Have been reading a lot of Leadership stuff last few days and have come across some great leaders working with me, on me last 25+ years. I also heard a lot of leaders talking about ‘Leadership Stuff’ in different webinars and articles of late. As I was reflecting on all this, I also went back to history on how leaderships have behaved in times like today. Why are these times difficult: the pandemic has not only broken back of health Infrastructures globally and invoked fear of death like never before across races, colours and continents, but also economically globally. So as the leaderships struggles to save its people, they have to keep a tab on that there is enough for everybody and stand guard to their internal and external security threats persisting in different parts of the world for different reasons territorially but similar in reasons causing them, which is insecurities of leaderships. I thought what will be true leaders doing today (without claiming to be the best exponent of leadership), they will be:
- Flexible and Agile: To react to the situations described all coming together and having the responsibility to create short term reactions and mid-term to long term combative actions for sustainable survival and growth on all fronts.
- Capacity To Deal With Complexity: As the situation warrants them to be dealing with people, things, unknown (the virus) the hunger and livelihoods.
- Compassion: To keep the main thing the main thing and the main thing will always revolve around people, their lives and their well being. It’s difficult and a tough call. I got many WhatsApp messages for the last 48 hours, how so healthy looking companies have let their people go, declare bankruptcy. Far too soon I felt and whilst the immediate gratification for most of them will be financial savings a lot of big names surprised though( if sustainability was a real problem), long term it will be on the survival of their very business.
- Passion: To keep and drive the purpose of the business forward and keep the CORE of it ie growth, people and sustainability all in mind while driving the same. I am seeing a lot of leadership around me driving that with great passion and compassion.
- Gratitude: To be able to create and propagate a meaningful agenda and being of service to people, organizations, societies and causes and remain humble and grateful for the same. I have been grateful to all my leaders to have taught me with the example of great ambassadors of gratitude and change.
- Valour: A lot of wars were fought and won by great Heroes purely because of their dare or valour. They embarked on battles and wars of great magnitude, locking horns with an enemy that was monstrous and many times bigger in size of armies and kingdoms. Sheer conviction and valour of great leaders have won those wars. As it has rightly been said, “An army of sheep led by a lion will always defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.”
- GOAL: Set an Impossible goal for self and organization and work for it. That can create growth and keep you away from the negativity of thinking about challenges all the times around you. A Vaccum such a large goal creates will suck the organization for exponential growth.