"Leadership" is a topic that is talked about so much nowadays, it would be safe to say that it's 'in vogue!' Everything you try to do or are doing, you either question yourself or get questioned about whether you're a leader in the particular activity or not. But what really makes a great leader? What separates the 'also rans' from the 'inspiring greats'? What traits or behaviors do great leaders have in common? Can YOU 'learn' how to be a great leader?
Today, I'm not going to define or explain what leadership is because there are so many great gurus who have already done so and so many of them who have shown the world by exercising it. Instead, I'll share an experience from my previous job who I thought was a great leader amongst the common folks.
One of the biggest quality that separates a person from being a great manager and a great leader is "Vision". The vision to do something, build something and/or see something that no one else can see easily. I was fortunate to experience this person in real life at my previous job. At the time, he was at the highest designation for IT in the company and as I have been touch with folks from there, he still is and moved upwards. As far as I know(not sure though), he does not hold any sort of business degree but purely passionate about automobiles and his work.
This person I speak of, came into the company just after I did and over the 4 years I spent there, I saw the transformation he led within the organization and his ability to see deep into the existing problems and far into how he wanted to solve the problems and take the company's IT practices, processes and output to the next level. I could see how everything was getting aligned to the larger and global company goals. Managers reporting to him realized that he was about pure business and there was no fooling around.
I've attended a few meetings with him and one great quality about him was his ability to ask questions which generally put the teams in dilemma and made the team think about something they missed out considering. I don't know how he did it but my guess is that he was a very alert person, intently listened to what the other person or team had to say and just a great critical thinker.
He was just not a great leader but a great team player too. He was present at every team event and openly interacted with anyone. Never shy to coach any associate and give advice. When he walked the corridor, there was a persona about him that made associates feel to follow him, not out of force but out of inspiration.
Through this experience, I've tried to highlight some of the biggest qualities that appealed to me and inspired me to follow his footsteps. Everyone knows there are great leaders out there but I felt like talking about someone who was away from the glamourous media world.
As far as I'm concerned I'm most definitely inspired by him and someday I'd like to sit with him and understand his thought process and how he got to this point in his life of being a great practicing leader!
To learn more about any of the tools or techniques to improve your leadership skills, critical thinking or other soft skills please write to us at chalktalk@last-bench.com
Today, I'm not going to define or explain what leadership is because there are so many great gurus who have already done so and so many of them who have shown the world by exercising it. Instead, I'll share an experience from my previous job who I thought was a great leader amongst the common folks.
One of the biggest quality that separates a person from being a great manager and a great leader is "Vision". The vision to do something, build something and/or see something that no one else can see easily. I was fortunate to experience this person in real life at my previous job. At the time, he was at the highest designation for IT in the company and as I have been touch with folks from there, he still is and moved upwards. As far as I know(not sure though), he does not hold any sort of business degree but purely passionate about automobiles and his work.
This person I speak of, came into the company just after I did and over the 4 years I spent there, I saw the transformation he led within the organization and his ability to see deep into the existing problems and far into how he wanted to solve the problems and take the company's IT practices, processes and output to the next level. I could see how everything was getting aligned to the larger and global company goals. Managers reporting to him realized that he was about pure business and there was no fooling around.
I've attended a few meetings with him and one great quality about him was his ability to ask questions which generally put the teams in dilemma and made the team think about something they missed out considering. I don't know how he did it but my guess is that he was a very alert person, intently listened to what the other person or team had to say and just a great critical thinker.
He was just not a great leader but a great team player too. He was present at every team event and openly interacted with anyone. Never shy to coach any associate and give advice. When he walked the corridor, there was a persona about him that made associates feel to follow him, not out of force but out of inspiration.
Through this experience, I've tried to highlight some of the biggest qualities that appealed to me and inspired me to follow his footsteps. Everyone knows there are great leaders out there but I felt like talking about someone who was away from the glamourous media world.
As far as I'm concerned I'm most definitely inspired by him and someday I'd like to sit with him and understand his thought process and how he got to this point in his life of being a great practicing leader!
To learn more about any of the tools or techniques to improve your leadership skills, critical thinking or other soft skills please write to us at chalktalk@last-bench.com
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