Narendra Modi-one of the most remarkable politicians India has ever seen. You can love him, or you can hate him. But you simply cannot ignore him. The very reason why Narendra Modi scored a hat-trick in 2012 Gujarat elections is due to his extraordinary leadership skills. The charismatic leader has got many leadership traits which we all can implement in our lives. Let’s have a look at some of them.
9- Us
not I
When Modi gave the victory speech after winning the Gujarat
Elections for the third consecutive time, he did not give the credit for the
victory to himself. Instead he said the credit goes to the entire party and all
its workers who have toiled hard day and night to achieve this dream. This is a true mark of a leader. Give credit whenever you can. As a
leader you have to think not only about you but also about the entire team that
helped you to reach that point. The most important aspect of any organisation
is its team. If you expect to take away the praise that your team deserved and
walk away with it, be rest assured that your team mates will never receive the
necessary motivation for performing even better than before. This will lead to
lower performance standards and continuous dissatisfaction within the team
members themselves.
8- Humbleness- A trait
which everyone loves
“I thank my
Gujarati brethren. It is the support of people which takes me down the right
path to make right decisions. If I have faltered
anywhere in all these years, I apologise. For me the people are a form of god,
and today I want something from you. You have given me power, now I seek your
blessings. This is not Narendra Modi's victory, this is the victory of
six crore people of Gujarat. This is a win for all those
people across the country, who want India to prosper.”
These are some excerpts from
Narendra Modi’s victory speech. You can see the humbleness which this man
possesses. Inspite of winning the elections for the third consecutive time he
expresses his gratitude to the people. What has humility got to do with
leadership?
Well in my opinion, a lot! No
one likes an egoistic leader. When we were young, we were taught the importance
of words like, “Thank you” and “I am Sorry”. Don’t undermine these words. They
are magical words which can work wonders if used at the right place and right
time. Expressing gratitude at the right moment can take you to great heights.
Know when to thank, know when to accept your mistake, know when to rebel and
you shall be the most admired leader the world has ever seen.
7-Don’t Interrupt when your work speaks
At a time when the Indian economy is failing under UPA’s
rule, Gujarat is achieving new strides in development. Education, drinking water supply,
agriculture, industrial progress, urban development, rural development,
exports, development of science and technology – in whatever angle you look at, Gujarat attracts deeper attention in every
area. Gujarat has registered a surplus in many
areas. During 2000-11, Gujarat was only the fifth biggest
destination for foreign investors in the country, with direct investments worth
$7963.7 million flowing into the state during this period. Also, till 2011,
Gujarat largely attracted investors from the US, Singapore and the UK. The year
2012 was a turning point, when Japanese investors also came calling. It started
with Maruti-Suzuki deciding to set up an automobile plant and Toto, Japan’s
leading sanitary-ware Company, starting a manufacturing unit in Gujarat. Besides
Maruti-Suzuki, a slew of other auto MNCs, such as Ford, General Motors and
Peugeot also came to chart out their expansion plans in Gujarat. There are a
lot more examples but I think this shows my point. When your work itself shows
how capable you are, you seldom need to speak or advertise about it. I have
seen people who keep talking on and on about themselves. In my opinion, such
people seldom have something to show or prove. As the old Hindi saying goes,
“The empty pitcher makes the most noise”. Such people are nothing but
blithering idiots who think gloating about themselves would earn them the
desired respect. But a true leader never does so. He always believes in letting
his work do the talk. A true leader doesn't need words, he needs action.
6-Respect those who helped
you
When
Keshubhai lost the 2012 elections to Narendra Modi in a very humiliating way,
Modi did not have a laugh at him. He challenged Congress, mocked his opponents
but did not say a word against Keshubhai. Instead he went to his house, and
asked for his blessings. During the election campaign when Keshubhai spewed
venom on Modi at every possible speech Modi refrained to say a word against
him. Even when Keshubhai compared Narendra Modi to Hitler and called him a
“Demon”, Modi didn’t say a word. It was
all due to his respect for him. Modi regarded Keshubhai as his Guru who taught
him the nuances of Indian politics. And this was the very reason why Modi
respected Keshubhai, inspite of all that he did. No matter what, he was his
Guru. And one can never insult one’s Guru. This shows the trademark of a true
leader. Respect those who have taught you or helped you at any point of time. When
you reach the peak of success and are enjoying the glorious view, don’t forget
about those who helped you along the way, for you may meet them again on the
way down. If you simply keep moving
ahead by stepping on other people’s back without taking a second look at them,
don’t be surprised if they turn their back towards you when you need them.
5-Set an example
The
rule of leadership is quite simple. If
you want your team to do the job your way, show them how it should be done. If
you want your team to be honest, hardworking, and sincere; be honest,
hardworking and sincere. Learn to set an example. One cannot expect one’s team
to persevere if the leader does not do so. The leader must always make the
first sacrifice; he must set an example which he wants the team to follow.
During the preparation of 2012 General Assembly Elections, Narendra Modi hardly
slept for more than 4 hours a day. He was as busy as his team in preparing for
the elections. The logic is quite simple. If the most important person of the
team is working as a motivation for others then undoubtedly the others would
follow. Had Modi relied simply on his
team to do the job instead of setting an example, it would have been a
different story in Gujarat.
4-Command, don’t demand
This
is one of the finest nuances one should take care of while leading a team and
it can be seen candidly in Narendra Modi. Leadership does not mean that you
simply keep on ordering your team mates to finish the required job. Due to respect for you, they might do it once
or twice but never again. It will break the team spirit. To lead people, walk beside them. Understand that being a leader does
not give you rights to enslave your team. Yes it is your responsibility to see
that the job is done within the stipulated time, but that does not mean you
chastise the person not doing it in a humiliating way. A leader never demands
respect; he commands it by using an appropriate behavior at an appropriate
time.
3-Think Long Term
Narendra
Modi provided land to big industrialists at a throw away price. Central
Government accused him of favoring the rich. Is it really that way? Or no one can see what Mr. Modi envisions?
The most important resource for starting an industry is land. Once that is
available the rest can happen easily. By providing land to industry at such low
price Modi has invested in a long term profit. One could never see what Modi had
envisioned when he invited Tata to shift his plant to Sanand. However, we can
see the results today. Whilst, I am not favoring any particular businessman,
the point is to invest in long term profits. A leader never looks at only today
while making decisions. He looks behind to remind himself of previous mistakes,
looks at the present to keep in mind the current conditions, and envisions the
future to make sure the decision is in sync with the future goals. Once done,
he weighs in all the possibilities before taking a final decision. This
particular characteristic will help any organisation to thrive. A good leader
must have foresight. He must be able to see what others can’t see. For it is
rightly said, “To make a dream come
true, you don’t need eyes you need vision.”
2-Come out of the Stone
Ages
The
era of typewriters has gone long ago. It is the era of computers, the internet.
Only a fool will not make use of the technology available today. Narendra Modi
was one of the few politicians all around the globe who used technology to
connect to the people. Google+ hangouts, projected 3D public speeches- no stone
was left unturned in using you the current technology. What I want to emphasize
is that a good leader needs to be aware of the current trends. A technologically naive person can never work for the betterment of his organisation. Be it a
country, a small organisation, a big company or a huge economy- wise and
correct use of technology brings in unprecedented power, efficiency and growth.
1- Make
and find your “DREAM TEAM”
It is rightly said, “If you can’t do it, employ the right people who will do it for you.” Do
you think every successful leader on this planet is omnipotent? Do you think
every big company has CEOs who have so much knowledge and skills that they don’t
need anyone ever? The answer is no. No one knows everything. Each one of us has
some or the other weakness which needs to be strengthened. That’s the beauty of
team work. In a team, the weaknesses of one are taken care of by the strengths
of other. That’s what all leaders do. They don’t know all the things. What they
know is how to find the correct people who can do their job and how to make
them do that job under their command. And that’s what makes all the difference!
We can all learn a thing or two from Mr. Modi here. Everyone knows about the
extravagant use of technology that was made in this year’s election campaign.
Did Modi have all knowledge about it? No! He employed the correct people who helped
him to plan out his entire campaign strategically and innovatively. And did
that work well? We all know that answer. A word of caution here; I am not
saying that you don’t need to know anything for becoming a leader. On the
contrary you need to be aware of the minutest technical details to be a good
leader. You need to know the in and outs of the game, each and every
specification, each and every small technical details so that no one can
bullshit around you. What I mean to say is that find the correct people to do
the job but at the same time be shrewd enough to see to it that they don’t
cheat you. See to it that they don’t take you for a round. If you can do that,
believe me you are already in the league of super awesome leaders!