Appreciation takes Nothing but is Priceless

 

In our professional lives, which is by definition competitive, on majority of occasions we tend to ‘not to appreciate things’. There is this uneasy feeling about excellence, which stops us from appreciating small yet important things. We think, if we appreciate something, which is trivial (and/or commonplace) in nature then I lower the bar. We also think, people will start believing that I do not understand and appreciate excellence. And hence we stay away from appreciating small stuff around us.

I strongly believe that the world of ‘excellence’ starts forming with small blocks of ‘usual’ and ‘common’ elements. It is appreciation of ‘not extraordinary’, which leads people on the path of ‘extraordinary’. When you drop a thank you note to someone, who did some small stuff, it is a starting point of inching forward towards excellence. When you stop someone in the hallway and tell him a few good words about something he did (however small), you give him a positive nudge towards excellence.

A lot of us learn to criticize ‘the common’ and ‘the ordinary’ in the rush of appreciating excellence. Sometimes (or call it most of the times) a passion of excellence makes us blind towards very formation/foundation blocks of it. The formation/foundation block of ‘excellence’ is ‘common’ yet ‘consistent’ work.

Your appreciation of ‘common’ but ‘important’ can become the force and momentum, which will lead to ‘excellence’.

A leader ought to know ‘How to create this force’ – By appreciating and recognizing the small stuff.

Aspiration, Effort and Time

 

• What one can accomplish in one life?
• How much one can accomplish in a single life?
• Are there any limits to what one can accomplish in one life time?
• Is there a need of measuring what one did in a life time?
• Scale of accomplishment, does it serve a higher purpose?

Most of us confront this question at one or other point in our lives. These questions get most of us in reflection mode. All of us find one or other answers. Some answers convincing some not so convincing. Some of us get satisfied with the answers and some of  us don’t. These answers are found, discovered and invented via different sources depending on our personalities, preferences and opportunities of conversations and interfacing. Some of us find ‘em through mentors. Others discover answers through their experiences. And some more invent them by chance, when they bump into situations or else when they have their Eureka moment.

Here is another attempt to explore these questions. I will stay away from claiming to an answer to these questions. All I can claim is to have explored (sighted) the hazy boundary of horizon of potential answers to these questions.

A thought about drawing a physical or logical boundary on ‘what one can accomplish’ is discomforting at best. We can think of a three corner model as a virtual bound of ‘what is possible in one’s life’. This three corners of model are made of ‘Aspiration’, ‘Effort’ and ‘Time’. The nature and characteristics of these three points on the corners can define the ‘potential’ and ’scope’ of ‘what one can accomplish in life’. Each one of these points are major forces and factors in anyone’s life.

 

Now let’s have a look at each of these points, which are major forces and factor in anyone’s life.

‘Aspiration‘

It is unbounded, has no physical limits and is completely dependent on personality, preference and attitude of an individual. ‘Aspiration’ also does not have any external dependencies or influences such as geographic location, demographic context, social pressures and familial compulsions. It is also one point, where one (individual) has least control (it is a personality and attitude thing). So, one corner of triangle model is largely fixed (though not similar) for most of the people. Actually there would be quite a bit of variability in where this point is placed for different people in the three corner model.

‘Effort‘

This point of the triangle model is quite opposite to first one. ‘Effort’ varies depending on commitment, passion and resolve. There is no calculated limit on ‘how much effort can be placed on something’. Though a few influencing factors for this point are there. These are bandwidth, energy levels and circumstances. This point is pretty flexible in a three corner model and will be very different for different people. Since it is driven by people, this point can vary a lot in the model for different type of people. This is one point, which will vary a lot even for similar kind of people.

‘Time‘

This is one corner, which is pretty much fixed in everyone’s life. One can squeeze every ounce of ‘available time’ but overall quantity of time is fixed. This is where, a person can not do any thing. In three corner model, there is no flexibility for this point.

So, if we have this triangle model for defining vague (and probably virtual) boundary) of ‘what one can accomplish in one’s life’, then what is the measure of ‘What’.

‘Realizations ‘ in one’s life get represented by what lies in the triangle.

The larger the triangle area, larger will be realization. Since one point, ‘Aspiration’ is kind of defined by ‘personality’ and another one ‘Time’ is fixed in ‘nature’, ‘Efforts’ can and will drive ‘what one can and will achieve in one’s lifetime’.

‘Efforts’ – If that defines ‘what one can accomplish in one’s life’ – Then everyone should have control on ‘what one accomplishes’. No, everyone does not. The triangle model is potential of ‘what one can do and achieve in one’s life’ not the prediction.

‘Efforts‘, which is called ‘Karma’ in Indian mythology and philosophy, is the driver of ‘What is possible’

That is why, you will find that ‘Leaders are more concerned about their efforts than outcomes’!

Nudget #9 – Discipline, First Yourself

 

A lot of time, we are too busy controlling things around us. Telling people what to do and what not to. Asking team members to keep a schedule. Forcing people to keep a discipline.

Leaders display a different behavior. The first set of discipline they impose is on themselves. They make sure that their activities (and actions) are planned, predictable, expected and appreciated.

Get yourself to a meeting on time. Keep the discussion to a length you committed to. If you planned to do a communication on a date, keep the date. Take every possible measure to complete an activity on time.

Once you are disciplined in your approach, actions and ways of life, you will find others around you will more or less, will be. The definition and application of discipline starts from ‘You’.

Trappings of Professional Relationships

 

Our race is social by nature and probably is most dependent on social interaction among any living species. Whatever be the individual personality, everyone creates his circle in and out of the organization we work for. In a professional setup, these circles (called professional relationship) get created because of reasons much beyond liking or disliking (or preference) of an individual.

In a  professional organization, several of us form working relationships, which are driven from ‘comfort factor’, some more of us form relationship, which are result of ‘influence factor’, some further more of us form relationship, which are result of ‘political equation’. These relationships, developed for whatever reasons, become a tangible force in the organization. Several decisions and sometime directions get decided based on relationship map and its influences on organization.

As a professional developing these kind of relationships in the organization is good. Actually many/most of these relationships form a ‘binding and acceptance glue’ in an organization, which makes the daily working a lot more effortless than it would be in absence of these relationships. The ‘question’ and ‘apprehension’ element is dealt with far more ease in the organizations, where strong working relationship equations exist.

But, as a leader, people need to watch out for certain eccentricities, these relationships can bring in their behavior, decisions and actions.

A relationship is based on trust, and hence by definition, once established it diminishes the ability to question and doubt between two people. A lot of time, when a strong working relationship exists between two people, we tend to support ideas, concepts, opinions and decisions (coming from one in two people in a relationship) with far less discretion than if the relationship did not exist. That is NOT a good situation, and it calls for specific leadership behavior and precautions.

No, matter, what the relationship is and how strong it is and with who it is – it should not play a role in a decision, action and opinion in a professional context. Probably everyone understands the significance of not mixing the ‘personal’ and ‘professional’ elements. But on very many occasions, we tend to honor relationship more than our professional ethics and let it play a role in a professional opinion, action or decision. We do this because somewhere in the back of our mind, we keep a thought that our relationship is a professional one and it can not play a role in our actions. Reality is far from it on many occasions.

A leader specifically can not afford to let his opinions, actions and decisions get biased because of his preferences of relationships in the organization. A leader is to be seen as an example of fairness, so it is critically important that we keep any form of relationship and corresponding biases out. 

Trappings of professional relationship are many, leaders know how to deal with them!

The Thin Line Series – #1 – Self Assertion and Rudeness

 

Many of us use our self assertion as a tool to get heard or to make a point or to force an opinion. Quite a many of us become very good on exerting assertion.

Some of us do it because our ingrained personalities and beliefs  Other do it becase noise factors in today’s corporate make in mandatory. Listening is not a common quality in majority of corporate denizens today, so assertion becomes a tool, which is used by many of us.

Whatever be the reason, good or bad, mandated or by nature, there is a fine line between self assertion and rudeness, that is not to be crossed. In the rush of discussion, I have found  that many times this line is crossed. On more often than not, this line is crossed inadvertantly, than intentionally. Actually a lot of time even the realization that we have crossed the line does not come to us, unless someone draws our attention to it.

We tend to cross this line often because of several and various reasons. After a while this tendency overshadows over natural self and starts becoming part of our behavioral traits. Rudeness, creeping into our behavioral traits, is surely concerning.

Rudeness of any form, in any forum, to any audience is never taken in positive spirits and lights. It hinders our ability to make clear and concrete points. It also limits our ability to communicate naturally. Rudeness also has some very dark side effects (other than not being able to make proper points). These side effects are related to – developing relationship complexities, negative interpretations of opinions, etc.

So, we got to make sure that do nor cross the fine line, which is there between self assertion and rudeness. The line is fine but differences between the world on both sides are huge and they are in stark contrast to each other.

Let’s take time, identify that line and make sure that we do not cross it.

What role circumstances play in making someone a leader?

 

I have always wondered

• Is there a contributions of circumstances in making someone a leader?
• For your true qualities to come out, is there a role of situation?
• Leadership qualities, do they need a stimulus, to be demonstrated?
• People become leader because they respond to their environs, true?

I haven’t found an answer to these questions so far. This article is a reflection of some of my thinking on this topic and does not claim to provide any specific answers.

A lots of time you will find that someone in a remote isolated self created corner of your organization will be working quietly. He will keep quiet, deliver whatever is given to him and will be almost always maintain a satisfactory levels of performance. You will never have any specific complains about (or on) him but you will not have any specific impressions about him either. Sounds familiar, right?

You pick something very specific (and challenging) and ask him to work on it. The quiet guy picks it up, works hard and delivers the stuff as expected on time. Through this specific work you allocated, the guy will shine. He will do almost all the things, which you could never associate with anything you thought about him. He will reach out to people, he will rally people behind the work you allocated, he will coordinate and he will motivate people.

Very common situation, almost everyone has got one or two stories of this type in their pockets.

So, what happened here, the person who was never on your radar, the person who you could not associate with any specific leadership quality, a person who you thought is a good worker but not a leader, suddenly demonstrates high degree of competence on leadership quotient. It seems as if he came out of his shell and unfolded all the qualities he was carrying, which were not known to the world.

So, big questions are

• This happened because even leadership needs stimulus?
• He needed some specific challenge to demonstrate his abilities?
• Leadership qualities do not surface without right circumstances?

If I say a ‘Yes’ to these questions, I will be going contrary to – ‘Leadership is about self initiation’.

I have more questions than answers on this topic. This article is for thought provocation and probably will lead to a more conclusive article in future.

Who is the greatest leader?

 

I am conducting some research on type of leadership need in different areas. I intend to convert that into a detailed article, which will be published on this blog first then syndicated to other places.

The research is about opportunities of leadership in different areas. The research is also about application of leadership qualities (and core quality need) in those areas. The areas in consideration here can range from political to social to business.

So, who is the greatest leader?

• Mahatma Gandhi
• Che Guvera
• Winston Churchill
• Nelson Mandela
• Albert Einstein

And what makes them a great leader?

Please leave your comment and wait for article.

Identifying and Establishing Stakeholders

 

Journey to 'Destination Unknown'

 

A project, a proposal, an approval or a recommendation – All need to have stakeholders’ concurrence and agreement in order to be successful. A lot of time word stakeholder is designated to people who are directly associated with say a project or else provide endorsement for it. This is a traditional and narrow definition of stakeholders. In today’s business and its complexity a different definition of stakeholders need to be understood. Identifying and establishing stakeholders was always important in any business or social setup, today, in business context, it has taken the proportions of being critical. It is an art, which everyone needs to learn, specifically leaders.

A stakeholder is anyone, who is either of these

• A ‘Participant’ directly involved
• An ‘Endorser’, who needs to bless it
• An ‘Approver’ who has the signing authority
• A ‘Reviewer’, who decides the progress and success criterion
• Someone who is just impacted by act/project/decision
• Someone who is just ‘Interested’
• A person, who can be an ‘Influencer’

So, the question is, ‘How do we identify all stakeholders’ and ‘Is it needed to identify and establish all of them’. The section below discusses some of the ways we can adopt to identify stakeholders.

For an example, we will pick a project, for which we need to identify the stakeholders. Here are some of the ways to think about stakeholder eco-system of a project. A project needs people, it needs finances, it needs approval, it needs support from peer projects, it may need elements/componenets from another running project, it needs support from people who may not be involved directly but can influence, it needs reviewers and it needs endorsers. Now applying this, we can build a thought framework, which can assist us in identifying stakeholders. Here is how …

Think of following ‘things’, when identifying stakeholders.

1. You will need ‘Finances’ to beging with and then continuity of it
2. There will be a need of a ‘Team’
3. The ‘Dependency’ factor will need to be taken care of
4. ‘Noise’ making elements will need to be managed
5. ‘Appropriateness’ of the project will need to be established
6. An ‘Inward Dependency’ factor will need to be managed
7. ‘What is in it for me’ factor will need to taken care of
8. An ‘Interest’ factor will need to taken care of

So, now the question is – If there are going to be so many stakeholders, how much time needs to be spent on managing them?

The straight and simple answer is ‘Not too much and not too little’. The detailed and probably more appropriate answer is ‘Use a proximity model to decide how much time to spend on each type of stakeholder’.

The ‘Proximity Model’ is a concept, where you establish someone’s ‘Distance’ from the project. You also factor in ‘Attention Span’ of a person, who you identified as a stakeholder using one of the criterion in the section above. The ‘Distance’ and ‘Attention Span’ should help you decide two things.

1. How to establish them as a stakeholders in your eco-system
2. How much time to be spent on these established stakeholders in your project

The ‘Distance’ factor can be found by using organization structure. Use the organization hierarchy along with project team structure to find out the ‘Distance’ of a given stakeholder from your project.

The ‘Attention Span’ can be found by associating core responsibility of a given stakeholder to project you have. Sometime you can also use level/role of a given stakeholder to find out the ‘Attention Span’

Once you find and confirm the ‘Distance’ and ‘Attention Span’ of a given stakeholder, you can decide ‘How much time to be spent on managing, retaining and sustaining a stakeholder in your project. There is no set rule or formulae to calculate the time you ought to spent on stakeholder. But you can draw a generalization using ‘Distance’ and ‘Attention Span’. The farther the ‘Distance’ of a stakeholder and lower the ‘Attention Span’ of a given individual who is established as a stakeholder, the lesser time you need to spent on ‘managing’ ‘em. Generally this formulae will have a skew on ‘Attention Span’. ‘Attention Span’ will play a significant role in ‘Time to be spent’ decision.

A lot of time projects are derailed or are not successful – Not because of execution issues, it is because of eco-system of stakeholders was not managed well or was not given due consideration. Finding and establishing stakeholders and then managing them is an ‘Art’ and every leader should learn it.

Nudget #8 – Find time – ‘For Yourself’

 

As you grow in your ambitions and career, a common requirement is covering many things and a lot of time that translates to ‘finding time for everything which is important’.

People stretch, do time management and smart prioritization in order to spend time and give attention to all things/issues and people , which need it. More successful ones often can find time for a lot of things in 24 hours of a day.

Ability to find time for many things may make people a good manager, a good coordinator, a good operations person and a good offcial. But to become a leader you need to find time for one very important individual and that is ‘You’.

I have seldom found a good leader who can’t find and spent time for himself.

For most part, that time for ‘Yourself’, is ought to spent on ‘Reflection’, ‘Self Searching’, ‘Self Critique’ and ‘Introspection’.

Nudget #7 – Don’t stand there, take a plunge

 

You want to know the depths and its challenges.

You want to come out a winner.

You want to carry that sense of accomplishment.

Take a plunge!

That is the first step. There will not be any winning on the shores. The battle is right in the middle of waves. Everything you do in life has a risk element to it. Risk averse hardly do anything worth recognizing in their life.

The game begins, when you take a plunge. Without taking a plunge, you are a spectator or you are an observer, not a player.

Leaders know that they need to take a plunge and sometime outright in the uncharted waters. The first demonstration of leadership is right there in that first step.

So, don’t stand and wait on shores, Take a plunge!