My current job is to sit with Team leaders when they are doing the Performance Evaluation (PE) of a team member. Its a discussion between a Team Leader and Team Member !! While they discuss , I sit in a corner of the room and look away.
"Leader" is one of words, that energize me. Whenever the term pops up, I sit back and ask myself ... who all were my leaders ?
I remember Jayaraj , my house captain when I was in 6th standard. Wherever he was, he simply demonstrated the leadership qualities. It was visible in academics, in being the best outgoing student, in commanding a batch of 60 teeny-weeny kids of age 11. He used to carry that aura around him , as our leader. Today, he is a desciple of Mata Amritanandamayi and everyone knows him by the name , Brahmachari Jayaraj, head of Amrita Research Labs.
Another leader whom I remember from school is Mehul. He was very approachable as a house captain and best quality was his never say die attitude. He was one of the shortest in his batch. He had a problem in his left hip joint , because of which he had to walk with his leg kept in an awkward position ( which gained him a nick name amongst us ,"makachi" which means Frog). Still , he was always on the front. Being the shortest, he used his strengths to become one of the best volleyball lifter school has ever made. He never worried or cried over his hip. He was aggressive and he used to carry that aggression in all his deeds.
In Poornam, I was inspired by my trainer Vinu. When I got stuck with a client or issue , I used to run to him. He welcomes me with a smile which meant , "I'll take care of your problem" and he always did too.
All my leaders continue to inspire me even after the association with them ended years back. And I continue to imitate them.
"I have three rules for leaders in the outdoors:
1. You have to know where the people you're leading are coming from,
2. You have to know what you want to do with them, and
3. You have to love them."
...Paul Petzoldt
Today when I sit for PE discussion, I try to see an association between the above rules and the Team leader. Does he know his team members well? Does he love them? Does he have any idea on what he want his teammembers to do? In most cases, I would come out of the discussion room as a happy person with the right answers.
Leaders inspire .. yes , they simply inspire others. Some do it using words, some do it with actions , some do it silently and some by meagre presence. Whatever be the style , they simply inspire. Thats the only quality that remains constant for all leaders.
Apologue :
Once Anu was introducing Amar before he took the center stage. She told an inspiring story of how a deaf frog reached the top of a building by not listening to others.
When Amar came to stage , he started rather innocently. "Back in college days, every gal's dream was to a get a tall, dark and handsome guy as husband. When Sangeetha agreed to marry me , I looked at myself. I am dark but never tall or handsome. Add to those drawbacks, today Anu compared me to a 'Deaf Frog'. Oh God , I should be one lucky deaf frog, to get such a beautiful lady as my wife".
The entire crowd burst into laughter.
"The ability to laugh at oneself and recognize one's own human weaknesses is a
desirable quality of leadership."
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