3 tips that every boss needs to know to be a successful leader

25 years back after enduring some failures in life I began Aaryanveda with a promise to reconnect people with nature and bring the goodness of Ayurveda back to our lives. Initially, we did hit some bumps but gradually we did start picking up pace. (information about Aryanveda’ first few years, its challenges and your small success, the initial team members(number), small office size) 

 Now 25 years later when I look back at my and Aaryanveda's journey, it strikes me that this would not have been possible without my team members. The ones who were part of Aaryanveda in its primitive state, those who joined me when Aaryanveda started standing on its feet and now those who are building it with their labour and ideas every day pushing it towards success. 

 Over the years, I have realised that every employee of the organization is a leader in their fields and you would only get to know about their leadership qualities if you allow them to lead. At Aaryanveda, we tend to follow the “practice of shifting leadership”, which is different from the traditional leadership regime where the boss has the only say and employees are just working as robots on the command of their boss. 

What is shifting leadership exactly?

Shifting leadership is a way in which you allow your employees to lead on projects, organise timelines and meetings where they choose who amongst themselves shall lead the project depending on their expertise and the nature of the project, who shall be responsible for getting things done, who shall be consulted and informed basically at Aaryanveda we follow the ARCI ( Accountable, Responsible, Consulted and Informed) model so that each of our employees is given the chance to lead this company towards a new and successful direction. 

 So does it mean that shifting leadership makes the employees the boss?

 Honestly, it is high time that organisations ditch the traditional boss and worker culture as the times have changed. Traditional work culture meant the boss would have the last say on everything but in shifting leadership no one is the boss; the employee and the boss both are teammates who need to work together in the infinite game for achieving the infinite win

 What is an infinite game for an infinite win? 

Infinite game is written by the famous British author Simon Sinek who highlights in his book that the world is heading towards a wrong direction as we are chasing to be the No.1 in the race. He highlights that the chase of being No.1 in life, relations, marriages and business is the recipe to disaster as while chasing and racing to be No.1 we are losing out on the purpose, the soul of the deal. Therefore, he highlights that if we want to win the infinite game then we need to have an infinite mindset which is different from the mindset of being No.1 but to collectively work together so that with trust, mutual respect and cooperation we can achieve the infinite win. 

This theory of Simon Sinek resonated with me because I have personally seen the fruits of achievements and success when I and my team have collectively worked together by trusting, respecting and cooperating; I believe that by practising shifting leadership we have been able to inculcate an infinite mindset that has helped us to gear ourselves for the infinite game rather than the lust of being just No.1. 

Today Aarayaveda doesn’t count its success on business ranking or numbers but on how truly we have been able to reach and achieve the true soul, the true purpose of Aaryanveda, i.e, to bring back the goodness of nature’s goodness in the lives of our customers so that they live a pure and healthy happy life. 

But how will shifting leadership help us to develop the infinite mindset?

 As Simon Sinek mentions that we need to collectively work with respect, trust and cooperation thereby, the best example for this is the practice of shifting leadership because through this everyone in the organisation gets to-

1. CONNECT OVER A SHARED VISION

When everyone in the organisation embraces the responsibility of a leader automatically they start taking ownership for the workability of the organisation on the lines of the organisation's vision and mission. The entire organisation is aligned with the soul of the organisation. 

2. EMPLOYEES GROW BETTER

Aaryanveda truly believes that the learning process should never stop therefore, through shifting leadership it has been observed that our employees stay active and determined in learning more to enhance individual skills as well as inspire and help each other for better growth.

3. TRUST GROWS

The culture of shifting leadership helps in trust-building which is integral for every organisation. Employees learn that they have to work as a team for every project if the project has to become a success thereby, co-workers work with the pack mindset rather under any intimidation or fear factor. 

4. THE BOSS IS ALSO A TEAM MEMBER

Times have changed and so has the work culture. Today’s millennial workers who have a strong driving force need a working environment and a boss who appreciates their strong opinions and ideas rather than shutting them down. In this shifting leadership culture, a boss is part of the team who has to understand and be aligned with what the team envisions about the project. Furthermore, a boss has to be an intermediary between the team's vision and the purpose of the organisation to ensure that there is balance and alignment between both. 

 Therefore, if you have understood by now that we all need to truly develop an infinite mindset to win in this infinite game rather running in the rat race of being No.1 it is high time we start changing our work culture from only the boss shall rule and adopt the attitude of everyone is a leader where everyone is collectively aligned and accountable for the soul, the purpose of the organisation.