Leadership is all about performance

The late Peter Drucker, possibly the best Management writer who ever lived on this earth, summed it beautifully, when he talked about leadership: it was he who said that leadership is all about performance. For, in the ultimate analysis, any leader has to perform, has to deliver.

Of course, the context will vary from situation to situation. For instance, in the case of the Freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi was able to rally all his countrymen around one central message of non-violence. Hence Gandhi taken to violence, we would have ended up in utter confusion and all the other superpowers would have exploited us to the maximum extent possible -- our country would have been divided into four or more parts.

Instead, realising that he needed a method that would draw the attention of the whole world, he adopted non-violence, which actually put the British on the defensive. He then concentrated on the nitty-gritty, in the sense that he was able to identify clear action like the Salt stayagraha, boycot of foreign goods and the like.

The same thing is true of any business leader. He or she would have to identify a grand Vision, around which a whole lot of people would rally. It is then important that the leader gets to focus on what should be done to actually put the Vision into action, that is, take all the steps to see that the Vision is translated into reality. In business management jargon, this is called "strategy", the only purpose of which is to be taller than the competition, that is, ahead of the competition.

In other words,the organization should be able to take all the necessary steps to ensure that it atains and sustains what is called as a "viable and sustainable competitive advantage".

Leaders of organizations such as Infosys Technologies, ICICI Bank, NDDB,Reliance Industries, BHEL,the Tatas and hundreds of similar organizations have always concentrated on performance. They have understood the value of creation of wealth, which actually creates millions of jobs indirectly and directly. It is this single-minded focus that has always driven their efforts. It is this focus that has enabled them to make a great effort at making their organizations, truly world-class.

The single obsession towards organization building can be seen in whatever the leader does. For example, the founder and Chief of the Infosys Technolgies, who now calls himself as Mentor,
Shri Narayamurthy,took a very tough call when he sought to buy the shares of the other founders, when the organization was going through troubled times. Since then, the organization has grown to be an IT giant in its own right.

What make it happen? His ability to see the future, his ability to tolerate all that is trouble in the short run and then see the benefits of organization building in the long run. His ability to do this, made all the other founders co-operate with him, and today, Infosys, as they say, is the benchmark for the entire Indian industry. No wonder, it is among the best employers to work for, across all industries.

The leader should be inspiring, and should focus on motivation people, which is extremely important. He should be able to make his people aunderstand that their co-operation would go a long way in making the organization a very viable one, no matter what the circumstances are. This is the core idea of leadership. This is the essence of leadership.

While people focus is important, understanding the market dynamics, the needs of the customers, the ways and means of catering to them and servicing them, are all very important. The leader should be nimble-footed and flexible. He should understand the need to serve the larger society as well. For example, ICICI Bank has set up a foundation for inclusive growth, through which it is providing loan facities to the rural masses, and helping them to stand on their own. ICICI Bank is firmly convinced that there is a real fortune that is available at the bottom of the pyramid.

Similarly, there are several other initiatives that need to be taken by a leader. The basics are also very important. There are several leaders who give utmost importance to ensure that the quality of subsidised food is very good. If this is not good, employees soon get de-motivated. Employees also crave for recognition at work. If the work itself is not interesting, the employee simply looses interest. He often gets to see the leader as a sort of father figure. This is an extremely important aspect of leadership.

The leader is expected to perform even under the most adverse circumstances. The leaders shluld be able to predict the future. The leader should be able to understand the different variables that will make the organization a very sustainable one in the future. For instance, several business houses have wisely invested in the booming retail market, where the learning curve is very small and the market is easily understandable.

Any leader will be respected, only if he or she is able to perform and deliver the goods. He or she will be admired and respected, mainly on this score. Let us all understand this basic fact about leadership.

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