Debashish Mitra

People sometimes say “ He is a Born Leader “ . I don’t agree to this statement . Leaders are not born . They emerge ,they are groomed and they are accepted by many others to be aTrue Leader .

In a part of my life journey I was exposed in a Foreign multinational where Blood tests where done to know the Blood group . Believe me they think that people of a particular blood group is a Leadership material. How funny .

Leadership to me is a practice . In the Corporate world , In the political world or in a Religious world Leaders emerge . Leaders have their traits , They think differently ,they can see beyond what others can see and they lead others to the similar thoughts what they possess . Leadership is a lot to do about sacrifice .A true leader have to be a symbol of sacrifice who is willing to give all the credit to others but take the ownership of a failure .

Indian Cricket team has got great leaders in Sourav , Dhoni and many others . Sourav popularly known as Dada because of his Bengali origin turned the Indian cricket team to a lethal winning combo. The talents where there but what was required was a Winning captain. A captain who backs failures , a captain who knows strength of each member , a captain who psychologically can defeat the opponent even before a ball is bowled .

Leadership is best displayed in the Indian Armed Forces . There a Commander can take a bullet on the chest and give the highest sacrifice for his jawan . Exactly for the same reason a Jawan is ready at any point to sacrifice his life and protect the commander. What else can be a better example of Leadership .

In early 1900 Swami Vivekananda went to Chicago in the Global religion conference and addressed all the Americans as Brothers and Sisters of America . This was followed by a standing ovation with thunderclaps . Swamiji took Hinduism on his shoulder to overseas . He believed in simple philosophy – God is in every Human being . People who serve Human are serving God. Millions followed his path ,aligned with his views and after a century he still remains a guiding path to many .

Corporate leadership has come a long way as India has emerged post 1991. The new generation needs different types of leaders . Leadership need to be collective and consensual , Its important to take the organisation along with one s view rather than imposing thoughts . Corporate leadership has to be built on trust and mutual harmony . Team should work because they believe in the mission and love to work but not because they are forced to or under fear .

Corporate leaders give space to team , motivate people to think , explain their roles how they can contribute ,hold their hands to make them achieve and pats them when they need it ( not always when they deserve) Corporate leaders need to have a clear Mission Vision and align the organisation to that Mission . Everyone’s role should be clearly mapped and explained how each can contribute . This is easier said then done .

In matrix organisations that too in post covid era leader may not see or meet his/her employee for days /months . Team may be sitting in one country and Leader in another . In this virtual world how to build tasks, how to review .how to motivate yet get results is the challenge a Leader needs to think .

I sign off saying Leadership is also leaving a mark in every job one does so that the future generation salutes the legacy and the society/organisation benefits for a far longer time than the Leaders tenure.