The Leadership Pipeline

This post is inspired by Ram Charan’s - 'The Leadership Pipeline’. Ram Charan talks about different passages of growth which an individual goes through in an organization or the many organizations he/ she works through..

I particularly got glued to the chapter where he talks about the passage from ‘Managing Self' to 'Managing Others’. I completely identify and agree when he says that individuals ‘recognize this transition intellectually but reject it psychologically…’

For a detailed and enlightening information, I would suggest that this is a must read for all professionals… for the ones who might forget to buy a copy of this book… here’s a bird’s eye view of the shift in value system required for the above Level 1 transition...

How do you define Level 1 transition?
When you are recognized as a successful individual contributor in the organization who produces profitable results, you are promoted to the 1st line manager…now you get a team to work with you..More than half of your time is dedicated to ‘managing’ rather than ‘doing’

Key Value Shift
From getting results through personal efficiency to getting results through others… It’s easy to fall in the temptation of doing things yourself. It sure is faster, but pause… is it the most effective… would you be able to manage larger roles and responsibilities alone… Absolutely not… Trust and train your team.

Team success over personal success… As a manager, a value shift of team over self is absolutely essential. Remember, your appraisal would depend upon your team’s success story rather than your individual performance.

From relationship building for personal results to relationship building for team’s success … Indulge in workplace socialization. You should engage in relationship building with your boss, direct reports, peers, customers, cross function employees for the team’s benefit. This exercise would build trust and would keep the communication transparent and flowing.

Avoid overpowering direct reports with your expertise… Coach and guide your team.. assess the situation and chose the role of a coach, a mentor, a guide, a boss or a peer. Allow them a certain amount of latitude in the way they carry out their assignment… your role is to observe, monitor and provide feedback.

Be available… both physically and emotionally… Remember, being approachable is crucial to your leadership role. Your body language, attitude, speech should exuberate positive vibe… a feeling that you are not just present but actively present for them.

True it is the responsibility of the Human Resource or the L&D function to train the 1st line managers, but I feel that the responsibility also lies with the individual to absorb and adapt the change in behavioural values. If individuals are not made aware about the importance of shift in value systems required with each leadership role, it definitely would result in, as Ram Charan puts succinctly, ‘clogged leadership pipeline’.

This is the first in the series and I intend to share all the six passages of leadership mentioned by Ram Charan in this fabulous book. Stay tuned:-)

Are you afraid to let go?

Attended a conference on ‘Coaching for Organization Development‘ in Delhi recently….my idea was also to get a chance to visit the charming India Habitat centre:-)

One of the speakers there, Pramath Raj Sinha,(Founding Dean ISB) talked about the failure of professionals in family owned businesses. He quizzed the audience for reasons. The white board soon flooded with answers which I felt could be bucketed under two heads...

1. Transparency or rather lack of it
2. Control or rather too much of it

Coincidentally, the same day Corporate Dossier carried an article on ‘Learn to let go’. And surprisingly the day ended with a meeting where the client was battling over transparency and control issues….!

Not that being amidst corporate professionals for past 15 years, I am unaware of “How much is too much control”, but its one of those mornings that I just spent some time reflecting on it…

Lack of transparency leads to a control freaky culture in organizations. It requires not good but great leadership to steer clear of it.

Kavil Ramachandran in his article says, “Leaders have to identify talent and groom them to share responsibilities so that they themselves can move on to take greater responsibilities.’

They have to feel confident about two things - 1.letting someone do what they have always been doing and 2. feeling comfortable about doing new things.

Being a mother, I always draw analogies from my parenting experience. This battle of control starts pretty much from childhood. The lack of trust or over protectiveness or the first time perfection mania holds us from passing control to our children.

This often leads to power struggle between a parent and child. Most parents consider their grown-ups as children which causes friction. Similarly most control freak leaders if they may be called so consider their managers to be still learning.

Do what is good for your child but remember a parent is not the only one to value-add forever. Children learn to overcome challenges successfully. In organizations too, there are new challenges but the premise remains the same – A CEO or CXO may not be the only one to add value to the strategy and governance of the organization.

Let go...You and your company will go farther!

Tell Me About Brand You!!

“Tell me something about yourself… What do you do?“ How many times would I have heard these self introductory questions...I don’t even remember how many times I would have answered this…. And being an HR professional, I have asked self introductory questions umpteen times myself...

Surprisingly, more often than not I have found executives fumbling for words while introducing themselves. Long back, when I was a consultant to an MBA preparatory organization, we would take special class to help the students successfully market themselves in a short duration of 15 - 30 mins.

Therefore in today’s competitive and ever changing market dynamics it is essential for executives to position themselves.

From my experience let me share 5 pointers while Self Positioning/ Branding yourself

1. Focus on your core offering – What is it that you best do. What are you most passionate about… Talking about your value and belief system helps you attract like-minded employers.

2. Find a Mentor – Mentors and coaches are experts who could be the much needed Guiding Lamp. Remember to talk about your Mentor/ Coach – it reflects on your openness to learn and grow, so don’t hide your Guiding lamp under the bushes.

3. Be Visible – Rejoice! You live in a time when the entire world could be your market. Social media /networking sites are the best platform to establish your presence. In today’s time of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, you must make yourself known on the internet.

4. Voice your opinion – People value and respect individuals with a point of view. It may not really matter if it is correct or not, what is more important is that you have a Point of View-an independent thinking and speaking mind.

5. Exhibit Versatility – People are looking for additional toppings. No more are we interested in just a Good cup of Coffee – we are constantly looking for what’s new and interesting on the menu.

In case you are looking for a branding expert's opnion on brand you, you may want to read this

Coach Yourself to be Happy & Successful - Part 2/2

Hi! here’s the second part of the earlier post… Few more simple, easy to follow tips to keep ourselves happy.

1. Exercise Exercise!… – Here I am not preaching about some elaborate exercise regimen or fancy gymming. It could be as simple as dancing to your favorite song, 20-30 minutes brisk walk in the neighbourhood or yoga for an 45-60 minutes 3-4 days a week. Believe me, it’s one of the best stress busters. Again, it adds to your self esteem. Even better, if you team up with your family, spouse or friend…it adds to the overall energy level.

2. Extend Help – Helping others makes you feel good about yourself; it could be helping your colleague with presentation skills or donating money for someone in need, giving an hour a month to an under-privileged school, giving some time to a neighbourhood cause, etc. Whenever I have given some time to others, I have felt happy.

3. Be close to nature – If nature is not close to you, you get close to nature…having a couple of potted plants or just a beautiful money plant on your kitchen window sill also helps. (I love mine on my window sill..)

4. Meditate – Don’t have time…Try for 5 minutes every day – you would learn the art and feel the power of meditation… It’s amazing. You can meditate sitting on your office chair, while commuting, while waiting for someone. In our busy lives creating that 5 minute oasis is often what will calm you and make you happy!

5. Be Child like – Let loose and be yourself…laugh, sing, dance, play pranks ….You are never too old to practice these things. Soon, you will notice people around you will love you for this.

Aren’t you already feeling a little good….I am:-)

P.S. In the picture above, it's my son's first bowl of pop corn which he made the day before. Enough to make our day blissful..

Coach Yourself to be Happy & Successful - Part 1/2

The good news is that it’s very easy to be successful….It is scientifically proven if you want to be successful, you need to train your brain to be positive and happy.

The last few articles I came across coincidentally talked about the importance and power of being positive and happy. Hence, I thought of summarizing some of these simple yet often forgotten practices:

1. Be nice to yourself (more often)– Shower yourself with nice compliments (I am sure each one of us has something good in us.It works... Stand in front of the mirror and say something good about yourself… nothing works like a high self-esteem. Start today!

2. Get Talking & Listen more - Talk to people who matter, people you work with – peer, colleagues, subordinate, mentor, coach; people you care about; talk to yourself…Also start listening more…. An honest two-way communication breaks barriers and is a very effective key to solving simple or complex problems at the workplace or at home.

3.Jadu Ki Jhappi( you read it right)– Hug stimulates, ‘Oxytocin’ –love hormones…. So follow Munna Bhai and be generous with Jadu ki Jhappi - with your kids, spouse, family. It feels good to share one ups and downs with others as well. Be open with your feelings from time to time. You needn't be serious all the time.

4.Express Gratitude - It helps you see positive thoughts and actions around and manage your ego. Positive environment is infectious and helps spread happiness. Check this site and be inspired!

Try these for a couple of days…. Will dish up a few more simple tips in my next post…

Lessons from running my own Bed & Breakfast

Hi, I am back on my blog after a long gap...I had been very busy setting up my cosy bed & breakfast, Cinnamon Stays in Gurgaon(Delhi NCR)

This accidental entrepreneurship has been a very exciting and enriching experience for me .. .good times and bad times ; fun times and tough times…. From celebrating the first guest check in … to maintaining our No 1 spot on Trip Advisor( yes that’s true… do read our reviews on Trip Advisor!

Wanted to share a few tips on Brand Cinnamon’s SUCCESS!

The business idea should break clutter – while there are hundreds of guest-houses in Gurgaon, a highly personalized bed & breakfast with ‘ghar ka khana’ was rare in Gurgaon!

The most important resource is self conviction. You must believe in your idea and work hard even if friends and family don’t think it may quite work.

Chase excellence – for us that means not compromising a wee bit on the quality of food, or linen or furnishings. Or the fact that we do all our rooms in different themes – a grand, a green a puraani jeans!

Customization to nth level – whether it’s ‘peeli daal for one guest’, or ‘mutton served at 11pm at night’ or physically waking the guest so that he/ she can catch her flight in time!

Work should be fun even if it’s a humble guest-house. We do our small bit it in taking the team out regularly for small treats. We do theme brunches with friends and friends of friends and call local artists for brain-storms…

No bending on ethics – we have refused clients, said no to admin guys in big companies who wanted a cut!!!

Huddle together during tough times….despite all you do, business will go through lows. It’s important not to lose focus or your cool and keep the faith and brainstorm new ways to get more business.

Celebrate small landmarks – very important when you are building a small team/ business. We have used facebook and twitter to celebrate small stuff – whether our first birthday or taking guests out for a drink
And this post after a long gap is straight from heart……

Prepare yourself to be a Leader- Coach : The GROW Model

A well coordinated, efficient and effective team is any leader’s dream. A leader can play a role of a coach and create the dream team rather effortlessly.

As "coach", you will guide your team members to solve problems innovatively, make better decisions, learn new skills, grow both in professional and personal domain.Very few leaders in India are fortunate enough to get formal training as coaches, most of them do not. A lot depends on personal beliefs and casual tea table conversations.

One of the proven and tested approach to step into the role of a coach is what is called the GROW Model.

GROW is an acronym standing for
Goal
Current Reality
Options
Will

GROW model is a simple, positive and effective framework for structuring a coaching session.Devised by Sir John Whitmore,it provides an easy and effective framework for coaching individuals and teams.

Step 1 : Goal Setting
Coach Leader and team agree on specific objectives. This is the most crucial step - if you lose your way, you lose your destination. The Goals should be specific, succinct and measurable and time bound. The coach leader asks specific questions to make sure the goal is in the best interests of the team and the organization.

Step 2 : Assessing Current Reality
The team needs to have a realistic grasp of the starting point. Is the desired objective a realistic goal - what are the chances of achieving it?

Step 3 : Explore Options
The coach - leader guides the team in thinking of a number of ways of achieving the goal. The team decides which way to pursue. As the coach leader, your role is to help to help them explore possibilities so that the team can decide which option is best.

Step 4 : Will / Wrap Up
The team will be geared to go for the goal if they are excited and motivated by it. Coach- Leader ensures the commitment of the team. The challenge is to take a willing commitment and not an enforced commitment. This is what differentiates a leader from a coach – leader.

The art of asking questions is key for effective implementation of GROW model.

In the next post I will talk about ‘Art of Asking Question’ .