The Old model of leadership has become obsolete, and there's a new model of Leadership emerging in the current corporate world, which requires a fresh outlook and new consideration for making it a meaningful application in the industrial parlance.
I suggest to you the new model of leadership really is leading without a title, In other words, you need no title to be a leader
If I have 5000 employees in Saiprasad group,I won't call them employees ,I will call them 5000 Leaders of Sai Prasad Group.
In other words, every single employee is now a part of the leadership team, whether they're the janitor or working as a manager, whether they're working as HOD or whether they're in the board room. Leading without a title is an idea I want you really wrap your mind around .I want you to brain tattoo it, and I want you to bring it back to your team. I want you to build a Leadership culture based on leading without a title.
Just imagine what our business would look like, if every single person who works here, whether they're in the branches ,or whether they work in the board room, if every person shows Leadership ,just imagine what your family will look like if every single person at home shows leadership . Just imagine what our community or our nation would look like if every single person in our community or in our entire nation shows leadership.
That is the power of Leadership. I think Leadership is something that the smartest organizations are going to execute as we move into our future endeavours in the different fields of activities.
There are five elements of leading without a title and I want each and every employee of Sai Prasad group to follow this element of leadership on daily basis , which will result not only in the development of your personal leadership but also your personal growth of the group itself.
These 5 elements of leading without a title are pretty simple what is indicated below".
1- First, "INNOVATE’’; the first trait of leading without a title is innovation. Innovation is simply leaving everything you touch better than you found it. Innovation is simply having a relentless commitment to making things better .Innovation is scary for people, because ultimately there can be no innovation without disruption.
As a matter of fact, the best way to innovate are those 1% wins each and every day .1% improvements over time, which leads to stunning results . That's the best way to build innovation within our business and within your personal life.
But the very nature of innovation means you're a visionary. Visionaries are challenged. Visionnaries are ridiculed. I came up with a line the other day , ''ultimately visionaries are ridiculed before they are understood'' So, innovation is about improvement , and it's scary thing for most people because what they have to do is they have to leave the safe harbour of the known.
2- The second trait is being a ''Merchant of WOW''. In other words, if you're simply delivering on customers’ expectations, or in your work itself, if you simply do what's expected, there’s a good chance to be in some serious trouble within the next 12 to 24 months. Rather than just doing what's expected ,I'm going to challenge you to deliver at WOW , to be a merchant of Wow ,to be so good in your work that people can't take their eyes off of you ,to deliver so much outrageous or genius -level value to your customers ,that literally they're breathless.
you know I don't like the word competitor because ultimately every minute you spend focusing on your competition you're taking moment away from creation and creating value, which is going to allow you to get to your mountain top.
But if all you're doing is benchmarking and you're delivering about the same experience and about the same value as your competition, then you're not going to be in very good shape as we move into our future. Where there's going to be even more competition, even more disruption, and even more changes in the organizational context.
So on the second point about being a Merchant of Wow,mai I encourage you play it genius ? May I encourage you to be so great at what you do that your customers are breathless, that you spell bond them with how much wow you deliver? Always be remembering or asking yourself this question, How may I more effectively serve? How much I create so much for my customers that they are stunned by what I do and that they could not imagine doing business with anyone else?''
Your work, It’s a masterpiece ,It's a work of art . Very few people have that commitment to that level of excellence anymore .you will stand out in your marketplace you will be one of the great ones in your market place.
3- The third element to lead without a title is to be ''AUTHENTIC'. AS Jack Welch said, ''Don't lose yourself on the way to the top ''. As Oscar Wilde said, ''Be yourself. Everyone is taken'' Really, the third element of the leading without a title is being Authentic. What's authenticity about? It's nothing soft. Actually it's something that's very hard. Warren Buffet said, ''There will never be a better you than you.'' Authenticity from a personal leadership perspective is simply about being yourself, speaking with your voice. Going to work, operating under your values , being comfortable in your own skin. Be authentic .Be transparent. Be the real deal. People will love you for it.
4- The fourth element of leading without a title is ''GUTS''
In other words, the more you can go to your limit, the more your limits will expand. Guts are about doing what's difficult but what is more important .Guts is about persistence, perseverance and patience in a world where we want to get our mountain top yesterday. You need lot of guts to be a great leader .you need a lot of guts to play at your absolute best.
You need lots guts to be visionary and say, ''You know what? Our marketplace has never done this .''Or, ''Here's a new way delivers our market product, we can bring to serve our beloved customers.''
People will not understand that or they will ridicule you or if you become really successful they will try to tear you down, because you are basically giving them a glimpse of what was possible for them . Rather that owning personal responsibility and saying, ''I could have done that too, '' it's easier to criticize and tear you down. So guts are what you must have as a leader.
5- The fifth element of leading without a title, is really a system, the fifth element of leading without a title is ''ETHICS''
It could take you 20 years to build a great brand and a great reputation. You could lose it in 20 seconds .Leading without a title is all about integrity , Being the most honest person in every room,about practicing your preach , about walking your talk , about doing what you say you're going to do every time you're going to do it.
I want to share a very simple concept with you that I think is very, very powerful. What I would encourage you to do is to coach every single person on your team on this lead without a title philosophy, and in particular say ''You know what? Regardless of the title on your business card , you have the power to lead.''
As of today you are the CEO of your own SBU (Small Business Unit) . Just imagine if every single person, whether they worked in IT, legal, sales R&D, HR, Media, Construction if every single person saw themselves as CEO, Chief executive officer, of their own small business unit or group will grow in times in the years to come.
Once you understand that concept and embrace that concept, you are going to have a sense of ownership. you are going to actually say, ''You know what , I'm an entrepreneur! I am an entrepreneur of my own small business unit within this larger organization. ''In other words , the larger organization that we are running really just invests in small business units . I think that's powerful concept, and I have seen some profound results in some other organizations with that concept.
So good luck to you and I hope in time Saiprasad Family will be a family of leaders.
Shashank Bhapkar
Managing Director
