The Hallmarks of Good Leadership

THERE are tomes written about how to lead and how to follow, and as with all things, paradoxically people end up reading these through one eye and blinking away the learning through the other. The end is that, to play on what dear old Polonius said to his son: Neither a follower, nor a leader be, for following often loses both its way and trends, and leading dulls the edge of brigandry. In the mad desire to clear my musty mind of (mis) conceptions about how to be a leader, I went into several ancient treatises on the subject and hit on Sun Tzu's `Art of War', Adolph Hitler's `Mein Kampf' and Genghis Khan's guttural growls (to say nothing of large lashings from Krishna's advice to Arjuna) to distil the essence of efficient leadership and proactive following.

Attribute #1

Leaders must have courage to take decisions, and followers must have the courage to do as they are told. While leadership has the problem of carrying the can at the end of the day, followers have the advantage of whining away to each other about the vicissitudes of their day's work. All the while keeping in mind Attribute #2 below.

Attribute #2

Followers can crib all they want... to each other and not to everybody that comes their way, especially those that do not belong to the organization. Doing so is disloyal and should be rooted out buckle and thong. Disagreement is not disloyalty. Disobeying is. A leader is disloyal to his followers if he does not back them up to his fullest ability. A person that has another view should be allowed to explain it. Indeed leaders and followers should listen. Neither should show any bias, even if the explanation is unusual and seems unsound. Attempts should be made to understand the divergent view.

Attribute #3

Leaders should want to be leaders. There are some people who were excellent field men, but make useless managers. They think like field men and cannot marshal a group of field men from headquarters. Similarly, followers that want to be leaders out of turn, often turn out to be utter failures because they don't know how to follow properly and make followers happy to follow.

Attribute #4

Leaders should be able to manage their own emotions and those of their followers. If a leader is devastated by a failed deadline or target, he is not inspiring enough to energise his followers to better performance the next time around. Followers should not allow their own disappointment to alloy the will of their teams and erode the quality of output. A leader should feel for the individuals in his care. By doing so, he ensures loyalty from his followers.

Attribute #5

Leadership is not a cushy job. It requires high levels of energy and drive. If these are missing, no corporate house will succeed. A leader should lead by personal example. Only an energetic leader can enthuse a group of followers to be energetic. An energetic group of followers is a dynamic, productive and result-oriented group of followers.

Attribute #6

Leadership is all about dynamism and the ability to choose the right path from the analysis of the facts before him. A leader cannot afford to be ambivalent. He must be decisive and bold enough to follow through on his decision. Lack of decision confuses and frustrates followers. Followers should follow with a will for their efforts to be successful

Attribute #7

Leadership involves anticipating the course of events with an educated instinct. Good followers learn to anticipate the wishes of their leader and support him in his decision. Anticipation of issues by leaders involves risk, the character of a leader should be able to accept and take that risk. Leader should anticipate the timing of their actions too. This they can often learn to do by learning from the failures they have had.

Attribute #8

A leader should never be content to lose. Winning should be the goal every time since it inspires followers to perform well time and again. Understanding the adversary is crucial and should be one of the top priorities of a leader. A follower needs to appreciate his leader's assessment of the situation and the threats that face a strategy.

Attribute #9

A leader has to show and be self-confident. He has to be because he needs the strength of his convictions to be successful. He has to display his self-confidence because he needs to convey the sensation to his followers. A successful leader is one that does well when things are going well and does better when things get rough. Persistence in the face of difficulty is essential.

Attribute #10

A leader should praise a follower if he has done well, but in moderation. Over-praise is worse than no praise at all because it inflates the ego of the recipient and undermines his future efforts. It might also make the follower less of a follower. Similarly, leaders should be able to take the blame and not lay it at the doors of their followers. A good follower performs well because he has been well led. He performs badly because he has been badly led. Giving all the credit to a follower is as bad as blaming him for the failure of the team. In the final analysis, the leader is responsible for the success or failure of his group.

Attribute #11

Leaders should have integrity so that both follower and other leaders can have faith in him. Indeed the best leader has integrity that is admired by his adversaries as well. A good follower should respect his leader's integrity and model his credibility on that of his leader.

Attribute #12

Leaders should lead by encouraging loyalty, trust and dependability. Followers should be guided, trained and developed into sub-leaders. Punishment should not be harsh; it should be swift and just and should not take the form of humiliation. Punishment by exclusion is more powerful than punishment by humiliation. A follower that has been excluded will wish to return to favour. A humiliated follower will wish to distance himself from the group and may join the competitor. A good follower should be aware of personal wrongdoing. A wise follower will go to his leader before discovery and ask for remedial advice.

They had it right you know, all the prehistoric corporate moguls (or Mongols), and the lessons we learn from them is as enduring today as it was several thousand years ago. Which goes to show, nothing has really changed since then, and as long as leaders and followers are human, they will continue to lead and be led in the same way they have always been. Call it whatever you want, but it will always be the same - only the frills and furbelows might look different. On the surface.

Abhimanyu Acharya

The A to Z of being an officer


A new series, which examines at length the Services Selection Board's selection procedure to the armed forces. We start with an introduction to the basic selection protocol.

OFFICERS IN THE MAKING: National Defense Academy graduates march during a passing-out parade. Graduates who complete the three-year course in NDA will join the Indian Army, the Navy and the Air Force after one more year of specialized military training in different institutes.


DEFENCE GETS the topmost priority in the governance of any country, since its very survival depends on its security and the protection of its territorial integrity. There can be no compromise on alertness or quality of service assured by the armed forces that should effectively swing into action at the shortest notice.

India with her long coastline and borders should necessarily have a strong defense system to protect herself. The quality of the defense system depends primarily on the competence of the men in charge of the diverse responsibilities in the armed forces. In order to ensure the best human resources are available to the system, an effective mechanism for the selection of officers with appropriate qualities has been evolved. This is known as the Services Selection Interview (SSB), which is not just an interview in the usual parlance. The Services Selection Board effectively makes a comprehensive assessment of the personal attributes, usually referred to as `officer-like qualities.' The exercise is elaborate. It is spread over four to five days.

Qualities

The Army, the Navy, and the Air Force should have officers with qualities such as:

Ability to influence groups; Ability to keep secrets; Alertness; Capacity for right and quick decision; Cheerfulness; Communication skills; Cooperation; Courage; Determination; Discipline; Discrimination; Energy; Fairness; Grit for facing challenges; Honesty; Initiative; Innovative mind; Integrity; Intellectual curiosity; Intelligence; Justice and fairness; Liveliness; Loyalty; Maturity; Optimism; Organizational ability; Originality; Physical health; Positive mental attitude; Reasoning ability; Resourcefulness; Self-confidence; Selflessness; Sense of responsibility; Social adaptability; Stamina; Team spirit; Willingness to delegate responsibility; Willingness to face criticism cheerfully. These are officer like qualities of leadership required in the defense forces.

Opportunities

There are different types of entries such as the National Defense Academy and the Naval Academy for Plus Two boys, Combined Defense Services Examination for graduates, University Entry, Direct Entry in various branches of the Navy and the Air Force.

If you go for the SSB interview with a thorough knowledge of its contents and style, you have bright chances of success.

Schedule of tests

The selection process has the following components.

- Psychological / intelligent
- tests
- Group Testing Officer's
- (GTO's) tests.
- Personal interview.
- Medical examination.

First day

Reception, roll call, allotment of chest numbers, filling up of forms, including personal resume. In addition to these, some intelligence/aptitude tests may be conducted. Those who perform very poorly at this stage may be sent back and cannot proceed further.

Second day

- Intelligence tests: verbal and
- non-verbal/matrices items.
- Word association test
- Thematic apperception test
- Situation test
- Self-description test

Third/fourth days

- The Group Testing Officer will be in charge of conducting the tests.
- Indoor exercises
- Group discussion
- Group planning
- Short speech
- Outdoor exercises
- Progressive group task
- Group obstacle race
- (Snake race)
- Half group task
- Individual obstacles
- Command task
- Final group task

Fifth day

- Conference: Each
- Faces the President and
- Other officers
- The President / Deputy
- President / GTO speaks to the candidates
- Announcement of results
- You will be interviewed personally on any one of the days.
- There could be slight changes in the schedule. For selection of pilots, there will be the -Pilot's Aptitude Test also.
- During the actual tests or otherwise, you would be under constant watch at the SSB interview centre. Every movement of yours should be made with care and caution.

Patterns of tests

Soon after the introductory address by the President or an officer, you will be given a questionnaire to be filled up. Be honest in what you write. The psychologist, the GTO, and the President would go through it. The following points may appear in the questionnaire.
1. Name of the candidate
(in block capitals)
2. Batch No.
3. Chest No.
4. Place and State you belong to
5. Father's name
6. Father' age
7. Father's occupation
(Mention the last occupation, if he is no more)
8. Father's income
9. Mother's age and nationality
10. Your date of birth, and age in years and days
11. Number of brothers - elder/younger
12. Number of sisters - elder/younger
13. Number of sisters - married/unmarried
14. Your education, starting from matriculation: Name of the examination, university/board/college /school, division/honours/subjects, year of passing
15. Places where you have stayed for more than one year during the last 10 years
16. Extracurricular activities, with positions you have held
17. Scholarships/awards/trophies you have won
18. Games you play
19. Books you have read during the last one year (apart from textbooks) and their authors
20. Newspapers and periodicals you read
21. Your hobbies
22. History of your diseases and ailments
23. Your choice of arms in Services (with preferences)
24. Types of school/college you have attended (whether boarder or day scholar)
25. Details of NCC training
26. Record of service, if any
27. The most interesting/depressing/exciting event in your life
28. What would your best friend tell about you?
29. What are the reasons for your desire to join the armed forces?
30. Briefly describe the happiest day in your life.

Do not blow your trumpet.

The books that you indicate should not be textbooks, comics or any trivial ones.
If you have philately or photography as your hobby, you should be able to answer a couple of questions on them. If you happen to show some preference to a specific `corps,' you should be able to substantiate your statements with reasons.

Intelligence tests

The SSB interview will have both verbal and non-verbal types of tests in reasoning.
There would be time constraint. You will have to answer the questions as quickly as possible. Prepare well for this.

Courtesy- The Hindu - B.S. WARRIER

Read well to be well-read

All about the importance of reading for learning.

EFFICIENT READING: Mere skimming through pages will not suffice.

READING BEING an integral part of any learning process should be learnt the right way. If you err here, it would be something like putting the first button of a coat wrongly, leading to total disarray.

As in the case of breathing, we seldom think about or discuss the importance of reading. Here we confine ourselves to reading for learning. Reading for pleasure or relaxation has to be discussed from a different angle - it is beyond our scope now.

Efficient reading

Whether you are a child in the first standard or a high-profile research scholar, you have to read. Anyone may say that reading has to be efficient. What is efficient reading? Is it just reading aloud? Or is it reading fast? Is it skimming through the pages, noting only the main points? Is it stopping at every word and moving slowly, so that its full meaning is grasped?

Indeed, these questions have to be kept in mind when we try to read efficiently. Not only should reading be efficient, it also has to be effective as well.

An efficient reader would read at a reasonable speed and understand what he reads. But this is only a general statement. A person may read at different speeds on different occasions.

While reading a newspaper, none would read every word from the first line of the front page to the last line of the last page.

Normally we will have a quick glance at the headlines. Then we would read the first paragraphs of the news items that interest us. Certain articles that we feel is important would be read in full. If there is a serious article we may keep it for very careful reading later.

Selective reading

Sometimes we may not read anything on certain pages. Some of us may rush to the finance page.

Our grandmother may simply skip the sport page and the finance page. A young boy may see only the children's page. An old man may first read the obituary column.

In other words, we select portions of the newspaper and read them. This is selective reading.

Now let us take the case of our English textbook in the class. How will you read it? You may read the same lesson many times, studying each sentence or even each word separately.

You may focus on new words, study their meanings, related phrases, idioms, and usage with the help of a dictionary. You may break up long sentences into clauses.

All that makes a detailed study. It takes much time.

Take the case of a definition in physics. You may sometimes memorise it by reading it many times, and analysing its meaning. You may also try to write it out.

This is because you may not be able to express the idea in your own words, with precision and accuracy in a concise manner without missing any relevant point as in a standard definition.

So also, you read a good poem many times in order to enjoy its literary merit, and memorise it, to quote it later.

Speed factor

The speed at which a person reads is always not the same. Suppose a mathematics teacher gets a new textbook written by a new author for her class. Let us say the teacher has been teaching the subject during the past 10 years. She may finish reading the entire book in just one hour.

She can do so because she does not have to go through every sentence in the book. She already knows the contents very well. She only has to check whether all the lessons have been covered well and look for anything that is new. On the other hand, a new student may have to spend hundreds of hours to study the various chapters, and solve all the problems.

Source: The Hindu, 27th Sept 2005