Dear Friends,

Often our minds are so programmed to anticipate problems, that we stay in an agitated mode, spewing out reactions to actions that have not even occurred!

The motorist on the road makes a rash turn and is about to hit against our car.  Immediately,we start to hyper-ventilate and scream in fury. But wait, nothing has happened. Our mind however says ‘what-if he had hit the car, what-if  in trying to avoid him, I bang the car elsewhere’

So, how do we avoid such real mind-made miseries and deal with such so-common situations with poise and positivity,

1. Do not go searching for difficulties. For it is certain that even in a very cheerful situation, if we look hard enough, we will find issues that will appear as potential problems Handle matters as they are, without magnifying them.

2. Move from simple to complex. We all like to think that all work-related problems, necessarily have convoluted, complex solutions, which comes to us after much strain and pain. Think simple. In any tough situation, see if there are obvious answers. Tax yourself only when the simple isn’t sufficient

3. Stop mental maniac outings! The mind can really make a mountain out of a molehill! An untrained, let-loose mind, that is! When you are aware that your thinking is going berserk, immediately place a restraining order on it. Do it often enough, loud enough, your mind will obey and stop these paranoia filled thinking!

4. Handle anger before it turns into danger. Feeling anger is one thing, self-harming. But acting in anger is real danger, the consequences of which might be very difficult to manage. The easiest way to control a turbulent situation, before it blows out of proportion, is to control our anger and act with confidence and calmness.

5. Do not eternalize. Every problem, however exhausting and extreme, it might appear comes with a shelf life. Phrases, we tell ourselves, such as ‘This trouble ‘always‘ happens to me, eternalizes it, making the problem a permanent enemy! Handle troubles on a one-to-one basis, without turning them into ego-created epics!

6. Trust people. An easy way to handle various difficulties is to trust people to be sensible and even good-natured. No one in their right minds will create problems purposefully, for themselves. Thus trusting people to do their role, will keep us away from the ‘what-if’ mode of thinking.

7. Say a short prayer or meditate for a few mins. In a situation that seems overwhelming, saying a short prayer will calm our thoughts, change our perspective and help us gather the resources to handle the situation well. I particularly find it very helpful to do this. In any situation that shakes us, and we need to effectively deal with it, without escalating it to a bigger matter, calmness is a vital competency. Create that in whatever manner you find easy.

Often friends, our life gets fretted away, by mental illusions of non-existent problems.

Hence, to be effective, both at work and home, deal with ‘what-is’ and not ‘what-if’! Walk with courage with Leadership Light!

Often there is so much effort in what we do, that our work gets extremely unendurable, and we get extremely exhausted!

Effort, only when enjoyed, gives effective results. There are really no two thoughts on this. Anything done with stress and strain, will bring more pain and less gain

So, you could ask, ‘Isn’t work meant to be difficult and boring, after all work cannot be easy or fun??” Totally not friends!!

Work can and must be easy and interesting for us to work efficiently and bring effective results.

And remember one thing ‘If you cannot do your work with ease, it means you lack mastery over it’ As simple! As true!

So how can we work efficiently, effectiveness, and take things easily, so that we bring the best energies into our tasks??

1. Unclutter the mind. Remove unnecessary thoughts. Any thought that causes you to feel weak, make you feel dull or tired, is a weak thought. Dismiss them all right away. While at work, while doing a task, invest energies only in what is conducive to productivity.

2. Ignore the irrelevant. Remarks of others, comments, thoughts they opined, anything that is distracting you from the task, making you feel less confident and comfortable at work, ignore it. The mind might play tricks and make you feel others’ remarks, especially the unpleasant ones hold water! Ignore it long enough, it will recede and leave you to work in peace.

3. Focus fully on the task in hand. Even if you are multitasking, even if your attention is drawn and pulled by a 100 different sources in 100 different sides, concentrate wholly on what you are currently engaged in. This will avoid repetition and duplication. It will help you be productive and also will ensure correct completion!

4. Do not be in a reactive state. Do not be ever ready to fret and fume! Work gets emotionally exhausting, if you ever anticipating trouble, or expecting things to go wrong. Situations and people have no power to cause problems to us, if we do not react to them with pent-up negativity!

5. Shed all prejudices and preconceived opinions! Be open, be flexible, be pragmatic and just do not be dogmatic! If you want work to be done with ease and fun, let go of all judgement, yours and others, about anything. You will thus release a lot of anxiety and conflict.

6. Do not eternalize a problem. Do not take a life-long lease over an unpleasant issue, trouble or problem! Handle anything annoying on a case to case basis. Do not live in a hypothetical situation where all problems descend on you, all the time! Deal with a issue, dismiss it, and be done with it. Do not keep it in your mind all the time!

7. Make a commitment to having fun. If you do not look after your interests, who will? If you do not resolve to lighten up and ease up your work, who will? So, do not wait for the week-end to have fun. All this waiting and weighed down expectations, makes the week-end, truly a weak end! Enjoy your work, make it enjoyable, and most importantly make yourself a person who can enjoy!

So, dear friends, do not work seriously, work sincerely, work with ease and fun, for that is the only way, work will get effectively & productively done! And stay bright in Leadership Light!

Dear friends,

Hope all is well and swell with all of you!

One important issue that remains a barrier in the area of personal effectiveness is a very non-beneficial habit many of us have developed; putting away work that needs to be managed, for another day.

How do we handle and cure ourselves of postponing tasks, that need to be done, and done right away??

1. Do not feed the ‘I will do this later’ thought! Once that thought comes to your mind, immediately get into work and do what you were planning to delay.

2. Start with small successes. Do tasks that are not too time-consuming and finish them before you feel like putting them away. Such a practice will make us savour the delight of completion.

3. Remember, the toughness of the task, its boredom, fatigue or tediousness is more a mental thing. Once you summon the energy and start doing, you will gain momentum, and before you know it, work will be over!

4. Bear in mind that an unfinished task hangs like a sword over our heads! It is so much stress. Finishing work releases us from this burden, this bother!

5. Break the task into small sub-systems and processes. It will be easier to handle and you will be both task and goal oriented. I personally find this effective and rewarding! And the biggest benefit is the mammothness of a task will not scare you into postponing it

6. Make efficiency a habit! Replace dullness with alacrity, lethargy with energy, delay with do-it-now attitude! Stay motivated, be with people who are brisk and smart at work – it will serve as inspiration!

7. Keep trying, keep working, keep persevering, to the kick the very unproductive habit of postponing work that needs to be done! It is such a good practice to take a task and finish it right away, right now, without allowing it to gather dust, drudgery, difficulty and dirt through delay.

Even if we take about it in a frivolous manner, postponing work does add intense strain and stress to our lives. It occupies creative mental space and stays as a burden, a baggage in our central system!

Finish your tasks with energy, enthusiasm, effectiveness and finish them NOW! And may Leadership Light always shine bright for you!

To many of us the word ‘learning’ comes with a big baggage. Boring classes, strenuous sessions and torturous talks –  this is what the imagery brings.

Hence we all tend to get scared of ‘learning’. Most of our educational systems have made learning a tedious, tiring task, that calls for plenty of grim determination.

Learning, especially adult learning, does not need to be dry and wry! It can be fun, it can be interesting!

Being ready to learn, making it a matter of self-investment, will keep us in the ‘learning mode’ and is one of the best professional practices we can undertake.

So what are the ways both individuals and organizations can make learning an integral, interesting process?

1. Have a policy of learning in the organization that gets imbibed within the organizational culture. Where value is given to learning, education and development. This can be well practiced at the individual level also.

2. Give priority to Learning interventions. Do not make learning a matter of emergency, make it a matter of importance. Create time, space and atmosphere for learning. Invest in yourself, invest in talent development.

3. Do not make learning a uninspiring experience. Have motivated experts address your people. Take efforts in finding the right resource towards imparting knowledge. The most infectious emotion is enthusiasm. Find people who can spread it in learning.

4. Make all learning a sensory feast! Bright colours, rhythmic sounds, good AV display, a fun setting. Disconnect learning and knowledge/skill development from staid, sad environments and experiences.

5. Buy-in the right support for all training and learning initiatives. Get the  blessings of the crucial stakeholders :) Make learning a visible, well-invested, vibrant process.

6. Plan all learning interventions in the platform of humor, light-heartedness, trust and friendliness. Do not make learning a rigid routine! If learning is to bring benefit, it must be done with the right, sincere, yet not too serious, spirit!

7. Reward learning. Show commitment to the learning function by rewarding the eager learners. Do not view learning as a mandatory burden that possibly provides little returns, but as a transformational tool, which creates a talent architecture for the organization.

‘Sharpen the axe’ is a famous Abe Lincoln saying! The legendary leader said “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe”

Our knowledge, our skills, our abilities need to be sharpened continuously through learning. Else they get rusted and wasted out.

So invest in yourself, invest in your people, invest in development, invest in creating a bright future, invest ‘NOW’ in learning with Leadership Light!

All of us at certain point have desired that the work-load we bear gets lighter and easier for us.

Even if we enjoy our work immensely and find it very rewarding, there might be certain aspects of our work that we find strenuous.

Let me share with you certain pointers that you can implement now, and make workload lighter.

1. Concentrate on the work in hand. Mental tiredness is caused by putting too many thoughts and tasks into our heads. It drains away vital energy required for execution of the task in hand. So, even if you are multi-tasking, concentrate wholly on the work you engaged in.

2. Put down in writing the routine, regular, administrative tasks that you need to do. The work that doesn’t need too much strategy or intelligence, but requires time and effort, put in on paper, so that it serves as a reminder for you to do it quickly.

3. Develop a good understanding of the art of delegation. Taking too much on ourselves, is the surest and fastest highway to stress and lifestyle ailments. Allow others in the team, to participate, give tasks to them, and delegate work.

4. Trust people to do their part. If we micro-manage our team at work and handling their responsibilities, not only will we be baggaged with heavy work, we will also cause dissent within the team. So, allow freedom of operation to others and trust them to do it well.

5. Prioritize work. Like it is so beautifully said ‘There is always enough time to do what is important’! If you are going to spend 3 hours in the peak hours of work in reading and answering not-so-relevant mails, or meandering between your tasks, you are going to feel immensely burdened at the end of the day. Hence prioritize!

6. Develop a sense of perspective. In a very transient world, how much importance must we give to our work, our separate roles, is an assessment we need to do regularly. To strain ourselves, meaninglessly, putting our health and happiness in danger over work seems rather silly in the long-term!

7. Develop a sense of humour. When things go wrong, as they surely will, once a while, or more than that, do take it with human understanding. Do not get so rigid, that you cannot laugh over mistakes. It is very important for our well-being, to take matters beyond our control, with good humour and faith.

Investing too much effort in a neurotic, frantic manner, will not just bring us unhappiness and anger, but will also lessen considerably the effectiveness of the task.

When we enjoy truly what we do, when we bear the right amount of responsibilities, when we focus energies on what is important, what matters, to progress, we will surely reach success!!

Do not carry unnecessary load, either on your bodies or on your minds. Work with intelligence, love what you are doing, laugh easily, and be happy in Leadership Light!

Most of the work in Leadership revolves around people, all of it, in fact.  Leadership largely is facilitating and guiding people to reach new goals, achieve important objectives.

People are a myriad mixture of many emotions. Human beings, experience feelings of different kinds. Some emotions that help us to gain energy, hope, and enthusiasm; a few that drain us of strength, prowess and leave us feeling weak.

Leadership role in in helping the team, gently, yet surely, shift and move from negative emotions to positive emotions.

Leaders definitely are dealers of encouragement and hope to the team. Encouragement, when sincerely delivered, helps people reaffirm trust in their talents and work with renewed enthusiasm, and even skill.

What is the effective manner encouragement needs to be given to the team? Some easy pointers,

1. When you find a team member cheerless, or looking a little drawn out, unusually, inquire in a non-threatening manner, the reason for his/her lack of energy. Speak with consideration and compassion.

2. If a team member is not making progress adequately, say a few words of appreciation citing examples of the past wherein the said person, did very effective work.

3. Be concise, and genuine in your encouragement. The motive must be to improve the morale of the team-member. So do not ramble, keep your words of encouragement simple, short, as this will be potent and powerful

4. Compare the difficulties famous successful professionals had to undergo in their lives, at various stages. When we hear about success stories that have emerged after immense struggle, we get inspired.

5. Do not speak negatively about a third, absent person to encourage someone. This is built on flimsy frames and will only lead to office gossip, complexities and more lowered morale.

6. Be a role model of the ‘can-do attitude’! Show how you can consistently work with both enthusiasm and energy, even in the face of stress and strain. This mere vision will motivate people towards working with vigour.

7. Believe deeply in the ability of people to achieve all kinds of  seemingly impossible tasks. Human talent cannot be limited, measured or standardized. Conquering all limitations, the human spirit thrives, and traces great heights. Hence never give up hope on any team-person.

It is a very vital attribute of Inspirational Leadership to encourage people and help them discover and rediscover strengths in themselves. A kind word, a thoughtful deed, an action that conveys trust, a step that reassures people, are all hallmarks of effective and very impactful Leadership.

Make a difference to your team, say words that provide them courage, to work with greater capability, and let talent shine, removing darkness and bringing in Leadership Light.

An ability to be resilient, withstand stress, strain and work with both hope and enthusiasm.

Especially in the face of hardships and unfavourable hostile situations, we tend to get disappointed, disheartened and even become disgruntled within. However, the real proof of potent leadership is in handling and overcoming successfully such tough scenarios.

The vital practices that help us develop courage, resilience and tenacity is what we’ll now discuss:

1. Always believe that you are bigger and smarter than any external event or situation that happens to you.

2. Do not make a problem permanent in your mind. Do not eternalise an unpleasant issue and make it a part of your mental conditioning. Just as ice melts when exposed to sun, similarly, problems and challenges disappear when we tackle them with confidence and hope.

3. Place trust in a helpful universe. Positive feelings such as faith, love will attract towards us help from known and unknown sources. When we don’t get bitter while going through difficulties, our ability gets better and we handle the situation effectively.

4. Not a single problem can leave us without adding polish to our personality. Problems and trying situations help us develop both smartness and calmness. Hence, tough times are wonderful learning times too. All that we need to know is to be an interested, eager learner.

5. Truly problems are opportunities in disguise. No great achievement has ever happened without many hardships being encountered. Hence it is vital to approach strenuous exacting situations, with a strong will that is oriented and sharpened towards reaching success.

6. Patience is an even more precious virtue when we are in troubled, trying circumstances. Expectations of immediate results will only make us act with haste and impatience. Like it is said, when we are going through tough times, we must pass through it with patience and perseverance. And soon enough, we will see the light in the end of the tunnel.

7. Reimposing faith in a capable us and in a kind God will give us the necessary incentive to overcome and solve different types of crisis situations. We need to keep a tough situation in tight control by remembering our own infinite potential.

Dear friends, truly tough times, never last, tough people do.

And loving, giving, inspiring people last forever and ever.

This article is in the most grateful memory of my dad, who passed away on 26^th Jan 2012.

He was a true Leader, a successful Entrepreneur/Industrialist, a wonderful guide and motivator – a very impactful person, who influenced many lives.

He was a true practitioner of courage, confidence and conviction. He has led to success, many with love, towards both spiritual and Leadership Light. Thanks Appa.

Happy happy 2012 dear friends. May the new year bring each of you plenty of prosperity, success and happiness! My best wishes to all

The most important aspect of any relationship be it professional, personal, familial or social is trust.

Trust is the fulcrum, the foundation of a positive, functional relationship.

But trust is not something we can create overnight. Not something that can be bought off instantaneously.

Which is why we have the expression ‘Trust Building’ as it takes time to build, create and form trust

Trust is a very vital aspect of Leadership.

What is Leadership if it doesn’t inspire trust, doesn’t display trust?

Hence we need to take all efforts to ensure we build relationships around us with trust.

So, what goes into building trust-filled relationships?

Some pointers, seven as always

1. Develop the habit of saying only those things that you mean. Do not in the impulse/heat of a situation say something just for effect. Do not voice opinions, make statements which are not accompanied thoroughly by personal endorsement.

2. Do things you say, you will. Fulfill what you have committed to. This builds credibility. It is said ‘Promises are like babies, easy to make, difficult to deliver’ So, do not promise/assure anything you cannot deliver/perform.

3. Resist talking about others. Discussing people always leaves a large room  for gossip of every kind. Hence stay away, as much as you can, from talking about those not present in the discussion.

4. Listen carefully, do not interrupt people while they talk. Show that you care for their thoughts, and what better way than to listen with attention and interest.

5. Do not dramatize/exaggerate or hyperbolize facts. You can talk in an interesting manner, without stretching the truth.

6. Give people credit for their ideas and actions. Generously and ungrudgingly. Do not, under any circumstances, rob people of the appreciation they rightly deserve.

7. Stay calm and show confidence in your demeanor. Keep emotional outbursts in check. A pleasant, positive visage inspires trust.

These are simple steps we can follow, every day in every interaction and use every opportunity to build trust around us.

Trust is integral to relationships, and good healthy relationships are integral to personal effectiveness and Leadership success.

So, fill people’s minds, hearts with trust and shine in Leadership Light!:)

I am glad, friends, to communicate with you, in this written form Not too glad, however, that I’m unable to use non-verbal communication enhancements in this process, which I could have, had we been seeing and hearing each-other!

What is non-verbal communication? Before which what is verbal communication?

Verbal means presence of words!

Verbal = Presence of words.

Non-verbal = Absence of words

So, oral(spoken) communication and written communication are all examples of verbal communication.

Kinesics, expressions, popularly known as ‘Body-Language’ are famous examples of non-verbal communication.

But non-verbal is not only body-language and expressions, it is also voice modulation, voice pitch, speed of talking, postures, gestures and everything else that makes oral communication more effective, more enhanced

For communication exchange to be both an interesting and a productive experience,  it is important we use non-verbal components well.

How do we make body-language and voice aspects of non-verbal communication work well in conveying our content to the listeners?

Follow these simple steps and bring a positive, visible, vibrant change in your communication skills

1. Ensure your voice quality matches the words used in your communication. If what you are saying is important, your voice must have a ring of honesty and clarity to it. Space your sentence accordingly, pause between words. Let your voice also convey how crucial the information is.

2. Arrange your facial expressions to add emphasis to what you are saying. When you are making a relevant remark about work improvement to a team-member, have an earnest expression. Do not smirk or wear a silly smile. Let not your look wander, while you are addressing the colleague. Make sure your glance is fixed, yet non-threatening.

3. Motivating your team with a slouch in your posture, will only increase their doubts on your eligibility to lead them. A right posture is something that is comfortable, yet straight and square. Besides conveying confidence to your team, a good posture is very useful towards building a strong back! The manner you stand while talking also adds to the impact of your communication content!

4. The way you use the physical space, surrounding you, also communicates. This is called ‘Proxemics’. Do you need to go closer to an individual and say something, or are you going to say it standing a good distance apart, will influence the reception of your communication.

5. Smiling is a beneficial, personable, yet a very under-utilized aspect of  non-verbal communication. Spend time practicing to get the right smile. A good smile must convey friendship and affability, yet not appear as an out-of-place simper!

6. Train your voice well. Learn to modulate and enunciate according to the requirement of the situation. Do not talk in a sing-song mono-tone. That will surely irritate and exasperate the listeners.

7.  Remember, unlike the verbal language, non-verbal and body language is non-stop. You might not be conscious of it, but your body is constantly communicating. Hence be alert and make sure your voice, expressions, postures and gestures are adding value to your  professional and personal relationships

Non-verbal components and body-language, when well-used,  can bring, with little effort, high effectiveness in all your  oral communication outcomes.

Use it well, be an ace communicator, and dwell gracefully in Leadership Light!

There is a term called ‘Cognitive capability’, which describes the ability to look at multiple solutions for the same problem.  It is about using our intelligence and understanding in the best possible manner.

For using and applying this intelligence well, it is important we train our brain. To solve problems. Understand situations. Work with people. Make decisions.

I am going to emphasize on the value of asking the right question in order to search the database, both within us and outside us, and find an appropriate solution.

Asking the right question to set the right response and get the right solution. How is this done?

1. Very often when we face a tough situation, we ask ourselves, ‘Why am I here?’. This makes us get stuck in the situation. The more useful question is ‘What can I do to get out of this situation!’

2. When someone behaves in a rude/harsh/uncooperative manner to us, we ask ‘Why is he like this’. The more beneficial question is ‘How can I react in the most positive manner to this brashness’

3. We are saying something, sharing information, speaking to people and nobody listens. Instead of asking ‘Why are people such bad listeners’ if we are to say ‘How can I be a better speaker and engage them in an active exchange’ we will find ready solutions.

4. There are inevitable external happenings. Politics happen, strategies change, markets fall;  instead of remarking ‘What will happen to us, in face of such recession’, if we deliberate on ‘How can I strengthen my competencies ‘ we will be able to address the situation better.

5. A team member does not pull his load. His contribution and quality of work is declining. Asking ‘Why is his performance so sub-standard, how can I punish him’ will only make us act cruel and lose credibility with people. The better question is ‘How can I help him rectify his mistakes, support him in times of his difficulty?’

6. Your superior is not recognizing the hard work you do. There is little appreciation. Proclaiming that ‘Why are all bosses so horrible’ will only attract more unfavorable experiences. Instead pondering on ‘How can I create good will with others, even if my boss doesn’t laud me’ will set us thinking on another track.

7. The family demands are increasing. Work life balance is getting tilted badly. The wrong question is ‘Why must I do all the work, while others are taking it easy at home’. The better question is ‘How can I divide, delegate and decentralize work at home, so that I am less stressed?’

Friends, just like the right road will take us to the desired destination, easily and effortlessly,  the right question will take us to the right solution smoothly and safely. This right solution will further bring in right results!

Hence do not be burdened or bogged down with the wrong questions. Set your thinking free, in the path of positive solutions. Walk with courage, confidence and be guided by the bright beauty of Leadership light