PRACTISED LEADERSHIP-4 : TO BECOME A LEADER-QUOTES 1-5

PRACTISED LEADERSHIP-4 : TO BECOME A LEADER-QUOTES 1-5

Youth is confused. What is taught in class room is never seen on ground. Who is a leader? Are the people on television screens at all times ‘leaders’? My ‘Leadership Series’ starts today.

You are a ‘Leader’ when others accept you as one and not when you flaunt your designation to assume leadership. I have written three articles on Leadership. All three allowed you to carry out self-introspection.

In the first article  “IS LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS CONNECTED?”

https://colsanjaypande.com/is-leadership-and-professional-success-connected/ I covered :

Is ‘Leadership’ and ‘Professional Success’ connected?

To be a ‘Good Leader’ a ‘Good Character’ is mandatory.

How do you select a ‘Role Model’ for Leadership.

Habits of Successful Leaders : Building Youth as Leaders.

YOUTH is the future : Must develop leadership within.

In the second article “LEADERSHIP : YOU LEARN MORE FROM WHAT NOT TO BE, THAN, WHAT TO BE”

https://colsanjaypande.com/leadership-you-learn-more-from-what-not-to-be-than-what-to-be/

I simply questioned why there are no ‘leaders’ in politics, no military ‘leaders’ in military and no industry ‘leaders’ in industry? We confuse the current incumbents with leaders. It takes time to understand that incumbency and leadership are not connected. I simply asked one question at the end, ‘Who is a leader’?

The third article was about “LEADERSHIP : IT ALL STARTS HERE – TRUTHFULNESS’ https://colsanjaypande.com/leadership-it-all-starts-here-truthfulness/

The first step towards understanding leadership and to become one. Walk with me from the time I was a child to date. I turned into a very successful military leader, a mentor, highly respected in business, at work place and at home. I started practicing leadership soon as I was commissioned in Army.

In the series ‘PRACTISED LEADERSHIP : TO BECOME A LEADER’ starting today, I will have a very different way to talk about leadership. I will write a small quote and discuss the same. Everything I write has been practiced by me from last 40 years.

Quote-1

Leadership is so easily written about, but how many ‘writers’ follow it? Actually, did they even get chance to ‘live’ their own teachings?
 I DID
– Col Sanjay Pande –

Practiced leadership is not about writing or talking leadership. It is about following it. Those who write about leadership rarely got a chance to follow it. They just wrote or those who ‘talk’ about leadership never got a chance to implement it. Hence both knowledge is theoretical. Most never get chance to follow it. How then is leadership taught? To date I have practiced what I say. These are not very hi-flying concepts. I simply follow. I do not lie. First principal of leadership is truthfulness. Try and say that you do not lie. Vanity demands you say this but does your heart agree with you? What is the point to lie yourself but preach others not to lie? My journey of 60 years has brought me enough misery for always being truthful. At times I think if I would have been better off lying. Yes, definitely I would have been but today in hindsight I think that the miseries were a far less trade off. Not only can I look into eyes of my family, children, juniors, peers but also the seniors. Its so satisfying to see that seniors cower when I talk. Why? This is the power of truthfulness.

Start with small steps. Change over a period and you will never repent. Be a leader not a dummy.

Quote-2

I don’t know whether I was a successful leader. What I know is that even today, when I walk, no one is ahead of me. I did not “practice” leadership, I simply did what was correct, that in itself was ‘leadership’.
BE A LEADER WITH DIFFERENCE
– Col Sanjay Pande –

You don’t become a leader after you come to prominence. You are a leader at whatever age you decided to mould yourself into one. Read my section ‘Under the Sun’ and check the tags. The stories are from the time I was 22 yrs. old. I did not wait to be 50 yrs. old to start practicing leadership. What I know is that right from 22 yrs. age, where-ever I was, I did not let anyone overtake me professionally and in character traits. I worked so hard professionally that at my stage whatever was to be mastered by me, not only did I master but I knew the advanced portion too well. That set me apart. Character wise, whether it was professional honesty, integrity or truthfulness, I built it to highest level. The result was my ‘credibility’ was at par with my professional competence and my character. This is the most ideal combination.

I did not get after reading books to learn leadership. I simply got after debating what was ‘right’ and what was ‘wrong’ and I always completely removed my self-interest from the equation. There were numerous times I suffered since I came out to be wrong. Rather than use my past credibility to lie and get out of a mess, I simply accepted my fault. Result was even more astonishing. People would say, ask Sanjay. Period. No one challenged.

To be different, you simply have to be honest and truthful but that does not permit professional competence to be compromised. When you make this as a habit, you are being transformed into a leader.

Quote-3

TRUTHFULNESS – The pitfall of every person to becoming a leader. Don’t tell others how truthful you are. Tell yourself. Your heart should not scream “LIAR”.
LEARN TO ENDURE PAIN OF BEING TRUTHFUL
– Col Sanjay Pande –

This is the single most important factor of becoming a successful leader. You cannot maintain a friendly and back slapping relation at your workplace and be truthful. You have to maintain correct protocol that permits you to be truthful. Truth is blunt and with sharp edges too. It hurts when heard. It hurts when told. Human relations are such that when you get too familiar, you tend to be very cautious. Truth is sacrificed to maintain the façade of good relations. Truth improves trust. Truth must be told. How and in what form this is practiced is left to individual.

To claim you are truthful generates debates among subordinates. To just be truthful and never claim generates fear among subordinates. You require to create a balanced atmosphere where you generate such confidence among subordinates that they walk up to you and share everything professional. Without fear.

This will be achieved only when we are personally truthful. Your heart should never scream at you be a liar. Lies catch up at most inappropriate time. Treat life as a continuous journey where each past action needs to be accounted for. When lies catch up, there is no way to remove them permanently. Most people build a reputation and this reputation is discussed among subordinates.

Quote-4

MANIPULATION comes naturally to human beings. Shed it if you want to be a leader. By this definition NO POLITICIAN can ever be a LEADER.
FIND TRANSPARENT WAY TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
– Col Sanjay Pande –

The fact is manipulation and strategic or tactical moulding of minds is one and same thing with one difference. Intent. Manipulation is corrosive, self-centered, takes care of core interest of individual and does not consider its affect on others. Tactical or Strategic moulding of minds is the positive manipulation for every ones good. No politician or any one in a job can be a successful leader if he has reached the position by manipulating people and system. Positions or designations do not grant you ‘leadership’ position. Manipulation certainly will never do so.

Have transparent ways to achieve your goal. There is nothing wrong in being ambitious. Develop the competence to be worthy of that position. Let it be known and get into healthy and transparent ways to reach there.

Manipulation fills up the gap of capability and requirement. An incapable man tries to occupy a position where requirement is higher. Shortfall is filled in by manipulation.

Now add truthfulness to it. Professional competence-No Manipulation-Truthfulness increases credibility manifolds.

Quote-5

How would you know if your leadership left an impact’?
LEAVE THE ORGANISATION TO FIND OUT
– Col Sanjay Pande –

World is basically occupied by yes men. They give you a feeling that you are the only leader the world has ever produced. Leave the organization and the same people become your biggest ‘loose talkers’. They would have destroyed your reputation even before you have reached next destination. In order to find your leadership impact, try to find out how you are discussed after you left. Rest assured if you were good, no one will ever criticize you. Even if they do, the actions you took will be appreciated.

Leave impact in an organization. Have you seen one General ever spoken of after retirement? World knows only one name, Manekshaw. In politics, Gandhi and Atal Bihari Bajpayee are equally respected by all. Why no other names?

Next Five Quotes in PRACTISED LEADERSHIP-2 : TO BECOME A LEADER

Col Sanjay Pande

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