Canteen Fundas

 ‘I’m upset with our Students Union President Ankita,’ said Rinku. ‘She’s taken all credit for the work I did for the student festival.’ ‘True,’ said Rahul. ‘She takes credit when go things well even if she hasn’t done anything and blames others when things go wrong. Reminds me of today’s politicians. No responsibility, only credit.’ ‘But that cannot be the right way to lead right?’ asked Rinku. ‘You’re right,’ said Rakesh. ‘Most leaders take all credit so they can project a larger than life image of themselves. On the other hand they bring others down by misinterpreting facts so they look better In comparison. But it’s an insecure way of leading. A good leader shares credit with the team and takes responsibility when things go wrong.’   ‘What’s the right way then bhaiyya?’ asked rinku. ‘Taking credit and blaming others seems to be the popular modus operandi.’ ‘Yes,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘It is paradoxical – but as we all know, a leader can lead well only when she is not afraid of

 ‘There’s so much turmoil in our world,’ said Rinku. ‘I wonder how much of it reflects on the quality of global leadership?’ ‘True,’ said Rahul. ‘And I wonder how one can find the right kind of leaders to lead the world now.’ ‘Good questions,’ said Rakesh. ‘In any situation it is the leadership that matters. And though we see all kinds of leaders at various levels - individual, group, state, national, international - its only the great leaders who can vision and execute plans that are good for all. They go beyond their group, society or nation and look to benefit humanity as a whole.’ ‘How are leaders categorized bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘I personally categorise them as secure and insecure leaders,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘An insecure leader is someone who clings to power and does anything to stay in power – which may not necessarily be the right thing for all concerned. And a secure leader is someone who does what is right for the greater good – even if it costs her the position.’ ‘Hm

 ‘Í have a difficult meeting today,’ said Rinku. ‘Two members in our group are behaving unreasonably. They’re either aggressive or withdrawn. It’s messing the energy in the group. We’re stuck.’ ‘Same here,’ said Rahul. ‘My friend on our project team has suddenly become withdrawn. I don’t know how to deal with it. I think I’ll just tell her strongly that this is what we must do. I see no other way.’ ‘There’s a much easier way to resolve such issues,’ said Rakesh. ‘Most leaders think their job is to talk more. It’s actually the opposite. Listen more. As leaders, you two must learn to listen first.’ ‘Listen more?’asked Rahul. ‘To what? Theyeither talk unreasonably or not at all.’ ‘That’s why you must learn the art of active listening,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘My rule is - listen 80% and talk 20% and watch magic unfold. Listening resolves all interpersonal issues. It also improves individual engagement, team bonding and gets great results. You achieve more with less.’ ‘Whoa,’ said Rahul.

 ‘I’m amazed at how easily Sujith connects with people,’ said Rinku. ‘I wish I could connect to people like that. It’s a great quality for a leader to possess.’ ‘Absolutely,’ said Rahul. ‘Some people connect easily while some struggle. Wonder what the trick is.’ ‘You should watch this TED talk by Brene Brown on the ‘Power of Vulnerability,’ said Rakesh.‘It throws up some interesting perspectives.’ ‘Vulnerability?’ asked Rahul. ‘That’s the farthest thing from leadership isn’t it? Vulnerable people are like cry babies no? People don’t like cry babies bhaiyya.’ ‘According to Brene Brown people who make connectionseasily have certain characteristics thatthose who experience disconnection do not,’ smiledRakesh. ‘What are those bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘Don’t tell me vulnerability is one.’ ‘Let’s look atthose who feel disconnection first,’ said Rakesh. ‘She says those who experience fear of disconnection come from a space of shame. They feel they’re not worthy of connection, not go

 ‘Our group’s Vice Captain Sanjana and I are having major problems,’ said Rinku. ‘It’s affecting the group’s energy.’ ‘Yes,’ said Rahul. ‘Even I can see from the outside that everything is stuck.’ ‘What exactly is happening?’ asked Rakesh. ‘Sanjana is not cooperating,’ said Rinku. ‘She opposes my point with no rationale, without listening. It’s almost like she has an agenda to mess things up. If it continues like this we may have to remove her from the committee. But she was really good bhaiyya. I don’t know why she has become so unreasonable suddenly.’ ‘Rinku,’ said Rakesh. ‘Like we discussed earlier, people management is all about energy management – ours and others’. In fact other people’s energy changes miraculously when our energy changes - so in a way we have the power to manage the energy in the space. Right now your energies are on different frequencies so you’re stuck.’ ‘It’s all her fault,’ said Rinku. ‘I wish she was more reasonable.’ ‘Rinku, though you may feel

‘We’ve begun the trust building process with our team,’ said Rinku. ‘But I realise it takes time.’ ‘Yes,’ said Rahul. ‘I wish there were techniques to build connection within the team faster.’ ‘There are simple practices that every leader could follow to help make trusting connections and improve the energy in the team,’ said Rakesh. ‘I call it the 3As. Practice them and watch the energy in your world change.’ ‘3As,’ said Rahul. ‘Let me guess. Action. Assertion. Authority. Right?’ ‘No,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘Acknowledge, Appreciate and Ask for Help.’ ‘What?’ said Rahul. ‘How is that leading? It’s more like pleading.’ ‘Absolutely,’ said Rakesh. ‘Since you need people to help you in achieving your team goals, you need to find ways to crack the connection to their hearts. The first thing to understand in people management is that people like to be seen as individuals - who bring value, who are important, who are more than a job or a role. Most times we do not treat people as real pe

 ‘Bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘I feel our team is still wary despite my best intentions. How do I build trust to get the best from them?’ ‘Trust is something you feel deep inside,’ said Rakesh. ‘You either trust or you don’t. Trust is that feeling that makes you feel secure, that the other person has your back no matter what happens. When one feels that way about their leader, people give their best.’ ‘Whoa!’ said Rahul. ‘But how can I trust someone who keeps messing up?’ ‘Rahul,’ said Rakesh. ‘Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how you make them feel about making mistakes that’s the difference between them making more mistakes or showing gamechanging improvement. That’s what building trust is.   A person may know the job but will never deliver her best if she feels that the leader does not trust her. While another person who does not know the job may deliver above expectations if she feels the leader trusts her. It’s this feeling of trust that the leader must convey to get the best from th

 ‘So, what’s next?’ said Rinku looking at her notebook. ‘We’re all set to go – goals, roles, vision all in place.’ ‘Great,’ said Rahul. ‘’Now I hopeour team members do their best.’ ‘This is the most important aspect of your leadership,’ said Rakesh laughing. ‘People management. So don’t hope. How you manage people becomes the biggest diffrentiator for the leader.’ ‘Why bhaiyya? Won’t people deliver according to their capabilities?’asked Rinku. ‘No Rinku,’said Rakesh. ‘People are not like machines. They don’t deliver one standard. If you handle a person right she will go way beyond what sheis required to do. On the other hand, if you do not know how to handle them,people will work without any interest and enthusiasm. You may have the best systems and recruited the best resources, but if you do not know how to handle people on your side, your effort will fall flat.’ ‘That’s interesting?’ said Rinku. ‘So if they are handled right, people deliver much more than they normally do.

 ‘Now that we have our roles figured, what’s the next thing to do bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘Now you must set team goals,’ said Rakesh. ‘So every member of your team feels like she has something clear to aim at. Where a role is about expectations, a goal is specific and tangible.’ ‘What’s the difference bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul. ‘A role encompasses the whole gamut and can be subjective. You can choose to expand your role   and go beyond what is expected, or just do the bare minimum. But with a goal, it’s a crystal clear what you need to deliver.’ ‘Ah, so we can hold our team members responsible for their goals,’ said Rahul. ‘Now Rahul,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘Goals must be used as a tool to bring out the full potential of your team - not to beat them up.’ ‘How bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘I really want our team to work at full potential.’ ‘There are two ways to do this as a leader,’ said Rakesh. ‘First, get the team to connect to the bigger vision, something larger than themselves, larger

 ‘Our annual day competitions are coming up bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Any pointers on how to get the best out of our group members?’ ‘Our team knows what they’re here for Rinku,’ said Rahul. ‘I’m sure they will do their best.’ ‘Not really,’ said Rakesh. ‘That’s a common mistake most leaders make. Just because your team members are qualified and know their jobs, it does not mean they’ll do their best. You, as the leader, are responsible to get the best out of them. Don’t leave that to chance. This is where the ‘what’ of leadership comes in- role clarity and goal setting.’ ‘What are they bhaiyya?’ asked Rinku. ‘Let’s discuss role clarity now,’ said Rakesh. ‘There are two aspects to it. Firstly, identifying and defining the roles clearly i.e. each member’s function in the team. Secondly, finding and deploying the right resource for the right role. Like how we do in a play. Instead of simply giving the script to your actors and letting them figure out their roles, its better you assig

‘We’ve got our team vision and values sorted bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Now we’re waiting for results.’ ‘Should we just wait for results?’ said Rahul. ‘Or do something about them?’ ‘As a leader you will be judged only by the results you produce – clear, tangible results,’ said Rakesh. ‘So far you have set course for long term results - a worthy ‘why’ that gets everyone believing in something bigger than themselves, and a ‘team culture’ that binds the team together. But for results in the shorter term you must know how to use the other ‘how’ of leadership  – how to achieve results efficiently.’ ‘I am all ears bhaiyya, ‘Rinku. ‘How can we increase our efficiency? I thought once we tell the team what to do, they will start working and work gets done.’ ‘People may work hard, but being more productive is all about being more efficient,’ said Rakesh. ‘Firstly, understand that humans do the minimum required– they do not push themselves to the limit. For example, how much of your potential do you