Lead on— It only gets better from here -Part 3

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Part 3 of the Lead On series may not have a fairytale ending! Starting with "Once upon a time there was a person, so ordinary..." and closing with ".....oh how, the person transformed into a leader and inspired the many that came their way". 
This can only help the reader become aware of its power so they can absorb it, practice it, till it becomes a part of their personality, and it shows... every time, wherever they are, whatever they do...

(https://thelilbigthings.wordpress.com/2020/07/26/lead-on-dont-stop-part-2-in-the-lead-on-series/)- Just in case you missed Part 2….

Continuing from where we left….

Here’s my final list of attributes of a leader I’d like to place on the table

A Leader sits with an open mind and an open ear

They LISTEN…they let you know they are listening

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Must have heard this several times before… Will never go out of fashion I am sure…

New ideas, thoughts, all the good stuff are getting developed at multiple gigabytes every second… hence every suggestion, plan, idea, must be given due consideration before dismissing it.

• How many times have you felt helpless, just because someone did not hear you out (completely)
• someone did not comprehend your ideas because of their Curse of Knowledge ^{_{(you may read about the research on Curse of Knowledge here- https://effectiviology.com/curse-of-knowledge/}})
• did not accept your point because it was not allowed to reach their Pre-frontal cortex for careful assimilation and response…

On the other hand, a leader Assimilates, Absorbs, and looks at not just one part of the story, but how every bit connects to the story.

Also, there are times when people who are not prepared, cook up a fine story…. A Leader, because they are listening intently, with an open mind, call their bluff from a mile. Thus you will see Leaders speak last, not because they don’t have anything to say, but because they know when they have to… and when they do… it Lasts…

A Leader gives time and…..keeps it

they value thier time…yours too

How would you feel, if a movie you paid to watch doesn’t start on time?

A delivery you were promised doesn’t arrive at the expected time?

A tiger, a lion or any exotic animal species, while you are on a jungle safari, doesn’t meet you “On time” though you are told, historically they have been spotted at A particular place at A particular time?

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Well Leaders know how it feels to not be there where they were expected. That’s why they respect commitments, almost always.

You will see most leaders (Re-iteration- A leader is anyone who leads by example and inspires others) ensure they never miss a commitment, because they value your time as much as they value theirs.

But there could be times when genuinely one can’t make it, you may ask.. Yes of course that can happen more than once for sure, that’s when a leader handles that too with the same maturity as they would handle the meeting itself, by “INFORMING”.

Yes- just a simple note which says

1. they could get late, or that

2. they can’t make it, the reason if possible and to when it can be rescheduled

Would you not like it if your airline informed you in advance about a delay in the flight departure…?

I am sure it would be a little inconvenient to know about the delay, but would definitely help, at least to know they respect your time.

This is the stuff leaders are made of for sure….

P.S. “If only lions and tigers left a note, that they cant make it or that they would have to reschedule; would be so convenient, wouldn’t it” 😀

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Leaders are Mindful, they give you their complete attention…

when they are at a place….they are there

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1. We’ve been to that bank where the officer doesn’t pay enough attention to what you say (Unless of course you say you want to deposit a fortune)
2. We’ve been to that party where sometimes the “friends” you want to talk to seems to be distracted by everything else
3. We’ve been to to that store where the sales executive pretends to be with you while thinking of a reply for their friend’s movie request….

Well, you get the point, the list is long.

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Distraction, multitasking (It’s not a thing to be proud of), or plain disinterest should never be conveyed to anyone who is taking time and effort to be with you in your space; especially if you have led them to believe that they have your attention…. More than the pieces of information that get lost in transit, it’s the sense of disrespect the person feels while feeling unattended…

A good work around is clear communication, to let them know you would need that wee bit of time to close what you are doing and then give them your full attention.... 
it's like that cup of freshly brewed coffee on a cold winter morning, it could warm, it could calm, it could give a rush of energy; 
don't deny them this feeling.. 
Be MINDFUL, you are making someone feel really good, just like coffee!

So signing off on this Lead On series, frankly there can’t be enough pages to capture what leaders do differently… But this is just an attempt to see how every action counts..

Actions, visible ones, Inspire… Whoever you are, Wherever you are, Be a Leader.. Just Inspire….!!

Be good…Stay Happy

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Lead on… Don’t Stop {Part 2 in the “Lead On” Series}

The World needs more leaders!

……the ones who make a difference in lives, one person at a time~

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Talking about leadership I had listed my thoughts a few years ago in my previous post “Lead On” on “What leaders do differently”.

You can read the Previous post here…

https://thelilbigthings.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/lead-on/

Adding 3 more “Attributes of a Leader”, to the never ending list in this Part 2 of the Series “Lead on”.

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These are based on my interactions and observing real leaders at the workplace, in the family, in social gatherings, among friends, while traveling, while holidaying……

1. A Leader Adds Value -they definitely must, but before that a Leader Appreciates!

So let’s imagine…. Someone you know is making the best dessert in town _{(they have invented it themselves, not from any recipe book or a vlog).} They invite you to taste the dish, and since you have some thorough idea about cooking and what makes Cooks Look Good, you immediately mention………

“You must add saffron to it (a pungent dried spice derived from the flowerCrocus sativus), it will make your dessert extremely aromatic and colourful!”

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Great suggestion! It adds great value to the initial creation, no doubt, and the big question, [“Did you take the time or show the gumption to appreciate the creator and the recipe first?”] If not, what were you thinking?

What good is Saffron without the dish in the first place!

Value add must come, that’s key, it improves ideas, stories, dishes and makes them extraordinary; Without value add everything will seem bland!!

but Appreciation must come first…!

Saffron doesn’t taste good on its own…

2. A Leader shows Emotional Empathy, Not just the Operational One!

If you have read about transactional leadership, then it’s easy to understand Operational empathy.

_{You may read more about Transactional Leadership here!}

https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-styles/transactional-leadership/

Lets say you are a 9th grade school teacher and have given a project to your class. All are expected to submit the project in 10 days (Many students complain about the limited time).

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On-time submission is important for you as it helps planning other activities before the end of term.

On D-Day all but few submit the project on time...

You are livid, as late submission would mean more late work, late submission to the principal, impact on future planning and all work associated with it.

You mention all of this to the students, because it’s important that the students understand the operational hurdles they have caused, the number of people this will affect…. more importantly, you mention this because you have Empathy… Operational Empathy.

Well ,Operational empathy is important, specially in work life, it’s like Grease, enabling efficient inter and intra functional work.

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Now let’s rewind, Did you anywhere ask “Why could you not submit on time?” Are they grappling with some genuine issues? Did the students need a soothing word than a long sermon? Was the limited time justified?

Was Operational requirement the only factor to be considered?

Emotional empathy…is mostly overlooked, as most of the times operational compulsions stare us in the face…

And Yes LEADERS are aware of this pitfall and HENCE take a step back, think about the emotional aspects of transaction….

They don’t give in, they take efforts to show Emotional Empathy, even when no one else is…

While it’s important to know WHAT was IMPACTED, it’s equally important to know what could have CAUSED IT… there could be a human aspect attached to it, an emotional one. Take time to show Emotional Empathy, it goes a long way… That’s the ‘Grease’!!!

3. A leader goes light….. They know what to exclude

When you know you gotta climb a hill, you go Light, you can’t pack everything in your knapsack.. so then what’s the key?

“Knowing what not to take…!”

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As simple as it may sound, it’s the most difficult thing to do..

Let’s say you go shopping or are accompanying a shopaholic… to a store which has just advertised a Sale, a Humongous one… You pick up all the things that you really like, shirts, trousers, tops, denims, ties, everything you feel will go well with your Personality…

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Now once you have a few baskets full, you find a quiet corner and decide to pick only 10% of what you have filled in.

Time yourself.. tell me honestly how much time it took for you to EXCLUDE.

It’s easy to add with little thought, but what separates a leader from a non-leader is being able to Defer, Delay or even Discard completely.

This requires Far sight, Presence of Mind and Core understanding of what needs more of your time and effort.

Choosing your battles wisely is very important, both in your personal and professional lives.. Packing everything can slow you down…. you could end up spending more time and energy managing the extra load … Quoting from the book “Made to stick” by Chip and Dan Heath

“The French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once offered a definition of engineering elegance: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” “

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Leadership is not the citation you receive, it’s the minor adjustments you make to your attitude, your actions and your principles, one step at a time…

It comes when we Introspect, Observe and Accept Feedback!

More to come in Part 3 of the Lead On series!

Till then.. Be Good, Stay Happy

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How to get your Heart broken… and How to get it Mended!!

Disclaimer- The following post is just a piece of semi-proven account from the writer’s own experiences and nuggets from the experiences of the people he might have met along the way. It may or may not be taken seriously, depending on the reason you choose to read it.

Heartbreaks, in these testing times are just as common as common cold in monsoon or sighting of a shooting star in a non-polluted unlit region of the earth. These heartbreaks may be an outcome of your gross misjudgment or an account of your greatest adventure in life. In either case it hurts, not just when you touch the nerve, but even when the nerve touches you (too cheesy..eh!)

“How can you even ‘self-cause’ heartbreaks?”, a scholar once asked, not long ago, himself reeling from a self-inflicted trouble. He couldn’t answer it and luckily he didn’t have to ask again, cause he ended up, himself mending his heartbreak. (Wise Man!)

The writer, by no means is a scholar, not in matters of the beating heart in the hands of a non-serial heart-breaker, but can comment with some experience that if the heart does get broken, the breaker and the breakee, in most cases, have some role to play, in equal measure.

Now these somethings.. Well from the attic of the writer’s own experiences and the basement of many he knows, here are some of the surest way of getting your heart broken. (Read carefully and you may see some solutions to avoid them too, don’t hesitate to use them. No extra cost.)

1. If things ain’t going right, try hard to work it out, things still ain’t going right, don’t assume things will get better on its own without you trying.  If you don’t strive it usually doesn’t. It’s hard work, no one ever said relationships were easy. It’s only as easy as you make it to be.
2. ‘You’ are You, and ‘You’ want others to be another You? Can’t be! There can’t be two Yous, cause being You is what ‘You’ are good at, no one else can be You! In short do not try to change someone. If you don’t like something, bear with it (A big part of staying connected), if you are sure you can’t bear with it, get out, as early as you can. It can’t hurt in the long run.
3. Time and space is something you should be willing to share, if you can’t, don’t complain about solo trips. Individuals need their own time and space, even when you are a pair, as much as the time together is important, so much more is the time in isolation. Lesser the space and time shared more are the chances of a heatbreak. 😦
4. Apology is not for the faint-hearted, but don’t be scared to apologise when you have messed up. If you have done something wrong, don’t make excuses to stay away from apologising.

One of the biggest reasons for heartbreaks: Lack of apology when you break anything, from Vase to Trust.

I could go on, but i think you get it now…..

Did we not talk about mending it…? We did, implicitly, but one more time, for old times’ sake, here are some more…

Acknowledge that heartbreaks need to be mended, it cannot stay that way, that’s not how it’s supposed to be, but also acknowledge it would take time. Some people come into your life to teach you something valuable; Be a good student; Go for an “A”.

1. Get aligned to your purpose in life, which definitely goes beyond the realms of the ordinary. There are things to do, there are people to meet, there are places to visit, there are new ideas to explore, there are loving words to be spoken, there is love to be spread. All this takes time, and these will be time well spent.
2. Place faith in the Higher power. You need that the most, because it is not easy to walk alone, you need the strength, pray for it and you will receive it.
3. Look around, there many wonderful people around you, more than you can imagine and many of them are seeking your attention in some way or the other, give them your time. Satisfaction from serving reduces stress and it mends.
4. Work on yourself, to be better, lend your focus to be the best version of You, every single day. Research says focusing on self improvement has a magical power of helping you stay happy and content, key ingredient for new beginnings.

Do not accept unnecessary blame, but do everything within your control to make things alright, and if it still doesn’t, just remember, fretting and holding on DOES NOT HELP! (Yeah that’s correct!)

Many a times, heartbreaks may not be self-inflicted, meaning, it could happen for no fault of yours, alas, many things are seldom under our control, but yes, what you do with what you have learnt from it, definitely is!

Do remember, Experiences make you who you are meant to be… Accept it. It completes you!

And Please, Don’t break a heart, it’s one of the best things you can do!

Be Good, Stay Happy!

Reckless to Reasonable…

It’s a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. “Let’s call her and check if she wants to watch the movie?” my friend exclaimed excitedly, knowing that the offbeat contemporary potboiler we were waiting to watch had just released.

Call 1– No answer.. Call 2– No answer.. and we realised, “Oh it’s Sunday and it’s only 12:30 pm, she wouldn’t have woken up yet!”… We finally went for the movie, sans the person who actually initiated the thought, and yes we did get a call; at 2 pm….

 

This was the daily routine, late night gobbling up of latest literary thrillers, back to back series on Netflix, irregular to very irregular food habits (though never skipped a meal), junk food and more junk food (“I don’t put on weight, hence can swallow anything that doesn’t move” was the flawed argument.)

This went on for quite some time, well, a long time, until realisation struck, something’s not right, and right she was. Her pancreatic beta cell were starting to get confused. Meaning: “the onset of ‘Diabetes’.”

“No more night outs? No more junk? No more sweet indulgences?” was the immediate desperate reaction; she would have to get her sweet tooth extracted…

What would that leave her with?

1. A huge appetite for everything, but no permission to concede.

2. A huge talent to stay still in bed, watching, reading, or dreaming,  but no encouragement to continue

3. A huge cauldron of disappointment, but no idea how to deal with it.

This called for the biggest measure of awareness , “I can’t ride all my horses, some may desert me when I need them the most, but I can choose how to reach the end of the road, carrying just some greens and a toast.” It was an unplanned change, but an unavoidable one. For her, all the decisions were the toughest she had to make, not one, part of the original journey plan.

the days of relentless sulking, annoyance, irritability had to go, albeit steadily.

It wasn’t going to be easy, but she wasn’t going to make it difficult, with a sigh she tried to merge into this new way of life; she smiled. It isn’t easy to move lanes when one is riding really fast on a wrong nonetheless smooth lane. You have to slow down first,  look around, ask for help, and slowly move to the not so exciting, but right lane.

You may sulk, scream, go shut or brood, in the end, life has a wonderful way of balancing things out.

I was surprised and happy to see our friend cope with the situation, not without complaints yet accepting the verdict.

It was time to change things for the better. She decided to go slow, make incremental changes, trying to enjoy this journey of change, asking the question, “What have I done differently today?”

Well, lots to learn from her attitude. From where we are to where we want to be just is just a push, a resolve away. She challenges us to make daily incremental changes in our lives too, to move closer, not sprinting, but strolling, enjoying the walk, and moving ahead, one step at a time.

We are cheering for her resolve!! We too have decided to take up this challenge; daily dose of improvement.

Are you game for a similar challenge? If yes, See you on the other side. 

Be good, Stay happy.

Did you miss the show?

Recently my friend sent me a video of a flash mob, gleefully mentioning, “Watch it, and guess who’s in it?”

I had heard about this video, but hadn’t watched it till then. Well let’s check it out now, i thought.

“Who’s in it?” I eagerly inquired. ” My wife and child”, he announced proudly.

It was a video of city moms dancing to the tunes of latest Bollywood numbers, in a crowded mall on a Sunday afternoon; a good time to get enough eyeballs, stares, smiles and claps. It was a huge hit, with 90% of people video shooting the admirable staging, women with their kids in arms dancing away joyfully without a worry in the world.

I watched the seven minute long video, twice, trying to spot my friend’s wife and kid, was lucky on the third attempt; there they were, one among the over twenty five other ladies with children. While I finished watching the video the third time, it struck me,        ‘I hadn’t enjoyed the video at all, the viral video which was gaining popularity for its novel concept, the energetic moves and the overall enthralling performance and I missed all of it; ‘ I was busy looking only for part of the success.’ 

I realised this was not the first time I had done this.

A few years back I was requested by one of my friends to weed out the typos from one of his articles for his office contest. I gladly accepted, sat through for about two hours, identifying/correcting the typos, satisfied with the thought of having done something great. He won the prize for the best article, came to thank me with a question, “Which part did you like the most?”; and it struck me, ‘I only remember the mistakes’, I don’t remember enjoying it, not even reading a single paragraph to answer his question.

I wanted to introspect, which I did, with some questions…..well, almost!

How often do we miss the train because we were too busy looking at the map…!

How often do we miss the virtue in people because we were too busy judging them…!

How often do we miss celebrating team success because we were too busy identifying our contributions in it…!

 

As we have always heard, happiness is in the journey, not in the destination. Then why, when life offers us lemons we wonder where are the peaches and when life gives us peaches, it’s summer again..?

Getting involved in the humdrum, eludes us of the myriad opportunities to appreciate every thing around us, some things within us, the poems with the sound play, the literature and the theme.

I went back, played the video once again, this time enjoying in parts and in full. I agreed with the masses, the efforts were worth a watch, and  more before sharing again for a story to be told….

With my questions, my change in perspective, I hope to sustain this exercise, to be able to appreciate all parts of the story, but not before knowing the story itself, to be able to read between the lines, but not before reading the line itself and to be able to sing the chorus, not before knowing the song itself.

Be Good, Stay Happy!

Have you Earned Your Laptop?

Coffee machine conversations at work have a reputation of eating into productive time, not in my case, simply because I am surrounded by some very talented and experienced colleagues; their stories, thoughts and ideas are something which I look forward to.

Recently I happened to take a quick coffee break with my immensely talented and assiduous colleague who also happens to be a mom of two handsome boys. She wanted to share a recent experience from home, and as always, I was all ears.

Her elder son, who is 12 years old wanted a PC /Laptop. He thought he deserved one, and why not… don’t all boys his age need one, especially for a lot of googling, researching, gaming, social media etc.  He thought it would be easy, all he needed to do was ask his parents for a laptop and he would get it the very next day.

My colleague and her husband could very well afford the latest and the best laptop for their son, but they decided to teach him a valuable lesson, they decided to make him   ‘Earn his Laptop’. But the question was how. After a lot of brainstorming, the parents finally decided to relate it to their son’s interest in Robotics.If he wanted a laptop then he would have to work on a Robotics project . They expected him to create a project report, work on the specifications, explain its workings, identify the need of a 6GB RAM, 15 inches screen, 500GB Hard disk mean machine to create another.

That he did with complete dedication, endeavour and every bit of detailing even to the point of clearly justifying the use of a laptop for his project. It helped him think of how to use his laptop for something bigger, beyond gaming and social media….The result? He Earned his laptop, and his parents’ admiration too.

I heard the story, I looked at my watch, break done without coffee but with some great learning. I began to wonder, “Have “I” earned my laptop?”

Do you remember your first jeans bought with your first salary, the first gift you bought for your family, how proud you felt, your hard earned money. It was not about the money it was about how hard you  worked to earn it, it was more about the satisfaction.

The experience shared by my colleague, helped me look back and introspect:

When I expected people to trust me, was it preceded by worthwhile actions and words which helped me “Earn their Trust” or did I think of it is as just a “basic value I am entitled to” without even raising an arm.

When I expected people to respect me, was it after leading the way, displaying the art of respecting everyone and “Earning their Respect” or was it something I believed came stapled with the offer letter stating my designation.

When I thought that I had the Right to give advice, to give feedback, to instruct, did I ever think that a “A Right may not be Right unless I have earned that Right.” 

Some very basic questions which return some very insightful answers.

What we earn comes as an achievement and what we expect comes as a grant. What we earn through our efforts, focus, commitments always leaves a sweet aftertaste. What we earn we cherish, not just for a few moments, but for a long, long time.

This helped me realise, “What I deserve” makes me think what others should do for me, while “What I can earn” makes me think what I should do for myself”.

I think I have earned a Coffee Break now! What have you Earned today?

Be Good..Stay Happy!

 

The cup- Hold it right!

So you trust someone more, over someone else. So you choose to discuss a personal issue with someone more than an other. So you choose one person over another to run your business, your finances, your life..! Have you ever wondered why you would do that!

The answer lies in the way they hold their cup. Hold a cup? Confused..? Well let me try and explain it in the next 2-3 minutes.

Your eyes see and it also speaks; how you look at someone, more or less decides the way they would respond to you or open up to you. It is a curtain raiser, a doorway to numerous possibilities. You could be liked, disliked, loved, trusted all with just the look.

A handshake says more about you than would your personality test score, not because the scores are unreliable, but because a handshake takes just a fraction of the time taken to take the test and tells you instantly  whether you are confident, trust worthy, or maybe just not interested. Your eyes and the handshake clubbed together, you can’t hide much.

Same goes for the way you talk; talk fast, you convey something, talk slow and meaningfully, you convey something completely different. As they have always said “it’s how you say it more than what you say”. Passion, conviction, love all stirred to give the words the perfect taste.

It is always about how you instill confidence in others, by your look, your touch and by the way you weave your words, the music that you create with the right tone, so essentially, by the way you hold the cup…

Have you noticed that whenever you are handed a cup of tea or coffee by someone, they would not let go  until they are absolutely sure you have held on to the cup well.. Why? Because the way you hold the cup would let them know that you are in control now, and that you can be trusted with it; even after they let go the cup’s still safe. If the cup is held loosely or with limited attention, it could fall and could break, not just the cup but the trust too.

Hold the cup tight, like you mean it…look, share, care, love, like you mean it, and it will show in the way others respond, others behave and trust you, to believe that the cup is safe and that you can be trusted

All it takes is a look, something well said,

It will tell you right there you have been read!

Read you will be, not just by what you say,

but by the things you do in a pleasant way!

You will know it well, with all things bright,

that you have built the trust by holding the cup right!

Be good, Stay happy!

IT’s a GOAL!

How important is that GOAL! Well, to a person who enjoys success, I think it is very important.To someone who feels success will come at the Right time, a GOAL may just be something he/she would leave for a Messi to worry about.

How easy is it to spot a Goal, let alone achieve it? Not easy, I would say.

How difficult is it to spot a Goal, let alone achieve it? Not difficult, I would say.

The difficult part is to realise that you need a goal in life, no matter how big or small.

How can one realise it? Just look around, you will see N number of people who have tasted success just because of the goals they set, and worked on it, till they achieved it.

How can one tell by just looking around? Not easy, again; take courage, walk up to any successful person from your locality, your previous workplace, your community, ask them, they will be more than happy to tell you how setting the right goals and living by it has helped them, immensely.

Note: A successful person need not be someone who has earned a lot of money, travels first class or who shops a lot; Someone with peace and calm written all over her face, Someone with a Happy Outlook, Someone who enjoys community service may feel equally successful in life. So when you look around please do not discriminate.

If looking around for inspiration and talking to the achievers does not prompt you to set a goal, take some time off, look within, ask yourself; Am I  happy, satisfied with the way things are going on in my life, at work etc.? If the answer is YES…Fabulous..Inspire others.

If the answer is NO.. then ask yourself another question, “Do I have a solid goal, and am I working towards achieving it?” If the answer is NO again, then you get the hint, right away… You need to think of a Goal, a good one,set it right, and start your work on it.

What if the answer is, YES I have set a goal, am working sincerely to achieve it, I am working real hard but nothing’s working right. Good question, a powerful one, that too. Whenever Messi tries to score a goal, the opponents don’t just lie down on the filed doing nothing thinking that Messi has put in so much efforts off the field and he works so hard sincerely, why not just let him score. Just wondering would Messi enjoy such a score and would he even celebrate such a goal. No fun. So why should it be any different for you! Obstacles are bound to be a part of the work, overcoming them makes the success even more beautiful, that’s when you celebrate, So Don’t stop, Play On!

Sit back and think where you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to feel 3-4-5 years from now, think about it, you will know what Goal you want to set for yourself. Break it down into smaller achievable ones for the short term.  Not going to talk about SMART goals here, I am sure you know it, now’s the time to put it to use.

Once you set the goal, work on it, full throttle. It will give you a purpose when you wake up in the morning, you will start enjoying your work, you will focus better on your small tasks to reach the Big Goal, you will start enjoying the journey.

Each day in some proportion do some good for yourself and keep meeting your smaller goals, every month, every week, every day, Add all the small gains and you are that much closer to the Big One. There will be big obstacles,chances are slim that there will be none, Overcoming it makes the celebration Bigger and Better.

So, pull up your socks. Goal:Set It-Get It. Be Good, Stay Happy!

 

 

Lead on!

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”- Peter Drucker

“Who is a Leader?”

Leader is someone who makes an impact on people around him/her. People learn from him/her, people want to emulate his/her characteristics.

Being a Leader doesn’t mean that you have to work for a million dollar company or should hold the highest designation in an organisation, but it has to do more with your attitude as an individual, more of how you are able to inspire.

Some simple things Leaders do, knowingly or unknowingly……..

1. Leaders speak about people when they are not around the same way they would when they are present. It is true that Leaders do not have time for gossip!
2. Leaders give credit to people every time whenever they deserve it. They do not hesitate.
3. They never quit, whatever problem comes up, they try to find a solution. If there is a problem, then there surely is a solution.
4. Leaders know the names of the people who work with them (mind you I said work with them and not for them, because that is another quality of a leader, they consider associates and subordinates as partners and not as people of a lower rank). They care for their partner achievers
5. They do not want to know what could not be done…they only want to know what can be done and done better. Also if something cannot be done or is not feasible then a leader would ask for sufficient reasons. In simple words, they will not back off unless they believe the result is not worth the effort.
6. They keep a healthy work and personal life balance. They set time aside to cater to the needs of an important aspect of their lives, their family. Great leaders do not ignore their family’s needs.
7. Leaders don’t behave like they own the world… They are not arrogant, but they are definitely proud of their achievements. Being arrogant is certainly is not the same as being proud!

Leadership is not just a quality, it’s a way of life. Leaders don’t have to try hard to influence people, their attitude and commitment do that for them.

Leaders, without being crowned a leader keep influencing everyone around them and continue making a difference in people’s lives.

You are a Leader, go ahead and be a great one!! Be good, Stay happy!

 

 

From the place you Like to the place you will Love!

So attached you become to the place you live in!

First comes the thought of finding a good place to stay, then comes the part where you try and adapt to the new surroundings, new people, the climate, the environment and finally after spending a few years in that place you become one with it. It may be a small town, a bustling city, or a business district the place which you found difficult to settle in, the irony is that a few years later it becomes the place you will find most difficult to get out of.

You have sweet memories, a great deal of attachment, with its breeze, the view, the markets, the places of worship, the streets, the chats and all the beautiful experiences. How you become entwined with the place that once was a strange land! It becomes part of your joys, sorrows, struggles, your success, your step ups and all that was nice. 

But do you know, Can you say, how long you will stay there, live your life, weave memories? I guess the answer would be NO. You don’t know now, not later, where life may take you, which part of the world you may have to stay in the next phase of your life.

Isn’t it better then, not to be too attached to where you are now. Will it not be easier to change, your surrounding, your daily routines then….. Possibly…..but as every difficult thing, it’s easier said than done. To assume you will always be put in one corner of the world itself is a wrong theory to pen down. You should consider yourself to be on a journey, where some last a few months,  while the others a few years. By doing this you would know that no matter how much you like the place you may have to move, explore, settle some place else, for some time that is and then move on.

Yes.. as you become older, you tend to hold on to things, habits, friends, places you like… but as you would know it’s all about the routine, the more you train your mind to do something, the more it will stick with you as you age. Train your mind  when you can, to be open to change, no matter at what age you may have to do that.  Instill in yourself the idea of seeing the new, enjoying the different, being one with the changes, I am sure every person is strong enough to view the world in a different way as time passes.

Difficult as it may sound, easier it will get as you stay aware of the fact that sometimes where you want to be in this whole wide world may not be an easy decision to take. Be comfortable in the place you live in, fall in love with it, but not so much that moving away becomes difficult because it’s not always the place you live in, but the way you live your life in that place makes the difference. Be good. Stay Happy!