I

Article on Practicing Effective Leadership in a Difficult

Economy
• In this struggling economy, effective leadership is more important than
ever
• The business environment is more competitive
• Employees, business owners, managers and supervisors must perform
at top capacity and produce optimal results

Be Quality Listeners

• It's not enough to give orders

• Effective leaders must let their employees do some of the talking, so
they feel valued and respected
• Even if that means some healthy venting and pouring out anxieties /
concerns
• Especially in organizations where there are layoffs and low morale

Keep an Open – Mind

• Powerful leaders require flexibility and maintaining an openness to

change and to new ideas
• Even if you don’t always agree with someone, it’s alright

Have a Strong / Clear vision

• Great managers and leaders possess ability to see their organization's

long and short term goals and objectives
• Understand where their company plans to be one year from now
• Working backwards, understand where they need to be nine months
from now, six months from now, and so on

Clearly Communicate Vision

• It's one thing for a person in a leadership role to have vision for future
and direction they want to take their employees
• But it's even more important that as an effective leader, they can
clearly communicate and get their message across
• Powerful leaders are often powerful orators

Be Inspirational and Motivational

• This is not to someone who has their head in the clouds and
overconfident / arrogant
• But rather a leader who has truly discovered specific, individual
techniques for motivating their employees toward peak performance

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

Set High Expectations and Produce Bottom-line Results

• The best managers know what motivates each employee

• They instill confidence, put reward programs in place, and motivate
team members to exceed expectations

Be Educated on the Day-to-day aspects of each Employee's job

• In my leadership programs, participants tell me that their best

manager ever was one who could "speak their language
• The leader needs true comprehension of the employee's job, time
constraints, problems and challenges
• In many cases, the best Leaders / Managers have often done the
job themselves

Being Honest & Accountable

• This has never been more apparent than it is today!

• According to research, the number one trait people want to see to
willingly WANT to follow their leader is honesty
• A leader can be intelligent, have vision, a plan of action, and be a
great orator
• But if people don't trust that person, it's difficult to get them on
board
• Ultimately, the leader should go beyond their title / designation and
earn influence / respect

Caring Enormous Influence

• The real test of leadership is how much influence you have over your
people
• Ability to persuasively communicate is critical

Give Credit where it is due

• They secure enough in themselves to give honest sincere

recognition to those who deserve it

Be Transparent

• When I ask my participants what qualities they want to see in their

leaders, overwhelmingly a word often mentioned is
"straightforward"
• They say that even if it's bad news, they'd rather like the leader be
straightforward. Which...goes back to honesty

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CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 II
Article on Crisis Leadership In Changing Times
• Managing crisis and providing leadership in a crisis are not same
• Crisis management relates mainly to operational issues
• Crisis leadership principally deals with how leaders handle the human
responses to a crisis, including their own
• We all have natural behavioral responses to crisis situations based on our
needs and emotions
• We may not be conscious, but our behaviors send messages to others about
our underlying needs and emotions
• Nothing tests a leader like a crisis
• There is an element of the leader’s deepest character that is revealed during
highly charged, dramatic events
• A crisis can quickly expose a leader’s hidden core strengths and weaknesses
• Will the leader address the crisis head-on, take those actions needed to fix it,
and take responsibility for the crisis?
• Will the leader freeze, or worse, claim to be a victim and pass off the
responsibility to others?
• What can a leader do to find out what went wrong and to ensure it doesn’t
recur?
• Three key themes of crisis Leadership are communication, clarity of vision and
values, and caring relationships
• While they are certainly important to leaders in normal operations, but their
importance is magnified during a crisis
• By paying attention to these 3 themes, leaders can hope to increase their
understanding that handle the human dimension of a crisis
• The result is a leader being more prepared to contain crisis and regain control
of situations
• Ensure minimum amount of damage is done to the organization
• Effectively prevent, defuse, and reduce the duration of these extremely
difficult leadership situations
• The anxiety, insecurity, and confusion that a crisis generates are huge
challenges for leaders e.g. Peace time training for army
• They must be prepared to provide leadership not only to those in their
organization, but also to those in the greater orbit of their influence like :
• Clients and customers, the surrounding community, stockholders, suppliers,
vendors, local government, activist groups, and the media
• They must deal with their own emotions and needs a crisis triggers and of
course, leaders must also lead themselves

WHAT IS CRISIS?

• Crises have no borders or boundaries

• They can happen anytime, anywhere, and to any organization—profit, not-for-
profit, public or private
• The interconnectedness of the global economy and political realities can
magnify ripple effects of any single crisis, making it a common feature of
corporate life

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • A crisis affecting one organization can, among other things, cause layoffs and
closures among organization’s suppliers, customers, and partners; bring
about a loss of investor confidence that can cause a dip in the stock market
• The financial implosion that bankrupted the U.S.-based energy-trading
company Enron in 2001, - also sparked a financial crisis at Arthur Andersen, a
consulting/ auditing services firm
• Because of their unpredictable nature and their accompanying ripple effect,
crisis situations are unlikely to leave any organization untouched
• Leaders can realistically count on facing some kind of organizational crisis at
some point during their careers
• Such a crisis will negatively affect people in an organization, which is often
the most difficult challenge leaders face in dealing with a crisis
• Soften the negative impact by addressing the human element of a crisis
before, during, and after it occurs
• A crisis is characterized by a high degree of instability and carries the
potential for extremely negative results that can endanger continuity of
organization
• It’s a key moment or critical period that brings both surprise and dramatic
change
• In this way a crisis can be described as a turning point in the affairs of an
individual or an organization
• The word itself originates from the Greek krisis, which means “to sift or
separate.”
• A crisis has potential to divide an organization’s past from its future, to
replace security with insecurity, and to separate effective leaders from
ineffective ones
• The situation may be further aggravated by relentless media scrutiny, a
restless and information-hungry workforce, and advanced technologies that
are never 100 percent reliable
• Although no two crises are ever the same, they share some common traits
• A crisis isn’t usually expected or planned for
• It generally comes as a bombshell that frightens and stuns those on whom it
falls
• There may have been signs and indications of impending difficulties
• But in the flow of daily operations they were ignored, placed on the back
burner, or wished away, or denied

Level 1 crisis

• In this situation the organization will be publicly embarrassed and mission

success is threatened
• Common examples of this level of crisis include sexual harassment charges
brought against a key leader of the organization
• An insensitive or racially charged statement by a company leader
• Or an overt action taken by the organization that damages the environment
• Places profit over public welfare, or is viewed as unethical, politically
incorrect, or socially irresponsible
• Eg suit filed against discrimination of African American(s) in hiring /
promotions - $ 176M were paid as damages against demand of $220M

Level 2 crisis

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • At this level a situation exists in which there is personal injury, some
property loss, possible loss of life
• Potential for serious damage to the company’s reputation, or a combination
of these and similar items
• An example of a level 2 crisis was at Johnson & Johnson. In 1982 seven
people died in the Chicago area from taking cyanide-laced Tylenol (one of
the company’s premiere products)
• Public relations experts consider the company’s handling of the crisis as one
of the best examples of crisis leadership and corporate communications in
the history of American business
• Johnson & Johnson placed customer safety over corporate profits by
immediately recalling $10 million worth of Tylenol from store shelves and
warehouses, stopping both production and advertising of the product,
cooperating with media to inform public of the problem, and offering a
$100,000 reward for information leading to the killer’s capture
• In 1983 the company reintroduced Tylenol with tamper resistant packaging

Level 3 crisis

• This level defines a situation in which there is loss of life, significant property
damage, a perceived threat to the survival of the company, or a combination
of these and similar items
• An example of a level 3 crisis is the accounting scandal at the Enron
Corporation
• The Houston-based organization inflated its profits and disguised its financial
difficulties, and its leaders funneled millions into their own pockets
• The company’s bankruptcy, in December 2001, produced billions of dollars of
shareholder losses, thousands of job losses, and a near wipeout of employee
401(k) assets
• The firm of Arthur Anderson, whose job it was to ensure investors could rely
on Enron’s financial statements, was convicted of obstruction of justice for the
shredding of Enron’s financial documents during a Securities & Exchange
Commission investigation

CRISIS LEADERSIHP- EMOTIONS

• Crisis also has the tendency to bring a high degree of chaos and confusion
into an organization
• Typically, there is a lack of information precisely when virtually everyone
in the organization has a huge emotional need for it
• Those involved have a need to know and understand what happened, why
it happened, and how it will impact their futures
• Common emotions arising in crisis situations include fear, anger, anxiety,
sorrow, surprise, shock, disgust, love, and the desire for revenge
• These emotions can trigger positive or negative behaviors
• People in a crisis can act with compassion, self sacrifice, and courage, or
they can display selfishness, cowardice, and greed
• For those emotionally impacted by the crisis, even the simplest tasks can
become difficult to perform
• It is in this chaotic, ambiguous, and highly charged emotional
environment— that leaders must lead, and lead well

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 OPPORTUNITY OR CHAOS

• Effective crisis leadership boils down to responding to human needs,

emotions, and behaviors caused by the crisis
• The crisis will affect employee morale, attitudes, productivity, ability to focus,
stress levels, relationships, and more
• People are more apt to follow a leader who is reassuring and who can meet
their primary needs
• Effective crisis leadership can rescue an organization from chaos and deliver
opportunities
• Organizations that successfully handle crisis situations can come out of them
stronger and with greater employee, customer, and community loyalty than
existed prior to the crisis
• Leaders must look deep into the crisis for such opportunities that not only
benefit organization but also raise potential for individual achievement among
organization’s employees
• They should look to human elements—the emotions, the behaviors, and
reactions that affect and are affected by the crisis and can influence its
outcome

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III
Article on Leading in a Climate of Fear: How to take
the Reins during a Recession
• Have you ever gone through a haunted house?
• Grotesque figures to make your skin crawl
• Ghoulish creatures lurking in the darkness
• Maniacal laughter and blood-curdling screams
• The way news outlets sensationalize the present economic turmoil
• It’s almost like visiting a haunted house
• Broadcasts walk us through the cobwebs of foreclosed homes
• Parade us past the tombstones of Lehmann Brothers and Satyam
• Invoke the ghosts of the Great Depression
• Images of deathly pale stock traders spook us into despairing
• Likening these economic times to a house of horrors is overly dramatic
• But today's market does share a common bond with a haunted house
• In the present hour, leaders must step forward to alleviate apprehensions and
forestall panic

QUALITIES NEEDED DURING DOWN TURNS

Visible Presence

• In times of uncertainty and fear, people look to leaders more

than ever
• They need assurance that someone is working on their behalf
and rallying to their cause
• In the aftermath of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani was ubiquitous in New
York City

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Whether conducting news conferences, attending memorial
ceremonies, or directing public officials
• Giuliani's presence sent a message of resilience and recovery
• His demeanor seemed to symbolize the mood of being tough,
courageous, and undeterred
• Giuliani's presence sent a message of resilience and recovery
• His demeanor seemed to symbolize the mood of being tough,
courageous, and undeterred
• We also have the eg. Of Ratan Tata in Mumbai 26/11 terror
attack . He said “ We are down, but we not knocked out”
• Sixty years before September11th, Americans endured
tragedy at Pearl Harbor
• President Franklin Roosevelt took the mantle of leading
Americans as the United States entered the Second World War
• As he had done during the Great Depression, Roosevelt made
his presence felt through his famous fireside chats
• At a time when few Americans had television, Roosevelt
entered into their homes over the airwaves to calm fears and address the
threats facing the country
• Our Father of Nation, Gandhi is a standing e.g.

Clear Communication

• Aside from making his presence felt, President Roosevelt's

fireside chats gave a unifying message to all Americans
• While affirming that times were tough and sacrifice was
needed, Roosevelt clearly communicated that America was up to the challenge
• His famous quotation was "We have nothing to fear but fear
itself"
• In the wake of Satyam fiasco, the way Deepak Parekh &
Kiran Karnik are doing is a fantastic job

Credible Hope

• "Leaders," said Napoleon, "are dealers in hope."

• During tumultuous times, leaders must cut through the gloom
and doom with rays of light
• When stocks drop and layoffs soar, people are moved toward
fear, and they are tempted to look at worst-case scenarios
• In these moments, leaders must point people to a brighter
tomorrow in order to counteract the destructive emotions of fear
• When introducing hope, leaders should be careful to avoid
speaking in abstract terms
• Hope should be mixed with substance
• Before people can see the light at the end of the tunnel, they
need to be confident they are walking through the darkness in the right
direction
• Along with optimism, leaders must offer a concrete action
plan to arrive at a better tomorrow

Difficult Decision-Making

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • During a recession, leaders inevitably arrive at unenviable decisions such as
scuttling popular projects or reducing payroll
• Time and again, they must make tough calls that affect the livelihoods of their
people and partners

- Accept tough calls as a requirement of leadership (influence comes

with the weight of responsibility and that weight is heavier in hard
times)
- Do your homework (avoid make panicked choices; think them through
- Seek counsel
- Set a deadline (don't delay what is difficult; confront hard choices)
- Understand the emotions of making a tough call (some decisions
involve pain; prepare for the hurt and find safe havens to express it)

Personal Renewal

• For inhabitants of war-torn neighborhoods in Iraq or J & K, fear is

a frequent companion
• As coalition forces attempt to stem violence in the country,
politicians speak of the ongoing effort to win the "hearts and minds" of the Iraqi
people
• Heartfelt support and intellectual consent from Iraqis &
Kashmiri’s, is surely essential to rebuilding the nation / state
• However, before leaders can capture "hearts and minds," they
must master their own thoughts and emotions
• A climate of fear also takes a heavy toll on those leading the way
• At a time when efforts must be redoubled just to stay afloat,
leaders naturally run low on energy
• After making a series of agonizing decisions, leaders may be
tempted to succumb to toxic thoughts of hopelessness and frustration
• When surrounded by turmoil and confusion, leaders, more than
ever, must carve out quality time with loved ones, draw upon their faith, and
seek beauty in art and nature
• These activities serve as reservoirs of peace and renewal
• Unless leaders are regularly re-energized, they will lack the
strength to fend off the grip of fear in their organization

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IV
Article on Leadership - Lessons from Current
Recession
• Many parts of the world are in recession or at least facing a downturn in
the economy
• At these times, redundancies and cutbacks are announced on almost a
daily basis
• Like all events, the current economic challenges present the opportunity
for learning for current and aspiring business leaders

Take a long term view

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Businesses exist or are established with a view to growing and existing for a
long time
• By keeping a focus on the bigger picture and recognizing that economy
generally goes in cycles, avoid taking short term decisions which are not in
the best long term

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

• It is important to have a portfolio of products and /or services so that you can
spread risk and reduce the impact of downturns in the economy
• This is exactly what we do when it comes to investing or saving
• We have a range of options to spread the risk

Continually innovate

• Successful businesses don't stand still

• They are continuously looking for new products or services they can offer or
new and innovative ways of offering what they currently have
• Having different products and services at different stages of the life cycle is
important and this requires constant innovation

Focus on the way forward

• Pick up any newspaper, listen to radio or watch TV and chances you will come
across lots of negativity about how difficult things are
• Time and energy focusing on the way forward is much more productive and
beneficial than focusing on what has happened badly
• Make a commitment to focus on how you wish to move forward and achieve
even greater success

Expect uncertainty

• Uncertainty is part of parcel of being in a leadership role

• It is essential to your success that you expect, accept and prepare the best
you can for uncertainty
• Regularly look at trends in the area which you operate
• Consider what might create uncertainty
• Develop your ideas on how you will address the uncertainties if they arise

Bottom line reflection !

• The economy will always go through periods when it is strong and periods
when it is weak
• As a leader, you need to prepare yourself the best you can to prosper in both
good and bad times

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V
Article on Change Management Competences
1. DEALING WITH AMBIGUITY

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

Signs of being SKILLED

• Can effectively cope with change

• Can shift gears comfortably
• Can decide and act without having the total picture
• Isn’t upset when things are up in the air
• Doesn’t have to finish things before moving on
• Can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty

SOME REMEDIES

• Incrementalism – tolerance of errors

• Perfectionist? – try to decrease need for data
• Stuck with what you know? – challenge the unknown
• Disorganized – get better organized
• Problem definition – figure out what causes it
• Visualize the problem – depict as pictures
• Develop a philosophical stance toward failure / criticism – learn from mistakes
• Stress – go do something else
• Change is letting go of one trapeze in the air to catch the next one –
experiment new ideas
• Finishing – move from incomplete task to incomplete task

2.BUSINESS ACUMEN

Signs of being SKILLED

• Knows how businesses and competition works

• Knowledgeable in current and possible future policies, practices, trends,
technology
and information affecting business and organization
• Is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace

SOME REMEDIES

• Read right periodicals / business books

• Figure out rules of the game
• Ask questions about your business
• Try some broader tasks / roles
• Get close to customers
• Learn to think how an expert in your business does

3. COMPOSURE

Signs of being SKILLED

• Is cool under pressure

• Does not become defensive or irritated when times are tough
• Is considered mature
• Can be counted on to hold things together during tough times
• Can handle stress

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Is not knocked off balance by unexpected
• Doesn’t show frustration when resisted or blocked
• Has a role model influence in a crisis

SOME REMEDIES

• Decreasing triggers – Mentally rehearse

• Increasing impulse control – Practice holding back
• Control to 10 – Take a break
• Delay gratification – Relax & be patient
• Defensive? – Deal criticism constructively
• Controlling – Except the unexpected
• Blame and vengeance – be less reactive, listen more
• When you do reply to an attack, keep it to the facts and their impact on you
• Get anxious and jump to conclusions? Ask clarifying questions
• Too much invested at work? Play & pursue a hobby
• May be your fuse is too long - Write down / share to confidantes

4. CREATIVITY

Signs of being SKILLED

• Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas

• Easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions
• Tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings

SOME REMEDIES

• Remove restraints- Try new things

• Value added approaches- Think out of the box
• Unearthing creative ideas- Go for a hunt
• Ask more questions - Visualize
• Increasing group creativity - Facilitating the process
• Experiment and learn
• Sleep on it – Let ideas incubate

5. INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Signs of being SKILLED

• Is good at bringing creative ideas of others to market

• Has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work
• Has a sense about managing creative process of others
• Can facilitate effective brainstorming
• Can project how potential ideas play out in marketplace

SOME REMEDIES

• Understand your markets

• Managing creative process and people
• Getting creativity out of a group & selecting ideas
• Develop a philosophical stance toward failure / criticism

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Moving an idea through organization
• Become a student of innovation outside your field
• Innovate your business model

6. LEARNING ON THE FLY

Signs of being SKILLED

• Learn quickly when facing new problems

• A relentless and versatile learner
• Open to change
• Analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement
• Experiments and will try anything to find solutions
• Enjoys challenge of unfamiliar tasks
• Quickly grasps essence and underlying structure of anything

SOME REMEDIES

• When faced with a new issue, challenge or problem, figure out what causes it
• Locate the essence of the problem
• Look for patterns
• Don’t expect to get it right the first time
• Use Experts / Others
• People who think in opposite cases when confronted with a problem tend to
do better
• Encourage yourself to do quick experiments and trials
• Ask inquisitive questions

7. DEALING WITH PARADOX

Signs of being SKILLED

• Can act in ways that seem contradictory

• Is very flexible and adaptable when facing tough calls
• Can combine seeming opposites like being compassionately tough, stand up
for self without trampling others, set strong but flexible standards
• Can act differently depending upon situation
• Is seen as balanced despite conflicting demands of situation

SOME REMEDIES

• Gear shifting and making transitions

• Indulge in contrary behaviors
• Go for more variety at work
• Be a novice
• Use mental rehearsal to think different ways

8. PERSPECTIVE

Signs of being SKILLED

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Looks toward the broadest possible view of an issue / challenge
• Has broad-ranging personal and business interests and pursuits
• Can easily pose future scenarios
• Can think globally
• Can discuss multiple aspects and impacts of issues and project them into the
future
SOME REMEDIES

• Read books on Management Challenges

• Study a few well-known inventions of the past, like the automobile etc.
• Read Business magazines including Economist, HBR etc.
• Pick three unrelated things to study and dabble in that you have not yet paid
much attention to
• Pick something you’ve never done, but which would broaden your perspective
off work
• At work, pick three tasks you’ve never done and go do them
• Joint cross functional task forces

9. STRATEGIC AGILITY

Signs of being SKILLED

• Sees ahead clearly and is future oriented

• Can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately
• Has broad knowledge and perspective
• Can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities
• Can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans

SOME REMEDIES

• Speaking strategically about management concepts

• Become curious
• Widen perspectives
• Give time off to invest in strategic thinking
• Read management books
• Become a strategic activist

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[VI]
Article on Emotional Intelligence and Leadership -
Applied to Managing and Leading Changes

WHAT MAKES A LEADER?

• While the qualities traditionally associated with leadership – such as

intelligence, toughness, determination & vision – are required for
success, they are insufficient

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of
emotional intelligence
• These qualities may sound “soft” and un-businesslike
• But Daniel Goleman found direct ties between emotional intelligence
and measurable business results
• Every businessperson knows a story about a highly intelligent, highly
skilled executive
• Who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job
• They also know a story about someone with solid but not extraordinary
• Intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a
similar position and then soared
• Most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way
• They all have a high degree of what has come to known as emotional
intelligence
• It is not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant
• They do matter, but are the entry-level requirements for executive
positions
• Without EI, a person can have the best training in the world
• An incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas
• But he still won’t make a great leader

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DEFINED

“Emotional intelligence” refers to the capacity for recognizing our own

feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing
emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships”

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Daniel Goleman’s adaptation of the model include the following:

• Self Awareness
• Self Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social Skills

Self Awareness

• Knowing what we are feeling in the moment

• Using those preferences to guide our decision making
• Having realistic assessment of our own abilities
• A well grounded sense of self-confidence
• Self – awareness means having a deep understanding of one’s
emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs & drives
• People with strong self-awareness are neither overly critical nor
unrealistically hopeful

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • They are honest – with themselves and with others
• People who have a high degree of self – awareness recognize how
their feelings affect them, other people and their job performance
• A self – aware person who knows that tight deadlines bring out the
worst in him, plans his time carefully and gets his work done well in
advance
• Another person with high self-awareness will be able to work with a
demanding client
• Understand the client’s impact on his / her moods and the deeper
reasons for the frustration
• Someone who is highly self – aware knows where he or she is headed
and why?
• People with high self – awareness are able to speak accurately and
openly
• About their emotions and the impact they have on their work
• Self – aware people know – and are comfortable talking about their
limitations and strengths
• The decisions of self – aware people mesh with their values
• Consequently, they often find work to be energizing
• They often demonstrate a thirst for constructive criticism
• Self – aware people can also be recognized by their self - confidence
• They have a firm grasp of their capabilities and are less likely to set
themselves up to fail by, for example, over – stretching on
assignments
• The know too, when to ask for help
• They’ll play to their strengths

Self Regulation

• Handling our emotions so that they facilitate rather than interfere with
the task at hand
• Recovering well from emotional distress
• Having discipline in approach
• Biological impulses drive our emotions. We cannot do away with
them, but we can do much to manage them
• People engaged in inner conversations, feel bad moods and emotional
impulses just as everyone else does
• But they find ways to control them and even to channel them in useful
ways
• He would pick his words carefully acknowledging the team’s poor
performance without rushing to any hasty judgment
• He would then step back to consider the reasons for the failure
• Are they personal – a lack of effort of me as a Leader??
• What was his role in the debacle?
• He would then present his analysis of the problem and a well
considered solution
• Why does self – regulation matter so much for leaders?

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • People who are in control of their feelings and impulses – i.e. people
who are reasonable
• Are able to create an environment of trust and fairness
• In such an environment, politics and infighting are sharply reduced
and productivity is high
• Everyone knows that business today is rife with ambiguity and change
• Companies merge and break apart regularly
• Technology transforms work at a dizzying pace
• People who have mastered their emotions are able to roll with the
changes without panic
• They are able to suspend judgment, seek out information, and listen to
the executives
• As the initiative moves forward, these people are able to move with it
• The signs of emotional self – regulation therefore, are easy to see
• A propensity for reflection & thoughtfulness
• And integrity – an ability to say no to impulsive urges

MOTIVATION

• If there is one trait that virtually all effective leaders have, it is

motivation
• They are driven to achieve beyond expectations
• Their own and everyone else’s
• The key word here is achieve
• Plenty of people are motivated by external factors such as a big salary
an impressive title or being part of a prestigious company
• By contrast those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply
embedded desire to achieve & excel
• The first sign is a passion for the work itself – such people seek out
creative challenges, love to learn, and take great pride in a job well
done
• They also display an unflagging energy to do things better
• People with such energy often seem restless with the status quo
• They are persistent with their questions about why things are done
one way rather than another
• They are eager to explore new approaches to their work
• They are forever raising the performance bar
• But they won’t settle for objectives that seem too easy to fulfill
• People who are driven to do better also want a way of tracking
progress – their own, their team’s
• Those with high achievement motivation often keep score by tracking
such hard measures as profitability or market share
• People with high motivation remain optimistic even when the score is
against them
• When people love their jobs for the work itself, they feel committed to
the organization that make that work possible

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

Empathy

• Sensing what other people are feeling

• Being able to take their perspective
• Of all the dimensions of emotional intelligence, empathy is the most
easily recognized
• We have all felt the empathy of a sensitive teacher or friend
• We have all been struck by its absence in an unfeeling coach or boss
• But when it comes to business, we rarely hear people praised, let
alone rewarded, for their empathy
• Empathy means thoughtfully considering employees’ feelings – along
with other factors – in the process of making intelligent decisions
• People who have it are attuned to subtleties in body language
• They can hear the message beneath the words being spoken
• Empathy plays a key role in the retention of talent
• Outstanding coaches and mentors get inside the heads & hearts of the
people they are helping
• They sense how to give effective feedback
• They know when to push for better performance and when to hold
back
• The way they motivate their protégés, they demonstrate empathy in
action

Social Skills

• Handling emotions in relationships well and accurately reading social

situations and networks
• Interacting smoothly using these skills to persuade and lead
• Negotiate and settle disputes, for cooperation and teamwork
• The first three components of emotional intelligence are self –
management skills
• The last two, empathy and social skill, concern a person’s ability to
manage relationships with others
• It’s not just a matter of friendliness
• Social skill, rather, is friendliness with a purpose
• Moving people in the direction you desire
• Whether that’s agreement on a new marketing strategy or enthusiasm
about a new product
• Socially skilled people tend to have a wide circle of acquaintances
• They have a knack or finding common ground with people of all kinds
• A knack for building rapport
• That doesn’t mean they socialize wastefully
• Such people have a network in place when the time for action comes
or need arises
• They build bonds widely because they know that in these fluid times,
they may need help someday from people they are just getting to
know today

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes

 • After all, the leader’s task is to get work done through other people

CONCLUSION

• It was once thought that the components of emotional intelligence

were “nice to have” in business leaders
• But now we know that, for the sake of performance, these are
ingredients that leaders “need to have”
• It is fortunate, then, that emotional intelligence can be learned
• The process is not easy, but worth the efforts
• It takes time and, most of all, commitment
• The benefits of EI are both for the individuals and for the organizations

THESE 5 EI COMPETENCES THUS ARE A MUST IN THE LEADERS’ TOOL

KIT DURING CHANGING TIMES!

CORE MIND – Passion to Manage & Lead Changes