Chapter 4 - Methods Of Developing Leadership Skills
Day 7
9. Building a Team - These 5 principles will help you build a strong and effective team :
i. Never underestimate your team members. If you do, you will not be able to win their trust.
ii. Defend your intentions and not your actions. Often people defend their actions and lose sight of their intentions. Then they feel sorry and weak. There is no need to feel sorry. You should defend your intention to do right.
iii. With teamwork you will achieve more than you can individually. Some kinds of work are best done alone, and some others, as part of a team. You should find a balance between working alone and working in a team.
In either case, you will face obstacles. The skill lies in not developing an aversion to either and instead, focusing on the goal.
iv. Do not defend someone's mistakes. It does not do justice to the team and stops the person from learning. Soft-heartedness and misplaced compassion in an organisation can be detrimental to teamwork and productivity in the organisation.
v. Never justify a mistake using intimidation or logic. Raising your voice and asserting through intimidation may make a wrong appear right, but will not fool anyone for long.
10. Experiencing Freedom In All Roles - Many people do not want to work under someone else, be it in their personal sphere, as an employee in a company or even as a volunteer.
They have the notion that when they work under someone, they lose their freedom and have to be accountable. Thus, many people opt to run a business of their own, wanting to be their own boss.
But even if you have your own business, you are answerable to so many people. If you cannot be accountable to even one person, how can you be accountable to many? This is the paradox.
In fact, having your own business binds you more than having a boss does. Refusing to work under someone is a sign of weakness and not strength.
A strong person will feel comfortable working under anyone. This is because he knows his strength. It is the weak and poor in spirit who do not like to work under someone else because they are unaware of their own strength.
They cannot be successful in business or in any profession. One who is timid and weak in spirit would feel uncomfortable working even for a wise person, but one who knows his own strength can work effectively even for a fool.
Such a person can turn every disadvantage into an advantage using his skill and intelligence. Even a fool can bring out the best in your communication skills.
Many of us crave freedom from the circumstances, situations or people surrounding us, but that is not freedom at all.
Knowing that nobody can take away your freedom is your strength and realising that will help you work better, under someone or on your own, and will also help you enjoy your work.
11. Bringing in Steadiness In Dynamism - Often, you are in a hurry in life. At such times, you are unable to perceive things properly. Your haste blinds you to the thrill and beauty of life.
You can never be close to the truth when you are in a rush because your perception, observation and expression become distorted.
This kind of constant haste robs life of its joy and denies you the happiness and freedom of the present moment.
Often, you do not even know why you are in a hurry. It almost becomes a biological phenomenon to be in a rush. You should wake up and become aware of the rush in you.
It is also ridiculous to be in a rush to slow down. You just need to become aware of the rush and it will take care of itself. Slowing down does not mean procrastinating or being lethargic.
Though it is easy to get caught up in the extremes of either speeding through things or being lethargic. Rushing is caused by feverishness, and feverishness arises out of deficiency, a need to achieve.
Dynamism though, is a natural expression of fulfilment. The golden rule is to be awake. When you are awake, you cannot help but be dynamic.
