NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

therefore shift gear and venture into softer (but
actually much harder!) dimensions and critical
aspects of behavior/attitude that will convert
the necessary into sufficient conditions for
change.
• Trust: If you think of it, business and
commerce-in fact human civilization-is
based on trust : our belief that people will
do what they say (and hopefully say what
they mean). If this belief gets diluted or
compromised, no initiative can deliver its
potential. Hence it is critical that leaders are
trusted and in turn trust those that "follow"
them. Trust ultimately depends on leaders
being authentic : thought, speech and action
are aligned so that people believe that
leaders will do what they say, that different
masks will not be worn for different
occasions, that they will Walk the Talk.
Mahatma Gandhi was perhaps the most
outstanding in this regard, and hence widely
regarded as one of the greatest leaders in
modern times.
• Inspire, Especially When There is Failure:
Every movement goes through its ups and
downs, and it is precisely when the going is
tough that we need to stand by each other,
when leaders need to focus on strengths to
overcome weaknesses, to remind their
followers "You can do it, I am with you". In
such situations one would do well to
remember Napoleon's statement "Morale is
to all other factors as four is to one". Too
often have I seen blame-games and witchhunts
bring organizational change to a
grinding halt, in fact push it back, when the
going is not good.
Tolerating, in fact celebrating, failure (again
within limits) is in fact an important ingredient
in the samundra manthan of change which
unleashes innovation in organizations, for
failure often (perhaps always) paves the way
for success. But it requires the brave, strong and
the self-confident to be able to see it in this light.
How many of us can do so? And what price
are we willing to pay for it?
• Listen : Most of us are Masters at telling
others what to do, but how many use the
power of listening to connect with and
understand reality, to grasp opportunities,
to see the sources of problems and their
solutions too. The voice of the customer, the
employee, the supplier, the competitor, the
winds of change….
In my experience, the leaders who listened
empathetically-not those who pretended to
listen-were truly able to create transformational
change. The others were great at writing articles
and giving lectures to spell-bound audiences!!
Of course, the art and power of listening must
percolate throughout the organization if its full
power is to be harnessed.
• May a thousand leaders bloom (with
apologies to Chairman Mao!):
• Any major change requires leadership
initiatives (within certain boundaries of
course) through the length and breadth of
the organization.
But it is equally true that in most organizations
these boundaries are much more tightly defined
than they ought to be if the required energy
and momentum of the change process is to be
achieved. Clearly the command and control
approach needs to be revisited, for the pace and
complexity of change can no longer be managed
by supermen CEO s who know more about
everything than anyone else.
Fortunately, many organizations have realized
this and I have seen more and more change
initiatives being driven by large numbers of
empowered leaders and teams of both blue and
white-collar employees -and they inevitably
surpass expectations. Giving up power ends
up creating much more power! This is going to
be the Golden Age of the Leader as Mentor, of
November 2007 NHRD Journal 79