End of year had lots of reflection in store. As I was reflecting on my conversations and discussions with people across the corporate world ” Leadership” seemed to be most commonly used term. Most of the research in human behaviors in recent times is around Leadership. We first had competencies, then a lot around authenticity , now the rules and Code. All of these are great research with strong recommendations which can change the world.

The fact remains while the number of people being called / labeled leaders multiplying exponentially everyday Leadership in being and action still remains rare phenomenon.

In the Indian corporate world we somewhere got muddled up and confused between leaders and managers. While our management education system continued bulk producing managers we kept on holding to the notion of these graduates will be playing the role of leader. Inside the organisation we kept on giving our employees managerial responsibilities as part of their career progresson which kept on increasing while the employees moved up the ladder and then complaining about the Leadership Capabilities in the organisation.

In simple terms Management is all about getting results with effectiveness and efficiency while Leadership is about Leadership is about ( guiding, showing the way(role model), being in the front, character). As there is a lot of overlap between manage and lead it is quite natural for these words to be used inter-changeably.

In the same organisation, holding similar positions some are leaders and some are not. In my view the key differentiators between leader and manager are Vision and Attitude. Attitude not only towards work but attitude towards life.

1. Passion : Do what you love and love what you do. The result is excitement , energy and excellence that rubs on people around you.

2. Signature : Giving your best in every situation and raising the bar of performance and achievement. Constantly reflecting on , is this the best I could have done in this situation? Are there better ways to handle this ? Will I feel pride or shame when I come across this piece of work in future? This results in you delivering high quality and expecting that from others.

3. Awareness : Understanding the impact of words and actions on yourself and others. This results in developing character and integrity that others can respect and trust.

4. Learning Agility : Be a Learner, open to learning from experience of self and others, Learning from environment and all the accessible resources. This results in your being a guide and torch bearer in times of change and turbulence. Being on the top of your game with ability to look for multiple options and influence the emergence.

5. Courage : To stand up for what you truly believe in. Challenging the statuesque and sub optimal results and decisions. You walk the talk and inspire others.

6. Emotional Resilience : Taking care of yourself. You are able to cope the stress created by the work pressure, change, people around. In case of failure you are able to display bouncebackability.

It is quite magical to see the more you work on yourself ( your attitude) the more people around us get impacted and start considering as a leader. Leadership is not a label, a position, a claim that you can make on your own or organisation can give you. You are leader only when people around you consider you to be one.

Next time when you feel that your subordinates and peers are not showing enough leadership qualities, it will be worthwhile to take time off to reflect on your leadership. If you have all the six attributes of attitude there is a great possibility that you would have rubbed this on your colleagues . If not think about how you can use these attributes to influence and inspire..

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