"WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS WEALTH"

Friday, August 9, 2013

“Embrace VUCA to Excel as an Agile Leader” - Professor M.S.Rao

“Be enthusiastic as a leader. You can’t light a fire with a wet match.” – Unknown

Currently there is lots of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) in the global business environment. It calls for leaders with a new set of skills such as mindset, skillset and toolset to take on these challenges head-on. We can call them agile leaders who are proactive, risk takers, trouble shooters, crisis managers with tons of flexibility and adaptability.

From time to time, researchers come out with new concepts as per the needs of the time. There is a little literature available on the concept of ‘agile leadership’ and the research is going on to explore this leadership style and customize it as per the present global environment. Here are the qualities needed for agile leaders:

They must be proactive.
They must be good communicators.
They must be competent in cross cultures.
They must be emotionally intelligent.
They must be virtual team builders.
They must be bold decision makers.
They must be risk takers.
They must be troubleshooters.
They must be crisis leaders.
They must be change leaders.
They must be continuous learners.
Above all, they must be passionate to make a difference in the lives of others.

The agile leaders must constantly innovate to resolve several challenges arising globally. They must groom leaders with a long view to address VUCA.

Research shows that close to 25 percent of the Fortune 100 and 50 of the Fortune 500 use learning agility as a means to identify leadership potential for internal and external candidates. Because it is a predictor of future executive success, top universities in the US and beyond have also started using learning agility in their curriculum. Hence, it is time for the organizations to spot such leaders who take on future global challenges with confidence and mettle and groom them as leaders to achieve organizational excellence and effectiveness.

"All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." - John Kenneth Galbraith

Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao

Founder, MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013

Speakerpedia: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/professor-msrao

Email: profmsr7@gmail.com

Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com

Where Knowledge is Wealth

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Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

“How to Avoid Regrets in Your Life?” - Professor M.S.Rao

“Over short time periods, people are more likely to regret actions taken and mistakes made. Over a long time, they are more likely to regret actions not taken, such as missed opportunities for love or working too hard.” - Melanie Greenberg, clinical psychologist

We all have regrets in our life. Most people at the end of their life journey especially before their death regret one way or the other over the mistakes they made in their lifetime and implore others not to repeat those mistakes. Although we don’t want to die with regrets, it is a fact of life that everyone dies with some regrets. When we take the example of Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, global steel giant and one of the richest persons in the world, he has the regret of not pursuing as an assistant professor. He has the regret of not doing MBA. Likewise, everyone has some regrets in life.

Research shows that young people regret about their decisions on career and love and old people regret for not expressing their love and not spending their life with others. Here are the five most common regrets of dying people recorded by Australian nurse Bronnie Ware: 1) I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me; 2) I wish I had not worked so hard; 3) I wish I had had the courage to express my feelings; 4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends; and 5) I wish that I had let myself be happier.

The noted author Patrick Mathieu once remarked, “The key is to remain focused on the present. Regret comes from focusing on the past and wishing it was different. When regrets pop up, we need to remind ourselves that we did the best we could with the information we had at the time.” Hence, don’t worry about the unpleasant past that cannot be changed. And research shows that people waste 30 percent of their time by thinking about their unpleasant past. Don’t worry about the future as you cannot predict it. Learn to live in the present by focusing on your goals without wasting your precious time by balancing your personal, professional and social life.

To summarize, plan properly when you are in the early stage of your life to avoid regrets at the end of your life. God gifted all of us with a huge potential and we must know how to channel this potential in a right way to achieve our goals. It not only provides meaning to our lives but also helps make a difference in the lives of others. Remember, life is a journey, enjoy every moment. Leave no room for regrets.

Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao

Founder, MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013

Speakerpedia: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/professor-msrao

Email: profmsr7@gmail.com

Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com

Where Knowledge is Wealth

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414?skip_nax_wizard=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

“Should Business Leaders and Chief Executives be Elected Democratically?” - Professor M.S.Rao

"Two cheers for democracy: One because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism." - E. M. Forster

With the rising aspirations and expectations of the Gen Y, we need a new leadership style to walk the talk with a flat structure which is free from command-and-control culture. The democratic leadership style appears to be the appropriate one to fill the bill. In this leadership style the leaders discuss with group members to resolve organizational challenges unlike autocratic leadership where leaders make decisions by themselves without consulting others. Additionally, organizations need an innovative approach in democratic leadership style where the democratic leaders are the leaders by the employees, for the employees, and of the employees which can be called organizational leadership style. It seems that the employees are craving for organizational democratic leaders who must treat them as partners rather than subordinates. These organizational democratic leaders must be smart enough to articulate their vision, motivate employees, and treat them as partners. The Gen Y appreciates partnership rather than superior-subordinate relationship. Hence, there is a need for organizational democratic leaders to treat employees as partners to enhance organizational excellence and effectiveness. In this organizational democratic leadership style, the leaders must be approved by the employees rather than nominated by the management. It has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage out of this style is that members feel connected and engaged in the decision-making. The disadvantage out of this style is that leaders must spend more time in keeping their employees in good humor to get elected and ensure their survival rather than focusing on organizational bottom lines which adversely affects the performance and productivity in the long run.

As the world is changing rapidly the people are also changing rapidly craving for new leadership models and styles. Hence, a further research is needed in organizational democratic leadership style to customize as per the current needs to achieve organizational excellence and effectiveness apart from uncorking the human potential and advancing the career growth of the employees. To conclude in the words of Steve Miller, Group Managing Director, Royal Dutch/Shell. "No leader can possibly have all the answers . . . .The actual solutions about how best to meet the challenges of the moment have to be made by the people closest to the action. . . .The leader has to find the way to empower those frontline people, to challenge them, to provide them with the resources they need, and then to hold them accountable. As they struggle with . . . this challenge, the leader becomes their coach, teacher, and facilitator. Change how you define leadership, and you change how you run a company."

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” - Abraham Lincoln

Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao

Founder, MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World in 2013

Speakerpedia: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/professor-msrao

Email: profmsr7@gmail.com

Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com

Where Knowledge is Wealth

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414?skip_nax_wizard=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/21-Success-Sutras-Leaders-ebook/dp/B00AK98ELI

Thanks for reading!