The Hindu Business Line : Leader Speak

Leadership is about taking people to a place where they normally would not imagine they could get to. Managing is about helping them along the way to the destination such that both the individual and company can get the best outcome and making good people do extraordinarily well beyond their potential.

The first principle of leadership or management is about having a clear vision of where you need to go. The next step is to get the team to share the vision and work with them to create a plan to get to the destination.

It is important to have the resilience to handle the ups and downs that come as you move ahead. Being able to keep cool and continue to provide leadership in times of crisis is of great importance.

Also, to know that all answers may not lie with you and engage the team in resolving issues and make them part of the solution.

Managing people requires managers to take time to understand their team, to know what motivates different people. Flexing your style to suit the varying needs and capabilities of people is essential.

Today's managers need to operate in an environment of continuous change, be it external or internal.

They need to be comfortable not just about embracing the change but also, at the right moments, being the catalyst for change.

Last but not the least, invest in yourself both professionally and personally, remembering that life is a marathon and not a 100 m dash!