Walk the Talk..

Being a Leader you must Walk the Talk, if not, you loose the trust among your followers, and the credibility they had on you, furthermore, the purpose of your leadership will be lost too.

Thus leading with values is critical, first you must make sure everyone should understand the values, and secondly, you must guide the people to practice them, most importantly however you must walk the talk, and lead as an example to all others.

When Talking about values I remember one of the great quotes said by Albert Einstein,

"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to be a person of values."

Bud Bilanich, in his book leading with values, says, Values ground an organization - providing direction for people who find themselves in ambitious situations. They are guides for decision making, many leaders fail, however, by opting for the values they never really believed. They sound good, but no heart.

Putting values first always don't come easy, sometimes it takes courage, recently i read a book about leadership when I visited the Powell's book store, the book was named as The Essence of Leadership, by Mac Anderson, the founder of Successories, I like the simple and clear writing style of his, he broke the values/ attributes of leadership into simple topics and presented them with great real life examples, since we are talking about the values of leadership I want to share one of the interesting topics which he wrote about how one great CEO had to put the value first with great courage on an economic crisis situation.

In 1982, James Burke, the CEO at Johnson and Johnson made a courageous decision to pull Tylenol capsules off the shelves in response to a cyanide-poisoning crisis. He took a $100 Million hit to the bottom line.

When he called for meeting with his key executives, he brought a copy of the company Credo, which was written in 1943 by R.W. Johnson Jr, on the Credo, it clearly spelled out, " We believe our first responsibility is..... to our mothers and fathers and all others who use our products." Burke said, "here is the Credo. If we are not going to live by it, let's tear it off the wall, If we are, however, we know what we have to do." The team didn't need to debate whether customer safety outweighed the short term financial concerns, because the debating has been done decades earlier.

The Alignment with their core value cost the company dearly in financial terms, but the return on the investment came through increased customer confidence and loyalty, boosting the product to an even greater market share than it had before the crisis.

Never forget, as a leader the values starts with you and ends with you, whether your example is good or bad, expect most to follow your lead, as Bud Bilanich said, "You need to know the way, show the way, and go the way. By doing this you will have earned the right to insist that others do the same."

Trust ... Uni Directional or Bi Directional ...

Its been a while since I updated my blog, quite lot of things coming up in life, change of careers and different obstacles kept me away from the passion which i was carrying on leadership, it is really amazing to see how external factors in this social context could really affect into some your real desires or burning passions.

Today, I was reading a blog which was posted by one of my friends about the software development world and non-technical project managers, to put into a leadership concept, a leader with different expertise and followers with different expertise working together to achieve a common goal.

The point which my friend was stressing about was how the software development could lead into very unproductive with non-technical managers, eventually leading into unhappy customers too, which i agree and disagree

Its all about how the managers present and see there selves in the development process, if the manager could understand what he/she is responsible of and what he she is suppose to do, then under his/her leadership the project would be definitely successful.

So now what takes this non-technical manger/leader to make his team successful, thats the question many of us have, which again brings us to the qualities of a leader

To be a leader Trust is very important, and this trust should be bi-directional, a leader cannot just trust on his/her followers and where the followers don't trust on him/her, or vice versa, where as the followers trust in the leader and leader does not trust his followers, this will not lead into a healthy relationship, thus the trust should be established from both sides,

The leader should be trusted by his followers and the followers should trust in the leaders, to make that team/relationship stronger and successful, when this component of trust is established among all, the communication process becomes easier.

Lets see how a non-technical manager - technical team relation lead to success. using the component of Trust and Communication, If the Software Developers Trust on the leadership of their manger even though he/she is non-technical, the manger will lead them to success it will help to break one of the main communication boundaries between the both.

Reason why is, specially when the technical people are lead by a non-technical personality anything which related to technical functionality the chance of them communicating it with their manger is minimal as there will be an own prejudice among the technical people on He/She is not technical. we are the technical people we will know how to solve this issue without asking him/her. or to get things even more worse... He/She is non-technical and will not know anything about this. now this lack of trust between the two leads a communication breakdown and thus impacting the product, where as simply bringing that issue to the manager whether its technical or non-technical the leader might be able to use his/her expertise to find a path/solution for the issue, as it does not have to do only with technical skills of the leader. the leader might be able to get some extra pool of resources pulled into get the issue resolved

The Same thing goes the other way too, When the Manager Does not trust in his/her team and starts Micro managing them, Trust and Confidence is one of the main stimulant which triggers micromanagement, leading a manager out of his/her boundaries to put thy selves into the technical shoes to get the project moving forward, and thus failing in it as its not something which is in there knowledge scope, and impacting on the quality, time and success of the work, also not to forget bringing the moral of the team members(followers) down.

Ultimately its the End product which takes the Hit, and making things go out of control beyond the team.

Now lets get this scenario into a perfect world example, Where the manager(non technical) trust the team (technical) and the team trusts the manager, how is the working relationship going to be, without even thinking you would have got the answer in your mind "SMOOTH" is that correct, Yes definitely its going to be the best combination leading to great success, now why is that ? because everyone understands their roles and trust on each others ability and contribution on the ultimate goals success,

A manager can be non-technical, but still would have perfect management skills, and the technical team (development team) will be the best at the technical aspect of the project but will lack on management skills, so the blend of these two is what makes the project neutral and successful, where as the managers can use their ability to manage the team to identify the pool of resources to contribute and distribute evenly through the development life cycle until the end goal is achieved, resulting on a successful product.

Overall when we look at the tension and misconception about how non-technical mangers - and technical teams performance and success is depend is on that healthy relationship based on trust, and communication, not about the technicality of the leader and the follower

And this is the main important reason why organizations and companies should concentrate more in the trust building process among the employees and management which will help for a healthy relationship and successful outcomes/outputs

Leaders..... Are they Born or Made ?

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

- John Quincy Adams

6th President of the United Sates

I am sure many of you would have come across this question at least once in a life time when you talk about leadership, and some strongly argue and believe that leadership is born within and some argue that it could be learnt and developed as any other characteristics, this debate would have been going on and on for years,yet the answer for this has always been a mystery !

As i spoke about Maxwell's leadership theories on my previous post, i would like to share the 13th Law of Maxwell, its the Law of Reproduction, of which he states "It takes a leader to raise up a leader."

Maxwell has done an informal poll in his seminars to find out what prompted people to become leaders. He found that 10% became leaders because of a natural gifting, 5% because of a crisis, and 85% were influenced into leadership by another leader. It usually takes a leader to raise up a leader. Not every leader raises up other leaders. Sometimes they don't recognise the value of it, sometimes they are so busy with their followers that don't have time, and sometimes the problem is their insecurity. Leaders need to create an "eagle environment" where the leader casts a vision, offers incentives, encourages creativity, allows risks, and provides accountability for potential leaders.

So in this poll you could see its only a 10% of the people are being naturally gifted to be leaders, and others are being made as leaders due to other influences. Though his theories have been widely accepted among most people who are great leaders and are developing their selves's as leaders still there is a group who opposes it.

For me, I think it would be very easy to navigate the debate to a focal point where if we could clearly define what you define leadership as.

If we say leadership is having an ability and desire to influence people, based on that debate, i will stand into a point where Leaders are born with the leadership qualities. where that desire to lead is with you from the time you were born, and shown in your actions where you would use that inherent ability to influence your younger brothers/ sisters or sometimes even your parents to get things the things which you want them to be done.

If leadership means being courageous, and willing to speak out for the betterment of the people around you, then i would hold on to the point which Leaders can be made, they do not have to be born as such, i have seen many people who consider them selves's as strong introverts and followers become very successful leaders when faced/crisis with an issue they are more passionate about.

lets think that leadership means being driven, having an instinct or a typical intelligence, creative, and motivated. then i would say it has both influence on it, where some traits are born within you and been hidden inside you, and the rest you develop it by looking at examples, education, trainings and your experience in your life and community.

Which means anyone can be a leader

We all have areas of our lives where we have talent and propensity for success. If this is also an area you feel passionate about, you may exude qualities that are absent from other areas of your life. So while you may not be a natural born leader in the strictest sense, you can certainly overcome many obstacles and develop a desire and ability to lead when you are inspired to do so.

Lets look at this example,

You are a part of a Non-Profit organization, which supports to eradicate a disease which has cost many life's in your area, in order to buy the required medication for this the organization is planing of a large scale fundraiser, but the group lacks the direction necessary to execute it successfully, without a leader in place, without a leader for this group, the event will be a big failure, You may not be comfortable talking in front of others, making decisions for a group and managing others, but you feel so strongly about the need for the fundraiser that you are willing to overcome these challenges. With the support of several volunteers who are experienced in various areas (marketing, event planning, community outreach, etc.), and your knowledge of the group and the background of the fundraiser, you successfully manage the group and event. Do you think its possible, i would say yes, its absolutely possible.

Beside from the fact having a passion which translates into action, there are many ways you could develop your own skills in leader hip.

• Improve your communicating ability, be willing to listen to others
• Be willing to take risks.
• Network and look for opportunity to expand your contacts.
• Learn to trust people and make people trust you by being an example for what you say and do.
• Encourage the people around you to develop their own leadership skills
• Think positive and be committed to reaching your goals
• Always be willing to ask and learn.
• Know your strengths and weakness, and seek advise on how you can over come your weakness
• Share your vision with others to inspire them
• Work and live with respect for your self and others

What do you think, Are leaders born or are they made ?

Maxwell's Laws of Leadership !

Hello Leaders,


"A leader is a dealer in Hope" - Napoleon Bonaparte







On my last blog i spoke about a conversation which i had with a friend of mine on leadership, and i was very excited about various comments which i received from the people who read it, so this time i thought of taking some time to talk about Maxwells laws of leadership.

Maxwell talks about leadership on an organizational perspective, but still some of his golden rules are common to leaders from all walks of life, thus i have picked a number of rules which i think would be common for every leader, i always welcome critics and comments on my blog, where it will help me to improve my ability to present to others.

The Law of Lid

• Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person's level of effectiveness
• The lower your ability to lead, the lower the lid on your potential

The Law of Influence

• The power to influence lies in the ability to get people to participate
• If no one is following, you are not a leader.
• Managing is part of being a leader, just because you can manage something well does not mean you can lead.

The Law of Process

• This law shows that what matters most is what you do over the long haul.
• It requires a lifetime of perseverance and dedication to become a good leader.
• If you want to see how someone becomes a champion look at their daily routine.

The Law of Navigation

• “Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.”
• Good navigators count the cost before making commitments for themselves and others.

The Law of Solid Ground

• Good character builds trust, it’s the foundation of leadership.
• To build trust a leader must show three qualities: competence, connection and character.

The Law of Respect

• People naturally follow leaders who are stronger than themselves.
• If people do not have trust in you as a leader, they will not respect you nor want to follow you.

The Law of Intuition

• Leadership intuition separates the greatest leaders from the ones who are merely good.
• Leaders see everything with leadership bias, and as a result they instinctively know what to do.
• Everyone is capable of developing a degree of leadership intuition. No one starts at the same place.

3 Major Intuition Levels

• Those who naturally see it.
• Those who are nurtured to see it.
• Those who will never see it.

The Law of Magnetism

• Who you are is who you will attract, thus the saying “Birds of a feather flock together.”
• You will probably find that you and the people who follow you share common ground in several of these key areas:
  
• Attitude
• Generation
• Background
• Values
• Life experience
• Leadership ability

The Law of Connection

• True leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.
• The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader.
• Six keys to connection :

1. Personal authenticity
2. Relationship
3. Approachability
4. Mutual respect
5. Belief in people
6. Meaning and depth

The Law of the Inner Circle

• A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him.
• Look for the greatness in the group and form alliances with the stronger members.
• Five types of people you should bring to your inner circle are:

• Potential value: Those who raise up themselves
• Positive value: Those who raise morale
• Personal value: Those who raise up the leader
• Production value: Those who raise up others
• Proven value: Those who raise up people who raise up other
  people

The Law of Empowerment

• Only secure leaders give power to others.
• If a leader is able to give power away, the organization will become more powerful.
• Only empowered people can reach their full potential. Maxwell said, “I believe the greatest things happen only when you give others the credit. That’s the Law of Empowerment in action.”

The Law of Reproduction

• It takes a leader to help others become leaders.
• Leaders who develop other leaders are able to:

• See the big picture

  Attract potential leaders

  Create an “eagle” environment

The Law of Buy-In

• People follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes.
• The leader and the vision always go together. The two can not be separated.
• A leader must get his/her people to buy into them first if the vision has any chance of becoming a reality.

The Law of Victory

• Leaders find a way for the team to win.
• 3 Components to achieve victory:

• Unity of Vision

  Diversity of Skills

  Leader that is dedicated to victory and to raising players to their
  potential

The Law of the Big MO

• Developing momentum = creating forward progress
• Concentrate on what you can do, not what you can’t
• Celebrate victories no matter how small
• “If you can’t take some heat, get out of the kitchen.”

The Law of Sacrifice

• You have to give up to go up
• The true nature of leadership is sacrifice
• “When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.”
  --Gerald Brooks

The Law of Timing

• When to lead is just as important as what to do and where to go
• Only the right action at the right time will bring success

The Law of Explosive Growth

• The ability to develop the RIGHT leaders
• leaders math vs. followers math
• Leaders who develop leaders vs. leaders who develop followers (First Break All the Rules)

The Law of Legacy

• A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession
• A team of good leaders is needed in order to succeed
• Develop your successor
• Know when to walk away

These are the some of the basic laws which Maxwell stated on leadership which would fit any sort of leader, either it is an organizational, professional, institutional, or community based leaders, one my favourite laws on the above laws would be The law of sacrifice, which says "you have to give up to go up", because this pretty much tags up with one of the quotes which was said by Chuck Ferguson, Leaders Do certain things, even though they don't like to do it, and its also about expanding your comfort zone, because the moment you give up something and accept another thing, you are making a move to step out side of what you are, and opens you to more opportunities which you could gain for the best of the team.

I will be looking forward present my next blog about one of the common argument which many has about leadership ... whether its born with you or it could be grown up with you, let me wrap up this blog by sharing videos which i usually watch when i need to be energized, this is from the Mouths of Great Leaders

What do you think of leadership ?

"Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the oppurtunity to change things for better"

Harry S. Truman - 33rd President of United States of America

Talking about leadership and how its obtain could create a conversation which would last for days, months and years, yet i believe there is no clear definition about what leadership is, its a complicated process which is equilant to enlightment, or perhaps self actualization.

The spark which motivated to write about leadership and build on discussion is something which lead from a conversation which i had with a couple of friends while sipping some drinks on a hot summer day in Downtown, Portland,

One of my good friend, ravi who is from Nepal asked me

"what is leadership ? ", and i replied him saying that

"it is being a servent and serving the followers", and then he asked me

how can a person be a leader ?, is it something which is born with you or does it grow with you ? "

So i told him,

" as per my understanding, leadership is not born with you, or it is born within, but leadership grows with you, you have to identify that within your self and grow it, untill you harvest it to become a leader, and the skills, abilities, experience, exposure and your goal would impact on how successful leader you are, whether you are a good leader or a bad leader "

He paused for few minutes and them asked me,

" Do you think everyone can learn to be a leader, or everyone can become a leader ? ",

For one moment i was thinking within me, and then my optimistic charecter lead me to tell

" Yes, its possible, every can learn how to be a leader, and everyone can be a leader, but only the people who has that drive within them self, and who can push their selve's to step out of their comfort zones, do thinks that they have to do even if they dont like doing it, and who will never quit because of failures of hurdles they come accross in the journey, will succeed"

So this confused my friend and made him smile for a bit, and the he added

" So you agree that everyone cannot be a leader ?"

I just smiled back at him and told,

" Well No, i never said that everyone cannot be a leader, just to wrap up what i told earlier into few words be, those who wants to be a leader, and who works hard for it, can be a leader "

You cannot just stay in one place, be what you are and expect to be leader, you have to work for it, learn from the history, and practice your self to be as a leader by serving others, then yes you will definitely be a leader"

after a couple of drinks influencing your mind and thoughts, both of us was still determined to keep talking about leadership in order to come to a clear view about it, then ravi asks me back

" Do you think everyone can be like Mahatma Gandhi ? and if so will people follow them ?"

and i told,

"Mahatma Gandhi is an individual, human being, he developed his skills and set an example to be a successful leader of Non-Violence, No one can be like Mahatma Gandhi, but yes anyone could learn his leadership skills, abilities from his life and be good leader like him,, but not him, u can follow his leadership abilities, but u cannot be him. People to follow you, yes if you have a valuable cause, shared goal, and if you prove people your abilities where you could work with them to lead them to achieve there goal, without a doubt yes they will follow you "

Then he asks me again,

" If you and nana ( this another friend of mine, who was getting irritated with our non-stop talk about leadership, while drinking ), are two leaders, and people follow nana, without following you, why do they do that?, does that mean that you are not a leader ?"

Then for the first time Nana open his mouth in this topic and gives his comment

" well its personal preference of the people, they can follow me or they can follow him, so that doesnt constitute anything about being a leader or not "

and then adding on to it i said,

" If people dont follow me and they follow nana, yes at that moment Nana will be the leader, in the mean time it doesnt mean that i am not a leader of, i am not capable of leader, if i could learn the skills which nana posses than me, and if i could prove people that i am able to lead them successfull, they will follow me, so that doesnt mean that Nana is no longer a leader,

Its all about pushing your self further and further and being able to serve people and their needs, so its the drive which helps you to be a leader, its not a destiny or fate, its another milestone in life which sometimes people dont realise that they could acheive it, "

at this point we just decided to hop into another bar, and nana was skillfull enough to stop us from this topic and change into a different conversation,

But the question of Can everyone be leader ? still remains under the open topic, with me saying yes, and ravi saying No,

and i am sure very soon we will start talking about this again, and build our skills to become good leaders,

Just to wrap up this blog, i would like to share this words which is very close to my heart where i push my self to stick on to it

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves”

- Annonymous

Now i would like to invite you to start sharing your views and ideas about leadership, feel free to comment what ever you want, and the comments will not undergo any moderation, it would posted as it is, so that we could make this blog more effective and everyone could learn something out of it to develop our selves and our communities.