It was quite some time back that I read the book – Making of India – by Ranbir Vohra. This was December 2006 and I had a habit of taking notes from any book that I read. Sometimes even movies. So what you read below are my interpretations of the historical narration of India’s journey of acquiring its national identity.
Good Leadership involves Policy Making. More effective than individual action.
For Political leadership, this has obvious relevance, but I would feel safe betting that this is true in a business context too. Imagine the kind of ripple-effects that the CEO can create, by clearly articulating effective rules and policies. This would include not only the core values that the organization wants to pursue but also how to conduct itself in the marketplace. How is performance measure, how are incentives decided, how do you gradually build the culture and the DNA of the organization. All of these could be better achieved by effective policy making esp in the context of a big organization.
Learn to trust your team and delegate effectively.
Delegation is a pretty obvious trait one would expect in a leader. Motivation to delegate might differ. Some leaders might be inspired to create free time to think, like Jeff Weiner(CEO Linkedin) does whereas others might do it out of sheer laziness (which by the way is again a good virtue of a leader, if found alongside intelligence).
Sometimes you need to lead a team of people you don’t trust or consider incompetent.
Sometimes, with the bigger goal in sight, you might be forced to choose a path where you end up leading a team of people you don’t really trust. Or whom you consider grossly incompetent. And inspite of your drastic opinion if the party(or organization or team) enjoys the support of the people (or the market in case of an organization), it wouldn’t be wise to remove them as the first step once you assume charge of the new office. Create an able leadership that is recognised by making the machinery work and slowly remove them in a phased manner. While this might sound scheming to many, I saw this as a way to keep the bigger interests of the party at the center.
To get your way through a tough negotiation- Create a diversion
Sometimes when you are stuck in a tough negotiation situation, a serious distraction might help. Create a new clause and pretend that this is what matters most to you. But be careful to choose something that the other party would find almost impossible to concede. Now with this new clause coming in, the other party (hopefully) focuses energies there and might go easy on the original bone-of-contention.
Need for Symbols. How do you inspire people?
Gandhiji’s Dandi march is a great example of how you build support. Find something that many can relate to or find an activity that many can participate in. Symbols can similarly act as a strong rallying point for your team/supporters. Symbol doesn’t necessarily have to be a prop or a logo or an image. It could be a simple tradition – like wearing Khadi . Create traditions that can start to mean a lot to people involved over a period of time. And you might end up creating a legacy that generations can relate to.
Also it is important to stay connected with your organization. Stay connected by talking to them regularly. Start by clearly articulating a dream, a vision, a reason to exist (for you, for your professional self, for the party or for the organization). And then keep re-iterating this vision. Make them believe in it as much as you do.
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