Friday, May 2, 2014

MANAGEMENT/ LEADERSHIP SPECIAL................... THE MANY HATS OF LEADERSHIP




THE MANY HATS OF LEADERSHIP


The challenges of being a leader who comes from any kind of minority
Leadership is the constant act of imagining what an organisation can be and aligning the vision of all stakeholders to walk the same path, even if it would mean allowing them to be better than you. Leadership is all about striking a good balance between short-term and long-term goals, assets and liabilities and topline and bottom-line. It also entails being able to strike a balance between professional and personal life. To achieve this balance, the most important characteristic to be nurtured by a leader is a strong emotional quotient. Self-awareness is an important attribute for a consistent and sustainable leadership; this starts with understanding oneself, the strengths and weaknesses of one's character and how this impacts one's reactions and thought process.
The perception of a woman's role in the workplace continues to be that of the second lead but not the hero of the set-up. This can be beneficial as most people underestimate you and are easily impressed by a `thinking woman'.
As business owners, we wear two hats in the professional space that of a shareholder and manager. Juggling between the two can be quite complex, especially if you have other shareholders. As a manager, business is already complex and you have to do a constant juggling act between shareholders, customers, employees, regulators, suppliers and alliances, in a constantly changing environment with no set rules.
As a shareholder, you have the additional responsibility of ensuring that no shortcuts are taken in the process. Balancing between these two and recognising which hat to wear at what time and having enough self-awareness to not let one interfere with the other is very crucial.
Whether you are a woman; a non-MBA professional; a very young adult; physically challenged or from a non-business family, the best thing about being an entrepreneur or a leader is that in the long run, markets are free, democratic and agnostic. The only winner is a sustainable business model that pro vides something useful to a lot of people and has a differentiator.
The disadvantages are all tem porary, and can be possibly converted into advantages in the long run.
Ameera Shah The author is MD and CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd ET140422







The challenges of being a leader who comes from any kind of minority
Leadership is the constant act L of imagining what an organi sation can be and aligning the vision of all stakeholders to walk the same path, even if it would mean allowing them to be better than you. Leadership is all about striking a good balance between short-term and long-term goals, assets and liabilities and topline and bottom-line. It also entails being able to strike a balance between professional and personal life. To achieve this balance, the most important characteristic to be nurtured by a leader is a strong emotional quotient. Self-awareness is an important attribute for a consistent and sustainable leadership; this starts with understanding oneself, the strengths and weaknesses of one's character and how this impacts one's reactions and thought process.
The perception of a woman's role in the workplace continues to be that of the second lead but not the hero of the set-up. This can be beneficial as most people underestimate you and are easily impressed by a `thinking woman'.
As business owners, we wear two hats in the professional space that of a shareholder and manager. Juggling between the two can be quite complex, especially if you have other shareholders. As a manager, business is already complex and you have to do a constant juggling act between shareholders, customers, employees, regulators, suppliers and alliances, in a constantly changing environment with no set rules.
As a shareholder, you have the additional responsibility of ensuring that no shortcuts are taken in the process. Balancing between these two and recognising which hat to wear at what time and having enough self-awareness to not let one interfere with the other is very crucial.
Whether you are a woman; a non-MBA professional; a very young adult; physically challenged or from a non-business family, the best thing about being an entrepreneur or a leader is that in the long run, markets are free, democratic and agnostic. The only winner is a sustainable business model that pro vides something useful to a lot of people and has a differentiator.
The disadvantages are all tem porary, and can be possibly converted into advantages in the long run.
Ameera Shah The author is MD and CEO, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd ET140422

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