Develop the Leader in you

& Discover yourself

– K. Arun, Corporate Trainer

______________________________________________________________________________

I was pleasantly surprised to read an article in “The Hindu”, yesterday morning. It was more refreshing than my morning coffee.

It may be the first of its kind, Mr. T. Anbalagan, District Collector of Karur, drove the official car to drop his driver and his wife back home after his driver’s retirement party. He spent about half an hour at their home and also had a photo session with his family members.

Mr Paramasivam, his driver had retired after 34 years of service and that was his last day in office. He had an impeccable record and had won three awards for accident free driving while serving for many Collectors of Karur district, since 1996. Certainly, this will be a memory to cherish for Mr Paramasivam.

Here, I am reminded of a story of Mr Ratan Tata. One of his first assignments was the stewardship of NELCO. Senior managers along with Mr Tata were going to Nashik. On the way their car tyre got punctured – Flat tyre. Everyone welcomed the comfort break to relax. Some used this opportunity to stretch, smile and share a joke. Then, one of them noticed that Mr Tata was not to be seen and wondered aloud where he might have vanished.

While his colleagues were taking a break, Mr Ratan Tata was helping his driver change the tyre. Sleeves rolled up, tie swatted away over the shoulder, hands expertly working the jack and spanner, bouncing the tyre to check the tyre pressure, droplets of sweat and a smile on his face.

That day will be a life time memory for his car driver. All his colleagues would have received a lesson or two on leadership. It was not expected of him.

Great leaders have compassion and integrity. They do the right thing even when no one is watching. They lead from the front. By being with their people they understand their pulse and needs. They lead them effectively with a mission and a vision and earn their trust.

Character makes Trust possible,

Trust makes Leadership possible,

John Maxwell

A crisis reveals a leaders character. During a crisis or while facing a challenge, what’s inside, stands out. When you shake a glass of coffee, it is coffee that spills out.

True leadership is neither title nor position, but influence, John Maxwell

It is not the position that makes a leader. It is the leader that makes the position, Stanley Huffty

Leadership is a great responsibility and certainly, neither a decorated title nor a position.

Leaders are not born, only babies are born. Leadership can be developed.

Hope many more leaders will be inspired by the likes of Mr. Anbalagan and Mr. Ratan Tata.

Develop the leader in you and discover yourself, sooner the better

– K. Arun, Corporate Trainer

Reference :

The Hindu, dated- 03.05.2018
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/when-the-collector-played-chauffeur/article23753867.ece
The Habit of winning by Prakash Iyer

Amor fati

K. Arun

Corporate Trainer

edison

A massive explosion occurred in New Jersey on 10 th Dec 1914. Thomas Edison’s plant and research facility was gutted in that fire.

During the fire, Edison told his son, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They will never see a fire like this”. When his son objected, Edison said,” It’s all right. We have just got rid of a lot of rubbish”.

Edison was quoted in The New York Times as saying, “Although I am 67 years old, I will start all over again tomorrow”. He stuck to his word and started rebuilding without firing any of his employees.

At the age of 67, Edison started all over again from scratch. The flames had gutted years of priceless records and prototypes and a lot of hard work. Many of his experiments which were difficult to replicate were lost in that fire. The loss was estimated at $ 919,788 in 1914. Insurance covered only one third of the loss.

Edison and his team started working tirelessly from the next day. With a sizable loan from his friend, he got part of his plant up and running. Edison and his team went on to make almost $10 million four years later, in 1918.

Edison could have blamed the whole world, got angry or got depressed. On the contrary, he put on a brave face with a smile.

Life is just 10 % of what happens to us and is 90 % how we react to what happens to us.

(The 90/10 principle). This attitude brought him enduring success.

I am reminded of a Latin phrase “Amor fati”, which means love of fate or love of one’s fate.

Merriam Webster defines it as, “the love of fate: the welcoming of all life’s experiences as good”

It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one’s life including suffering and loss as good or necessary. It is characterized by acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one’s life.

Learn to find joy even in extreme distress.

Someone might be laid off, someone cheated and has broken trust with impunity, illness, losing lifelong earnings in a market crash, loss due to perils like fire, cyclone and floods are some tragedies we may have endured or noticed. Greet them with a smile and endure them with courage. It is the essence of Amor fati. Then take necessary action to rebuild and regain what you lost.

People consider failure as fatal. It is Ok to fail. Occurrence of a peril is beyond our control. It is quite natural to be sad, but you have to move on. Whenever a tragedy strikes, first accept it instead of being in a state of denial.

“You cannot control circumstances, but you can manage your reaction to it”.

Ability to manage emotions in the face of a tragedy, when an ordinary person will be heart broken, shows us that Edison was emotionally intelligent. After the flames died down, he told that there is only one thing to do and that is to jump right in and rebuild.