Integrity and Leadership: two sides of the same coin

Published: The Hindu
At: Hyderabad
On: November 30, 2011

To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

Who do you think is the manager with integrity? The manager who always smiles and says encouraging things, and then never supports you when it comes down to task or the low-key, caring and firm manager who encourages to work hard and consistently praises employees who go above and beyond. Who do you think deserves your respect and trust? Obviously, the second one!
How does integrity relate to leadership? Priti Parekh, Chief Operating Officer at AMBA Research says, “As you grow higher in your organisation, the more important it becomes for you as a leader to demonstrate integrity. Leaders with integrity are able to inspire trust and confidence in their team, which is particularly important during times of crisis. ”
As a leader, your employees look upon you for your values and where you are taking them (i.e. the goals of the organisation). Your values must be demonstrated in action. You must have their best interests at heart. You must demonstrate your reliability, honesty and trustworthiness. You must have the capacity to inspire and lead thus creating a productive work environment.
In other words, you as a leader must act with integrity. Integrity is a must-have quality in a leader. It cannot be feigned, it has to be a continuous effort. If this does not happen, people will experience deterioration in trust and respect ultimately leading to major fallout in organisation. As Buckminster Fuller quotes “Integrity is the essence of everything successful”. Maintaining integrity in a workplace where there is intense pressure to cave in takes immense courage. It is not easy when all you need is profits. Here are some tips to develop integrity:
Role model
As a leader, set an example. Show by your attitude and action how people must be treated and the way goals must be pursued.
Consistency
Unpredictability in a leader’s decisions may risk integrity being compromised. Are your decisions based on your moods? A wise and powerful leader can be relied upon when needed. Demonstrate integrity consistently every day and you will build a level of integrity that your employees will come to trust.
Communication
Have transparent communication. Let there be no communication gap between the levels in the organisation. It is imperative to provide clear direction. A leader must be clear and consistent to be understood and trusted.
Commitment
One of the most sterling qualities of a leader with integrity is to fulfill each and every promise made irrespective of the hierarchy level in the organisation. It is the yardstick by which your employees make evaluations about you. Commit to making your word as good as a contract.
Value integrity
Instead of saying, “I value integrity” all the time choose to show by your attitude and behaviour. Live your values every day. Remember, you are living continuously under a looking glass. Be authentic and show your wisdom, skills and fairness with actions.
Honesty
An honest leader with a strong foundation of integrity does the right thing no matter what the circumstances are in the organisation. The leader treats people fairly and stays away from playing favourites or political games. This ensures a productive environment fostering growth and innovation.
Feedback
It is essential to take feedback from your employees and continue making efforts to motivate employees on an ongoing basis. Know your strengths and limitations, seek to continue develop and learn.
Recruitment
Recruiting people with integrity is the key to ensure integrity remains the life and blood of the organisation. So, how does one know if the potential employee has high levels of integrity? Behavioral interviewing is an excellent way to identify whether a candidate’s characteristics and motivations match your organisation’s values. This type of interview will allow you to examine the candidate’s behaviour in the past.
As D Suresh, Executive Director at Computer Access Pvt. Ltd. notes, “Today, without integrity you cannot lead any organisation whether it is profit or not for profit organisation. Companies without integrity collapse in no time.”

Women and entrepreneurship: success stories

Published: The Hindu
On: November 9, 2011
At: Hyderabad, India

To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

The women entrepreneurs' tribe is increasing in India. What characteristics do they have in common? Is it perseverance, passion, willingness to take risks? Or, is it plain inborn characteristics? Here are some local entrepreneurs who share their success stories. All of them are successful entrepreneurs based in Hyderabad. They have each figured out ways to manage the process, and each has struggled. But they have not failed.
Amritha Mishra, owner of Trisha Boutique in Vikrampuri Colony uses her passion to strike out on her own. Amritha is a textile designer from Calcutta. She was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. With the aptitude for entrepreneurship, she was nurtured by a supporting family. Within a span of the next 10 years, she grew from a home-based start up business to a fully fledged retail outlet store in Vikrampuri colony at Hyderabad. Her products line includes trendy sarees to accessories and footwear.
Amritha's huge clientele is solely based on word of mouth publicity. She says, “As women, it's essential to maintain a healthy balance between your house and career. I have always ensured that my family life does not suffer due to my passion.” She attributes her success to her husband who motivates her and is extremely involved and helpful in every aspect of her growing business. No wonder, success comes easily to her.
Another entrepreneur, Dipali Mehta, is a fashion designer from Mumbai committed to women development. As a head designer for the export division in Kalaniketan, Mumbai and running a manufacturing unit, she saw scope in handlooms. After settling in Hyderabad, she plunged in business with her supportive husband, transporting handloom textiles from the local market to the higher end of the fashion industry through design and development. At the beginning, she did not have any money required to start her business. However, she took it as a challenge and built her business solely on her marketing skills and hard work.
A warm and loving lady, Dr. Suniti Satwalekar is a leading Gynaecologist of the twin cities and the owner of Dr. Shantabai Nursing Home at Hyderabad. Coming from a small middle-class family, Dr. Suniti got married into a well- respected and established family of Hyderabad. Strong support from her mother-in-law, who established the first nursing home in the twin cities, along with a good setup paved the way for her excellence in her field. Dr Suniti notes that the success of her family-career balance was also determined by her team of doctors. She delegates her work, thus achieving more productivity.
Even though she continued maintaining her mother-in-law's establishment, she had a vision: to provide the best care for her patient. For this, she started a five year plan in which she invested lakhs of rupees to buy new equipments and machines. So far, 1500 students have been trained in her hospital. The nursing home continues to take new doctors and hone their skills.
Suman Kumar is a B.Sc Home Science and B.Ed graduate. She moved across the globe with her husband and took small steps to financial freedom. She dabbled in teaching to advertising and doing embroidery and stitching for boutiques in Mumbai. In her late thirties, she relocated to India, and decided to utilise her capabilities. She chose to join her husband, who is an engineer by profession. Coming from a non-technical background, she underwent training in UK. After returning, she along with her husband started Sukaso Engineering manufacturing the first of its kind EPS products. Later, she diversified into Sukaso Ceracolours to manufacture ceramic colours with British Collaboration. Sukaso soon became a one-stop shop for all ceramic raw material requirements. Today, after twenty years, her hard work has paid off and its successful presence is felt in Europe, Middle East, Africa, etc.
She says, “I strongly believe that an entrepreneur must have a goal in mind and should continue honing their skills lifelong. Also, after 35 is the right age to start business”. Suman paired her skills – business savvy and great leadership – with a desire to help people find their inspiration. She is one of the six founders and past president of Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE), which is a city based non-profit organisation started in 2004 with an aim to uplift women through entrepreneurship.
These women were able to succeed in their business enterprises not only because of their innate skills and abilities but also due to the strong support system they had. They believed in what they were doing and followed their goal with single-minded determination. These qualities helped them forge ahead and make a mark.

Ten proven strategies for career advancement

Published: The Hindu
On: October 27, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India

To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

Careers don't just happen, not by accident or by luck. There is a lot of commitment involved in setting and achieving goals, and accepting new challenges. The changing work place demands that you design your own career path. Often, it may not be an upward move, sometimes, you need to make a lateral move first and then an upward move.
Here are ten effective strategies to incorporate into your career advancement plan:
Develop professionalism: Professional work behaviour along with appropriate appearance will go a long way toward career success.

• Dress successfully; even on casual days.

• Take responsibility for your actions.

• Don't indulge in gossip.

• If you don't like someone, don't let it show.

• Don't hold grudges.

• Ask for help when you need it, before things get worse.

• Share the credit.

• Exhibit flexibility. Be open to the views of others.
Acquire skills: It goes without saying that furthering your education is a great way to advance your career. Even if going back to school is not an option, read as much as you can to gain knowledge. Reading as simple as trades magazines can be useful to you while chatting with your boss. Knowing about the industry trends can make you an asset in his eyes. Be proactive in learning new skills and getting cross trained in multiple job areas.
Create opportunities: Big or small opportunities within and outside the department shows your readiness to engage in a difficult assignment. Your energy and creativity will be seen by people who are always looking out for enterprising leaders.
Build rapport: Develop a good relationship with your boss that rewards both financially, and builds your respect in his eyes. Use all opportunities to make him a key supporter in your promotion. Know what's important to him; pay attention to his style of working. Strive to be on time, present yourself professionally and do the extra mile in the varying difficulties at work, are some of the ways you can build a bond with your boss.
Network effectively: Networking is an ongoing process that can expand your horizons. Build a network of partners to keep an open eye and ear for new opportunities for you. Share knowledge, make recommendations and build trust. Help others achieve what they want and they in turn will help you achieve your goal. An added benefit of networking is that you will gain knowledge of your company and other departments.
Be visible: Be on top of the mind of your employer. The more visible you are, the better you will establish yourself as a subject matter expert, which will instantly elevate you to a desirable position. Use blogs, bylined articles, self-published books, social networks, surveys and other complimentary or cost-effective Internet vehicles to get the word out. Likewise, forum posts; newsletters; press releases; and free stories written for leading industry publications in exchange for a published link or personal bio can all make handy self-promotions.
Find a mentor: The adage of “It's who you know” is a relatively true expression. Mentors spread the good word about you. They are an excellent source of information and career guidance. Some companies have formal mentoring programs. Even if your company does not have such program, you can develop relationships with people in higher positions in your company. Think of a mentor as a personal business coach who guides you along the bumpy path of the corporate world.
Team player: Look beyond your piece of work and care about the team's overall work. As a good team player demonstrate reliability, communicate effectively and function as an active participant. Share your information, knowledge and experience with the rest of the team thereby increasing your value in the organization.
Track record: When a position becomes available within a company, often the human resource department looks for an employee already working for the company rather than outside applicants. An employee with a memorable track record is bound to be on top of the list. Keep a detailed record of your past performances that enhances the company's bottom line.
Be open: One of the most effective ways to move up is to ask for more responsibility. Volunteer to take on assignments from within or other departments. Accomplishing them successfully puts the spotlight on you and adds your value to the organisation.
If you develop your attitude in tune with these points you can be sure you will move towards bright career.

Avoid Procrastination, reap career success

Published: The Hindu
On: December 1, 2010
At: Hyderabad

To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

Amit is asked by his boss to prepare a report on an important project that will be discussed in three days. The deadline is weighing on his mind, but so far he has not done anything about it. Instead, he is playing Bricks on his BlackBerry Bold, posting tweets on Twitter, and generally doing everything except the work. Amit is procrastinating. Sounds familiar?
Procrastinating over tasks means putting off tasks for a later date until you are cornered to do them, or sometimes never doing them at all. Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today, says Dr. Wayne Dyer, a well-known author. If you continually fail to deliver your work on time, you will end up with a label of an employee with behavioral problem. Such behaviour could be detrimental in finding career success.
Most individuals suffer through this problem without realizing it. Well, everyone gives in to the urge to put off doing things once in a while. But if the tendency gets chronic, it is time to do some serious thinking. So, what do you do if you find yourself falling into patterns of procrastination? The first step is to be aware of it, and then look for ways to eliminate this behaviour.
Why it happens:
There are several reasons why people procrastinate. Once you understand the reasons for the delay, it is easy to overcome it. When there is a particular task you feel that you do not have the required knowledge or skills, you tend to put it under the back burner. This could be because you have a low self -esteem.
A time consuming project could invite procrastination. You may feel overwhelmed by the project itself, and even avoid starting it.
Poor time management, often associated with a distorted sense of the time available can be one of the reasons to delude work. You may be under the assumption that you have enough time to get around to doing it.
Concentrating on the negative outcome can make you defer. A lurking sense of fear can make you stick to your ‘comfortable’ routine.
Perhaps your difficulty is that you doubt your judgement. You lack experience, and cannot decide which action is best in a given situation.
The bad effects are:
• It is bad for your morale. A job left undone pulls you down completely leaving you with a sense of guilt.
• You have lost an opportunity to prove your capabilities.
• Procrastination breeds clutter. Unfinished jobs tend to leave clutter in your workspace thus decreasing your efficiency.
• Inevitably procrastination leads to accumulation of the tasks.
• If your procrastination habits come in the limelight, your superiors may brand you as a lazy employee, and will not recommend you for promotion.
• The more you procrastinate working on a presentation, or sending off an important report, the more will the task look unpleasant.
• You could lose your colleagues’ respect and support.
Tackling it:
When procrastination raises its villainous head often, it is time to motivate yourself. Seek out opportunities to interact with your colleagues who are successful. Gain insight on how they handle projects, even when it requires skills that they have not used before. Observe how they handle issues and assignments. If you require further training, speak up to your manager. Let him know you need additional skills.
Turn things around and prioritize by doing the difficult things first. You will find that the rest of the tasks will be downhill once you manage the difficult one first. Quite often, a task without a deadline can be put off indefinitely. Set a deadline, and stick to it.
Break the tasks into small manageable sub-tasks. Plan and complete these smaller tasks. Every time you complete a project on time, reward yourself with a treat.
Once you have taken these steps to end procrastination, you may find yourself easily accomplishing tasks that once seemed unattainable. Always keep in mind that if you go back to your old habits, it delays projects and affects others in your organization, and most of all it can damage your career.

Mentoring: Set right agenda to taste success

Published: The Hindu
On: November 10, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India

To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

Mentoring has been used with increasing frequency over the past decade in the business world. Often used for grooming potential leaders, companies draw on it as a means of fostering employee learning and development. Here, the associate is paired with a senior level leader for a series of career development interactions. The mentor can facilitate personal and professional growth by sharing knowledge and insights gathered through the years. A mentor is not necessarily a manager or supervisor. It could be anyone in the organisation, alumni, professional or trade associations.
Even if your company does not have such a programme, you can still look for a mentor. Consider him or her your personal career coach! Research has shown that mentoring relationships succeed when both the mentor and mentee take an active role in developing the relationship.
Suitable type: Look for people who inspire you and motivate you, someone whom you admire and respect. The person should have the values you aspire to have and have good work ethics. He/she must be genuinely interested in nurturing the mentor-mentored relationship and has the desire to help someone else.
Approach that individual and ask if they would consider being your mentor. Don't be disappointed if they say No. Keep looking until you find the right person.
It is important to establish a sincere and trustworthy relationship. You can establish multiple mentor relationships with various individuals to address different aspects of your life.
Take the lead: While the mentor is available to counsel and impart lessons learned, it is the one who is mentored who should take the lead in the mentoring sessions. The one who is mentored can decide the agenda, exchange and discuss potential ideas, and so on.
To boost the sessions, you can spend some time learning more about each other and building a personal relationship. Share career stories, vision and even topics not pertaining to work: movie, hobbies, news and events.
Some guidelines to develop effective mentoring relationship:
Be clear. It is important to understand the agenda and assumptions that mentor and the mentored bring to the ‘mentoring table'. Set the expectations from the beginning. Discuss how feedback will be given.
Establish goals. Know your goals. Use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based) goals method to be effective. For example, you may have a goal of attaining 100 percent customer satisfaction. However, this is not a realistic goal. Instead, 15 percent improvement in customer satisfaction is better. Be open to re-evaluate your goals midway.
Establish communication. Maintain clear and consistent communication. Be reliable, responsive, prepared, and organised. Communicate your ideas, needs, goals and aspirations. Determine the lines of communication that will work for both of you. Will it be through phone, email or face-to-face?
Build trust. At the core of the mentor-mentored relationship is trust. Although this sounds simple, it is essential that both mutually agree that their discussions will be kept confidential. Only when there is trust, will you be willing to take feedback and recommendations and the mentor will be willing to give time to you.
Attitude and work ethics. Be enthusiastic, and prepared to put in the necessary efforts. Stay motivated, and committed. Take the initiative to do something different. Challenge yourself and take risks. Be honest, hardworking and conscientious.
Express your gratitude. In the end, express your gratitude for the time, thought and insight invested in you. Be sincere, honest. This will tilt the scales in favor of finding a successful career.
Sometimes, the closure of mentor-mentored relationship can be difficult. Often, one of them hangs on for comfort or desire not to offend. To avoid such a situation, discuss and plan how you will end the mentoring relationship when you first negotiate your partnership. Respect your mentor, if he would like to be the first to end the relationship. In the mentoring relationship, a good closure is synonymous with learning and growth. You are now ready to begin your new stage.

Find practical ways to help colleagues in hard times

Published: The Hindu
On: May 26, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India


To read The Hindu's online version, click here.

It is Rahul’s first day back at work since the death of a family member two weeks ago. His colleague Prasad sees him coming down the hallway toward him and panics. What is he going to say? What if Rahul completely breaks down? Prasad dodges into the nearest cubicle and hides till Rahul has walked by. Sounds familiar?
There are many Prasads and Rahuls at every workplace. When you spend most of your waking hours at work than at home, you may become close like an extended family. Everyone’s response to personal loss is unique.
Part of helping a grieving colleague is to understand that the stages of grief are a natural part of the mourning process.
There are five stages of grief: Disbelief -’This can’t be happening to me’, Longing - desire to be with the deceased, Anger - ’Why me?’, Depression- overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and Acceptance -accepting the loss. Research shows that the stages of grief last approximately six months. Usually, after this time period grieving is less.
Help the colleague
Find practical ways to help. Possibly, you could request your manager to give your colleague’s share of work to you. However, if the person finds work therapeutic then do not lighten his load. If you are close to this person, make an offer to run little errands to ease his tension from small but irritating factors.

Patience and understanding is need of the hour. The grieving process takes time and the person cannot come out of it immediately.

Be present. Remember, your presence is important. Let your colleague know you are there to listen, talk or be of any other assistance he requires. Words of sympathy are often not enough. Perhaps, a big hug or a squeeze of the hand is needed.

Encourage him to take a walk, or join some activity with you, and spend some time together.

It is unreasonable to expect your colleague to give his best performance. He may experience difficulty in concentrating or his frustration can affect his productivity and efficiency.
Guidelines
Acknowledge the colleague’s grief. Let him know you recognise the magnitude of his loss.

If you know your colleague casually, you can send a sympathy card, note or flowers as a way to extend your condolences. Sending condolence by email is another contemporary way to acknowledge the death. It is not necessary to ask questions about how the death happened.

Let the bereaved tell you as much as he wants. Allow him to take the lead when he is ready.

Avoid platitudes like, “Life is for living”, or, “It’s God’s will”. Such explanations rarely console mourners. It is inappropriate to use cliches like “I know how it feels”. The fact is that you don’t know. Focus on your colleague rather than yourself.

In such moments, it is not unusual for your past grief to come up. Keep your personal feelings aside. Try to keep the ‘why’ and ‘should’ out of your conversation. Also, don’t allow your facial expressions, body language, or gestures to give away your judgmental thoughts.

Become comfortable with silence. There is no need to fill up every moment with conversation. Quiet time together can be golden. As time goes by, listen to your colleague frequently. Do not discourage him to talk about the deceased.

Accept the feelings expressed. He could be angry with providence, deceased person or just anyone. It’s inappropriate to say, “You should not say that”, “You should not feel like that”. Do not hesitate to encourage him to go for counselling if the need arises.

Watch out for signs like weight-loss, depression or talks of extreme actions. Recognise and respect your colleague’s boundaries. Back off at his closed doors and silence in conversation.

Finally, be open to your colleague’s need and make frequent contacts when required. Your colleague will do better when he or she feels cared for and supported by you.

Walking through the difficult terrain of grief is not easy, but recognise grieving is as much part of wellness as it is of life.

Tips for New Employee Orientation

Published: The Hindu
On: June, 2010
At: Hyderabad, India

 Picture this scenario, Sandhya, a project manager had thought she had finally found her ideal job. She was full of excitement when she arrived at work on her first day. Someone from Human Resources showed her the office, left her with a couple of product manuals, and told her to read them. During her first week, she did just that, peruse product manuals. Each day at noon she hoped that a colleague would ask her to join them for lunch. She waited for someone to walk to her desk and talk to her. But, no such luck. Sandhya found the work atmosphere so stifling that she decided to call it quits within ten days of her joining work.

The thought of working in a flourishing work environment is very appealing to most people. It can bring a sad smile on someone’s face whose current company does not measure up. Great workplaces are committed to create a welcoming atmosphere to truly make people feel that they are part of something extraordinary. While there are many qualities in making a great work atmosphere, one key practice is to spend a lot of energy welcoming new employees and making sure they successfully get acclimated to their new work environment.

The following key points will help you get your newest team members up to speed so they can start contributing to your success soon.

Introduction and Tours

Make time for your new employees. Conduct an ‘office tour’ pointing out mailrooms, restrooms, meeting rooms, cafeteria and copy and fax area. Introduce the new ones to other employees. It can be overwhelming to introduce everyone. In a large company, just the department is fine. If you must be away, ‘appoint’ someone in your team to act on your behalf. This person could also be a buddy employee(s) to assist with questions and help them navigate the unwritten rules of the organization.

Make it simple. Avoid making them fill in numerous forms on the first day. Instead, prioritize in making the new employees in your team feel welcome. Encourage them to interact with the key people in their department.

Make an announcement. It could be an office memo informing employees of the new hires and their role in the office. Or, in this technology savvy work environment you could send an e-mail note to their team.

Position Information

Orient the person with the job assignments and training plans. Explain their role and how it affects the organization. Discuss the expected contributions and facilitate in deriving short term goals. Review company policies and procedures including, vacations, timings and schedules. Provide a glossary of company acronyms, terms and Frequently Asked Questions in a manual.

Administrative Procedures

Prepare the new hire’s arrival before time. Arrange for the phone, workstation, business cards (if applicable) and any equipment needed to perform the necessary job functions. Stock their workstation with office supplies. Order applicable building keys and/or security access cards. If the employee will be accessing a computer terminal, contact your help desk to set up security access, email accounts, login and passwords and Intranet.

Make the first day a celebration. It instills trust, mutual respect, a strong work ethic and a sense of fun. An invitation to lunch from their team is welcoming. First impressions of you and your organization, both good and bad, are made on the first day. Continue to monitor their progress and answering questions as and when they arise. A person can take in just enough information for a day. Set a meeting with the new hires once a week to help making an easy transition. Being extra sensitive to their needs and giving time to absorb the newness of the role and environment is helpful and appreciative. These small gestures will go a long way in making the employees feel they have made the correct choice in selecting your company for their career path. When employees feel welcome, they will easily integrate in their teams.

They will readily support and assist the company when needed. Importantly, a happy employee makes a productive employee.