1. Be compassionate: Compassion is the emotional trait that enables managers to become strong leaders.
2. Deliver on your promises: Never disappoint those who work under you.
3. Lead by example: Encourage cooperation, giving back and love in your team. Don’t forget to lead by example!
A leader is someone who can direct human efforts in the best possible direction to achieve the best possible outcome. A leader looks at the pros and cons of a situation as well as the different ways of accomplishing goals, and should effectively communicate these to the team. Therefore, strong analytical skills and a process that the team can understand well are important. As a leader, I never ask anyone to do anything I would not do myself. If I ask for something to be done—I am 100 per cent responsible if something goes wrong, having directed this action.
It’s also important to compensate everyone involved fairly, and reward them by telling the team or person what they did right along with monetary compensation. Finally, stay on the project until it is done, because as a leader, there might be challenges that need answers that only you can provide!
Above all, when you select people to work for you, trust them! When I think of leadership in my own life, my thoughts go back to my earlier experiences of leadership in Mumbai at the St. Anne’s High School at Fort, and at The Cathedral and John Connon School. At both schools, I was elected the head girl of the student council and then, at the University of Delhi, I was elected the Vice President and President of JMC (Jesus and Mary College).
I always thought of leadership as a service. For me, it was a way to use my skills and my ‘ins’ with the college administration to solve problems for other people who are of my age, or to put forward ideas they might be passionate about. Being a leader was a joy as I loved interacting with all kinds of people, understanding their different points of view and finding solutions to their problems.
I would sit in the JMC canteen, eating my chana bhatura and drinking karak chai, listening to things that were going on in college, or in other colleges and in the lives of others. If someone needed something done, they knew I was just an ear away and always happy to help optimize a situation, if it fell within my value system. I held up certain values of honesty, integrity and rightful living, which basically meant not hurting another human, and no one could sway.
