The Hindu Business Line : Leader Speak

The role of a young manager today is far more multi-faceted from what it was even five years back. Having a great mind or going to a great business school is not enough to make it big. I would put down 10 qualities which I think are absolutely essential for a young person to imbibe to become a great manager. They are:

Team spirit: A manager today has to be a terrific team player. Individual skills are not enough, just as being a great left-hand batsman in a cricket team is not good enough. One has to be a great team member.

Willingness to learn: A person has to continuously learn. He/she has to try to absorb and learn from others before teaching others.

Ability to multi-task: One should be able to handle more than one ball at one time. A sales person should be able to understand financials and should also be able to put together a training programme. One can't say that he/she wants to do only one job at a time.

Communication skills: It is extremely important to be able to communicate what a person has in his/her mind well to the others in the team.

Think out-of-the-box: Don't look for standard solutions that you would have learnt in your b-school books. One has to have the ability to be innovative and think different.

Comfortable with technology: It is extremely important to leverage technology to your benefit or else you would be left behind.

Willingness to slog: You have to have the ability to work long hours and push your deadline.

Never give-up spirit: One should have an attitude of not to give up. He/she can't give up at the first hint of pressure. One has to be resilient and try to come out of pressure.

Play a leader's role: It is important to impact other people's lives and make good managers out of them.

Learn to take charge of one's life: You have to tell yourself that it is entirely up to you to make it big in life. You have to make a difference for yourself and can't play the blame game.