“Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It is about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.” – Chris Hadfield
The great old saying by– Swami
Sivananda is ever true - Learning is a lifelong activity to maintain
a success story Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts.
This is the secret of success”. The corporate ladder can be steep
or gradual, depending upon the organization size and structure. To climb the
ladder, you are to take one step at a time but maintain momentum to reach the
top. It requires proper coordination of energies, resources and
knowledge/skill. It is true that God helps those who help themselves and “Lady
Luck” smiles, if you are diligent and work regularly. Learning new
technologies, management techniques and business practices are useful at all
stages of a carrier. For this, people get registered as members of various
professional bodies and actively participate in their seminars, webinars and
conferences. In addition, professionals are encouraged to join
technology/management online courses for skill enhancement. When you learn new
skills you must get certified as proof of competency. This will bring respect
from senior management, peers and your team. Some basic points related to
success are given in the following sections:
· Laborious. A job could be
quite laborious but if you sincerely work hard, you may start seeing some
results and that will motivate you further to love your job. One could be slow
and laborious but hard work pays in the end.
· Ladder. While climbing the
ladder one must correctly judge its slope and height. As you climb higher you
are to be more careful. A slip near the top can be a bad fall. So is the
corporate ladder where the carrier is made step by step with determination to
reach the top. Encourage others to move up the ladder by good preparation and
determination.
· Lack. Do not lack in your
initiative and willpower to gain the required skills. Must periodically carry out
self-audit to find out what you lack to achieve your goal and make that up gap
soonest.
· Lag. Always carry out your
assigned task diligently and do not lag behind your time schedule. If
you allow lag to drag on it will accumulate in a bigger backlog. Therefore any
lag should be made up soonest by making adjustments in resources and
effort.
· Landscape. We all know how a
construction engineer prepares landscape for the whole building site and seeks
approval of the authorities before starting foundation work. A similar concept
should be used to plan your career path.
· Large. Always look at the
larger picture and skip minor issues. Likewise, have a large heart to ignore
the mistakes of others and be generous. To view the larger picture,
you should stand at a good distance away and avoid micro-management.
· Last. To set a good example
for your team is early to reach your workplace and last to
leave. Those who come first in the race are
cheered/applauded and given the award but those who come last in the
race is consoled and referred to as“ They are also running”; Put your heart and
soul in your job and you will be the winner.
· Late-Arrival. Being
on time and every time is the sterling quality of a good leader. You should be
always on time to reach your workplace, attend a conference and meet
customer/vendor. Your teammates are very observant and they will follow your
example of punctuality and commitment. Even the doorman/gatekeeper observes
your punctuality.
· Laughter is Good
Medicine. Laughter costs you nothing but it is the best medicine when you and your
team are in a depressed mood. Try to laugh it off as it is well said “what
cannot be cured must be endured.”. Have patience and the storm
will blow away. Laugh through your lungs, smile through your eyes and give a
hug where needed.
· Lawful. As a good
professional and good citizen, you show be law-abiding. Omission of law
shows poor discipline and ignorance of the law is no excuse. You
must know the rules, regulations, instructions and ethos of the organisation
and follow those diligently. Any unlawful act can invite penal
action. A law-abiding person is respected by all and has no worries.
· Lazy. Always be alert,
energetic and display enthusiasm while performing your job. A lazy person would
be late in arriving at the workplace and even looks lethargic while on the job.
A lazy person is uninspiring and generally late in completing an assigned task.
· Leading by
Example. A leader is more than a manager or administrator. He/she always leads
the team from the front with personal demonstrated performance. the leader.
Indeed leadership is practised not in words but in attitude and inactions. The
team gets inspired to follow the leader who displays confidence and leads them
all the way to finish.
· Leap. In today’s
fast-moving technology-oriented world, you cannot afford to follow a policy of
“slow and steady wins the race”. You need to take bigger strides and sometimes
raise the bar and take a big leap forward. However, do maintain the balance
between your capacity and the target.
· Learning. It is not a one-time
effort but a lifelong process of de-learning some past
skills,, relearning and fresh learning emerging skills. To be
a successful manager or team leader, you must be technically as well as
administratively sound to manage the knowledge workforce of today. You should
actively participate in seminars, conferences, workshops and professional
forums. In a fast-moving economy and the pace of technology, you must remain
updated to stay relevant. It is useful to get associated with various
institutions/organizations to gain knowledge about emerging technologies,
business practices and research work. This can provide you platform to showcase
your talent/expertise and speed up your career growth.
· Leave. Leave no stone
unturned to reach your target on time and in a cost-effective
manner. While in your job, have a break and enjoy your entitled
leave period as holidays with family. Preferably go on a long trip away from
home. Avoid accumulating leave for encashment, lest you get branded as a
workaholic.
·. Lessons from the
past. Any failure of the past must not depress you but provides
lessons for improvement in future, It is good to execute well
your present job and do sound planning for future
.However, it is very important to learn
lessons from past success as well as failure, Do not
repeat old mistakes and apply skills that
made you successful in the past.
· Leverage. Always
use your strong points and special skills to your advantage and do a
good job now, Your past experience and additional knowledge should help in
leveraging and doing the present job more efficiently and
economically.
· LifeStyle. Fast-changing
technologies and the digital world are impacting our lifestyle. You are to be
part of the change and remain abreast while adopting these. To save on time and
cost, keep your lifestyle simple and within your means.
· Like. Always like your organisation
job, seniors and teammates as that will create a happier and more trustworthy
work environment. If you like your job, you will stay self-motivated, Your
conduct should be likeable by all. This will make you popular in the
organisation as well as among family members.
· Listener. Listing needs
attention and difficult while speaking is easier. One who is speaking is
conveying as much as one knows but while a good listener is gaining new
knowledge and that helps in the furtherance of his/her career. During any
meeting/discussion, you should listen carefully to what others say. They will
feel happy and assured of your involvement. Don’t cut someone talking and
interrupt him/her to make your point. You will get your turn, just wait. As a
manager or team leader, you will notice that by giving a patient hearing to the
complainant, he/she gets partly relieved of the pain.
· Livelihood. There are people in
our rural areas who find it hard to earn their livelihood because of
lack of job opportunities and over-dependence on God to make the
favourable weather for their crops to grow and
labour jobs grow,
· Location. While selecting
a place to live or set up any business, suitable location matters the most, It
relates to the availability of water .electricity, the nearby market for daily
needs, distance to the workplace, Railway Station, Bus stand, Metro Rail station
and Airport.
· Logic. Follow the
basic logic while analysing any situation and you will make the right decision.
While dealing with any complex situation, stay focussed, determined and
enthusiastic to take it to the logical conclusion,
· Loneliness. Do not be aloof and
get branded as a loner or self-centred. Be a good team member and mix well.
In Japan, some people are so lonely that they request
and even pay you, for even for one hour of company. Some are even using
talking/laughing robots to amuse themselves. Loneliness saps away your energy
and you may feel depressed and disturbed.
· Look and Feel. While
you design a product, vehicle, furniture or any other utility item, the first
consideration of customer is a “look and feel’ than other technical
consideration,
· Loose. Anything loose could
be unsafe, risky, harmful, and dangerous. Always tie up loose
ends to stay safe and assured
· Loss. In any business
transaction, we want to earn profit and not make any loss. However, one cannot
be the winner all the times. There can be a situation where some
loss is obvious. You should respond appropriately to the situation and either
absorb the loss or mitigate it and wait for a suitable opportunity to make
up for the loss.
· Love begets
Love. You must have love and respect for your organization, your job and your
family. Love brings ownership, commitment, focus and you will feel
self-propelled forward to improve your productivity and efficiency. Love your
family, too. If you love someone, you must show it. Playing with a child at
home will lessen your day’s fatigue. Do love God since He always loves us all.
· Loyalty. Your loyalty to the
organization, customer and team should be beyond doubt. If you expect your team
to be loyal to you, you need to be loyal to them first. If you are loyal to
your organization/seniors, your team will emulate you.
· Luck Favours Hard
Worker. Luck is also a factor for your success but 80% is hard work and
determination. Do believe in the old saying – “God helps those who help
themselves.” Keep focused and moving forward and soon lady-luck will smile.
· Lust. Lust is a
craving of the mind to get anything that is liked by one's eyes, One may have
the desire to own certain material things for comfortable living but not have
lust to get the thing by any means. Lust will lead you to the wrong
path where you commit undesirable/unlawful act.
· Luxury. Many of us want to
show off our wealth by living a luxurious lifestyle. It is good to acquire
essential things and have a good lifestyle which your family feels happy and
relatives/friends also appreciate your standard of living. Let us always
remember the good old saying “ Cut your coat according to your cloth”. You need
not copy the luxurious lifestyle of others.
To read more, you may refer to my
book/e book “A2Z 26 steps for assured Success” available on www.
amazon. in
Brig(Retd) Dr Sarbjit Singh , Former
Exec Director, Apeejay College of Engineering, & Hony Adviser School of
Engineering and Technology Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon,
Haryana, India, 122103
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