Leadership

6 Attributes that Leaders need to Avoid

Premise:  I was watching a Chinese TV series “The Blood of Youth” on Netflix and in one of the episodes, there a teacher talks about the 6 attributes that kings should avoid. When I looked at the list, I believe it is relevant for all leaders, modern ones included.  This is relevant to us irrespective of whether we are already in a leadership position or if we have made the decision to be a leader.  So, here we go:  Arrogance:  If we are already in leadership positions, it goes without saying that we have had a good amount of success […]

Leadership

Being Super Busy or Being Super Effective

As leaders, we tend to be busy people, moving from one meeting to the next. In all the hustle and bustle of this busy life, we need to remember that being busy is not our goal, being effective is. Sometimes, in order for us to be effective, we need to find open time on our calendars, time when we can deliberate and make sense of the context in which we are operating. Sometimes, in order for us to be effective, we need to find open time on our calendars, time we use to explore new ideas, to accept new opportunities […]

Leadership

How Leaders Learn

Premise: One of the most important skill that leaders need to develop to continue to be effective is learning how to learn. It is a meta skill that can enable a host of other skills and getting better at this makes it easier to master other skills and therefore helps us become effective efficiently. So, the question then is how do you learn how to learn or how can leaders learn. I was invited to read a preview copy of a book “How Leaders Learn”, which is published by HBR Press. Here is a combination of what I learnt from […]

Leadership

Good Leadership needs High Level of Self Awareness

Good Leaders continually work on improving their self awareness. They want to understand what they do, why they do it, what drives them, what are their ambitions and why do they aspire to achieve them. As Pema Chodron indicates, They are not afraid to look at themselves honestly, gently and from time to time. They try to understand what are their strengths and weaknesses; what are their blindspots and biases. They do so by reflecting on their actions, by seeking feedback from all the relevant stakeholders. They are willing to go to their dark places, so that their teams may […]