ABC of LEADERSHIP
“ Success follows people who pursue excellence”
AN OVERVIEW:
Following the success of IT industry, India has emerged as Global Manufacturing Hub. India’s competitive, skilled manpower is attracting several companies, spanning diverse industries, making India a Global Manufacturing powerhouse. India with its vast & varied human skills is an attractive destination for many leading Global Organizations – Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota, GE, Caterpillar, IBM, DELL, MS, to name a few, both as a market and its capabilities.
Services are getting more and more specialized as organizations compete in the same space and customer expectations increase forever. This has led to Industries and People becoming highly competitive. As firms continue to focus on productivity, highly motivated, skilled people are required to take organizations to next level, from SMEs to Corporates.
UNIVERSAL BENCHMARK as a modern terminology is today liberally used in Business strategy, where multinational corporations leverage the local roots for Global Benefits. Size has given way to Appeal, and hence global alignment is not a choice anymore. Most large businesses (and many mid-size and small ones too) today have value chain spanning across states, regions, countries, and continents.
Businesses can’t afford to just think globally and act locally. Businesses need to leverage local advantage for Universal reach through sustained innovations and hence benchmark with Global Leaders.
As consumers in the society and as contributors to varied causes, unprecedented challenging circumstances are experienced now. As a new normal, these challenges are good opportunities for Indian businesses & hence augur well for building leadership.
The A’s…..
Aspire, Acquire & Act…..
Dr. APJ remarked ‘Indians aspire little and achieve very little’.
Aspirations are the basis for embarking Leadership Journey.
For this, apart from right attitude & aptitude, an understanding of Macro Market Factors are essentials. Leadership attitudes impact the performance of the organizations to a large extent. Hence, its pertinent for Leaders to carry the right, positive & healthy attitude all through their life. Remember, attitudes can be easily recognized.
It’s mostly felt that being part of a Profitable Business is enough. It’s just the beginning of a long journey in a quest to build successful businesses. It’s important for Leaders to develop an aptitude for continuous learning & performing by validating the learning’s.
“Sky is not the limit any-more for businesses with Leaders of right kind”
Attitude determines the altitude. Sky is not the limit anymore for businesses with Leaders of right kind
The B’s…..
Nothing like growing by following….., of-course the right ones.
Benchmark
Betterment comes only when measured against the best. It’s required to have reference models at every stage to recognise gaps and strategies. There can be multiple references. Bench marking helps to understand and narrow down the Gaps to be successful and it’s a constant endeavor
Behave Well
Social recognitions of Organisations are sacrosanct for Long Term success of a Business. A good image helps in organisational development and growth, which in turn reflects the brand and dignity of the Organization and its Leaders. People and Organisation are two sides of the same coin.
Leaders believe in self and the business, and make others believe.
The C’s….
We get back what we give…. and giving is everything…
Concerned
Stake holders expect Leaders to show concern for self, work, family, society and the environment. It’s an obligation as privileged and educated to give back to the society, to the under privileged and to the more discerning. This is to be remembered always as these helps to improve overall GDP.
Committed
Level of commitment is the one that brings both success & glory. Given the current scenario, commitment levels of Business Leaders are being continuously monitored and appropriate feedback given for improvement. Else, market is expected to look for alternates. Lack of commitment results in work compromise and thus not accepted.
There is a thin line that differentiates confidence from over confidence. Recognize and act accordingly.
The D’s….
Inevitable part of growth….
Discipline
Today what differentiates us from developed economies like US, Germany and China and even developing economies like Brazil, is discipline. In India, both democracy & freedom are widely misunderstood and misrepresented.
Many successful organisations and its Leaders, by design are highly disciplined, structured and cultured. It’s quite natural for these leading industries to expect the value chain also to be highly disciplined. It helps in building a solid reputation and proof of it is managing the business well.
“Successful organisations and its Leaders, by design are highly disciplined”
Drive
Institutional & Organizational performances are akin to performance of their Leaders. Stake holders recognise and follow this. It’s the Leadership drive which helps to deep dive and explore the plethora of opportunities, both visible and in- visible through innovation.
World recognizes Leaders who create opportunities rather than follow opportunities.
The E’s….
Sustained Efforts are critical to succeed….
Enduring
When times are tough, as witnessed today across the Globe, it’s the tough who gets going. Leaders are expected to build endurance levels by being people savvy, knowledge savvy, technology savvy and industry savvy. This will ensure sustainability.
Enterprising
Success is never final. Hence, Leaders are never to become complacent. It’s important to be both customer & market oriented by building both internal & external relationships. This is possible only when Leaders are enterprising & right minded.
World and Markets are moving towards an era of Zero Tolerance and Leaders cannot afford to make any mistakes…
The F’s…
Human energy is unique to Mankind, hence to be leveraged productively….
Focused
There are umpteen opportunities for Leaders to get diverted and stray into unknown territories. It is always good for Leaders to move out of comfort zone and explore new territories, which enables organisational growth and development. Good Leaders anticipate and plan when to move in and move out.
Flexible
Change is the only permanent thing in Business. Else there is no growth, both for the Organisation and its people. Leaders are expected to be flexible enough to adopt & embrace people changes, market changes, regulatory changes, technology changes & social changes.
Given the present circumstances, Leaders need to know what should not be done more than what should be
The G’s…
A never-ending process…
Growing by Learning
Growth oriented Leaders learn and unlearn more than sufficiently. They have made this a process more than a practice. Leaders recognize that learning & development are continuous processes which helps Organisational Growth. It is possible for Seniors not to embark on formal coaching for various reasons and therefore Leaders always self-learn. Learning habit should be cultivated across the Organisation for the benefit of People and Business development.
Giving & Sharing
This is an era of Multi skilling & Multi-tasking. Passionate Leaders share their experience & knowledge across the Organisation and are open to take in-puts from others. This can be called horizontal deployment. While doing so, it’s important to exchange both successes & failures, so as to repeat successes and avoid failures.
To change and to create change is the only way to grow. And for that, knowledge is the key.
The H’s…
True be to the self, business and stake holders…
Honest
Honesty is and will always be the best policy. Across universe, amongst divergent Leaders, a detailed study reveals that people who can sustain their successes have a high level of Honesty which is important in the modern era of Corporate Governance. Honesty reflects moral value system and a good majority of the society respects Leaders & Organisations with good value system.
“People who can sustain their successes have a high level of Honesty”
To lead a principled life is not easy, but Good Leaders thrive for it.
Hard Working
Thanks to modern technologies, today Hard Work connotes completely a different meaning. Connected Organisations enhance the quality, accuracy and speed of response. Leaders demonstrate Hard Work and inspire others to follow as market does not pay for any slackness. Its time to be effectively efficient.
So as always, there is no substitute for Hard Work, Yet.
The I’s…..
Leadership is inspirational more than motivational, by example
Initiate
Leaders believe in initiation and do not wait for opportunities. Leaders create opportunities by themselves and inspire others to look for opportunities rather than wait for them. This can also be called continual improvement.
Innovate
World has already moved from information era to innovation era. It’s innovation that is and will drive the markets, and thus, organizations & individuals. There is not a single thing in our daily life that is left untouched by innovation.
Leaders recognise Innovation as a key business process and prepare the Organisation and People to change as rapidly as possible.
To conclude, a few Leadership Traits:
- Never ‘I’ and it’s always ‘WE’. Involve whole heartedly and create involvement. 1+1 should be 11 and not 2.
- The World Respects People Who Have Respect For – Themselves, Their Business, Family, Organization, Institution & Above All, Their Society.
- The Difference Between Ordinary and Extraordinary Is Hard Work.
- To Sustain The Achievements, One Has To Keep Running, Faster Than The Fastest
- If You Cant’ Be Better, Be Different
About the Author :
Dr. NITHYANANDAN DEVARAAJ (NITHIN) BE., MBA., PhD
Chief Executive Officer – Voith Group
(Flow Link Systems (P) Ltd)
DSIF Division – Innovation and Technologies
Chairman – Shri Avinashiappar Trust
Vice President – Coimbatore Management Association
Past National Secretary – The Institute of Indian Foundrymen.
Dr. Nithin has about 35 + Years of Experience in Engineering Manufacturing organizations. He has worked for LMW Group, L&T, Hitachi & CRI Group. He is considered to be a Professional with a rare blend of Intrapreneurial Orientation, having been a Business Head across Engineering Manufacturing Organisations / Industries.
Dr. Nithin is a Member in Governing Council / Board Of Studies of Universities and Management Institutions as a Management Expert.
Dr. Nithin is part of various industrial associations and professional bodies; he is credited with playing a leading role in bringing land mark changes in Export Incentives, Classification of MSMEs, CPCB Norms, Waste & Disposal Management. He also plays a pivotal role in training and development of educated Youth seeking employment opportunities.
Dr. Nithin Leads a team that turned around a division and a Company, and in establishing large scale projects as bench marks in industry (This Business has won several awards at National & Regional Level which includes – Indian Foundry of the Year, Young Foundryman and Foundryman Awards, 4Star Award from CII, Green Award & Safety Award from Tamil Nadu Government & at National Level from IIF, First Indian Foundry in the segment to get OHSAS 18001 & ISO 50001 Certification and Many Kaizen awards.)
Dr. Nithin is a Managing Trustee of a Family Managed Trust involved in activities like rendering Food, Shelter, Education and Medicare. Noted for rendering services during Chennai, Kerala, Tanjore & Nilgiris Floods.
Dr. Nithin’s Academics:
- Ph.D in Management Sciences
- MBA in Finance & Marketing – Gold Medalist and University Topper
- BE Mechanical Engineer with Distinction
- An IRCA certified lead auditor and assessor for ISO 9001.
- A qualified auditor for EMS, OHSAS & EnMS
- L&T Future Leaders Training at IIM – C
Dr. Nithin’s Professional Associations:
- Member & Industry Nominee, Coimbatore Disaster Management Council
- A Guest Faculty to Premier Management Institutes & Was Visiting Faculty to IIM – Calicut
- An examiner for Management Qualifications & Assessor for Management Teachers
- An acknowledged management trainer and consultant
- Is a regular Business Column Writer.
Dr. Nithin is a Member of:
- Foundry Development Council, Ministry of Commerce & Industries, India.
- Institution of Engineers, All India and Coimbatore Management Association
- Board of Studies in Universities & Premier Management Institutes
Dr. Nithin is Winner of:
- The Outstanding Alumni & Distinguished Alumni Awards from PSG Institutions & Bharathiar University.
- The CMA Golden Jubilee Year Best Manager award for the region.
- The Best Management Student award and many accolades at National Level.
- The Mother Teresa Award of Excellence for Young Business Managers.
Dr. Nithin’s Management Interests:
- Management of Innovation, Corporate Strategic Planning and Manufacturing Management, Green Supply Chain
Dr. Nithin can be contacted at :
Mobile : +9194879 46900
E-mail : [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-nithyanandan-devaraaj-95612338/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/dr_n_devaraaj
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/drnithyanandan.devaraaj.7
Also read Dr. NITHYANANDAN DEVARAAJ’s earlier articles:
