Leadership = Character x Competence

Managing director of Qimpro Consultants Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, and chairman of the IMC National Quality Award Committee. This article is specially written for Indian Management, June 2002.

Leadership is both complex and simple. The complexities of leadership are paradoxical: it is an art and a science, it involves change and stability, it draws on personal attributes and requires interpersonal relationships. It sets visions and results in action, it honours the past and exists for the future, it manages things and leads people, it is transformational and transactional, it serves employees and customers, it requires learning and unlearning, it centres on values and is seen in behaviour.

However, in a world of unparalleled change, immediate information, global networks, and rising employee and customer expectations, future leaders must discover simple models that access the complex underpinnings of successful leadership. Leadership must (1) work to turn aspirations into actions, (2) rest on five assumptions, and (3) be built on trustworthiness. This spirit is captured in the first criterion of the 2002 IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award.

The outcome of effective leadership is simple. It must turn aspirations into action. Aspirations come in many forms: vision, strategic goals, objectives and plans. Regardless of the term, leaders create aspirations. Successful aspirations have certain defining characteristics:

* They focus on the future by visualising what can be

* They connect and integrate the entire value chain of a firm (suppliers, customers, and employees) rather than only what goes on inside the firm

* They create energy and enthusiasm about what can be

* They engage employees' hearts (emotions), minds (cognition), and feet (action)

However, the leader's job is not just to aspire, but also to act. Turning aspirations into action translates a statement of intent into a series of behaviours. Leaders today do not just "want to become a pre-eminent global provider" or "anticipate changing customer values through dedicated employees". Instead they intentionally and purposefully create actions that cause these aspirations to happen. It is not enough to write value statements; these statements have to create value. It is not enough to run visioning workshops; the visions have to be reflected in daily behaviour. It is not enough to declare an intent; leaders have to deliver results.

To turn aspirations into action, assumptions about leaders require recalibration in five ways:

From apex leadership to shared leadership: Leaders must identify their heroes for 'shared leadership', by name and emulate them. Eg: F C Kohli, Suresh Krishna, Deepak Parekh, Jack Welch, Akio Morita, and so on.

From sporadic events to continual leadership: Rather than holding meetings off-site to debate and make decisions, leaders must take part in a natural act in a natural place.

From individual achievements to team victories: Instead of coming from individual heroes, success must come from teams that share resources and that know how to overlook personal ambition for the sake of the team.

From problem solvers to pioneers who take risks: Leaders must be pioneers who take risks, create new paths, shape new approaches to old problems, and have strong values and beliefs that drive their actions.

From unidimensional to paradoxical thinking: Leaders must satisfy customers and employees, cut costs and grow business, innovate with new products and increase the share of old products, serve local market needs and respond to global conditions, shape a vision and create action.

For turning aspirations into actions, successful leaders must be trustworthy. Trustworthiness is established by the concept - character X competence. Trustworthy leaders have the personal habits, values, traits, and competencies to engender trust and commitment from those who take their direction.

Perhaps, one of the best examples of this personal credibility, or trustworthiness, is the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, who claimed, "My life is its own message". He said, "You must watch my life, how I live, eat, sit, talk, behave in general." The Mahatma believed that his personal life gave him the credibility that enabled him to be a successful leader.

2002 IMC RAMKRISHNA BAJAJ NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD CRITERIA

CRITERION 1 (Leadership - 100 points)

The Leadership criterion examines the company's leadership system and senior leaders' personal leadership. It examines how senior leaders and the leadership system address values, company directions, performance expectations, focus on customers and other stakeholders, learning, and innovation. Also examined is how the company addresses its societal responsibilities and provides support to key communities.

CRITERION PARTS Evidence is needed of:

1.1 Leadership System (70 points)

Describe the company's leadership system and how senior leaders guide the company in setting directions and in developing and sustaining effective leadership throughout the organisation.

Suggested areas to address include how:

* the leadership system has been designed in a logical manner rather than something that just evolved

* different methods and media are used to communicate the values; employees at all levels and in all locations are equally exposed to the values

* innovative approaches are used to reinforce behaviour consistent with values

* all levels of management are measured on the degree to which they satisfy their internal and/or external customers

* the leadership approach encourages flexibility, empowerment, and excellence in all measures of performance

* senior executives have developed a clear vision or direction for the future; senior executives communicate and reward behaviour that is consistent with the future vision

* senior executives have established long-term goals for the company to ensure its future survival and success

* senior executives promote a customer-focused culture

* senior executives participate in benchmarking other companies, and in leading groups who want to benchmark their own company

* senior executives establish and participate in partnership relationships with suppliers

* senior executives give and receive training

* senior executives upgrade their technology orientation

* senior executives review customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and product/service quality data

* leadership styles of all senior executives are consistent with the philosophies of Ramkrishna Bajaj (eg, continuous improvement, empowerment of employees, delighting customers, staying close to the business, etc)

* senior executives audit, review and improve the leadership system.

1.2 SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITIES (30 points)

Describe how the company addresses its responsibilities to society and how the company practices good citizenship.

Suggested areas to address include how:

* a systematic process is used to define standards and goals relating to matters of social responsibility and corporate citizenship

* risks and possible consequences are thoroughly assessed in the process of coming up with goals and standards in the area of social responsibility

* the company acts to prevent possible future problems with their products/services, rather than to cover them up

* employees are systematically educated regarding legal and ethical behaviour/ practices

* control strategies are in place to ensure that legal/ ethical practices are followed

* senior executives contribute towards furtherance of:

* basic literacy

* women's welfare

* rural development

* business ethics

* resources conservation

* global greening

* other socially relevant activities

* senior executives audit, review and improve their system for societal responsibilities

While character is a prerequisite, successful leaders must also be able to create and continuously upgrade organisational competence. These leaders must be able to shape, structure, implement, and improve organisational processes to meet business goals. It is well known that competent organisations are always characterised by more talented and more committed employees.

Given the purpose, assumptions, and characteristics for leaders (current, as well as those of the future), a simple question remains: Would I know one if I saw one? Yes. These leaders are known:

* Less for what they say and more for what they deliver

* Less by their title and position and more by their expertise and competence

* Less by what they control and more by what they shape

* Less by the goals they set and more by mind-sets they build

* Both for personal character and for exceptional organisational competencies

These are simple axioms that shape a leadership path. But they require complex insights by future leaders to stay on the path.

(This article appeared in the June 2002 issue of Indian Management magazine)