Most people aspire to be great leaders. At their work people usually get leadership oppurtunities because of good performance as individuals. Performing well at an individual capacity doesn't neccessarily translate into good leadership. Leadership involves performing well as a team, delivering the goods as a team. The development of an individual performer into a good leader involves a not so intuitive change. This change is actually a movement, a movement in ones thinking and actions, a movement from identifying oneself as an individual to identifying oneself as a part of a larger unit, a movement from managing oneself to orchestrating a bunch of individuals.
I have recognized two roads that need to be traversed for this movement. First road that needs to be traversed goes from control towards empowerment. This involves making sure your team members have the right tools and techniques to perform and not trying to just control their time or what resources they use. This involves concentrating on unleashing the potential power of each team member and not concentrating on imposing ones own views.
The second road is towards integration from specialization. A good leader should be able to integrate the output of many team members rather than produce a particular delvirable unit.
Interestingly, both the roads can be travelled in either direction, I.e. If one chooses to excel as an individual performer, she can move towards controlling/managing the resources one consumes and also concentrate on specialising in a particular domain.
More interestingly, it is the same movement an organization needs to undergo to move from a good firm to a great company. The authors of the book "how to be competitive in a flat world" discuss this movement for organizations in detail.
I have recognized two roads that need to be traversed for this movement. First road that needs to be traversed goes from control towards empowerment. This involves making sure your team members have the right tools and techniques to perform and not trying to just control their time or what resources they use. This involves concentrating on unleashing the potential power of each team member and not concentrating on imposing ones own views.
The second road is towards integration from specialization. A good leader should be able to integrate the output of many team members rather than produce a particular delvirable unit.
Interestingly, both the roads can be travelled in either direction, I.e. If one chooses to excel as an individual performer, she can move towards controlling/managing the resources one consumes and also concentrate on specialising in a particular domain.
More interestingly, it is the same movement an organization needs to undergo to move from a good firm to a great company. The authors of the book "how to be competitive in a flat world" discuss this movement for organizations in detail.
Sudhir Patavardhan, Founder and VP Technology, ISACGlobal
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