From 'Boots to Blues'..we are ready!

• Leaders….a name often spoken and in awe of that in Boardrooms as on the Battlefield. Much as everyone desires to be one, it is very difficult to continue being one and requires unwavering dedication and efforts. In my opinion, Leadership cannot be taught because it comes naturally, and its virtues can be imbibed as we grow and mature in our service and roles. So how do we define 'A Leader'. Layman answer will be perhaps someone who leads a team, or someone who has people reporting to him/her or maybe someone who gives orders to others what to do or words and actions to that effect.
• In my 23 years of service I have realized that Leadership is not only about giving orders and directing people, its much more than that. In fact the word LEADER itself encapsulates Six of many different Must Have ingredients that go on to make an individual a good leader.

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L – Learner. A true leader is also a good student for life and should always be ahead of the learning curve. Like there is no age for learning, there shouldn’t be any other impediments like Status, Position etc in your quest for learning. As a team Leader, effort should be to learn from each other and inculcate a collective joy for learning, because like the chain is as strong as its weakest link…so is the team. So a true Leader learns with his team.

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E – Empathy. This attribute perhaps can be termed as ‘First Amongst Equals’. The virtue of Empathy is what sets true leaders apart. Fact of the matter is that we all are living fast paced lives and that begets turbulence. It is here that empathy emerges as a crucial and transformative quality for leaders. Turbulent times often give rise to conflicts and demand a leader to show Empathy. Understanding your team member’s perspective is very important before arriving at a conclusion. This way most of the conflicts or issues at hand can be resolved for organisational good.

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A - Agility. One thing that I have learnt in over 23 years in the Army is that ‘No Two Situations are the Same’; they never were in battle and nor shall be in business. So therefore, there are no set piece solutions or templates. It is here that Agility (mental as also physical) of the Leader carries you through. Whenever an issue arises, there will be a vacuum of information and more often than not, time is the only thing you will not have. It is here that the leader’s agility and adaptability which are directly attributable to their maturity and experience will enable them look ahead, anticipate correctly and then arrive at a decision which will be in the best interest of the organisation and the team.

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D – Decisiveness. This word can well qualify for being a synonym for Leader. Seldom has the world history and military history thrown to us Leaders who were indecisive. I will not contest the merits of their decisions or its results thereof. Last thing a soldier who is in the heat of the battle will want is an indecisive leader and the same holds good in business too. The saying ‘A bad decision made at the right time is better than a good decision made too late’ applies equally and effectively in both the domains. Ability to make quick decisions can only be substantiated and supported by knowing your facts inside out, which is the enemy and ground on the battlefield and Data in the boardroom. This brings me back to the first quality, the Leader has to be ahead of the Learning Curve and your decisions have to be backed by definite knowledge (intelligence in military parlance) or Data.

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E – Enabler. A good Leader is the one who has planned for and trained his/her successor. In ancient times too the Royalty used to start training their heirs from an early age. Albeit, the heir in Military and Boardrooms? are selected on grounds of merit and not lineage. But the responsibility of leaders(like Kings in the past) of training their successors remains unchallenged to date. Like in the military the mission is always paramount, so are the organisational goals and objectives in business. It can so happen that the leader is taken out (owing to various circumstances) at a crucial juncture in either of them. Not having a worthy and well trained successor can put in jeopardy the military mission and the organisational objective. Contingency planning as we call it in the military does take into account this fact and extensive wargaming and rehearsals are carried out to obviate its effect should it happen. In business also, it is the onerous responsibility of Leaders at all levels to ensure that their absence does not rock the boat. Having said that, a Leader should also be capable of and should be ready to take place of any of his/her subordinates/team members should the need arise.

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R - Resilience. In War and in Life, You Win Some and You Lose Some; but the ability to get back on your feet and say ‘Try Me instead of Why Me’ is what sets the Leaders apart. I vividly remember ?batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar going through a very tough phase in his career sometime in the mid 90s. Infact, he had gone on for a number of innings without a decent double digit score let alone a century. Just when Cricketing pundits had started penning his obituary, the master displayed his resilient streak when during India’s Tour Down Under he slammed an iconic century on the firebrand Perth wicket which has always favoured fast bowlers. I clearly remember Sir Geoffery Boycott who was in the commentary box with the legendary Richie Benaud comment in his typical Yorkshire accent,? “I told the yung (young) lad, Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent”. This statement has stayed with me ever since and still reverberates in my ears. This was a classic example of Resilience. Resilience is crucial for leaders, as you will often face challenges and setbacks. The ability to bounce back from failures, learn from them, and maintain a positive outlook is essential. Never ever should the people around you sense despair and see your shoulders drop because they take their strength from you. A leader’s optimism should be infectious, he sets an example for the team, demonstrating that setbacks are opportunities for growth and improvement.

So these are only a few lessons which to my mind draw a lot of parallels in both the playgrounds. And having served with elan and success in one, journey in the other one should be equally challenging and successful.

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