Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Leadership Style in Banking
Leadership Style in Banking
• INTRODUCTION
• DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
• LEADERSHIP : A CONCEPT
• BANKING ENTREPRENEURS
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LEADERSHIP STYLE IN BANKING
INTRODUCTION OF LEADERSHIP
DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
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The above definitions as is evident all pertain to the Western views. This is
because leadership as a formalized field of study and analysis with a
structured syllabus has not yet been established in India as it is in the West.
Here one still goes by the old Hindu tradition of the son wearing his father’s
shoes. Needless to say, this usually proves to be a ‘hit or miss’ approach as it
is not necessary that the leadership skills will be passed down the
generations automatically.
LEADERSHIP: A CONCEPT
Follower
Leader
You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know,
determines if a leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in
their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to
convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy
of being followed.
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Communication
Situation
All are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in
another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and
the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to
confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is
too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove
ineffective.
Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are your
relationship with your seniors, the skill of your people, the informal leaders
within your organization, and how your company is organized.
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Meaning:
This shloka essentially describes the pedestal on which a leader was placed
in the traditional Indian society. The Indian society, being an inward looking
and highly philosophical society awarded the guru a place even higher than
God. It was the only form of recognized leadership and everyone in the
society, irrespective of his position, would turn to the guru to seek advice on
matters ranging from war strategies to spiritual solace.
In the Indian society, after the thread ceremony, an important ritual marking
the beginning of the formal education of a child was being sent to a gurukul.
Here he would lead a life of a commoner, regardless of his background,
under the guidance of the guru. The Guru would condition his disciples both
spiritually and mentally to help them embark on the life of agrihastha once
they attain the age of twenty-five.
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His word was a command in every sphere and everyone was supposed to
discharge his debts to the guru, in the form of a guru dakshina, by carrying
out his orders.
In the post Aryan era, the balance of power shifted to the crown. The king
was now recognized as the ultimate leader who was responsible for all his
subjects.
The nineteenth century saw another turn and political leaders in the form of
revolutionaries fighting for the country’s independence came to the fore.
The likes of Mahatma Gandhi mesmerized the country and shook the British
throne.
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• Collaborative
• Intellectual
• Ethical
• Aesthetic
• Recognition of social responsibility
Here too, the first instances of leadership can be traced to a spiritual leader
or the Pope exercising a strict control over the entire Catholic Christian
population across the globe.
Constant conflict erupting in the form of the two world wars saw the shift of
power to political leadership represented by Hitler, Churchill, Kennedy and
so forth.
Controls shifted again with the government taking a back seat and playing
the role of a facilitator, business leadership took the lead and emerged as the
key form of leadership.
Henry Ford, J. Paul Getty, Warren Buffet and their likes now became the
names to reckon with.
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• Cold / impersonal
• Winning at any cost
• Admiration for power
• Drive for excellence
• Outward / aggressive
• Subjective
• Strict hierarchy
• System centric
• Technology based
ENTREPRENEURS IN BANKING
CHANDA KOCHHAR
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PERSONAL LIFE
OTHER INVESTMENT
Kocchar is Often Titled Ms 10%.Its given to her due to her 10% holding in
Castrol India, Nestle India, ACC, Blackstone India, Indian Express, Ambuja
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Cement, ITC InfoTech, Blue dart & Acer India.Kocchar also sold her stake
at Perot Systems to Dell & Pyra Labs to Google.
RECOGNITION
Under Kocchar's leadership, ICICI Bank won the “Best Retail Bank in
India” award in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and “Excellence in Retail
Banking Award” in 2002; both awards were given by the The Asian Banker.
Kocchar personally was awarded "Retail Banker of the Year 2004 (Asia-
Pacific region)"by the Asian Banker, "Business Woman of the Year 2005"
by The Economic Times and "Rising Star Award" for Global Awards 2006
by Retail Banker International. Kocchar has also consistently figured in
Fortune's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" since 2005. She
climbed up the list debuting with the 47th position in 2005, moving up 10
spots to 37 in 2006 and then to 33 in 2007. In the 2008 list, Kocchar features
at the 25thspot. In 2009, she debuted at number 20 in the Forbes "World's
100 Most Powerful Women list". She is the second Indian in the
list behind the ruling Indian National Congress party chief Sonia
Gandhi at number 13.
AWARDS
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World, 2009.
EARLY LIFE
CAREER
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From 1982-1994 she worked at ANZ Grind lays, where her assignments
included Head of the Investment Bank, Head of Global NRI Services and
Head of the Western India, Retail Bank. During 1994-2002, she worked
at Morgan Stanley as Vice Chairman of JM Morgan Stanley and Head of the
Investment Bank in India. At HSBC she has held positions as Chief
Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank in
India and Managing Director and Managing Director of HSBC Securities
and Capital Markets India Private Limited. She became the group's country
head in 2009.
Kidwai has repeatedly ranked in the Fortune global list of Top Women in
Business, 12th in the Wall Street Journal 2006 Global Listing of Women to
watch ad listed by Time Magazine as one of their 15 Global Influentials
2002. In 2007, she received the Padma Shri, for her work in the promotion
of Trade and Industry.
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PERSONAL LIFE
Naina is married to Rashid Kidwai, who runs the NGO, Grassroot Trading
Network for Women.
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• AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTOCRATIC
• PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC
• CHRISMATIC LEADERSHIP
• PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
• SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
• TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
• TRANFOMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
• SERVANT LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP STYLES
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• AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTOCRATIC
• PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC
• DELEGATIVE OR FREE REIGN
Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally
dominate, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.
AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTICRATI
This style is used when the leader tells his employees what he wants done
and how he wants it done, without getting the advice of his followers. Some
of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information
to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well
motivated.
Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using
demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is
not the authoritarian style – rather, it is an abusive, unprofessional style
called ‘bossing’ people around. It has no place in a leader’s repertoire.
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PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC
This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on
the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it).
However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using
this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it’s a sign of strength that your
employees will respect.
This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your
employees have other parts. A leader is not expected to know everything -
this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this
style is of mutual benefit - it allows the employees to become part of the
team and allows you to make better decisions.
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This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong;
rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence
in the people below you. One should not be afraid to use it, however, to be
effective, it must be used wisely!
In this context, the various approaches could also be classified under the
following heads.
• CHRISMATIC LEADERSHIP
• PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
• SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
• TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
• TRANFOMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
• THE QUIET LEADERSHIP
• SERVANT LEADERSHIP
CHRISMATIC LEADERSHIP
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PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
There are many varieties on this spectrum, including stages where the leader
sells the idea to the team. Another variant is for the leader to describe the
'what' of objectives or goals and let the team or individuals decide the 'how'
of the process by which the 'how' will be achieved (this is often called
'management by objectives').
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The level of participation may also depend on the type of decision being
made. Decisions on how to implement goals may be highly participative,
whilst decisions during subordinate performance evaluations are more likely
to be taken by the manager.
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single
preferred style, such as using transactional or transformational methods. In
practice, as they say, things are not that simple.
The leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they
do rather than the truth of the situation. The leader’s perception of
themselves and other factors such as stress and mood will also modify the
leaders' behavior.
Yukl (1989) seeks to combine other approaches and identifies six variables:
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TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
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TRANSFORMATINAL LEADERSHIP
The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This
takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a
radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others.
The transformational leader thus takes every opportunity and will use
whatever works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon.
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The route forwards may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details,
but with a clear vision, the direction will always be known. Thus finding the
way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction and the
transformational leader will accept that there will be failures and blind
canyons along the way. As long as they feel progress is being made, they
will be happy.
The final stage is to remain up-front and central during the action.
Transformational leaders are always visible and will stand up to be counted
rather than hide behind their troops. They show by their attitudes and actions
how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to
motivate and rally their followers, constantly doing the rounds, listening,
soothing and enthusing.
whether the vision can ever be achieved. If the people do not believe that
they can succeed, then their efforts will flag. The transformational leader
seeks to infect and reinfect their followers with a high level of commitment
to the vision.
Overall, they balance their attention between action that creates progress and
the mental state of their followers. Perhaps more than other approaches, they
are people-oriented and believe that success comes first and last through
deep and sustained commitment.
The approach of quiet leaders is the antithesis of the classic charismatic (and
often transformational) leaders in that they base their success not on ego and
force of character but on their thoughts and actions. Although they are
strongly task-focused, they are neither bullies nor unnecessarily unkind and
may persuade people through rational argument and a form of benevolent
transactional leadership.
The 'level 5' leader: In his book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins, identified five
levels of effectiveness people can take in organizations.
At level four is the merely effective leader, whilst at level five the leader
who combines professional will with personal humility. The 'professional
will' indicates how they are far from being timid wilting flowers and will
march against any advice if they believe it is the right thing to do. In
'personal humility' they put the well-being of others before their own
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personal needs, for example giving others credit after successes but taking
personal responsibility for failures.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
The servant leader serves others, rather than others serving the leader.
Serving others thus comes by helping them to achieve and improve.
Principles of servant leadership defined by the alliance for servant
Leadership is:
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After the second phase of financial sector reforms and liberalization of the
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sector in the early nineties, the Public Sector Banks (PSB) s found it
extremely difficult to compete with the new private sector banks and the
foreign banks. The new private sector banks first made their appearance
after the guidelines permitting them were issued in January 1993. Eight new
private sector banks are presently in operation. These banks due to their late
start have access to state-of-the-art technology, which in turn helps them to
save on manpower costs and provide better services.
During the year 2000, the State Bank Of India (SBI) and its 7 associates
accounted for a 25 percent share in deposits and 28.1 percent share in credit.
The 20 nationalized banks accounted for 53.2 percent of the deposits and
47.5 percent of credit during the same period. The share of foreign banks
(numbering 42), regional rural banks and other scheduled commercial banks
accounted for 5.7 percent, 3.9 percent and 12.2 percent respectively in
deposits and 8.41 percent, 3.14 percent and 12.85 percent respectively in
credit during the year 2000.
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Structure of the organized banking sector in India. Numbers of banks are in brackets.
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Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI
accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation's loans.
In 1959 the Government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks)
Act, enabling the State Bank of India to take over eight former State-
associated banks as its subsidiaries. On 13 September 2008,State Bank of
Saurashtra, one of its Associate Banks, merged with State Bank of India.
SBI has acquired local banks in rescues. For instance, in 1985, it acquired
Bank of Cochin in Kerala, which had 120 branches. SBI was the acquirer as
its affiliate, State Bank of Travancore, already had an extensive network in
Kerala.
The State bank of India is the 10th most reputed company in the world
according to Forbes.
State Bank of India is the largest of the Big Four Banks of India, along
with ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank — its main
competitors.
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• TRAIT THEORIES
• CONTENGENCY THEORIES
• SITUATIONAL THEORIES
• BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
• PARTICIPATIVE THEORIES
• MANAGEMENT THEORIES
• RELATIONSHIP THEORIES
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LEADERSHIP THEORIES
Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that
great leaders are born not made. These theories often portray great leaders as
heroic, mythic and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term
“Great Man” was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of
primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.
TRAIT THEORIE
Similar in some ways to "Great Man" theories, trait theory assumes that
people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to
leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral
characteristics shared by leaders. But if particular traits are key features of
leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are
not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to
explain leadership.
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higher esteem. It is also seen that hardly10% of the listed traits in over 100
such researchers appeared in 5 or more study. The trait approach has lead to
selection procedure by written tests or preference tests.
The Greatest defect of this theory is that we can not have common or
universal traits of leadership.
CONTINGENCY THEORIES
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SITUATIONAL THEORIES
Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action
based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership may be more
appropriate for certain types of decision-making.
BEHAVIORAL THEORIES
Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders
are made, not born. Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on
the actions of leaders not on mental qualities or internal states. According to
this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and
observation.
PARTICIPATIVE THEORIES
Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one
that takes the input of others into account. These leaders encourage
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MANAGEMENT THEORIES
RELATIONSHIP THEORIES
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•DIFFERENT APPROACHES
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DIFFERENT APPROACHES
Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe
the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days
off without pay, reprimand employees in front of others, etc. They believe
their authority is increased by freighting everyone into higher lever of
productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly
is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity.
It is of vital significance that most leaders do not strictly use one or another,
but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to
extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are
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‘bosses’ while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered
‘real leaders’.
Leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They
build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide
psychological support.
Leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and
urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate
in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with
their job.
One must appreciate that consideration and structure are independent of each
other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For
example, a leader who becomes more considerate does not necessarily mean
that he has become less structured.
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The West tends to take a more rational approach towards problem solving,
backing its decisions with hard data and strong systems. The Indian
perspective being a more inward looking one, hunch, intuition and gut
feeling play a bigger role in making decisions. People, as a result tend to
sleep over decision. Very often a well is dug only on the outbreak of fire.
The fatalistic attitude proves fatal for the Indian managers; for Instance,
Mohammed Gazani looted the Somnath Temple seventeen times. His armies
were always shielded by a herd of cows. Instead of fighting and in the
process causing cow slaughter, able-bodied warriors permitted themselves to
be slaughtered and the temple was vandalized. This gross act of
cowardliness being meek surrender without fighting was glorified as a path
to salvation in order to save the dharma.
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History is witness that India has never attacked others but has not been able
to defend herself despite being quite capable due to its fatalistic attitude,
infighting & jealousy.
The key motivator in the West is material prosperity and in its quest, leaders
tend to be ruthless, aggressive, brazen and high-risk takers. India is
traditionally conservative and thus intangible factors play a significant role.
Self esteem, conscience and self-satisfaction form a major part of the driving
force behind ones work. Thus managers tend to be more sensitive and try to
take the middle path, avoiding conflicts to the greatest extent possible, at
times even at the cost of productivity.
• The West has a clinical approach to change and take it in their stride.
They are the proactive leaders and therefore always ready to respond to
changes quickly and positively, using it to their advantage.
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• In the West, it is always about “being the best”, “being the biggest”,
“being the largest’, which basically means being market leaders. It is
always ‘myself against the world’.
• The Indian leaders are more content by just making optimum use of the
available resources without much ado about what the others are doing.
• They compete with themselves and are satisfied with the fruits of their
labor so long as they have done their best. Materialism is associated
with chasing a mirage or Maya.
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• This is the reason that major scientific discoveries have taken place in
the West whereas India is known for spiritual evolution, art and culture.
In the West, people tend to draw a clear division between their personal and
professional life. The employer - employee relationship is purely
commercial in nature where money is paid for the services rendered. The
relationship is formal and strictly business like. Any attempt by the
employer to delve into the personal life of the employee is considered to be
invasion of privacy and is subject to costly litigation.
‘Hire and fire’ is the order of the day. People change jobs very casually and
a long tenure of service with a single employer is considered to be a sign of
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In India the concept of Vasudev Kutumbakam preaches that the entire world
is one big family with the employer being regarded as the head of the family.
It thus becomes his duty to ensure that all the needs of his employees are
taken care of. In return the employees are supposed to be totally devoted to
the employer. Often the relationship extends to a number of generations.
Lifetime employment is the norm. Frequent change of jobs is discouraged.
MOBILITY OF LABOR
In the West, the factors of production are mobile. People are always in
search of the elusive pot of gold under the rainbow and are prepared to risk
every thing if the rewards are suitable.
It is only in search of the land of milk and honey that Columbus discovered
America. In contrast, in India, status quo is the done thing. People inherently
dislike instability and constant change.
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Managers being risk takers, failure is tolerated as long as the right decisions
are taken at the right time. People are encouraged to learn from failure and
move on.
Risk management and control, not risk avoidance is the order of the day - as
long as the risk: rewards ratio and the management’s appetite for the risk are
in unison.
In India people are generally risk averse and are reluctant to delegate. Even
after formal delegation, real transfer of authority does not take place though
the delegate becomes a sitting duck to face the bullet if things go wrong.
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Some reasons why effective delegation does not take place are:
• People have a king size ego about their capabilities and are
unwilling to trust easily.
• A direct outcome of the expensive and slow legal procedures is that any
failure cannot be reversed easily and assets are locked. n a failed
venture for a lifetime facing rapid value erosion, not to speak of the
opportunity cost.
• The quest for spiritual solace ensures that people do not want
to undergo stress and strain.
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• QUALITIES OF A LAEDER
• LEADERSHIP STRENGTHS
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QUALITIES OF A LEADER
Leaders are not made, it is said, and they are born. This is true because not
everyone can lead. Some people are docile and dormant by nature, and
constantly require some person to overlook their activities and remind them
about the ultimate goal, so they are not cut out for leadership. The best
leaders are those who are born with the good qualities of a leader naturally.
So, let us see what the qualities of a great leader are.
There are a number of different qualities that a leader must possess, but
broadly, they can be classified into these categories. Possessing these traits
will make an individual a good leader, and these leadership qualities should
be present in a leader naturally.
Communication is the key to be a great leader. The reason for this is simple:
if he possesses the other nine leadership qualities but if he fails to
communicate well, he will never be great leader.
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that leader, that team player. He will not be able to communicate how IT can
add long-term value to the company. The modern leaders must therefore be
equipped with good communication skill and use new ways to do effective
communication.
HONESTY
The most valuable asset of a leader is honesty. He must be honest with both
his employees and the management committee. Another part of his features
is integrity. Once a leader compromises his or her integrity, it is lost. That is
perhaps the reason integrity is considered the most admirable trait. The
leaders therefore must keep it "above all else."
VISIONARY LOOK
Leadership qualities are different for different position. For a CIO he must
be thinking for stabilizing the current business and always looking for future
scope of expansion. He has to be able to look beyond where we are today,
know where the business is going, and be able to use that vision to move the
company forward. Being able to do this is a rare skill indeed.
A good CIO although he possesses sound technical skills he assures that the
team he selects is efficient enough to back up any skill he lacks. Choosing
the best people for such team is a skill. A CIO after all is a human being and
does not have answer for everything. But by working together he creates an
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atmosphere of mutual trust and respect; the teams then always find the best
solution.
Managers must be able to put aside their concerns to listen to (and appear to
listen to) those around them. As a result, they come know what is going on,
and know what is both said, and said between the lines. They have the knack
of appearing to know what people need even if those needs are not expressed
directly. However, knowing what is going on, and identifying the needs of
those around them is not sufficient. The responsive manager also acts upon
that knowledge, attempting to help fulfill the needs of employees, superiors,
etc. Responsive managers wield influence to solve problems for those
around them, often before even being asked.
A good leader must always keep motivating his team mates for good work
and should maintain healthy environment. He must give first priority to
safety of workers and see that they are not exploited by superiors.
CONSISTENCY
As the success rate increases your critics multiply and become louder. Come
to peace with the fact that you will always have a camp of people who
critique every decision you make. They are generally the ones who are
excellent problem-identifiers rather than problem-solvers. Develop your
skills of repelling such critics so that they do not diminish your confidence
or enthusiasm.
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Good leaders are required in all fields. They lead, motivate and inspire
others. Superior leadership is essential in today’s high-pressure competitive
world. The four most important qualities of leadership are given below.
RISK TAKING
A leader needs to be ready to take risks. It is claimed that higher, the risk
higher is the gain. A leader should not be living in a comfortable zone and
being happy with whatever he has achieved. He does not rest on past laurels.
Such leaders soon lose their position and the time wave removes them from
the peoples' mind. The constant urge for innovation is one of the most
important leadership qualities. It helps the leader to be in tune with the
modern times and help them to face new challenges much more effectively.
A leader doesn’t accept society's definition of what is possible, they make
their own outlines. Good leaders refuse to allow the norms and limits
defined by society to guide their actions or plans. They are characterized by
lack of acceptance for what you see as reality. They just don't see the world
the same way as others. Everything is possible for them despite the arduous
and bumpy road to getting there.
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
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Good leaders always put more effort than the organization expects from
them. They do activities that the majority of people won't do. Where most
people quit they persevere. This serves as an excellent example to their team
which then strives to achieve much more. A good leader doesn’t just order
things; he does it so that others can do it. They not only motivate themselves
in personal development but also motivate those around them. Good leaders
do what is necessary to upgrade their knowledge and skills and be on the
cutting edge in their field.
LEADERSHIP STRENGTH
• TASK EXECUTION
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There's many a slip between cup and lip. Coming up with a brilliant idea and
executing that idea are two completely different things. Bringing an idea to
life is lot easier said than done. An idea really comes to life only when it is
executed to perfection. Thus, this is one of the most
important leadership strengths. For this, you need to be a team player. There
is a fine line between having followers that follow you out of respect and
having followers that follow because they have no choice. Any kind of
discord in the team reflects in the end result and the efficiency of the task
performed.
• ENVISION
Before you go on to put any kind of strategy into place, you need to
understand and envision what you wish to achieve. This is important
because the expectations of the entire group will ride on your shoulders.
Thus, one of the important leadership strengths is to be a visionary because
you need to have a very clear vision about how to go about a task at hand,
keeping the long term and short term goals and repercussions in mind. You
need to be realistic yet optimistic about the prospects involved in any task
and must take into consideration all the risks involved.
• LISTEN
Being the leader does not mean that you own the people you work with.
Many people tend to get carried away and do not listen to their team
members. This can go against them as the team members then tend to lose
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respect for their leader. Hence, one of the most important leadership
strengths is the ability to listen to your teammates. You need to genuinely
listen to your team members because they are the only ones that will tell you
if you go wrong at any point of time. Furthermore, listening will make sure
that you connect with your team members on a personal level, which will
improve the performance of your team greatly. Read more on team
leadership.
• RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
No two people are alike and hence, even the thinking of no two people will
match. Hence, there is always scope for discord and dispute within group
members. In such cases, you need to be the peacemaker. You need to be the
one who manages to listen to both sides of the story from an unbiased third
person’s point of view. Furthermore, when an idea is conveyed, be sure to
never out rightly rule out any kind of suggestion offered, no matter how
irrelevant or unrealistic it may be. This makes it look like the group is
following a dictatorship, which in general, brings down the morale of the
group. Thus, relationship building within a team, and outside of it, is one of
the most important leadership strengths examples that a person needs to
keep in mind. Read more on strategic leadership.
• ACCEPT MISTAKES
There will be times when as a leader and as a group, you may fail. This will
be a hard time for you but you need to understand that you have been
patient. Lashing out at your team members, blaming them for failure will
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only add to your resentment. If the success is shared, then so must the
failure be shared. So in fact, when the team fails, ensure that you take an
equal amount of responsibility in the failure. Do not cower to admit defeat
because if you do so, then you may lose the respect of your team. So accept
your mistake, learn from it and try to improvise as a leader. This will earn
you respect and the most loyal team members you can ever hope to find.
Read more on leadership.
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2. Managers tend to take moderate risk and establish strategies and make
decisions. Leaders work from high-risk positions.
4. Leaders are appointed or merge from within a work group and are able
to influence others for reasons beyond formal authority.
5. Managers prefer to work with people; they avoid solitary activity because
it makes them anxious. Leaders, who are concerned with ideas, relate to
people in more intuitive and emphatic ways.
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If you are a leader who can be trusted, then those around you will grow to
respect you. To be such a leader, there is a leadership framework to guide
you:
- Know human nature. Examples: human needs, emotions and how people
respond to stress.
- Know your organization. Examples: where to go for help, its climate and
culture, who the unofficial leaders are.
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• Challenge the process - first, find a process that you believe needs to be
improved the most.
• Inspire a shared vision - next, share you vision in words that can be
understood by your followers.
• Enable others to act - give them the tools and methods to solve the
problem.
• Model the way - when the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss
tells others what to do...a leader shows that it can be done.
• Encourage the heart - share the glory with your followers' heart, while
keeping the pains within your own.
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Whether a leader is operating in the West or in India, these are some Of the
thumb rules when it comes to successful leadership:
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• PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES
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• PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES
The Japanese believe that workers have a right to refuse a legitimate (legal
or rightful) request by the managers and they should not be punished for it.
Rather the manager should aim at developing a sense of obligation and
ownership among the employees.
On the other, the Americans believe that insubordinations should be dealt
severly.Such ideology differences is another cause of problems in cross-
cultural organizations.
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Japanese managers strongly identify with their company and are highly
committed and dedicated to it. The Japanese often find that this quality is
lacking in their American counterparts.
American managers put their personal interest above those of the company
and co-workers. Such differences in commitment are another cause of
problems.
On the other hand, American managers think that loss of such perks is a loss
of status and that they are not being treated well.
When a manager leaves the company, the Japanese view it as a double loss:-
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a - The manager has to repair employees network and assume the role of the
departed peer.
b - Prepare a new person to grow and adjust in the various networks of the
organization.
a - American fear that adopting the Japanese system will damage their
values of individualism.
b - The Japanese fear that adopting the American management system will
harm their values of teamwork.
The solution to these problems lies in creating willingness in both the parties
to learn the other’s culture and build a new hybrid culture. Effective
leadership requires sensitivity to such cross-cultural issues.
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• DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP AT A
COLLECTIVE LEVEL
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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Just like people aren't all born with the ability to, say,
play football like Zinedine Zidane or sing like Luciano Pavarotti, people
aren't all born with the ability to lead. Different personal characteristics can
help or hinder a person's leadership effectiveness and require formalized
programs for developing leadership competencies yet; everyone can develop
their leadership effectiveness. Achieving such development takes focus,
practice and persistence more akin to learning a musical instrument than
reading a book.
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1. Concrete experience
- Self efficacy: The right training and coaching should bring about 'Self
efficacy' in the trainee, as Albert Bandura formulated: A person's belief
about his capabilities to produce effects
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In the belief that the most important resource that an organization possesses
is the people that comprise the organization, some organizations address the
development of these resources (even including the leadership).
Therefore, bringing the notional leader together with the team to explore
these similarities (rather than focusing on the differences) brings positive
results. This approach has been particularly successful in Sweden where the
power distance between manager and team is small.
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