BY SAAHIL GOEL
Co-Founder & CEO, Kraftly
Good leaders don’t merely succeed; they thrive and inspire others with their character and integrity of ambition. They make it their mission to create results.” It goes without saying that good leadership is crucial to any successful business. But, what makes a good leader and how can someone develop himself or herself into a good leader? The fact is that there is not one single factor but, a combination of factors that contributes to good leadership.
Build the company around a core philosophy
A deep rooted core philosophy gives a company a strong sense of identity and continuity that holds it together in the face of change. This core philosophy becomes the guiding force for generations and sets benchmarks in the organization.
Reinvent and evolve
In this era of dramatic transformation, a good leader has to reinvent and adapt fast to the changing times. As a leader, he has to have the ability to foresee the change and accordingly reinvent the strategies which tick. We have to be the agents of change and that would set us apart as a good leader.
Build a culture
The architects of such path breaking companies don’t just go by “values” but, in fact build cultures around their core ideologies. They believe in preserving the core ideology while at the same time stimulate progress. So, while the core values in great organizations remain fixed, their operating practices, cultural norms, strategies, tactics, processes, structures, and methods continually change in response to changing realities. They lead by walking on a path less taken, have the guts to take risks, but, never compromising on the core values while taking their organization forward in exciting new directions.
Create an environment for the employees to grow
As a leader you should have the knack to identify the right pool of people who you can peg as leaders and with whom the organizational vision and objective resonate. They “lead by example” by grooming their teams internally. For an organization to grow, the person who is at the helm of affairs has to understand the importance of nurturing their teams to develop people within their team for future leadership. This is particularly critical for a company to abide by to achieve success.
Relentless drive for constant improvement
To drive a company, it is a prerequisite to counterbalance the core ideology with a relentless drive for progress. While core ideology provides continuity, stability, and cohesion, the drive for progress promotes change, improvement, innovation, and renewal. The other relevant factor is to stimulate the drive for progress by creating an environment that encourages people to experiment and learn. As a charismatic leader we have to ensure a continuous improvement as a way of life. The critical question is not “How can we do well?” or “How can we meet the competition?” but “How can we do better tomorrow than we did today?” The challenge is to see ahead and build for the future while doing well today.
Identify and groom the genius
Over the years I have learnt that to celebrate success as a leader, we should have the ability to inspire our people, help to tap their potential, identify their strengths and motivate them to deliver amazing work. This is the mark of a great leader, to reach out to people in a way that transcends the intellectual as well as the rational. Another key learning, I would like to impart to upcoming leaders is to also create leaders within their teams. Very often as certain key people scale within an organization, they forget to develop people within their team for future leadership. It has to be a virtuous cycle, that is how a company should aim to achieve success.
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imukherjee@sapient.com
