The importance of taking the lead

When you are looking to work a start-up organization into a full-fledged established powerhouse, you will need people with different attributes to guide you there. Attributes like key decision-makers, hard-working personalities, creative thinkers, honest and loyal employees, and strong leaders. Having leadership skills play an important role in the growth of any organization. Leadership refers to influencing the behavior of people in a manner that they strive willingly and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group objectives. A leader will not only supervise the work of their subordinates but also guide them in their work with the help of the experience they have accrued. When the chips are down and things go awry, it is very natural that employees will look to their leader for guidance and solution. After spending so many years in the eCommerce industry, I can say that no one is born a leader. You can only become one through years of hard work and experience. When I look within the organization I feel so happy and content that there are so many people with excellent leadership skills. I feel Ergode is in the safe hands of my apex team consisting of Anish Doshi, Amit Sharma, Pankaj Rathi, Raj Kothari, and Shivendra Pratap Singh. What is more heartening to see is that they are spending quality time in fostering a new breed of leaders. I would like to use this space to share some key values that I learned and hopefully they will come in handy in your future.

Lead by example

People who can do it, they go ahead and do it, no questions asked. That’s the sign of a great leader. If you expect your team to be working really hard, then you should be a hard worker too. The hallmark of a good leader is someone who leads by example and practicing what they preach and before you know it, you will find them following your lead.

Communication

I cannot stress the importance of effective communication. While good leaders know how to get their points across and making sure they heard and understood, they should also be good listeners. Communication is a two-way street and making optimum use of it will ensure that your team will move 2 steps ahead than one step behind.

Be responsible

Sometimes as leaders we fall prey to the blame game when the going gets tough. This in-turn leaves a bad impression on our team. Instead of pointing fingers and finding a scapegoat to pin the blame on, you need to take responsibility for the team’s actions and accept the consequences. This way you will be able to win the trust and respect of your team who will work harder to ensure to prove themselves.

Share the glory

When things are going well it is only natural that the team lead will get all the credit. As an effective leader, you should be more than happy to share the glory with your team and reassuring them that the success achieved would not have been possible without them. This will spur them further to work even harder to be recognized for their efforts. 

The best way to procure leadership skills is by observing your own manager and then implementing those lessons in your daily tasks. I would love to end this piece by quoting a famous song from Michael Jackson (who doesn’t love listening to the King of Pop?):

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror

I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways

And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer

If You Want to Make The World A Better Place

Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change