Category: Everything else

So you’re having a lamp post day..


I.e. one of those days when you feel everything around you is peeing on you. (Generally, a result of an accumulation of a bunch of small things)

Nothing to worry.
You know that friend who always makes you laugh. Yes, THAT friend.
Find him/her.
Fast.
And talk/chat/sms – whatever you can get hold of.
And watch your day feel better already!

Productivity and Work Outs

If you have experience going to the gym (I did – for 3 months! And somehow the post gym muscles are always thought to have been photoshopped.. haha), then the trainers typically insist on taking lots of time in between work outs.

For example, we were restricted to work out for an hour every day from Monday-Saturday and forbidden from entering the gym on Sunday as the muscles needed time to react to the exercise.
It is the same with productivity – our brain needs time. Chugging along and working 15 hours every day is not necessarily productive and is definitely not something to be proud of either, especially if you are having to do so consistently.
It’s not about the battle, but about the war after all.
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I can’t help re-emphasize this for myself. Learnt this the hard way during my start-up days.

The plunge

The night was cold.

I had been debating whether to take the plunge or not.
The pool was empty.
I had left my towel back at the villa on purpose.
Somewhere within, I did know that the fitness centre didn’t give towels.
It was a ready made excuse, after all.
I touched the water – and darn, it didn’t feel that cold. Could I sell the ‘no towel’ excuse to myself?
I trudged back and got my towel.
Touched the water again, and it hadn’t gotten colder.
I got changed.
The night was cold.
I had to take the plunge.
An image flashed by – a flabby unhealthy me.
I jumped..
The water was great, the swim was great and I felt great after an hour in the pool.
And I wondered how many such great experiences I had talked myself out of, without even trying.
And felt thankful for the many times I had actually taken the plunge.

On Empowerment

John Maxwell demonstrates the power of empowerment with a simple exercise –
Get a friend to stand in front of you and try pushing him down by pressing down on his shoulder. The lower you want to push, the lower you will have to bend.
Similarly, try pulling the same friend up and the higher you want to lift them, the more you will observe yourself standing on your toes to help your friend go higher.
Essentially, the more we try to empower people, the higher we go. This is best illustrated in Henry Ford II’s time at Ford.
Under Henry Ford II, the Ford motor company’s fortunes were full of ups and downs. The ups were when Henry relinquished his leadership to others who took the company to greater heights and the downs were when Henry systematically worked to throw them out of the company when he sensed they were getting too popular for his liking.
This was why successful executives like Ernie Breech, Lee Iacocca were shown the door at Ford from time to time. Henry Ford II was an insecure leader and Ford suffered as a result.
The difficulty in understanding empowerment is said to be apparent in that ‘to be indispensable, you have to be dispensable’ i.e. you should consistently be able to elevate others to do your job so you can go higher, and the minimum requirement for empowerment, as a result, is a secure leader. Let’s aim to empower our fellow team members this week..
Best wishes for a great week!

Managing our leaders

From an Article at HBR:

There are essentially 3 types of leaders –

1) Sun-like leaders. The quintessential sun-like leader is an entrepreneur, one who takes the lead in everything, just as the sun illuminates everything. Their subordinates get close supervision. These hands-on leaders sometimes feel like if they’re not involved, they’ve lost control — as their follower, you need to be aware of this sense of insecurity. When working with such a leader, be sympathetic. Include him in work where he can demonstrate his ability — he wants to be useful, so give him something to do! Invite him to get involved — he will do so anyway, and bringing him in increases the odds that he’ll support your work. Make your own job easier by leveraging his experience and his insights with customers and others.

2) Moon-like leaders. The moon reflects the light of the sun; a moon-like leader reflects the light of his employees. He is more open-minded and trusting of his people. Only when you lose your way — just like someone walking a dark road at night — would he step forward to shed light on what he thinks you should do. This kind of leadership gives employees room for development. However, trust between the follower and the leader does require timely maintenance; when the leader does step forward, be willing to answer questions and open your project up for inspection.

3) Star-like leaders. Leaders of this type will only indicate a direction, like the North Star. Their teams, however, still need a light source, so star-like leaders need followers who can step up and light the way for others. Only those leaders with great wisdom have the confidence to be star-like. Their empowerment shows high recognition for your capabilities. This kind of leadership only works when the leader has built a capable team that can function with minimal supervision. As a follower to this kind of leader, you’ve got a great platform, but you have to demonstrate that you deserve the trust you’ve been given.

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Now, are we behaving in accordance to our boss’ style? And what about us – what kind of leaders are we?

For myself, I know I’m the ‘Sun-like’ leader who likes getting involved in everything and definitely don’t have the wisdom (not yet atleast!) to be a ‘Star-like’ leader. Having said that, for the first time, I’m seeing a ‘Star-like’ leader in action and I do aspire to be the same, someday.

What about you? What’s your boss’ style? And yours, of course?