical terms in our day to parlance ….. breakthrough growth as well.  The process involves bringing together all the knowledge bearers (genes) together, to place their understanding on a common plate (symbiosis), look at the same from different perspectives and evolve combinations and solutions that are innovative. This is not just a brainstorming exercise, but can involve techniques and expertise that make this seemingly simple process very effective. Selection of the right people to contribute their learnings, framing the right objectives, asking the right questions are some critical skills which can be facilitated if organizations are willing to take this journey. The expertise lies in making the complex looking process simple and structured ….. to engineer innovation rather than hoping that it will happen one day ….. and my experience says that it can be engineered !!

 

I have tried this in various situations and groups over a period of time. At a critical phase in the lifecycle of one business, profitability and hence survival was a big issue.  A team comprising people from manufacturing, materials, marketing, finance and maintenance, including shopfloor workers who are closest to action, worked together. Within six months they came up with actual, permanent, annualised cost savings to the tune of 4% of revenue. Engineered innovation achieved through facilitation with the right people, posing the right questions and using the right approach made all the difference for this organization ….. between extinction and thriving growth towards industry leadership !!

 

In another situation, a business was faced with the challenge of a competitive launch within one week. Competition had guarded the news very well and hence there was no time for preparing defence. A team of key people were brought together. Facilitation through a structured innovation process brought out a creative plan within one hour. The result was that the competitive launch was totally blunted and inspite of all the preparation, they could never gather the confidence and put their act together again to gain any respectable market share.

 

There was yet another organization with issues related to ROCE. Gene pool trading and symbiotic facilitation process led to a restructuring of P&L lines and asset turns to yield an increase of 7%. Examples abound, of the ways we have been able to utilize this mechanism in strategy, manufacturing, sales, problem solving, decision making, business processes, marketing etc. with equal success.

 

The process starts with divergence of thoughts (gene trading and symbiosis) followed by convergence (natural selection), which includes perspectives, analysis, combinations, risk analysis and action planning ….. all in a structured process. The attempt is not to just leave innovation to chance, but to be able to engineer and determine our destinies to the extent we possibly can.  Loss of information in black holes reduces our ability to predict the future ….. but atleast we should not end up creating organizational black holes ourselves, to be sucked up under the pull of organizational gravity itself ….. The idea is to have an organizational dance to release positive energy for Thriving Growth and Prosperity !!

 

J.P.Singh

Justplainandsimple Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

 

JPS Consulting                                       

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Realise Potential

 

JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Create Customer Value

 

 

 

  

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My Experiments with Customer Service Part V ….. The ‘Just Plain & Simple’ Logic

From the Crucibles of JPS Customer Value Academy

 Just Plain & Simple                                                     

 ….. Helping Create Customer Value

The Indian Optician, July-August, 2010 Issue

A lot of communication designed for customers, is full of high sounding claims and big promises. Special courses on communication reinforce the need for ‘hyping’ up your message to attract customers towards your products and services. There is great merit in identifying a niche, ‘focusing’ communication and polishing the messages that go out. But very often, what happens in the process is that the final message comes out quite distant and different from the actual benefits of one’s offerings. Exaggeration as an art form is very effective, but there is a thin line, which when crossed, can make the same claims unbelievable and misleading.

Part of the contributing factor could be the formal ‘art and science’ of communication. The process is quite evolved for sure. With logical steps and holistic mapping, it is meant to create ‘compelling’ messages for the consumers to ‘want’ your product (needed or not) and to ‘call to action’, leading them into stores as if following The Pied Piper. Dissection of elements, researching of responses, studying consumer behaviour ….. all good techniques, but sometimes leave me wondering at the ‘unrelated and unrealistically’ hyped up messages that actually emerge as an outcome of the exercise. I remember my childhood days and the vendors in our local mela (fair), who used to scream at the top of their voices, attracting customers with ‘Tall Claims’. How was that skill different from the one we see today, bringing out well researched but excessively hyped up claims !?

Perfumes that attract the opposite gender (sure enough there was litigation when a person did not find the fairer sex getting pulled to him, even after years of use of a specific brand), toothpastes strengthening teeth to break rocks, slimming products that show results in inconceivably short time periods, banks that have smiling employees spending all the time in the world chatting with you, four hour complaint resolution promises ….. Cinderella like transformations galore !!

There is a pressure to have cash registers ringing. Sales targets have to be achieved. Investments have to be recovered in any case, but then there is also the expensive promotion that took 20% of revenues, even before the first product was sold. It had to have a high reach, be attractive enough to not only create an interest, but also a strong desire in the customer to want the product so badly, that she takes immediate action. So what if the message is a ‘bit’ unrealistic !?

One is reminded of leading Indian actor Dharmendra, in the 1970’s hit film ‘Sholay’. Standing atop a water tank, intoxicated enough to be in his own world, he screams at villagers gathered all around, threatening to jump and commit suicide if he is not allowed to marry the village belle. Nothing happens though. Good example of excessively hyped communication, without any intention to deliver on the same. He comes down, once the effect of liquor wears away.

We need to realise what happens when the novelty and excitement wears off after the first hyped up trial !? The fall, obviously, is from the height that had been soared in the flight of imagination. Expectations don’t match. The employee behind the bank counter does not have a smiling face as shown in the advertising. Infact he has no time to listen to your questions, let alone sit and chat with you. So what if your complaint has not been resolved for four days as against a promise of four hours !?

The customer, if she has an option, will not come back. However, making simple commitments and meeting them consistently, creates long term customer relationships. The power generated is so strong that it even obviates the need for loyalty cards, as is the case with a low cost airline in India these days.

I was really very impressed when I recently saw a Professor at a well known management institute, taking a lot of effort to drill in his students the concept of ‘Under Promising and Over Delivering’ ….. Now that is teaching some good values, I thought !!

Small acts of help, being there when needed, genuine love, are enough to build relationships even otherwise in life. Business and Leadership, as a philosophy, are an extension of the fundamental principles of Life itself.

This is not to take any credit for myself here, but I have some of the oldest friends and contacts still intact, from school days and from the first job. I may not have succeeded in every job interview or in every new client presentation. But each job lasted very long, each job gave me a lot of lasting contacts and the clients I got, continue to stay with me for long periods of time. I am extremely grateful to so many of them for being referrals for me as well. Infact that is also a reason why I never felt the need to hype up my promises.

On reflection, I realise that I have never made Big, Unrealistic claims in interviews or in client pitches (this perhaps does make my pitches unattractive to some employers and clients), but with the ones who agreed to have me work with them, I try to meet commitments to the best of my abilities. No tall claims, no big promises ….. Just Plain & Simple ….. trying to help them sincerely and also, consciously never restricting my interaction to just predefined and signed up deliverables only, but ready to go that extra mile to provide optimum satisfaction.

When I decided to set out to be on my own, I went through quite a debate in my mind. I did not want to fall into the trap of big sounding claims. I gave myself the below mission statement for how I wanted to lead the rest of my life, that is, for my Second Act :

“To help organisations and individuals in realising their potential by facilitating through Strategic Consulting &/or Enhancement of their Capabilities  in the areas of Strategy, Marketing/Branding, Leadership, Business Processes and Customer Value Creation.”

You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself ….. Galileo Galilei

While Just Plain & Simple matched my initials, I realised that it also captured my intentions of not making lofty statements, but quietly ‘helping’, working with others and co-evolving solutions. So whether it is ‘Helping Realise Potential’ or ‘Helping Create Customer Value’, JPS Consulting and JPS Customer Value Academy both have ‘help’ as a key element, reflecting my strong belief in the concept. I would rather try and help sincerely, than make big claims to get a job, contacts or clients.

Treat people as they ought to be and help them become what they are capable of being ….. Goethe

Believing that business should serve the common good is one thing, but combining profit with purpose is no easy trick. Mark Albion, an entrepreneur, ex-Harvard Business School Professor and author of ‘True to Yourself : Leading a Values Based Business’, is confident that it’s possible to build a business with social conscience without sacrificing business acumen and financial reward. To learn how, he interviewed 75 leaders of ‘not-only-for-profit’ small businesses. The heart of his instruction : ‘To reach your dreams, you must help other people reach their dreams’.

So Just Plain & Simple it is for me ….. No Tall Claims, No Big Promises ….. Helping Realise Potential & Helping Create Customer Value.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication ….. Leonardo da Vinci !!

J.P.Singh

Justplainandsimple Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

JPS Consulting

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Realise Potential

JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Create Customer Value

www.justplainandsimple.com

jpsingh@justplainandsimple.com

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Passion Trumps Technology

TRIM Quarterly ….. A Showcase of Industrial India, July 2010

It was a pleasant evening in Delhi, unlike the excessive, record breaking summer heat this year. The event, Bharat Shiromani Awards, organised by The Shiromani Institute. The venue, a five star hotel in the heart of the capital.  Guests had arrived and the hall was fully packed.

The list of awardees was a who’s who of celebrities from diverse fields like sports, music, dance, politics, films, medicine, technology ….. Guests of Honour were Orissa Governor Mr.Bhandare, Arunachal Pradesh Governor General J.J.Singh, Chairman Law Commission Justice Laxmanan and Member of Parliament Mr.Tarlochan Singh. Some of the recipients who were present were, General J.J.Singh (also as Guest of Honour), Abhinav Bindra, Daler Mehndi, Mohd. Azharuddin, Jaya Prada ….. among other illustrious personalities.

The Master of Ceremonies requested everyone to take seats as the evening’s proceedings were to start. Two screens on either side of the stage lit up and the Tri-Colour fluttered on them. Everyone stood up for the National Anthem. The much cliched, ‘technical snag’ developed at that very moment and there was no sound from the audio system. Seconds flowed in silence as the two screens continued to show the Tri-Colour. The audio had failed. Another attempt was made by the technicians, but still no sound.

A meek voice, from one side of the hall started ‘Jana Gana Mana …..’ and stopped. From another side, another person began to sing ‘Jana Gana Mana …..’ and like the first one, finding herself to be the lone voice,also stopped. Someone else attempted again ….. and then, I guess, the earlier ones joined in and one by one the crescendo built up ….. everyone joined in ….. all awardees, guests of honour on stage and everyone in the hall was singing !! The entire National Anthem was sung completely by all present !! And then, as if nothing had gone wrong, the proceedings carried on after The National Anthem ….. !!

I am sure each one present there, had goose pimples, as did I. It was an amazing experience and feeling, as if some super power had charged everyone in the hall with the same energy ….. A Passion for India !! It was unsaid, unrehearsed, unprepared, but to an outsider it would have appeared as if there was a tremendous level of bonding and understanding and that a lot of preparation had gone in.

Jai Ho !!

I said to myself, “In India’s race into the future, Technology will play the role of an accelerator for sure; but what will POWER it, is The Soul Stirring Passion I experienced first hand that day” !! Passion is the energy that ‘fires’ organisational and societal engines to run faster and more effectively and efficiently, technology at best being an enabler, a catalyst, an accelerator. Passion is the ‘Extra Premium Fuel’ that is at a premium. It runs through the soul of Indians truly, I realised !!

We see examples in sports, in corporate performances, in concerts and in various other fields, where similar magic is created, going beyond the limits of technology. There are organisations where use of the best technology fails to bring about results and then there are operations like the Mumbai Dibbawallas, who are so tuned in, passionately, efficiently, effectively and accurately carrying out their work day in day out, rain or no rain, that they TRUMP Six Sigma processes without any technological gadgets !! One wonders what kind of a spirit is alive, spreading homogeneously like a cloud, encompassing all the constituents with A Divine Energy …..

How is it that certain teams achieve extraordinary excellence, day after day, year after year and manage to stay committed to each other, their customers and their organization’s mission ? What explains the romance of synchronised rowing by boatmen in Kerala !! Or what explains the Olympic Margins of Victory ….. fractions of seconds !!

Why is it that all teams are groups but not all groups are teams ?? Passion resides in each individual as a nucleus of energy and also pervades all across the team, as if there were multiple bodies but one soul. Behaving very much in the manner of wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics. Each one may ignite and vibrate separately, but with the same frequency. The resonance creates an energy, which individually and collectively can trump any obstacle and lead to great achievements. That, like my experience on hearing The National Anthem being sung by everyone together, can unleash The Energy of Collective Passion ….. creating A Harmonious Soulful Symphony.

“An ignited mind is the most powerful resource on the earth, above the earth and under the earth ….. Creativity and imagination of the human mind would always be superior to any computer” ….. APJ Abdul Kalam

J.P.Singh

Justplainandsimple Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

JPS Consulting

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Realise Potential

JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple                               

….. Helping Create Customer Value

www.justplainandsimple.com

jpsingh@justplainandsimple.com

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Why don’t they teach you this in all schools ??

 Just Plain & Simple 
….. Helping Realise Potential 
 

–>

 “What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School” became a hit and continues to be a hot favourite till date. I guess its success is due to the fact that there are areas where one’s formal education needs supplementing to enable development of a well rounded personality. Sports definitely play such a role. Various other extra curricular activities add to the development process. In the past few months, like every year, one saw inter college fests being celebrated all over. I strongly believe that these have their own place in the educational system.  

 

Also, the earlier in life that a positive (or negative) trait is built into one’s personality, the longer one gets to ‘benefit’ from it and stronger is the impact and intensity. Family influences and early childhood experiences have remained topics of research for many scholars.

 

The reason I am taking this book as an example is not because it is the only and complete source of non formal education, but because it highlights the strong need for ‘surrounding’ and building on the formal education imparted in our technical and management institutes.

 

A lot of the content and methodology in these educational programmes remains ‘left brain’ oriented. Hence, strategy, logic and analysis dominate the courses. Behavioural and social sciences are looked down upon by many students in technical and management institutes. Even out of those who opt for these, attendance is generally low. How can I be seen attending these classes !? These are for ‘softies’!!

 

The fact is that for almost a decade after I started working, operational and people related activities continued to dominate my work. My discussions with many professionals reveal similar experiences by most. Strategic content actually increases much later. While the operational component may go down, people related skills always stay important. That is where a ‘right brain’ led input becomes extremely important.

 

Many extremists, observed someone, have a technical background. Left brain led, logic and rational driven thinking is more prone to radicalism. ‘Softer’, right brain balancing can definitely help in channelising the thought flow much better. As one notices in some cases today, is cut throat competitive spirit a manifestation of gang wars ? And back stabbing and ruthless politics ? ‘Influence & Inspiration’ become euphemistic expressions for politics, fear and hurting others’ self esteem !! Few are organisations that truly believe in and practice collaboration and a WIN-WIN approach for all stakeholders across the value chain ….. suppliers, employees, customers, shareholders ….. and competition and for society at large, rather than a ‘Zero Sum, Win-Lose’ belief system.

 

This approach to working together also needs to be developed early enough in life and unfortunately, our formal education curriculum does not cover this important aspect. On passing out from the institute, one enters a set up with people from different cultures and institutes. One has to deal with multiple stake holders and face competition in its many forms. Job changes take one through different organisational cultures again. It is in these circumstances that the social/behavioural sciences dimensions of education and exposure to arts and humanities in technical courses can be of great help. Ideally, such courses should be given due importance in our educational institutes and early enough. However, needless to say, at an informal level, sports and other activities as mentioned above, definitely fulfill this important need very well.

 

Inter college meets and festivals play the same role at a bigger and broader level, by exposing students to cultures prevalent in different colleges (each institute develops its own specific culture and expressions over a period of time). These allow students to develop operational/organisation and people interaction/management skills at one level and to experience arts in the form of dance, music, dramatics etc. at another. But more than that, they expose students to different cultures, teaching them tolerance, understanding and collaborative working in the process. After all, over years, the success and popularity of an Inter College Fest, is not based on who wins, but on ‘The Spirit of Participation, Inclusiveness and Collaboration’ that is demonstrated there !!

 

Again, these may not be the only and complete answers to the issue, but definitely incremental steps in the desired direction. All these are also critical to one’s smooth and efficient entry, adjustment and success in future careers, through right brain mediated secondary emotions that control the primary instincts of the mid brain amygdala. Absence of such a balance leads to social maladjustments with disguised politics and goondaism masquerading as Leadership, even in the ‘so polished’  corporate world….. fear, politics, power games, lack of respect for others and hypocrisy are seen so commonly.  A lot of wrong and useless stuff gets passed off as Leadership Development. Truly ‘Inspirational Leadership through Influence’ is the casualty then ….. and India needs a lot of it now ….. and going forward !!

 

J.P.Singh

JPS Consulting                                       

Just Plain & Simple                               
….. Helping Realise Potential
 
JPS Customer Value Academy  
 
Phone : +919810170678
Just Plain & Simple                               
….. Helping Create Customer Value

 

 

 

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I can become a Leader

Sahara Care House, November, 2009

Every child, every person, looks up to someone, somewhere deep inside wants to be like him/her, tries emulating his/her mannerisms, style, way of working …..

I will be a pilot one day, says a child; I will be a teacher, I will become a doctor ….. says another and another. Something in the role model strikes as being worth doing and achieving and more so worth ‘becoming’.

Surinder (Suri) Sahni (played by Shahrukh Khan), in the recent Rab ne banadi jodi (RNBJ), transforms himself into Raj !! His wife Tania (Taniji) loves dancing. She looks for a partner in her dance classes and the imagery of ‘Raj” (played by Shahrukh in various movies), dominates her mind. Ordinary looking, Surinder (Suri) Sahni, an employee with Punjab Power, dons a different look of a flamboyant, flashy, outgoing ‘Raj’, to be able to spend time with and to gain acceptance from Taniji; to be close to her, to be able to be her dance partner, to be able to get her love, to be able to build a family with her. The story goes through its own Bollywood twists and turns, but finally Taniiji prefers Surinder Suri over Raj. Genuineness prevails. ‘Trueness’ of intentions wins over a ‘borrowed’ style !!

Each one of us IS a Leader ….. A Leader to someone !! To our children, to our family, to our customers, to a sports team, to our subordinates ….. There is NO choice here. As much as we aspire to be someone, or to be like someone, the ones we are Leaders to, may also be aspiring to be like us. To have a role model is like having a source of energy, an unseen power guiding us towards a direction. Needless to say, a very positive energy at that !! While there is NO choice ….. each one of us is a Leader to someone ….. the only choice is ‘What kind of a Leader I want to be !?’

That is where, I guess, the choice to be genuine and true to one’s nature and style comes up as being important. A borrowed and ‘put on’ style is seen through very easily. Not only that, is comfortable with one’s own style. In the movie RNBJ, Surinder Suri’s discomfort in a copied style and attire, is depicted quite well in his attempt to ‘adjust’ his undergarments under the uncomfortably tight trousers. The style gets shattered there and then.

A Leader cannot be different people at different times. It is not possible to separate who you are as a person from who you are as a Leader.

Also, this notion of Leaders being ‘charismatic’ has been debated endlessly. There are many cases of organisational successes with Leaders who were NEVER known. Their organisations’ results and performances were what got known. These Leaders remained in the background, unseen, but led their organisatons very effectively for sure. Over a period of time, they were replaced by others and the organisation continued to work very effectively after them too. That is what matters ….. their work, their creation of an organisation that continues to perform effectively even without them. There are also, however, cases of very charismatic Leaders, who dominated the show all over, but without high performing organisations. Not to say that there is a clear ‘negative correlation’ here, but a ‘causal’ relationship definitely does NOT seem to be existing.

Can one be a Leader about whom someone says ‘I know of a Leader, in whom there is a deep burning passion for his work’ or ‘I know of a Leader in whom Integrity is fully alive’ or ‘I know of a Leader in whom compassion, respect, equality and empathy thrive’ ….. !?

Leadership is a vast and wide topic. Fundamentally, a Leader has to provide an environment conducive to the flowering and fulfilment of the potential of those who follow him/her. Leadership is like an energy flow, an influence effortlessly leading those who choose to follow, towards a rewarding, desired and aspirational future state of being. There are traits and traits being talked about and listed. A listing of all these will probably require someone more than a ‘Superman’ to qualify.

However, the fact is that a Leader need not be a Superman. He/she can be you and me !! An ordinary human being can be groomed, developed and polished. It requires effort and intention though. Leadership is not a ‘skill’ to be picked up and to get ‘trained in’. It is an experiential and spiritual ‘state of being’ !! A Leader can make mistakes. A Leader can ‘trip and fall’. A Leader can ‘stammer’. A Leader can change his/her mind. These faults don’t ‘lessen’ a Leader. If at all, with a ‘Genuine State of Guiding Energy Flow, truly taking those who choose to follow, to their desired states of being through a complementary Rythmic Dance’ the seeds of a True Leader can take root in anyone, no matter how ordinary, who has strong and true intentions.

Most importantly ….. A Leader chooses to Follow, because he has to be A Leader to his Followers

Be One !!

JPSingh

JPS Consulting                                       
Just Plain & Simple                               
….. Helping Realise Potential

 10 Leadership Tips :

  • •L : Listen, Listen, Listen
  • •E : Set an Example
  • •A : Build a Positive Attitude
  • •D : Develop Others
  • •E : Have Empathy
  • •R : Respect Others
  • •S : Build Self Control and Service Orientation
  • •H : Be Humble
  • •I : Have Unquestionable Integrity
  • •P : Be Passionate

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