Be the leader you wish you had!
The one word that comes to the minds of the citizens of any country when they hear the words resilient, confident, brave, arrogant, fighter etc. is ARMY.
It is known that leaders in the ARMY lead by example and inspire their troops to take risks to be able to win the battles.
Can the lessons from battlefield be applied in formulating boardroom strategies or corporate leadership?
So, what exactly is battlefield to boardroom strategies?
Reading the word ‘battlefield’ it might be clear that it is related to soldiers and military.
Armed forces have one of the unique features of producing some of the best leaders in the world.
How can someone resonate with a military leader?
They are brave, selfless, educated and trustworthy
In today’s world, the challenges faced by both the armed forces and the corporates are similar.
Lessons learnt in the military are valuable and transferable than ever.
Let us understand how these lessons add value to the corporate leadership?
The soldiers are decisive, dedicated, trustworthy, brave, and confident which also are some of the main qualities someone who is in corporate should have.
Many people have tried to apply the knowledge they have gained from the military to their own personal life and cascaded to others as well.
One such amazing person is Col. Tarun Kumar who is also an author and a leadership coach.
He shared valuable insights on leadership.
Leadership qualities in both battlefield and corporate remain the same. But how a person experiments with those qualities and how you indulge in them define the person that you turn out to become.
Leadership as a topic is included in academic curriculum and in corporate organizations as well.
In the military, the soldiers put into use all the leadership qualities and training they have received into practice.
The same is for the corporate sectors. Leadership qualities can only be nurtured. All the leaders feel responsible for the lives of the others by having a great impact in their life.
A soldier from the army can always put into use all the trainings he had received from the battlefield into the boardroom thereby giving all the knowledge to common leaders as well.
It is not about the question whether you want to be a leader. It is about, “do you want to be a leader so that you can lead people on the right path”
Leaders not only guide people the right way, they are always for them leading them throughout their life through adversities and uncertainties.
Who is your favorite leader from the history?
The answer varies!
The lives of the great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Obama itself an example for
‘Once a leader, always a leader’
The one difference in the corporate world and military is -
In corporate world, we talk about profitability but in military world we talk about people.
We talk about revenue in corporate world but what they talk about in military is the number of people who will be coming back alive after an operation.
Not all people can sacrifice their life and go into military. It takes courage, will power and a mind that never give up anywhere.
When looking at the soldiers, one can always witness that they led from somewhere. They were always a leader.
Everything in a corporate world gets outdated but its people!
One in a corporate world should always make sure that they invest in its people.
This advice can be taken from the military as they always invest in people.
Another life lesson that could be adopted in a corporate world is the human connection.
One should always keep in touch with the fellow employees.
If you know a soldier, ask him the names of all the soldiers he had gone on mission with.
The list may go on.
But ask an employer in a corporate world the same question. His list would end after ten to twenty names.
This lesson could be adopted to a boardroom.
Can you ever dream of spending a night with a bullet near to your heart or abdomen?
This can be a nightmare for many of us.
But this is a life that the soldiers are living for the sake of the people and their mother country.
This type of resilience and confidence should be there in a corporate world as well.
People are different. Leaders are different. You might find them arrogant. But it is the result of all the hardships and battles they gone through to be a leader.
Everyone approaches problems differently. They choose to solve problems their own way. Leaders do the same. But they choose to approach it differently.
“Leaders don’t do different things; they do things differently”
Start doing things differently. This is what military teaches you.
And these are the qualities one should imbibe to improve their leadership qualities.
· Critically focusing on accomplishing a mission.
· Skills to lead and function.
· Ability to revolve at a moment’s notice is also very important.
· Duty before self and take care of people — this is one of the important quality a solider live by.
One should always develop their leadership quality. You should be the leader you wish you had.
We become what we believe. If you believe to be a leader, then definitely you will be one.
Being a leader is not about being superior to others.
It’s about how you be a one in the others and strategically plan all the resources together that benefits the society as a whole.
A leader is not always perfect. He tries to become perfect after making a number of mistakes. But he never gives up.
Every one on earth has vulnerabilities. What outstands a leader from others is that he accepts the vulnerabilities and flaws.
Vulnerability is not a weakness, its a one step closer to the strength
There is no fear without being vulnerable. All the leaders do have flaws including the soldiers. They accept the flaws and work towards mending it.
This can be another life lesson a boardroom should adopt.
What can you do with your vulnerabilities?
· Acceptance
· Maintain the value system
· Trust
· Resilience
It is said that most courageous people are the ones who were resilient to get up after a fall and had the mindset to move on. A leader possesses the same.
Uncertainties are certain. Face them with courage and help people to get out of the uncertain situations. That is when you are a leader and that is when people follow you.
You become a leader when you lead someone who is truly lost — be it in life or work.
You are the hand of hope in the time of despair.
You become the light and the guiding voice for them.
A true leader always listens to the voice of the people he leads.
He is brave and resilient.
If you are brave and possess all the qualities of a leader then you certainly are a leader!
Always remember — it’s not over until it’s over!
This blog post has a few excerpts from The Guiding Voice podcast Episode 177 ft. Sir. Col Tarun Kumar, an author and a leadership coach.
Listen to full episode on:
Podbean: The Guiding Voice podcast
YouTube:
Thanks for reading this post. This post is compiled by Sahla Siraj, our #TGV Intern!
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