Thursday, January 31, 2013

LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT SPECIAL...Situational sensing the new LEADERSHIP MANTRA



Situational sensing  the new LEADERSHIP MANTRA

SITUATIONAL SENSING’, A VITAL YET NOVEL FACET OF LEADERSHIP IS SOON GAINING MOMENTUM IN INDIA INC.


    A common question being asked in the corporate domain is ‘what is situational sensing’ in the leadership context? “Situational sensing is adapting your leadership style based on a situation. Assessing the situation and waiting for the right time before taking any action or decision. A situational leader observes, discusses, listens, and understands the situation before taking any decision. For new leaders, it is important to understand the culture of the organisation and adapt their behaviour accordingly,” answers Keyuri Singh, VP HR, Blue Star Info Tech.

    So, what are the ways through which leaders can improve their situational sensing? “Situational sensing can be improved by observation, patience and listening to people. The leader should be regularly in touch with one’s immediate team-mates. He/she should be approachable for employees. He/she should develop the capability to hear both, the said and unsaid and draw inferences from those to understand the pulse of the organisation. This helps to understand work culture, the employees’ ‘feelings’ towards the organisation, what their expectations from the organisation are and how it aligns with the organisation’s goals. The leader should build confidence among the immediate team-mates, so that they can share important details about the business, challenges, and opportunities that they foresee,” answers Singh. Providing a further explanation on the same, Ashish Arora, founder, & MD of HR Anexi says, “Leaders must master the skill of situational sensing. Effective leaders understand that there is no universal formula, no guaranteed way of ensuring their leadership impact. On the contrary, they practice and hone their situational sensing skills. They observe and collect ‘soft data’, picking up behavioural cues and reading the atmosphere or ‘vibe’. Very often in a working environment, employees tend to hold back their feelings of fear, confusion, anger, or depression; whether triggered at home or at the workplace. There are the feelings and vibes that leaders must be able to pick upon, to further initiate conversations with their employees. They must confirm their assumptions and analyse the data to understand its implications for their leadership actions.”

    Explaining the ways through which leaders can improve their situational sensing further, Gyan Daultani, VP – HR and resource management group, Nihilent Technologies suggests, “Leaders need to enhance their observational and listening skills. These are the best ways to enhance one’s situational sensing ability. Observing involves scrutinising the behavioural aspects of the people involved, listening to what they are saying and understanding the purpose behind it. It requires communicating with people on a regular basis and understanding their points of view, strengths, weaknesses, and constraints.”

    “On an ending note, while possessing the ability to sense situations, leaders must also know where to draw the line when it comes to confrontation. An efficient and effective leader is the one who can gauge the tension/discomfort among his/her employees by sensing the situation and eventually being a coach and catering to those issues,” concludes Arora.
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