I quote Mr Pranab Rungta on "Leadership"

“Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is earnest and brave and true
Moment by moment
The long day through

Don’t worry and fret; faint hearted
The chances have just begun
For the best jobs haven’t been started
The best work hasn’t been done”

- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam


The above poem says it all, the qualities a leader should have. Which include being hard working, brave, true and ethical, and patience.

Leadership is one of the most important of all qualities a manager needs to be successful. This is because the skill sets required to become a true leader are many and it is the union of all these qualities that make a good manager a good leader. Many people define leaders in different ways. Arnold Glasow defined a leader as “a good leader takes a little more than his share of blame and little less than his share of credit.”

To become a leader there many skills a manager has to acquire. The leader should have the heart of giving due credit to people who deserve it and also take up the responsibility of what he is doing. This is because a sincere compliment is one of the most effective tools to teach and motivate others. This quality helps him to empower people and responsible for whatever the employee does. By making people responsible for what they are doing brings up sincerity in work and thus efficiency.

Determination is one the most important qualities a leader should have as this helps him take up new challenges. According to the words of Napoleon “victory belongs to the most persevering.” The first thing a company expects out of a new CEO is to bring about change. Any change that is brought out has to face a lot of resistance and thus this quality came in handy at this time. The leader has to be firm on his decision and here is where the determination factor comes into picture where the leader takes a decision to go against the usual norms. It is said anonymously “real leaders are ordinary people with extra ordinary determination.” By determination we could also mean will power. This is some thing that not only a leader needs but all managers because this is the quality that enables managers to go ahead even in times of crisis. Abraham Lincoln said “determine that things can and shall be done and then we shall find the way.”

Confidence is one of the determining factors that differentiate a leader and others. This is one of the most essential elements required to be successful. It is anonymously said “confidence is the companion of success.” Confidence, in turn come from success and thus two are mutually dependent on each other. Another parameter that is essential to have confidence is self belief and self understanding. This is some thing difficult to achieve as we all know that the longest journey is the journey inwards. We always associate a leader with innovation in whatever he does and rightly so because according to the words of Joan Brannan “one who walks in others track leaves no foot prints.”

The leader should be a dreamer. According to the words of Thirukkural “dream, dream, dream; dreams transform into thoughts; and thoughts result in action.” Dreams are the place where ideas take birth and we believe that if a person cannot imagine then he cannot do. It is this imagination that we describe as dreams. He should not just have dreams but also be action oriented because nothing dies faster than an idea in a closed mind.

Wisdom is must for a good leader. This is one of the crucial factors in determining the success of a leader. According to the words of Thirukkural “wisdom is a weapon to ward off destruction. It is an inner fortress which enemies cannot destroy.” Wisdom is also required to make decision and it comes from experience in the field and the clear understanding of the business.

Discipline is the most important thing that any manager requires to be successful and thus is one of the most critical qualities required. It is anonymously said “discipline is the bridge between goal and accomplishment.” Thus it is discipline accompanied with vision that leads to success. As per an Icelandic proverb” a person who lives without discipline dies without honor.” This is also a key thing a leader should take into consideration because if the leader is not honored then he will not be respected and no body is going to follow him. According to leadership Guru Warren Bennis “leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less.” And if the leader is not honored then he would fail to influence and this is one thing he cannot escape from it even if changes organizations because a persons reputation walks ahead of him.

The leader should have a clear idea of what he is doing and should not do just for the sake of changing things that is expected out of him. He should take calculated risk and try not being rash. This does not mean that he should not take risk and be content with mediocrity. “Show me a man who is content with mediocrity and I will show you a man destined to failure.” – Jonete Cole. Thus he should maintain a balance between the two and this requires a lot of analysis and forecasting. Thus the skill set required here is judgment.

He should be an open minded person and should always allow scope for improvement. It is the change that he should encourage. He should always learn from his mistakes and in doing so he should be able to accept his mistakes. He should be a literate as per the definition of Alvin Toffler. He said “in the 21st century an illiterate man won’t be a man who does not know how to read and write but a man who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” So it is very important for a manger to learn newer things and not hang in the past. So said Mao “if you want to move forward you need to dump the past.”

All aspiring managers have to develop skills in their interaction with people both at work and in their social meetings. The emphasis on soft skills is making many organizations promote their staff. Leader who succeed in being flexible with people in their day to day operation achieve a lot of interpersonal effectiveness. Their face to face communication,

open body language, listening skills, ability to deal with barriers and overcome them, and a genius sense of consideration make them interpersonally very rich. Their rapport building skill is amazing as their ability to treat people with respect and a sense of dignity. This skill set can be acquired by experience and exposure as well as training.

There are many skill sets that cannot be acquired by training. These skill set are built over a long time from the childhood and during our schooling, such as courage and bravery, understanding skills, humbleness and intuition. While there are many that we can learn by training and experience. In real world these competencies can be built over time by proper training and many companies are practicing it to develop a good work force especially in the service sector the work force is the most crucial and the most important thing required and is considered to be an asset for the company.

The qualities such as understanding of market, knowledge, and expertise can be achieved by empowering them and giving them responsibilities. By giving them exposure we give them experience in the field which helps them in gauging situation and take strategic decisions for the company in the future. Here experience is the key because wisdom can only be gained by experience and learning comes from working on the field. Why wisdom is important because it takes wisdom to convert knowledge into productive output or action.

We can build these competencies by building on our education and skills. Knowledge is a tangible asset, quite often the most important tool in your work. The more up to date the knowledge you posses, the better edge you have. Knowledge cannot be taken away from anyone except by obsolesce. A leader can only be free to lead his team if he keeps abreast of all that is happening around him in real time. To lead in a way is to encourage in continuing education. In many countries it is normal for professional to go to college at nights for several weeks. To be successful team leader, one has to stay after the dinner and clutter of a working day to emerge better-equipped and ready to face a new day.

Another way is to develop a passion for personal responsibility. The sovereign way to personal freedom is to help determine the forces that determine you. Be active, take responsibilities should be the motto of leader. A leader should work for things he believes in because if he is not doing so then he is surrendering his fate to others. The leader can do a great deal as an individual to be successful. He has to combat against the forces that threaten to oppress him. He has to fortify against it by building up qualities, such as soft skills. In doing so, we can help create a stronger organization, capable of achieving unprecedented goals."

- Pranab Rungta on Leadership (According to Hemanth, Level 5 Leader & not Level 1 Manager !!)