One of the problems when companies become really large is that the leadership often disappears into the clouds, rues A. G. Krishnamurthy in ‘ Ten Much ’ ( >www.tatamcgrawhill.com ).
Employees way down below rarely catch a glimpse of the great name heading the organisation and pretty soon become disenchanted; and a frustrated few may even look to sell out the company at the first opportunity, he adds. “Leaders need to be ‘felt and touched’. Rapport unfortunately can be established only with a one on one interaction. Not through visualisation.”
Walk the talk
Another advice to leaders is to walk the talk. There is no point in preaching what you do not practise, because your team models itself on your behaviour, the author says. “If you have habits that are dangerous to the overall health of the company or the country, you can be pretty sure that before long your people are bound to follow in your footsteps… And one bad habit multiplied a thousand fold is bound to bring the strongest citadel down!”
He finds that the simplest and most visible of all company rules couched in hypocrisy is the one on punctuality, where the employee is expected to be at his desk at a given time and in some cases his pay is cut as well when he doesn’t, while the leadership saunters in a good couple of hours later, invariably at mid-day. What is the result? A disengaged employee who thenceforward grudgingly carries out his duties under a cloud of resentment, observes Krishnamurthy. “On the other hand, I have seen very few instances of tardiness when the boss man is one of the first to arrive at work.”
Transparency invites credibility
One other counsel to leaders is about transparency in all spheres, as a way to build two-way trust. “No hidden agendas. No games. No patronising your community. No special favours for relatives. A sense of fair play and an ability to make every contributing employee feel equally wanted and recognised,” the author explains.
Favouritism – be it for family, community or political affiliations – is always at the expense of talented performers and that simply makes no business sense whatsoever, he argues. “It is transparency that invites credibility. And to achieve transparency, it is vital that the leader himself has integrity… Predictable reactions, honest dealings, well-controlled emotions, absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. As a consequence, such a leader is always approachable.”
Be magnanimous
To win the loyalty of the team, the leader has to be magnanimous enough to share the credit, share the profits, and share the success, Krishnamurthy instructs. “People need to constantly feel good about themselves (whether they deserved it or not!) and it is up to the leader to play a parent figure in such instances,” he reasons.
His simple rule, therefore, is to spread the credit as wide as possible when there is occasion for celebration; for, this bolsters the team morale. In the opposite, when it is blame time, the leader has to stand up and take full public responsibility, though privately the responsible have to be held accountable.
That way, the leader can create an environment in which the employees feel safe and secure, a place where their weaknesses are not exposed to the criticism of their colleagues.
There is nothing more harmful to a team than insecurity, cautions Krishnamurthy. “It is cancerous in nature, eating away at the spirit and morale of not only those infected with it but destroying everyone who comes into contact with them.”
Imperative read.
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