Leadership lessons from Machiavelli

In a brief piece, Steve Tobak lists 10 lessons on leadership from Machiavelli, a person who has come to symbolize the not-so-positive traits of cunning, deceit and manipulation. The lessons touch upon all of the factors that have always been considered  to be attributes of great leadership- be it the power to adapt, take risks, identify opportunities, surround yourself with great people, take decisions?

Just goes to show, the basic tenets of leadership haven’t changed a whole lot since the ages!

Nevertheless, here’s the link to the article.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/10-business-and-leadership-lessons-from-machiavelli/6750

Delegation Is A Skill

“…Remember that there is no such thing as a single-handed success: When you include and acknowledge all those in your corner, you propel yourself, your teammates and your supporters to greater heights.” – Anonymous

Of the many parameters designed to judge a good leader, ‘delegation skills’ holds special significance considering that a successful organization is not a product of isolated, individual efforts but of a synergized team. Only a good leader can decode his talent base and accordingly strategize his approach to delegation.

It is necessary that employees be gradually exposed to their concerned industry and given substantial time to absorb its culture. The approach to delegation is as important as delegation itself. Do not off-load or dump work on your employees, instead have a systematic process in place.

Here is a basic four step approach to establish and sustain an effective delegation model.

Direct : This is the most fundamental approach to train a new employee and allows you to retain control over the task.

Directing is best suited and in fact, essential for new employees who are enthusiastic about executing tasks but need to be told what and how. Such new employees are often willing to go to any extent to prove themselves. However, their enthusiasm will fetch results only under the right guidance of a leader. Thus, at this stage, a leader should, thus, provide both coaching and mentoring to build a strong character for his employees.

Guide : The second approach to delegation is apt for employees who are in the process of training and learning. Such employees may have little experience but exhibit keenness to learn new things. At this stage, a leader should be open and encourage his employees to speak their minds. He must discuss and share various business ideas and opinions and give his people a chance to put fort their suggestions.

This approach gives people substantial time to observe and assimilate the business culture and mould themselves accordingly.

Excite : Every team has at least one relatively senior but discouraged member who constantly cribs about the monotony and lack of growth. A smart leader will recognize this candidate well in time and take precautionary measures to avoid the negativity to spread to other team members.

Moreover, if such an employee is skilled and experienced, it is not advisable to simply dismiss him. His concerns should be addressed by helping him redevelop interest in his profile, setting targets for him and on its achievement, rewarding him generously. A concerned leader will be patient and actively involved with such an employee.

All such disgruntled and de-motivated employees need is empathy and excitement to rejuvenate their professional lives.

Delegate : Once an employee starts displaying workplace maturity, it indicates that he is now ready to take on responsibilities and possesses significant business intelligence to make important decisions.

It is now time to test him in the deep waters. Once the leader is confident of an employee, he must hand over control and execution of the work and support and counsel him, whenever necessary. However, this is to be applied to few, highly skilled employees. Once, you have achieved this, it is time to go back to the first approach to transform another employee into an inspiring leader.

An effective delegation process not only keeps the workforce productively engaged but also helps the organization flourish and grow by enabling it to make optimum use of its human resources.

Mukesh Ambani – A Leader Who Loves Challenging Situations

         

The visionary : Mukesh Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani has not only been a great leader but also an inspirational story for several youngsters hailing from small towns to make it big in their respective fields. Post his demise, the giant Reliance Empire was taken ahead by his two sons, Mukesh & Anil Ambani. Though both are extremely different in their approach, Reliance has spread its wings all over the world because of them.

Mukesh Ambani, now the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector company, has set an excellent example of being a successful leader & carrying forward the legacy of the Ambani realm. His leadership abilities were recognized by eminent bodies in the industry by felicitations like Economic Times Business Leader 2006 & CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2007.

The secret to his success was the constant need to challenge existing situations. He created an open environment so that everybody in Reliance was on the same page to come over the feudal style of management & the disruptive style of management. A true leader always believes in investing the company’s capital on good talent. As a learner, he preached K K Malhotra, who was with them for 15 years, as his guru & had imbibed most of his current leadership abilities & best practices from him.

His initiative to build India’s largest & strongest communication network was known as Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited). His business interests expanded to Petrochemicals, Petroleum Refining and Marketing, Textiles, Retail and SEZs. And his latest venture in the organized retail sector with Reliance Retail by opening hundreds of stores across several states to serve diverse consumer needs and operate under various names such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart and Reliance Digital.

Leading the communications aspect at Reliance, he saw immense potential in the convergence of information and communication which is why they named it as Infocomm. He focused extensively on building various competencies in Reliance that would make this organization & its

His vision to have a chain of sectors within Reliance has strengthened his position in almost every initiative he has taken. Mukesh is known to be amongst the top ten richest men in India & had surpassed Bill Gates in 2007 to be the World’s richest man.

It was his wish that opportunities in India should not be limited to the few so that every citizen is empowered to access new generation technology & skills. He envisaged a new India on the horizon – new visionary, courageous and convincing models that are needed to progress Indian society. He always challenged the possibility to translate this vision into reality

Dhirubhai Ambani has not only been a great leader but also an inspirational story for several youngsters hailing from small towns to make it big in their respective fields. Post his demise, the giant Reliance Empire was taken ahead by his two sons, Mukesh & Anil Ambani. Though both are extremely different in their approach, Reliance has spread its wings all over the world because of them.Mukesh Ambani, now the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector company, has set an excellent example of being a successful leader & carrying forward the legacy of the Ambani realm. His leadership abilities were recognized by eminent bodies in the industry by felicitations like Economic Times Business Leader 2006 & CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2007. The secret to his success was the constant need to challenge existing situations. He created an open environment so that everybody in Reliance was on the same page to come over the feudal style of management & the disruptive style of management. A true leader always believes in investing the company’s capital on good talent. As a learner, he preached K K Malhotra, who was with them for 15 years, as his guru & had imbibed most of his current leadership abilities & best practices from him. His initiative to build India’s largest & strongest communication network was known as Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited). His business interests expanded to Petrochemicals, Petroleum Refining and Marketing, Textiles, Retail and SEZs. And his latest venture in the organized retail sector with Reliance Retail by opening hundreds of stores across several states to serve diverse consumer needs and operate under various names such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart and Reliance Digital.Leading the communications aspect at Reliance, he saw immense potential in the convergence of information and communication which is why they named it as Infocomm. He focused extensively on building various competencies in Reliance that would make this organization & its His vision to have a chain of sectors within Reliance has strengthened his position in almost every initiative he has taken. Mukesh is known to be amongst the top ten richest men in India & had surpassed Bill Gates in 2007 to be the World’s richest man.

It was his wish that opportunities in India should not be limited to the few so that every citizen is empowered to access new generation technology & skills. He envisaged a new India on the horizon – new visionary, courageous and convincing models that are needed to progress Indian society. He always challenged the possibility to translate this vision into reality

Time tested mantras for leading a successful team

Leading a team has always been seen as a great quality in any individual. Be it a small sized business or a multi level organization, HR professionals are always going to be on the hunt for good & effective team leaders. To be recognized as one of them, you need to prove yourself as the cream of the crop & a multi-tasked personality.

Time & again, we’ve known that well bonded & networked teams have been able to deliver huge results (both qualitatively & quantitatively). In order to support high levels of interdependence between the team, the team leader will have to consider a bunch of preferences to put together the right team.

• Recruiting & assigning tasks – Once an employee has been recruited, it’s the team leader who carves his role in the team but keeps in mind his natural skills that will enhance the team’s performance. Remember, not every person is capable of doing every job.
• Timely feedback – there’s a difference between feedback & ‘timely’ feedback. It is essentially the team leader’s responsibility to feed the team with remarks from other team members, clients or customers. This feedback helps any kind of modification or corrections that have to be pointed out to augment the team’s goals. Usually in huge organizations the essence of feedback is lost as it reaches the concerned person too late which then comes across as ‘criticism’.
• Opportunities & not ‘mistakes’ – if humans make mistakes then they’re also known as problem solvers. When a team views a member’s mistake as an opportunity to learn new things, it’s the team leader who gets the credit to create an environment that promotes such opinions. When a team realizes solutions by itself rather than those being inflicted on them, it only makes them more proactive & engaged. Also, keeping the individual goal at bay & emphasizing on the team’s overall performance is something a good team leader always strives for.
• Motivation – all successful teams grow on the basis of motivation & the drive to achieve extra-ordinary results. This responsibility has to be subtly handled by the team leader as along with incentivizing individual members with rewards & appreciation, the team’s structure cannot go for a toss. An effective team leader first focuses on the roots to make sure the tree provides good fruits in the long run.
• Vision – Every good team leader knows where the business is heading & carries the vision of looking beyond present positions. Scaling the current team & escalating their capacity to perform better than the past is a rare skill but a valued one.
• Let TRY & let LEARN – Strange but every good team leader was once a team member also. He too climbed up the ladder to attain the position he has right now. When people are ‘willing’ to contribute in a certain matter it doesn’t guarantee successful results. Seniors who are dubious of team participation are the ones who mostly chuck their people into unplanned processes & then respond with “I had warned you” as their team is stuck in a rut. Instead a sensible leader would guide the enthusiasm of his people in the right direction to obtain the right results.

In essence, good understanding, effective communication, regular supervision & providing appropriate & timely resources to the team will help the leader to focus on serving the individual team member’s needs as well as concentrating on the team’s performance. After all, TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieves More.

A successful Team

Top 5 leadership lessons from topmost Indian leaders

Soaring economic conditions, impeccable talent and availability of rich resources – this is how India’s economic market looks at present.  Going a few years back, who would have ever thoughtIndia as a country would have been considered in the same rung as today’s most powerful &emerging markets. Well, a few individuals did carry that vision & are now recognized as India’s most influential leaders.

‘Leadership is all about courage to dream big.’ – These were the words of Narayan Murthy – India’s most inspirational leader (Infosys)– who believesin the true essence of motivating your team with real values, trust & confidence. On a similar note, what made individuals like Ratan Tata, Dhirubhai Ambani & Azim Premji pave their path to success & carve their names in the books of Indian history.

Here’s what an individual needs toimbibe from these personalities to articulate their leadership skills:

• Adaption & resilience to rise above obstacles – Ratan Tata who was literally written off by some pundits a decade back saw India as a growing & changing house for major scope of improvement to rise above the feudal structure during his ancestors era. The Nano triumph was won over by him in spite of being shunned by his detractors many a times to complete this highly ambitious ‘vanity’ project.
• Team work – Azim Premji, business tycoon & Wipro chairman, is a firm believer of building a strong network of corresponding skills thus housing an integral part of a cross cultural team. After all no individual will be able to face a challenging journey all by himself.
• Entrepreneurial belief – A good leader is born entrepreneurial in his approach towards achieving success in life. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, chairman of half the Reliance Empire, believes in extracting the entrepreneurial spirit from all his people which he feels is possible when an organization shares a sense of oneness, passion & enthusiasm.
• Opportunistic – Every leader is expected to foresee opportunities worth exploring  & Nandan Nilekani, co-founder Infosys Technologies, through his modest ways is perhaps the first to recognize the contribution people can make via education in his book Imagining India. His detailed thoughts & analysis on India as a state were thoroughly surveyed & makes an interesting read on Nilekani’s take on dealing with obstacles thus seeing India as the incubator of talent.
• Risks – Every leader worth his/her salt cannot be known as a successful one if there isn’t any risk involved in his approach. For that matter, Dhirubhai Ambani would have never accomplished anything if he hadn’t begun with importing polyester yarn & exporting spices, building inventories, anticipating a price rise, and making profits through that which was good for growth. His move towards Reliance`s IPO (Initial Public Offering) in 1977 had convinced the people of Gujarat that being shareholders of his company will only bring returns to their investment.

Every leader plays an instrumental role in shaping the organization’s fate with his vision & dynamism. The question is whether all organizations provide such environments where such leaders can be nurtured & motivated.



Ratan Tata

What’s Your Business Roadmap?

In a scenario that is turning highly competitive, the name of the game is effective strategy formulation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a company strategy is all about moving towards the attainment of its vision and the means it employs in order to get there. In order to determine how one gets there, one needs to know where one is at present, which involves examining one’s existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – what we commonly know as SWOT, Strengths could be brand image, market network, access to international markets, technology in a certain area, etc. and weaknesses could be for instance, the high turnover of manpower, short life-cycle of products, new products in the markets, competitors emerging in the market due to low entry barriers, and so on.

Examining strengths and weakness is easier said than done, as one usually tend to be subjective in such matters. In order to get a fair and objective picture of one’s strengths and weaknesses, the best approach would be to benchmark one’s own position vis-à-vis others in the same or in a similar industry. This benchmarking exercise is recommended as a tool for understanding one’s relative strengths and weaknesses, rather than for improving one’s position with reference to those one has benchmarked with.

Having thus understood one’s strengths and weaknesses, one should look at one’s opportunities and threats that are being posed at an accelerated pace by the era of globalization and liberalization. Government policy changes in India have thrown open opportunities in the form of the freedom to enter into joint ventures, the freedom to set up projects overseas, access to international clients etc. Opportunities have also been thrown up by the media explosion; people are now aware of and desire a variety of products and services available worldwide.

Since most people have recognized these opportunities, new threats and challenges are thrown up in the form of competition, with high quality products produced at scales that are economic, and hence, sold at lower prices. These threats will become even more acute as protection barriers are continually reduced, now that India, like many other countries is a part of WTO.

Thus, a clear understanding of SWOT will enable the how-to part of the strategy to emerge clearly. And in order to implement the strategy, one would have to develop specific action plans. For instance, a company could follow a strategy of entering foreign markets and setting up joint ventures in other countries, just a multinationals come to India. Joint ventures can be used to pursue a defensive strategy – for upgradation of quality with international forms, or an offensive strategy – to capture lucrative shares in competitive markets overseas and meet the competition on their ‘own turf’.

Companies like Ranbaxy have risen to the occasion and developed a strategy of setting up joint ventures overseas, which has enabled them simultaneously upgrade technology and R & D activities with support from the foreign partner. Dabur is also taking advantage of the opportunities by setting up projects overseas.

One of the major challenges confronting Indian corporates as far as their strategic planning endeavors are concerned, is manpower planning. Unfortunately, Indian corporates so far have treated human resource development as merely an adjunct of the industrial-personnel function – focused on personal administration such as wages, salaries, payments, appraisals and recruitment, with the little attention paid a modern optimal approach to recruitment and training policy.

Indian corporates faces the challenge of finding the right people and training them to meet the growing challenges of the future, especially as they have been used to operating in a protected environment. Part of their need for skilled and experienced people will be fulfilled by professionals of different nationalities as personnel flows feely between nations. Foreign companies too will want to take advantage of Indian brains; and this demand will not be restricted to the area of software development, but also apply to other areas of management, since much relevant experience is available in India.

The World Trade Organization is yet another challenge, the impact of which has not been given careful thought and consideration to by Indian companies. There is also urgent need for Indian companies to plan an optimal strategy to tackle this. And they need to find ways and means other than the lobbies and pressure groups they are accustomed to, for it is difficult to change the rules of the game at an international bodies level. While WTO provides an effective mechanism in case of violation, all conditions of WTO need to be met once countries become signatories.

The chairman’s speech at the Annual General Meeting 1996 of Workhardt provided reasonably sound insights into how an aggressive and clear strategy for attaining of long-term corporate goals can b formed.

“In an increasingly competitive world, Workhardt believes that profitability will not come merely through sales, but through consistent and reasoned customer focus. There are no product markets, only customer segments who we needs has to fulfill. The razor-sharp organizational focus springs from an almost fanatical degree of customer-centricity. We are therefore, committed to building business on an on-going understanding and dialogue with our customers. Quality is now the price of market entry, not a competitive differentiator.

“Workhardt prides itself on its growth in the international scene through its quality and globalization efforts. Our products are supplied in the markets of USA, UK, Germany and 30 other countries. Having acquired AccuMed Pharmaceuticals Inc in New Jersey, Workhardt America Inc. in USA will be our door to a huge generic market of the world. Our offices in Russia, China and Africa have expanded our global reach. We have tied up with Rhein Biotech to affect transfer of biotechnology and add value to our quality of products.
The question remains, What’s your Business Road map?
*Originally written by Dr. Hiru Bijlani, a Management Consultant at LMI India and a member of the board of directors of Karrox Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

A Paradigm Shift Needed In Attitude towards Training

As the world shrinks to a global village, the value of traditional competitive advantages such as capital, technology or protected markets is relatively insignificant, and the key competitive advantage of most organizations around the world in the future will be its people. Thus one of the greatest challenges facing the corporate world as the world races toward the next millennium is that of training and development of human resources.

According to Arie de Geus, the author of The Living Company, “The ability to learn faster than competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world.” Hence training as a management function will surely be one of the corporate world’s top priorities in the coming decades.

A basic learning instinct is inherent in all forms of living organism including human beings, as a survival mechanism. Training is basically to condense learning through experiences for maximum efficiency.

Nancy Dixon in her book, The Organizational Learning Cycle postulates. “L > C” and Ecology formula meaning in order for an organization to survive its rate of learning ‘L’ must be equal to or greater than the rate of change ‘C’ in its environment.”

In his seminal work the ‘Condition for Learning’, first published in 1965, Mr. Robert Meckanize delved deep into the process of human learning. From his research and his experience on the field, he concluded that the most effective training takes place when the final task or objective is broken up into its set of component parts . The idea is that the mastery of job proceeds from a mastery of simple tasks. Thus a step by step approach to the mastery of complex missions is the best approach.

Research carried out by the American Society of Training and Development show that real training cannot be transactional in nature such as a seminar speaker talking and giving good ideas that are appreciated and bring about great initial enthusiasm but are seldom absorbed and implemented.

To quote Fred Kofman & Peter Senge ‘the Learning required in becoming a learning organization is “Transformational Learning” ‘

According to John L. Marotti, President -The Enterprise Group, people working together in interdependent relationships – partnerships – creating value with knowledge and passion, will succeed in the turbulent world we face in the future.

Hence real training must be transformational in nature that brings about enhancement of skills or changes of behavior.

Thus irrespective of whether the training is aimed at improving performances, involving the use of physical capabilities, verbal skills, intellectuals skills, or attitudinal changes, the old maxim ‘knowing is doing’ holds very true. The only true evidence of effective training comes in the form of changes in the trainees performance (output) and behavior (attitude), the key principle remains the same, that skills or behavior changes, has to be absorbed in small doses. Practiced repeated, shared with others, thus internalized and finally forms a part of a persons self transformation.

According to Fred Kofman & Peter Senge “In our organizations today learning is too important to leave to chance. I will not be adequate to offer training and hope that people will be able to apply new insights and methods.”

In the Indian business environment until recently only lip service had been paid to training. Due to a protected business environment a need for real training was not felt. The ‘personnel administration’ & ‘training functions’ in most organizations were indistinguishable from each other since the only role of the concerned professional was to have a training ‘calendar’ to send people for certain ‘training days,’ and use up the allotted ‘training budget’.

This attitude needs a paradigm shift in order for the Indian corporate world to keep pace with the dynamic global scenario to meet the new issues and challenges and hence fulfills the need to impart meaningful training.

*Originally written by Dr. Hiru Bijlani, a Management Consultant at LMI India and a member of the board of directors of Karrox Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

The Perfect Example of Leadership – Narayan Murthy

“I am a believer in the adage – performance leads to recognition, recognition leads to respect and respect leads to power.” In my own words, I have explained that performance is the key towards leadership.

Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for independence in India  and raised the aspirations of our people.

Leadership is about making people say, ‘I will walk on water for you.’ It is about creating a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.

Robert Kennedy , summed up leadership best when he said, ‘Others see things as they are and wonder why; I see them as they are not and say why not?’

Adversity:
A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that tough times are part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days.

There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of defeat during World War II. He raised his people’s hopes with the words, ‘These are not dark days; these are great days — the greatest days our country has ever lived.’

Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek philosopher, ‘Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.’

Values:
The leader has to create hope. He has to create a plausible story about a better future for the organization: everyone should be able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it.

This requires creating trust in people. And to create trust, the leader has to subscribe to a value system: a protocol for behavior that enhances the confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of the people.

Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘We must become the change we want to see in the world.’ Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team’s confidence, help leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.

Enhancing trust:
Trust and confidence can only exist where there is a premium on transparency. The leader has to create an environment where each person feels secure enough to be able to disclose his or her mistakes, and resolves to improve.

Investors respect such organizations. Investors understand that the business will have good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times. They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has always been, ‘When in doubt, disclose.’

Governance:
Good corporate governance is about maximizing shareholder value on a sustainable basis while ensuring fairness to all stakeholders: customers, vendor-partners, investors, employees, government and society.

A successful organization tides over many downturns. The best index of success is its longevity. This is predicated on adhering to the finest levels of corporate governance.

At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.

Fearless environment:
Transparency about the organization’s operations should be accompanied by an open environment inside the organization. You have to create an environment where any employee can disagree with you without fear of reprisal.

In such a case, everyone makes suggestions for the common good. In the end everyone will be better off.

On the other hand, at Enron, the CFO was running an empire where people were afraid to speak. In some other cases, the whistle blowers have been harassed and thrown out of the company.

Managerial remuneration:
We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff. At one company, the CEO’s employment contract not only set out the model of the Mercedes the company would buy him, but also promised a monthly first-class air ticket for his mother, along with a cash bonus of $10 million and other benefits.

Not surprisingly, this company has already filed for bankruptcy.

Managerial remuneration should be based on three principles:

*Fairness with respect to the compensation of other employees;
* Transparency with respect to shareholders and employees;
* Accountability with respect to linking compensation with corporate performance.

Thus, the compensation should have a fixed component and a variable component. The variable component should be linked to achieving long-term objectives of the firm. Senior management should swim or sink with the fortunes of the company.

Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be approved by the shareholders.

I’ve been asked, ‘How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I have made millions myself?’ A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.

One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled, and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.

PSPD model:
A well run organisation embraces and practices a sound Predictability-Sustainability-Profitability-De-risking (we call this the PSPD model at Infosys) model. Indeed, the long-term success of an organisation depends on having a model that scales up profitably.

Further, every organisation must have a good derisking approach that recognizes, measures and mitigates risk along every dimension.

Integrity:
Strong leadership in adverse times helps win the trust of the stakeholders, making it more likely that they will stand by you in your hour of need. As leaders who dream of growth and progress, integrity is your most wanted attribute.

Lead your teams to fight for the truth and never compromise on your values. I am confident that our corporate leaders, through honest and desirable behaviour, will reap long-term benefits for their stakeholders.

Two motto’s:
In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.

*Presented by LMI India but the original author is Chairman and Chief Mentor, Narayan Murthy, Infosys Technologies.

Leadership Thought: Do the Right Thing, Because It’s the Right Thing to Do

There were times in my life when I had precious little left but my integrity. I’ve walked out of an impending business deal I desperately needed to make ends meet because I was told I had to pay a bribe for the deal to go through. I had a major contract sputter and die when I refused to remove all spiritual reference from my motivational material. It was not easy to walk away at those deals not knowing where I was going to get the money to keep going. But for the sake of my character and my future, it was the right thing to do!

Over the years I’ve found that God has honored every decision I made that was based on integrity. It didn’t always happen right away, but I can trace His faithfulness over and over again in the results of my life. If I lost a sale because I was honest, I got a bigger sale later. If I lost money by keeping my word to my employees, I gained employees that remained loyal for decades. If I lost a friend by refusing to budge on my integrity, they weren’t really a friend after all.

Where does integrity originate?

You can’t make someone have integrity. When it comes right down to it, integrity is a matter of the heart. My parents always taught me, “Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.”

Sadly, most of the laws we have on the books today are to force people to do the honorable thing; to pay that overdue child support, to fulfill a contract, to keep their word. If they had integrity, it wouldn’t be necessary to bring legal action.

Integrity is not something you can fake. Obstacles and complex situations will eventually expose you. The truth will become obvious to anyone who is watching. Integrity is recognizable by attributes such as:

* Taking responsibility
* Being honest
* Keeping your word
* Being faithful in little things

 

Desiring to be a person of integrity doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect. I know I haven’t always made the right moves or made the greatest decisions. But God always forgave me and gave me a fresh start. Sometimes I had to build anew from the ground up, but the foundation of integrity was already there to steady my process.

Does integrity restrict or bring freedom?

Integrity can be very binding to those who don’t care about doing the right thing.

Unfortunately for them, all the seemingly short term advantages of conducting their affairs without integrity can come back to bite with a vicious chomp! Proverbs 20:21 states, “An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.”

When you operate from a foundation of integrity, you don’t have to second guess yourself. Just like a ship with a powerful compass, integrity will always point you in the right direction and guide you safely into port.

Even if you experience a temporary loss because you refuse to violate your own integrity, be assured that you will reap many benefits in the long run. New doors of opportunity will open in your personal and business life. You’ll be rewarded for standing your ground, refusing to compromise. As you take personal responsibility, remain honest, keep your word, and stay faithful even in the smallest concerns, you will be greatly blessed.

But above all, remember to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do!

*Originally written by Paul J. Meyer

Thoughts of Desmond Tutu On Leadership

Our quest for interesting and insightful content on leadership leads us to the Interview with Desmond Tutu by freelance journalist Marika Griehsel in Gothenburg, Sweden, 28 September 2007.

The 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu discusses what makes a good leader. See the whole interview below