Leadership, Management, and The 10 Skills

You will understand later why this image is here.

Small or big, few or many, to run an organization successfully, we need different ingredients and mixing them well is necessary to get a positive outcome. One such ingredient and kind of the major one is having an efficient leader, with good communication and management skills. I would like to bring out a few learnings gathered in the last 4 to 5 years in our organization.

1. Proactive communication - When people are working together as a team, communicating proactively and on time about the work or the progress or the learnings or be it anything, plays a crucial role. It keeps the air clean within and outside the team also. People in the team or the organization would know what is happening and the timeline for it.
2. Using crisp, appropriate and clear words - Having these three features in the words that we use speaks more than volumes. Let me explain it the other way around and with an example. You are having a conversation with a 4-year-old child and it's about the morning routine for going to school. Now, instead of saying "Get ready for school", if you say "Time to get up, brush your teeth, have a shower, eat your breakfast." gives a clear and crisp message. Leaving any communication vague and open will only give half or no information.
3. Transparency - The leader's communication should be transparent within the team or the organization, to show the outcome of the project or the activity or the work. This not only gives a scope for improvement or feedback but also shows "there is nothing to hide".
4. Acknowledgement - Acknowledging could be 'good' or 'bad'. Irrespective of that, the acknowledgement has to come from the leader, that also, on time. It could be as simple as "I received your email. Thank you. Will get back to you in 2 days." or "The monthly report shows 25% growth in your work but let's sit together and work on the challenges you mentioned." Such small, yet clear acknowledgement always is received positively by the team. It shows appreciation, gives credibility to the team and is one way of motivation. No acknowledgement or late acknowledgement can be a huge disease for the team to run smoothly. This brings us to skill number 5.
5. Motivation - Acknowledging the good or the positive points is directly connected to motivation. Many times this does not happen for multiple reasons. This keeps the team or the team member always on the edge. He or she will never understand what was the ultimate feedback or the outcome or what went right or what did not. This is a dangerous ship to sail on. Always motivating the team is a key to keep everyone sane and stress-free. The ways can be emotional support, an increment in the salary, acknowledging their work in a common organization meeting, having a casual conversation about a movie, or a place, or having tea/coffee/lunch together without electronic devices, etc.
6. Listen - Oh I find this to be the most important one. Listening to your team. It is not the literal meaning alone, it also means creating a space for your team to feel safe, gather together, sit, and discuss the challenges, the issues, and the achievements. It means becoming the confidant (not confident) of your team. The team members should be able to trust the TL.
7. Have a plan - Coming to the management part - Any work is possible to achieve high colours, only and only with a plan and executing it as per the timelines set. When a homemaker starts a day, he or she makes a plan of the dishes to be prepared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The ingredients are these, the utensils are these, and so on. They are super accustomed to the procedure that at times they don't need to plan but they make sure things are available and if not, they will think of an alternative. I feel the TL should think and work like a homemaker, especially when a homemaker has guests visiting. That is the time when super planning happens - the colour of the crockery is to be decided, the ingredients to be bought from the market, the dishes' choice of the guests, any allergies amongst the guests, appetizer, main course, and dessert, number of dishes, number of plates, glasses, bowls, etc. etc. etc. Everything is planned and a back-up plan is also planned.
8. Follow-up - Having a plan is not just enough. Following it up, in a timeline, with a template of the outcome/deliverables, frequently is important.
9. An emotionally and physically strong person - Now now now, being physically strong does not mean having muscles or a body like our movie stars. Lol! Nope. Having strong emotional and physical health makes you play the game in a lot of different ways. As a leader, you are always active, calm, and composed. So when issues arise, you can think to find solutions.
10. Neat and clean surroundings - You might be confused by reading this. I find it crucial, not just from a TL's point of view, but from everyone. Keeping your area, your desk, and your things in a neat, organized, and clutter-free manner will end up making you think or work in a similar manner - neat, organized, and clutter-free. I never understood, why infrastructure or a designated space in the infrastructure, its appearance, its ambience and its maintenance are poorly handled and least bothered about. Imagine going to a restaurant, sitting at your place and unfortunately, the previously eaten plate has not been cleared. Eeeewwww!

Well