The Hindu Business Line : Think clearly, act with conviction

Every professional, from his college days or even earlier, aspires and dreams of being a leader in the corporate world. All of us have read and re-read scores of times, what it takes to be a good and effective leader.

Visionary, passionate, committed, persevering, focused, a team motivator, are all qualities that we are familiar with. Therefore, what I will share with everyone is not what it takes to be a leader, but what it takes to be a great leader. A leader among leaders.

The first quality that the best leaders have is the ability to influence not just those who are directly affected by their (the leader's) decisions, but others also. And this ability stems from two qualities. The first is the ability to think clearly, which gives the person the conviction on the best way to handle challenges. The second is the ability to effectively transfer this conviction to others. Not just a dictate, but a complete buy-in from everyone.

Fearlessness is another quality that this breed of leaders demonstrates. The ability to do what needs to be done. They do not shy away from deploying the best talent for every challenge.

Great leaders also believe in creating leaders at every level. No great organisation has ever been built by a single leader. Though we may recognise and give credit to the leader among leaders, there are many candidates with leadership qualities in successful organisations.

A great leader does not shy away from dirtying his hands once in a while. He is hands-on and shows the way forward to others. He leads by example. In fact, he seeks every opportunity to exhibit what it takes to be successful when faced with the biggest challenges.

Finally, the best leaders have the ability to think out of the box. Lateral thinking or creative thinking, call it what you may. Essentially, it is the ability to think beyond conventional contours and come up with multiple solutions to every challenge. Yes, not one, but multiple solutions. Great leaders always have a back-up plan.

R. Basil, Managing Director & CEO, Manipal Health Systems Pvt. Ltd

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