Do you think you are a good leader ? See if you can pass this test then !

I will start with a personal story that will help us to test if we are good leaders.

The Incident

I love playing squash and so when an oppty came up yesterday for a game with my friends, I lapped it up. I was on way to the venue and was being chauffeur driven by my driver when I suddenly felt my car hitting a bike. While my driver did tell me that the fault lay with the bike driver (I was not looking ahead at that time and couldn’t verify who was at fault immediately), I got out of the car along with my driver to check how serious it was. The bike driver was clearly hurt even though I was relieved to see that it wasn’t too dire a situation. Of course, as it happens in instances of road accidents, some people gathered around us. We got the guy to one side of the road and checked how he was. The guy was clearly in pain and wasn’t able to stand on his own. He was hit just below his knee on his right leg. He seemed to be ok with no injury elsewhere. I thought he might have fractured his leg. Some people suggested that there was a hospital nearby. I took the guy in my car to the hospital and got him checked there. With a quick X ray confirming that there was no fracture, the doctor at the Emergency gave him an injection for relieving pain and prescribed painkillers for next few days.

Meeting the leader

The bike rider (Raghu) was young (31 years) and was in a junior, field role with a global MNC in Gurgaon, India. He told me he had called his manager (Sandeep), who stays in Gurgaon as well. Raghu stays some 40-50 Kms from Gurgaon and was on way to his home when the incident happened with our car. As Raghu was already allowed to leave the hospital and the hospital needed the bed for another patient, we took him to the reception to wait for his manager to come. I thought I will see an agitated ‘boss’, coming to pick issues with me and my driver. Sandeep came in, looking very concerned for Raghu. He had got one more person with him. He went straight to Raghu, checking his legs and asking him how he was. After making sure that Raghu was ok and that he could go home, he took him along with him, thanking me for taking care of him.

I called Raghu today morning to check how he was. He told me he was much better now and that he would resume his office tomorrow onwards. I was relieved to hear that. I asked Raghu how he reached home, as I had thought that he might stay back for the night in their company guest in Gurgaon.

He told me that his manager, Sandeep, dropped him to his home - a 40-50 Kms journey one way. Sandeep would have reached his home back around midnight after dropping Raghu to his home.

The Leadership Lesson

We read and hopefully learn a lot about leadership through reading likes of Stephen Covey and John Maxwell. Many of us also attend leadership sessions and quite a few of us actually coach others in leadership skills. However, academic learning of skills is no match to experiential witnessing and learning during the daily walks of life and in places where you are not actively looking for a learning session. Leadership is not just about guiding the team. The team will not care how much you know or how much wisdom you have until they know how much you care for them.

The Test!

Do you have enough empathy for the issues and situations of your team members in order to show compassion and do something about them even at inconvenience to yourself?

This is the test that you need to pass in the eyes of your team in order to be an effective leader. Sandeep passed this test successfully yesterday and I hope we all do too as and when our leadership gets tested!

I have seen people think they are leaders just because their organization puts them in leadership roles. Executive Directors, CXOs, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Partner – you name it! I have seen people using their position to manipulate their teams to follow their directions and directives using old school policies of carrot and stick. I say this to them – You are not a leader. You are merely a corporate manipulator using your privilege and position on your team to get them to do your bidding!

Be like Sandeep and a be a true leader!

I hope this incident makes us all reflect on our own leadership and if we find ourselves wanting, I hope this inspires us to be better leaders, not just for our own sake but for the people whom we intend to lead for success.

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