A better Tomorrow.

Yesterday was an historic day for us Indians and for our country. The world was watching and the Indian came out victorious.

I am not a political analyst, so this article is not an analysis of the election process but an attempt to understand Leadership and what soft skills Leadership is about. What I loved very much, was that the Indian (read as consumer) gave the ruling government(company/brand) a victory that came across as a defeat and gave the opposition (competitor) a defeat that made them feel victorious. This was hard hitting and very pertinent feedback which needs to be accepted and taken seriously. If the brand must deliver then the brand promise needs a relook. If it was being presented as my brand (hidutva) then the consumer perhaps saw it differently. More of the same has a diminishing value. The brand attributes and the communication needs’ a harder relook.

If Ayodhya was the brand promise the consumer was happy with it being delivered and the consumer moved on to other needs they have, did the company pick this up in its market visits and surveys. The eyes and ears close to the ground were probably caught up in their own cocoon’s and refused to see early signs and indicators. The company took their strong and large markets for granted. The brand was well established and they believed their consumers were happy with what was delivered earlier (years ago). In service industry when some innovation or process is offered it becomes the new bench mark and that make the consumer hungry for more and a better service. It is a process of constantly raising the bar.

Relationship and investing in relationship are critical for success.? It is like a bank account; you need to deposit, before you can withdraw. Relationship can be built only on the foundation of trust, honesty, and transparency. The more transparent you are the more trust is invoked into the relationship. A leader must never forget that the process of building trust starts with me and I need to take ownership of that process. Trust is often shaken with conflicting communication. We need to be aware on how our communication is landing with the end consumer. If one of our team members (read community) feels threatened (beyond psychological safety) for whatever reason some other team members (who hear the communication of safety currently) may feel threatened later for some other reason (based on other criteria). Instilling fear is not good for progress and harmony. (two basic needs of all consumers).

The primacy of the Individual needs to be honoured. We must respect the other persons view and perspective, even the competition. Very often it is competition that helps us to up our efficiency and productivity. Without competition would we be as innovative. Calling competitor brand derogatory names, making fun through media has very limited value(humour). Discounting and passing derogatory remarks of competitor’s brands has never worked. One must remember that the brand manager will take all feedback seriously including that of competition and upgrade brand attributes and promise, and upskill people to deliver what the consumer needs. Teams would do well to remember that Leaders who make fun of, pass lewd remarks, speak ill of others would do so internally as well. There is no respect for the individual, it is only results that matter, when that eludes you, all respect goes out of the window. Would you want to be part of that team?

Ego has no place in Leadership. One could try hard to be a servant leader, but if humility is missing then the success could be temporary. Servant leaders would never praise themselves even if they feel the divine power within themselves. Directly or indirectly comparing your work with Tall Leaders of the past whom the world speak with utmost respect and Awe only personifies the ego to be bigger than self. Self-Leadership is observing and managing yourself, and taking responsibility for your actions and behaviours. When you achieve self-leadership, you stop looking for approvals and projecting authority onto others. On the path to self-leadership, one finds oneself developing qualities of honesty, discipline, humility, love, compassion, accountability, curiosity, assertiveness, and self-belief. Self-Leadership has a very positive impact on people around you.

I sincerely hope that yesterdays feedback will help to realign, goals, priorities, behaviours, collaboration, and communication. India deserves it and every Indian deserves it. Jai Hind.