The Leadership Series - Developing the Individual

‘Bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Some of my team members are not fully loyal to me or the team. You keep telling

us that it’s the leader’s job to develop the individuals in the team. Why should I?’

‘Yes,’ said Rahul. ‘Why should we care?’

‘Because your results are dependent on the individuals in your team,’ said Rakesh. ‘When individuals

feel taken care of they perform well and you get better results. There’s an old saying that says – The

wise leader meets the individual’s needs, just as a parent does for his children.’

‘That’s too much,’ said Rinku. ‘On one hand they’re not doing enough and you say we have to care for

them like parents.’

‘Good leaders do that,’ said Rakesh. ‘They’re genuinely concerned about every team member and their

growth. Though you may feel they do not deserve any love from us, we must persist like parents do with

children who may have different ways. Like they say, evidence of trust begets trust and love is

reciprocated by love.’

‘But can’t we get work done without getting too close with them?’ said Rahul. ‘This caring and loving

stuff is sounding too sentimental.’

‘Rahul, it’s only when people feel emotionally connected that they take up things on a personal level

and go to great lengths,’ said Rakesh. ‘Do you want your team members to work like a normal

transaction or do you want them to feel fully connected to the job like they own it. As we all know, team

members and employees have made the greatest sacrifices for their team in the past. The choice is

yours - would you like your team members to be superficially involved or deeply involved.’

‘I’d like them to be deeply involved,’ said Rinku. ‘Whatever it takes.’

‘Right,’ said Rakesh. ‘In which case follow the Chinese philosopher and general, Sun Tzu who said –

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys, look on them as

your beloved sons and they will stand by you even unto death.’

‘Isn’t that a bit too intense?’ said Rahul. ‘Might work on the battle field. But here, all we need is some

good work without having to go through all this love business. And bhaiyya, many sons and daughters

are abandoning their parents these days. These people might abandon us too.’

‘I think you need to first understand what love means,’ said Rakesh. ‘Love is to bring out the best in

people you love and care for. So in all the people you love ask yourself – are you bringing out the best in

them?’

‘Never thought of it like this bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Bringing out the best in the other sounds like a cool

definition of love. Now what Sun Tzu said about loving your team members makes sense – we care

enough to bring out the best in them and it’s the leader’s job to do it.’

‘How do we actually get the best out of them bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘Firstly, delegate wisely i.e. give them jobs that make them stretch and let them find their way,’ said

Rakesh. ‘Make them feel like they have a stake in the group, allow them to contribute and make

mistakes because that’s how they grow. Be around to guide and support them without getting in their

way or suppressing their creativity and initiative. Like how it should happen in a family.’

‘But we do all these things anyway right?’ asked Rahul. ‘What’s the difference here?’

‘Rahul, don’t just go through the motions looking for results,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘Genuinely care for them

and they will give everything for you. As a leader you must be genuinely other-centred, not self-centred.

Be approachable. Know them well - their aspirations, motives and limitations. Listen to what they have

to say and weigh it. Then you can develop them in the way that’s best for them.’

‘Hmm,’ said Rinku. ‘It needs patience and genuine interest in the team members’ development. I must

confess I haven’t walked that extra mile with my team.’

‘Ideally such leaders develop their team members gently, non-intrusively, without them even realizing

that the leader is doing it,’ said Rakesh. ‘This has been the approach of Confucius, another great Chinese

philosopher, on leadership, and its best expressed in this quote - ‘To be able, yet to ask the advise of

those who are not able, to have many talents yet to ask the advise of those who have few, to have yet to

appear to want, to be full yet to appear empty, to be transgressed against yet not mind’

‘What does that mean bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘It means that the leader who loves his team like a parent develops each individual in a manner that the

individual feels she has done it herself. Though the leader knows everything, she will still seek advise

and help from team members who do not know more, making them think and feel valued. Though the

leader has everything, she appears to want, thus motivating the team members to strive for more.

Though the leader is attacked, she does not mind, knowing that these are her children. Such is the stuff

great leaders are made of.’

‘Wow,’ said Rinku. ‘I have to learn to be other-centric, think of my individual team members good, and

facilitate their development in a fashion that they feel they have done it themselves. That way they

grow the fastest. That’s true love.’

‘Thanks bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘I would like to bring out the best in all my close relationships by knowing

them and their deepest aspirations and helping them achieve that. Like you said, that’s true love.’

Pro Tip: To get the best out of your team members, care for them as one would care for one’s children.

Love is bringing out the best in your team members, by exploring their talents and helping them open up

possibilities that even they may not be aware of.