KRA of a Leader

It is no doubt that everyone wants to see only growth in their career graph and they definitely work really hard for it. We put all our efforts to make sure that the next promotion comes our way, we want to outshine our competition and expect our managers and the organisation to promote us and they do.

It may not make sense to you when I say that you should not be given a position of responsibility if all you have been doing is, performing well in your company. You might think I am crazy! Wait till I tell you why just ‘performing’ is not important. Carrying out a certain task and completing it makes you a clerk. Any Tom, Dick or Harry with some professional training can do it. What stands one out is learning the art of being a good leader. Being just a performer may get you a high designation in your organisation but it also can keep you unsatisfied which is a big problem for obvious reasons. This is where the organisations are WRONG in their strategy to promote the employees.

The best example of this is in the Indian Politics. There was party in power for about 40 years and the reason they have lost their impact on the citizens of India is because of this reason

So what we can to do be a great leader? I will try to share three example that might help:

1) Security: It’s a common known fact that in a wolf pack the strongest wolf is considered as their leader. The father is considered the “supreme court” of the house and his decision is considered as final on any subject. It is all linked with SECURITY. The strongest wolf makes sure that his pack is safe from any kind of external danger, our fathers make sure of the same thing. So, the first thing that we need to do is to make people feel safe; protect them as much you can, be there for them, make them your family. You spend more than one-third of your day with your colleagues. Make sure they are working because they want to, not because of the fear of being fired.

2) Happiness: What is more Important to you: A big client or a happy employee? Most of us will think “a happy employee’, because it is morally correct, but do we really mean it? If an employee fails to deliver a task due to any reason, we put all of our energy to make sure he knows he is wrong, hence demotivating him. Instead of that, try to talk to them to understand their idea on the task given, or the reason of delay for submission, or anything that may be bothering them and hindering their performance. Help them as a partner and guide them in taking care of situations like these. YOUR FIRST JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TEAM IS HAPPY and then deliver the task.

3) Let Them Go: This is something that I learned from my father. As a kid, when I was learning to ride the bicycle he used to hold it from the back for support. I was sure that I would never fall because my father backed me up, until one day when I realized he had let me go a few meters back. He told me that I am ready to do this alone.

In the same way when we support our employee we get carried away, we are happy they are happy. But there is always a time when we have to let them go so they can now explore new ways, learn on their own, have new experiences; and who knows, they might even teach you something new.

Just like even the strongest wolf (leader of the pack) trains its junior to replace him when the time comes, we have to train our employee to be a LEADER, and let them shine in their moments. A good leader will create more leader.