Leadership lessons
by the late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
- Leadership can not be achieved without personal competency.
- Leaders do not born. Anyone with rational thinking can be trained to become a leader.
- Leaders should acquire professional knowledge throughout their life.
- Ability to make up my mind and quickly make decisions
- No comeback after the decision
- Art of commission > Art of omission
- Taking full responsibility for the outcomes of the decision without blaming your subordinates.
- Why a person can not make a decision? - Lack of confidence - Lacks Professional competency (see #1) - Never learned trained on the circumstances or assumed it is not severe enough
If you must be a bloody fool, be one quickly.
- Absolute Justice and Impartiality
- A person will accept the punishment if she thinks she deserves it.
- A person will accept to be superseded if she thinks the other person deserves it.
- Why should I not punish you? Punishment should be a lesson learned not to destroy someone.
- Moral Courage
- Ability to distinguish right from the wrong
- Once distinguished, dare to stand up and speak your piece irrespective of what your superior/colleague/subordinate/parents think.
- A โYes manโ is a horrible man; never a leader
- It may rise high, but
- Used by superiors
- Disliked by colleagues
- Disrespected by subordinates
- Physical courage: Everybody fears. Never show your fear to others and never to your subordinates. Once you show fear to them, you quit.
- The only way to face fear is by facing it.
- Loyalty
- Loyalty is a two-way thing between leaders and subordinates.
Leadership is managing men (with a sense of humor and empathy) and resources.
- Discipline
- Show up five minutes before the time. Always be punctual.
- Always sleep on time and wake up on time.
- Be focussed.
- Character
- Know what you are inside (and what you portray) rather than what others decipher about us.
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