Monday, April 28, 2014

MANAGEMENT / LEADERSHIP SPECIAL .............Getting the Best Out Of Oneself


Getting the Best Out Of Oneself 

KEY TO GOOD LEADERSHIP: 
Leaders have the task of finding the spark — both in themselves and in others. In order to tap their own potential first, some rely on sense of humour, others on unlearning. Here are five business leaders sharing how they have managed to spot the hidden talent.


Amitabh Chaudhry
MD & CEO, HDFC Life
Huge Value in Doing Small Things Right
I grew up in a small town where life revolved around a factory and the simple pleasures of a multi-cultural community. It was here I imbibed my early leadership lessons of having a strong work ethic, the value of humility and the ability to spot leadership and a spark in everyone. I never fail to use the example of the shop floor with my teams. When we ran a large transformation programme at HDFC Life, I insisted on beginning the day at every branch with a 30-minute huddle to discuss the day ahead. There is huge value in doing small things right, every time. My last four years at HDFC Life have been challenging. The life insurance sector has seen huge changes. The only way to manage in such an environment is to keep challenging status quo. People find a comfort zone and stay within it. The task of a leader is to motivate them to dislike that zone. For instance, we are the leading online life insurer and we have a strong social media presence. While this is good, I make sure that every quarter I move the goalpost for my online business head. The day you believe you have all the answers, you will find you are in the wrong examination.
Anumeha Chaturvedi

CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra Unlearning is as Important as Learning
My early nomadic life because of my father’s transferable job taught me to deal with changing environments, adapting to different cultures and groups. It taught me the benefits of socialising with the unknown. Taking over Satyam was like catching a falling sword. Gaining the trust of Satyamites and making them see the larger picture was the greatest priority. Circumstances taught me the importance of listening and maintaining a transparent communication culture. While there were periods of pain and self-doubt, the trust that was built helped in being focused on the objective. Every day teaches me new mantras for success. I have learnt that unlearning is as important as learning so that we are not burdened by the baggage of the past. Challenging status quo, and bringing forth unconventional solutions to conventional problems have helped me and the team define new frontiers. And no one should ever forget that we are but a microcosm of the team that we represent and that we should remain committed to the team that made success possible.
Devina Sengupta
 
Ashish Hemrajani Founder & CEO of BookMyShow.com
I Try to Learn From the Youth
I would meet people and observe that bosses create an air of bureaucracy around them. They have secretaries to book tickets, run errands and I did not want that as a leader. None of us have designations printed on our visiting cards and I know the first names of our office staff. I learnt it early on that no one person has all the answers and instead of keeping seniors as mentors, I try to learn from the youth. They teach me new trends, what is new in technology, social media and how I can use it to interact more with consumers. I want to become an evangelist and a user of technology. Another way to hone my leadership skills is by reading. I read books about those who have walked the road and not just theoretical ones that explain the process through examples. I also learn about my skills from people around me.
Devina Sengupta
 
Deep Kalra
Chairman & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip
Self Belief is the Driving Force
I believe that leadership is an inculcated skill born out of practice with self-belief being the driving force — the one critical quality that sets aside leaders from followers. Once one starts working with a team it becomes even more critical to harness your leadership potential and build a shared vision that guides and propels progress. This means keeping track of the bigger picture and remaining calm under pressure. As a result of the dot-com meltdown, our investor eVentures withdrew from all their investments in the country, including MakeMyTrip. Saddled with a young business in the red, the choice I had was to either wind down the company and go back to the corporate world or muster further investment. I decided to back my instinct. I took money from angel investors, right-sized the business and focused on turning profitable. Working on a bootstrapped model for 18 months, the company turned profitable in 2003. All employees are encouraged to share their concerns with their managers. Good ideas are appreciated and constructive feedback provided to ensure employees derive value from this exercise.
Sreeradha D Basu


Mukund Mohan
Director, Microsoft Ventures, India
Great Leaders Have a Sense of Humour
One of the lessons I learned early on is using the power of humor to diffuse challenging situations in everyday business. I judge people by how they respond to tough situations and have found that those who have a sense of humor, tend to get better outcomes. These leaders are not standup comedians, or pranksters, but they are able to find something funny in a rather tense moment and figure out a way to keep perspective. Early during my negotiations with a potential acquirer, the discussion centered around three specific conditions on their term sheet. While two were benign, one of them was a contentious point that our lawyers and theirs had argued for over three days with neither side budging at all. The term is called ROFR (Right of First Refusal), a condition that allows the buyer to be able to pass on an acquisition. On the 5th day when I came on the call with the entire team, tensions mounted even further. When I likened the condition to ROFL (Rolling on the Floor Laughing) and said we should change the clause to reflect its true intent, the entire team burst out laughing and saw how petty the arguments were both for and against. 

Shreya Roy
ET140418



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