Question 1

In 1990 Vijay Kumar Desai, a chartered accountant, was elected as the

chairman of Promising Life Insurance company which was at that time the
third largest life insurance company in the country. During the next 5
years, however, while its business increased, it did not grow as fast as its
major competitors and Promising Company dropped from third to sixth
place. This naturally perturbed Vijay Kumar Desai as it did to the board of
directors of the company. Finally, after deliberations the board of directors
concluded that the lack of leadership in the sales of both ordinary life
policies and group life insurance was the major case of company‘s
comparative slow progress. It was also generally concluded that the two
directors in charge of sales in these two major areas of business were
competent executives and leaders, but the regional and district managers
working under them were not very competent leaders. Vijay Kumar Desai
called these two directors and asked them to ensure strong leadership at
the regional and district level or else quit their jobs. As these directors left
the meeting with the chairman, one director told other. ―Now just how do
we make people leaders? How can we be sure whether or not a person is a
leader? You know this is tough job. Read and analyze the above case and
answer the following questions. 

Ques: If you were one of the directors, how would you answer the question
that the other director has raised?
Ques: What would you do about developing strong leaders? 

Your Answer
Ans-1 If I were a director I would look at what the problem is going to be at the
district and regional level and I think they should solve that problem and work
on that.
And I would also look at past records of that because I think past records are
very important when we give a warning to anyone, we should also check
general life policy records and group life insurance.
We have to give them a warning and tell them that you will be given a certain
time when you have to increase the sales of the company after that, if they can
not succeed they should be fired.

Ans-2 Ways to Develop Strong Leadership Skills are as follows: -

a) Practice discipline:
A good leader needs discipline. Improving discipline in your professional life
(as well as in your own) is essential to being an effective leader, and
encouraging others to be disciplined as well. People will judge your ability to
lead by the amount of behavior you show in the workplace.
Demonstrate discipline in the workplace by always meeting deadlines, keeping
appointments, and completing meetings on time. If you are not naturally
organized, you may have work to do, but you can start slowly: try to establish
good habits at home, such as getting up early and exercising daily, and working
from there.

b) Take other projects:

A good way to improve your leadership skills is to take on more responsibility.
You don't have to do more than you can handle, but you need to do more than
what is indicated in your job description if you want to grow. Leaving your
comfort zone is the only way you will learn anything new, and doing so will
earn you the recognition of management as a person who takes the initiative.

c) Learn to follow:
A true leader has no problem letting someone else control when he has to. You
should not feel threatened when someone disagrees with you, asks your opinion,
or expresses his or her own opinion. Keep an open mind and give merit where it
belongs. It will not always be easy, but if you learn to appreciate and respect
others in your team, they will be more likely to get promoted.

d) Improve status awareness:

The sign of a good leader is someone who can see the big picture, and expect
problems before they happen. This is an important skill that you may have in
managing complex projects with robust timelines. The ability to foresee and
provide suggestions on how to avoid potential problems is essential to a leader.
This ability also helps you to identify opportunities that others do not recognize,
which will earn you recognition. When you lead remote teams, this can be very
difficult to cultivate but with practice, you can become familiar with your teams
and projects.

e) Encourage others:
Being a leader means you are part of a team, and as a leader you should be able
to motivate and encourage your colleagues to work together to the best of their
ability. If a team member needs encouragement or guidance, offer it. Sometimes
all that a person needs to do is listen and be compassionate.

f) Continue reading:
The best way to be a good leader is to always learn new things. It keeps your
mind sharp, and your skills fresh. It puts you first in new challenges that may
come your way, which is always a good thing for a leader.

g) Upgrade partners:
No one is the best, and as soon as you realize it, you can learn to be a good
leader. Delegating not only frees you from the things you do well, it also
empowers other people in your team.

h) Resolve Disputes:
Don't be the boss from hell! Not everyone will always get along. Instead of
dwelling on negative events, do what is practical to cope with each problem and
address them privately. Also, be open to redistribute team members if the
conflict is not resolved.

i) Be a good listener:
Being a leader does not mean that you should always be watched. An important
aspect of a good leader is someone who listens to suggestions, ideas, and
feedback from other people, building on you. Sincere listeners know that
communication is not just a matter of words but also of picking up words, such
as eye contact and body language.

Good leadership skills are important in developing your career, but as you can
see, leadership is more than just management. As American statesman John
Quincy Adams put it, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,
do more and be more, you are a leader."

All these points must be followed if he is to become a strong leader.