Leadership Series 1 - Leadership is Earned

Is leadership a product of nature or nurture? Do we think that people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Warren Buffet, Indra Nooyi, Dalai Lama had what it takes to be a leader since childhood or their experiences nurtured them?

While many argue that leaders are born, it’s time to snuff out this misconception and demonstrate the influence of environment on developing leadership qualities. All successful leaders resonate with the fact that leadership is not a position. Getting a position is just a start of the journey. This arduous journey involves displaying the virtues you have even after getting the position, be it in a situation of crisis or when you are stuck in a dilemma and need to make a decision.

With this weekly series, we will identify characteristics or more appropriately, virtues, of a successful leader

Leadership is not just a title

Before we get to this, I invite you to question yourself - What is your purpose as a leader? Or is there a purpose at all?

As the future generation of leadership, we must understand that just having the title does not necessarily make us a leader. We cannot expect people to treat us as a leader, come to our corner cabin when we need, and listen to our orders.

Great leaders often have a strong reason to lead. They want to contribute to people’s lives and bring about a positive change in some way or the other. There are very few examples of leaders who attained a leadership title and became very popular as great leaders. Whether it is Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa or stories of several ancient kings in India, there is one thing in common. They all worked hard, with good intentions of helping others without any ulterior motives, and over a course of time, they were given an opportunity to lead. They did so well, after getting the opportunity, that the entire world even today remembers them with respect. They will be alive in the history forever.

During this lockdown, we are all stuck at our homes, getting involved in various activities. We are living a world without domestic help, maids, etc. and for most of us, it is not a breeze. Some days are more difficult than others. For instance, when it’s a festival day or a special occasion, you might feel more worked up. Moreover, it is hard to manage everything and still keep your calm all the time. And by everything, I mean when your kids are at home and wanting to spend time with you, when you have to enable their online classes so they do not miss out on school, and when amid all, you are still trying to work from home. Few days back, my wife was having a meltdown due to the workload which was beyond her capacity. We all were aware and decided not to trouble her more. However, my elder son got up and started helping her in the kitchen. There was a nice smile on her face. Seeing this, my younger son followed and so did I. That is when I had an epiphany! How a small child showed us that it is in those actions that we find great leaders. You can say a thousand things but it is that one action that makes all the difference.

Are you a leader or a manager?

What your underlings perceive about you matters more than you think. You can be a manager without being a leader. However, there can be a smooth transition from a manager to a mentor/leader if your actions exude qualities that inspire other people.

Let me cite an instance which clarifies this. In one of my earlier startups, it so happened that all orders from our production server were erased. Well, it’s not important what happened. It was almost 7pm and the good part was in those days not many bookings used to happen after 7pm. We quickly assembled few people, decided to stay overnight and manually inserted orders in the “Order Management System.” Now as a leader, one could choose to be available in case anything arises and let the team work. Alternatively, one could try to learn (even if it is not hands on) in 15 minutes and sit with the team helping and contributing with whatever they got. During these times, the choices you make will differentiate a leader from a manager.

Think of your relationship with your team as a plant. You nurture it, water it and take care of it every day and, ultimately it will bloom and bear flowers and fruits. But if you neglect it and do not treat it the right way, it will shrivel and show no signs of blooming.

Leadership is a way of life

True leadership is simply about touching the lives of other people and making a difference. For example, there is a person in your office who has just started building his career. However, the way he takes ownership of his work is commendable. He is also always willing to go the extra mile to help his co-workers. He cares. About you, about his co-workers and about the organization. Thus, leadership is not about management, it is about creating a positive impact on people around. He is a leader without a label.

On this note, it’s important to highlight that people who have experienced hardships in life care about and understand pain better than others. They know how it feels to be deprived and hence, they support people as and when required. This is where empathy comes into play.

You, as a leader, must really immerse yourself in the experience, even if it means keeping your people’s feelings above your own. Fundamental law is that anything that emits energy burns itself. And that burning object is lonely. So I encourage you to ask yourselves -

Do you have the courage to burn yourself and be lonely? Can you take all the heat from everyone and still be calm?

If you are the first one to take a hit during a crisis, you are demonstrating leadership qualities. You don’t care about the position, title, whose responsibility, or what’s going to happen. You do it because that is the right thing in that situation. This also means taking the risk and not getting bothered if, for some reason, you even lose that title.

Practising effective leadership is not rocket science, yet many people have a hard time understanding that it is more about simpler things in life. It is about life. Understand life, and understand people. You are on a path to create impact in this universe. You might care about your organization or be willing to lead its people, but there is one thing imperative to being a great leader. It is the energy of the person who is leading. Every act or word of a leader emits energy that’s contagious. Energy that ignites spark in every human soul it touches and brightens the environment. Energy is truly the mantra to great leadership.

 Great leadership does not stem from outside, it is inside. In other words, true leaders are always driven by intrinsic motivation more than some external reward.

I will end this introduction by emphasizing that getting a title is purely a matter of time. Or like what some people might call luck. When the time is right you will get the title. Keep walking the path and don’t lose the virtues you have or have earned during the journey. Even if you don’t get the title, it doesn’t matter.

What’s more important? The world knows you or you know yourself?