QAspire blog has moved to www.qaspire.com/blog. I moved this WordPress hosted blog to custom-hosted WordPress. This will allow access to better themes, plugins to enhance user experience.

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You can check out the new blog by clicking here. I have also written a welcome post there. I intend to continue blogging on the new QAspire.com/blog.

Blogging has been a very enriching experience so far. I started this blog in April 2006 and today, the blog has more than 250 posts with an average daily readership of 80-100 unique visits and number of comments on each post. I have been able to keep in touch with lot of old colleagues via this blog and have made new friends. It can’t get better than this.

Thanks to everyone who contributed in making this blog successful and I do know that you will check out my new blog and continue your support.

Thanks again and see you at QAspire.com/blog.

Leader is a leader when people opt to follow him and managing people is one of the most important aspects of leadership. To communicate vision and values, it is very important to spend quality time with the team. Equally important is to supervise them and monitor the outcomes.

Here is an excerpt from “LeadingBlog” post “5 Leadership Lessons – Ultimate Leadership – Leading in Context” –

A successful leader never languishes in the comfort of a swivel chair. The most important of all troop-leading steps, yet the one most often neglected, is the last – to supervise. And you supervise by being out with and devoting the bulk of your time to our most important product – people. You can always catch up on what you thought was essential paperwork during the evenings or on weekends, but once neglected, you will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to catch up on people.”

Read the full post to know more about the other four lessons.

It is unfortunate that I am not finding enough time since last couple of weeks to blog! This is also a reason why last few posts have been crisp and short. Till the time I find more time again (or manage my time better), I would continue to post short blog posts with some interesting snippets of what I read on blogosphere.

I have always loved Robin Sharma’s books, blog posts and now he also tweets. I read this short story at his blog:

Two workers were toiling outside of a huge new structure. The first one was exhausted and disengaged and uninspired. “What are you working on?” he was asked by a passerby. “I’m cutting some stones,” was the curt reply. The other worker was then asked the same question. “Sorry, can’t speak too long,” was the passionate response, “I’m in the process of building a cathedral.”

Day to day grind can be frustrating. It is easy to get carried away by the routine and loose focus. Stories like these help you to regain focus on goals you have set for yourself. Cathedral in the story above is symbolic of vision. Leaders are led by a vision and it is extremely important for leaders to keep their vision always in the sight.

What cathedral are you in process of building?

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Read these two great quotes on Twitter and thought of sharing! Without much ado, here they go:

“People are capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom redeem them.” – Walpole

“Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.” ~ Christopher Parker

Have a great Tuesday!

“Performance Management using KRA’s” has been one of the top posts on this blog. Well defined KRA’s act as a scale to measure performance of a team member.

Here is an excerpt from my earlier post:

Documented result areas provided us a path to tread. We knew what exactly is expected out of us and we performed accordingly. KRA’s deal with results and not with day to day activities and hence more quantitative the KRA’s are the easier they are to track.

In this regards, one of the readers of this blog, Gireesh Sharma pointed me to his article “Writing SMART Goals (also called KRAs) from Job Descriptions” which made for an interesting read.

Here are 9 steps suggested by Gireesh for setting up KRA’s/KPI’s:

1. Go through employee’s Job Description. If Job Description is not updated talk to employee and his/her Manager or many be manager’s manager also.
2. Try to find out exactly what the employee is supposed to achieve.
3. Based on your reading and discussions, make a list of the functions and responsibilities which are critical to the employee’s job.
4. Categorize these critical functions and responsibilities in two categories:
   1. (4.1) Which can be measured whether in numbers or percentages or yes/no.
   2. (4.2) Which cannot be measured in numbers and cannot be calculated.
5. Ones in 4.1 are the can be be converted to Goals (KRAs).
6. Make a list of all critical functions.
7. Write a self explanatory (1 sentence ) definition of each Goal (KRA).
8. If you plan to follow BSC (Balanced Score Card) Pattern, then categorize each goal into one of the following categories: Customer, Financial, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth.
9. There after describe each Goal (KRA). Make sure you mention a measurable target to be achieved and time frame for achievement of the Goal (KRA).

The article is very insightful and has very relevant examples to demonstrate how this 9 point process works. Read the full post here.

How do you manage results from your team?

“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” – Vincent Van Gogh

I have been using Twitter increasingly to post great quotes – its quick and easy! But this quote was so profound that it demanded a post.

Thanks to Lisa Haneberg to have pointed me to Helping You Succeed blog post on “7 Career Killers“. The post starts with this quote.

Check out by earlier blog posts on similar topics : Great Quotes: Work and Play, Follow your Energies, Passion Power, Actualizing with the self

Have a great Wednesday!

“It takes years of experience to learn how to care for people” – says Barry Schwartz on his awe-inspiring talk at TED. It is so amazing that such knowledge and wisdom is now available to us free via mediums like TED. Enjoy the video. I have a few things to say about Practical Wisdom, but I reserve it for the future posts. Till then, enjoy Barry Schwartz.

I referred to few great lists from Nicholas Bate – “Professionalism101“, “Be Different25” and “Outrageous101” earlier on this blog. I mentioned earlier that I felt very upbeat after reading these lists.

I would like to express a BIG Thanks to Nicholas Bate for sending me autographed copies of his books How to Sell and Market Your Way Out of This Recession and Get Your Business Buzzing Like Never Before (even Though Your Customers Don’t Want to Know!) and Instant MBA: Think, Perform and Earn Like a Top Business School Graduate (52 Brilliant Ideas) along with host of other small booklets and a wonderful greeting card signed by him.

Over at About page on his blog, Nicholas has written that he is passionate about supporting people to ensure they realise and release their true and full potential. This gesture goes on to prove that he lives his passion.

These books are a valuable addition to my collection and I am sure to pick up some very valuable insights. Thanks to blogging, I have been able to communicate and build relationships with some of the most eminent thinkers. It can’t get better than this.

Thanks Nicholas, and I look forward to reading more of those thoughtful and provocative lists. This is certainly a high point in my blogging career.

Last week, I was talking to a group of 15 middle managers in our organization sharing my views on Leadership. One important thing I discussed with them was that leadership can only stem from doing something you really love doing. We can only express ourselves fully when we love what we do. With this expression comes a uniqueness in practice, understanding and learning. Result is excellence. Leadership stems from excellence. In a way, Leadership is all about excellence.

In this regards, I read a great quote “Practice of Leadership” blog:

“No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely – all your skills, gifts and energies – in order to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You, must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming.” – Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader

My key takeaways from this:

• Leadership is a result of doing what you love doing and pursue your calling.
• Leadership is a result of expressing yourself fully in your area of work to achieve excellence. It is about being yourself.
• Leadership without personal excellence is not possible.

Have a great day ahead!

Also read on this blog: Great Quotes: Work and Play, Follow your Energies, Passion Power, Actualizing with the self

Two years into my career, I had a colleague who was a talker. He would incessantly talk about what he did through the day, how he handled a situation, how he found problems with what someone was doing and so on. You get the point. He was an expert at tooting his horns and exhibit how much he was doing. He would ruthlessly take credits for things others do. Needless to say, people started equating his talk with his deeds. He was soon exposed. His ultimate resort was to really do things and then talk about it.

I am reminded of this colleague (and many other colleagues like him) after reading “Talking vs. Doing” post at Harvard Business by John Maeda and Becky Bermont. The post asks some thought provoking questions which unfortunately has no straightforward answers.

To extrapolate a bit, what she or he was pointing out is that it is a forum that caters to the “talkers.” Taken further, you could ask: What about the “doers” — those who produce great work, and let it speak for itself? Do we all need to broadcast our work?

I don’t think great work needs any broadcast. It speaks for itself.

It further says -

It’s easy for raises to go to those who ask for them, and for credit to go to those who repeat their accomplishments over and over. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, if the talkers are deserving. But how can we make sure we’re rewarding those who quietly produce results as well? What do you do to pull out the hidden gems in your organization and make sure they see the light of day? Must everyone be taught how to “talk”?

The post ends with a million dollar question - Does everyone need to be taught how to talk and exhibit their accomplishments? Can’t there be a system of performance evaluation where real doers are discovered and rewarded?

From a career perspective, it is important to strike a balance between how much you do and how much you talk. But here is the thing – When silent doers produce great results, results speak for itself. “Just enough” communication about it can make those great results “discoverable”.

Here is my takeaway –

• Doing much and talking just enough is the best strategy.
• Doing much and not talking about it (silent doing) is a long term strategy (if you are patient enough not to get frustrated and move on).
• Doing little and talking too much about it may seem rewarding in short term but is not a sustainable strategy for long term career success.

Do you agree with these? What have been your experiences? I would love to explore perspectives.

Recently, I was enjoying my evening break on the office terrace at around 6:45 PM sipping hot tea and having a chat with one of my colleagues on everything that din’t matter!

Suddenly, he interrupted me to direct my attention skywards. We saw a group of Geese flying in a typical V formation with sun setting in the backdrop. My colleague went on to explain the dynamics of V formation and how it helps the group to fly long distances when they migrate.

As a kid, I always wondered when I saw these V formations as I do even now! These bird’s natural ability to co-ordinate, collaborate and co-operate has never failed to amaze me. No egos and no hierarchies when it comes to attaining the goal (which is to reach the destination thousands of kilometers away they are migrating to.)

Here are some of the interesting and amazing facts about these Geese flying in V formation and leadership lessons we can learn from these facts (Thanks to George Ambler at “The Practice of Leadership” blog for sharing this) -

Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

Fact 3: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.

Fact 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson: We need to make sure honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

Fact 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

Amazing to know how these birds use their inherent (cosmic) intelligence to co-ordinate and collaborate in a way we humans have never been able to do.

Have a great remaining week ahead!

The branch of tree that bears fruits leans down. When leaders assume higher responsibilities, they become more humble.

Recently, one of my friends, an very senior Oncologist performed more than 10 complex stem cell transplants for cancer patients and gave them a new lease of life. When I met him to congratulate, he said, “I am only a medium through which God heals people”. He could have boasted about his achievements and tooted his horns. He chose to be humble.

Humility means being unpretentious, being modest. A humble person is the one who does not think he/she is better or more important than others. The moment you start thinking that you are more important than others, you stop leading.

Here are some interesting insights I found across the blogosphere on humility and how it is important for professionals, managers and leaders alike.

I read an excellent article on Humility over at ezinearticles.com by Marilyn Lustgarten. Marylin says -

A leader whose only focus is on him or herself, and how much they know or are capable of doing alone, typically also lacks empathy – the ability to stand in another’s shoes and understand what it must feel like to be them in a situation – which is why it’s possible to steal someone else’s thunder without thinking…or blinking.

Unfortunately, history has not been kind to arrogant leaders who only learn what it means to be humble when they, and by association, their organizations, are brought low by public humiliation.

I also read an interesting post “Leader or Pusher?” at Lead on Purpose blog by Michael Ray Hopkin. Here is an excerpt:

To become a leader, practice these principles:

• Courage: Leaders do not allow fear to direct their decisions. They possess the poise to make tough decisions, and they stand by the consequences. When times are tough they have the mettle to persevere.
• Integrity: Leaders are consistent in their actions, values and principles. Integrity plays an important part in their work life and their personal life.  Their motives are aligned with their organizations and with their own internal beliefs.
• Humility: Leaders are humble. They are not weak or spineless but they posses an inner confidence that guides their actions. They are not in it to glorify themselves but to lift others.The best leaders are confidently humble.

The April Leadership Development Carnival is up at “Great Leadership” blog by Dan McCarthy. For those who are aren’t aware of Carnival concept, Carnival is a blog event where excellent insights on a particular topic are hosted in form of single post with links to original blog posts.

“Great Leadership” is an excellent Leadership blog which offers remarkable insights on Leadership and related subjects and is also the host of Leadership Development Carnival.

I am happy and proud that one of my posts “Personal Leadership – It shines in difficult times” has been included in the Leadership Development Carnival along with other great blog posts on Leadership subject. I am particularly excited because this was my maiden participation in a blog carnival.

Recognition is important because it pushes you to do better – and inclusion of my post on Leadership Development Carnival just does that!

I recommend you to drop by the Leadership Development Carnival to read some very useful and practical insights on Leadership.

Nicholas Bate is at it again – lists I mean. He is simply too good at articulating his thoughts in lists of 10, 25 and 100 points. Lists that are provocative and call for action. I did refer to his “Professionalism 101″ list earlier. This time around, its “Be Different 25” – list of 25 things you can do to be different.

You should read the full list on his blog, but here are 10 that I liked the most:

• Be punctual;
• Encourage others;
• Listen to understand;
• Get really, really good at some things;
• Accept the above may take you years, but it’ll be fun;
• Lead whether or not you have manager/leader/supervisor in your job title;
• Grab every damn opportunity;
• When those run out: create your own damn opportunities;
• Say thank you;
• Be grateful;

By the way, there is one more list titled “Outrageous101” – I like it each and every point mentioned there. So if I try to list down my favorites, I am afraid, I will end up reproducing the w hole post!

So, I would recommend that you read it yourself – Outrageous101. Outrageous thinking, outrageous goals, outrageous value and outrageous living!

I feel so upbeat when I read these lists and I am sure you will too! Enjoy!

Just a passing thought – no one can help one who does not help himself.

I observe people heavily relying on their managers for their self-improvement. I had a team member who approached me to help him improve upon his communication skills. I did a number of mentoring sessions to guide him. I also arranged a few training sessions for him. However, I could not see any major (or even minor) improvement in the way he communicated. Reason?

He was not helping himself. He was not acting on the suggestions given during mentoring sessions. He was not practicing enough. His improvement efforts were driven by external forces (job requirement, need to get ahead etc.) and not from within.  In review meetings, he would talk about getting external training, joining communication improvement classes etc. with no mention of what he would do to improve upon. How can you expect some one else to take ownership of your improvement?

Bottomline:

• Seek help only when you are ready to act upon it
• Remember that people will only help you if they see the willingness to improve.
• The moment people sense that you are not willing, they will stop helping you.

With two recessions in less than 10 years, it is very important for managers and professionals to know how to manage work in such situations. Thanks to Journyx Project Management Blog for pointing to the post “10 ways to be a good manager during recession” over at TechRepublic blog. The post offers some useful guidance for managers to do better with a positive outlook. I’d specially like to mention two points I liked:

Talk often — and do it in person
Yes, you’ve heard it before, but it’s true: Get out there and talk to your people often about what’s going on with the company, impending consequences, and what’s positive in the company’s future. Experts concur that this is something leaders don’t do enough of, or handle the wrong way. Be as transparent as possible. Don’t tell white lies. Don’t surprise everyone with bad news if you’ve known about it for weeks. Don’t send out an e-mail when you could organize a Web conference or a group meeting. All of these things erode trust and make managers seem like impersonal clods, which makes for an unhappy workforce.

Look to the future

Everyone is stuck in the present right now: survival. For a change, spend a few hours each week thinking about, and talking about, your company and department’s future. What can you do that will deliver unique value to customers (internal and external) when the economy begins to recover? What can you do now that will help the business survive until then? This can be a positive and healthy way to deal with the stress of the moment. “Reminding ourselves and each other and staff about what is in our control can be very helpful,” Cooke says.

Read the full post here.

Esther Derby at her blog “Insights you can use” also has a great post “Visibly Valuable” where she talks about few important things you can do as a professional/programmer to remain visible and valuable. One that I found very useful is:

Understand what is most important to work on. List those items in rank order. Work on the most important thing until it is done, or until you are stuck. Move to item two. Repeat.

How will you know what is most important? Ask your manager. Do not accept “everything is important” or “they are all number one priorities” as an answer. Those are not answers, they are signs that your manager is pressured, stressed, and isn’t taking time to think clearly.

Ask your boss some questions that will help him think.
• If you were doing this work, which would you work on first?
• Which has to be done soonest?
• Which one will bring in/save the most money?
• Which one will help you most?

Read the full post here.

We neither have control over our luck nor on external market situations. Only thing we have control over is our own efforts. Why not give our best?

Here are a few selected Twitter updates I posted through March 2009. March was a month of quotes and I found a lot of appealing and interesting quotes from people whom I follow on Twitter. While I love all of them, I specially like the ones marked in bold.

For those new toTwitter, RT stands for Retweet which simply means re-posting the tweets posted by others.

If you enjoy these tweets, you can start following me @tnvora! See you on Twitter.

• Great RT @rosasay A conversation is like a dance. Someone leads, someone follows. Try to lead at the same time, you’ll end up with sore toes.
• RT @silixell “If you posses something that you can’t give away, then it posses you.” Frank Sinatra #quote
• Note at my dentist’s office: “Your teeth – you get them free twice, third time you have to pay for it”
• “Workaholsim is as bad to productivity as alcoholism.”
• “No matter what business you are into, you are in the people business!“- heard Tom Peters saying this in one of the podcast!
• RT @SusanOrchard A lady at a recent networking event had on a button that said “I refuse to participate in the recession.” – What about you?
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “Love is a game that two can play and both win.” ~Eva Gabor
• Spend just a bit more timewith all your staff:(1) to show that they are valued and (2) to check they know EXACTLY how to do their job well.
• Stars shine brighter when surrounded by other stars. Questn: Are you a star? If so, are you surrounded by stars who help you shine brighter?
• RT @raj_bokdia “I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.” Elbert Hubbard
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says “Go!” – a leader says “Let’s go!” ~E.M. Kelly
• #GreatQuote “If you want to know what a man is, place him in authority.” – Yugoslav proverb
• “Leaders live in fish bowl and are always being watched. They should always be conscious of that fact and take advantage of it.” Gene Klann
• “Men don’t follow titles they follow courage…” – this quote emphasizes that leaderships is not about title, position or rank!
• RT @wclements “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” -Mark Twain
• RT @Ben14864 #QUOTE “Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.” – Anthony Robbins
• Very Interesting – RT @BreakThruGuy “Worry is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” ~Unknown
• RT @rosasay “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.” —Nido Qubein
• #GreatThought If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization. –Robert Noyce
• #GreatQuote “There is good in everybody – Boost, don’t Knock.”
• RT @BreakThruGuy RT @iquote “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.” — Jesse Jackson
• RT @nametagscott To bring more of yourself to any situation, just ask: Am I currently acting in harmony with the way I see myself?
• “All things being equal people will do business with people they like. All things not being equal, they still will.” -John C. Maxwell
• Expect the best only after giving your best, consistently!
• I think that failure is acceptable after you have given your best. Accepting failure without giving your best attempt is criminal.
• RT @UpbeatNow Very nice. RT @janebutton “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take…integrity is taking it.” — M.H. McKee
• Insightful Question: “If you don’t enjoy what you have, how could you be happier with more?” – RT @BreakThruGuy @ChipEFTRT @HemalRadia
• RT @alexmalave Environment beats Discipline.
• MUST READ: A truly inspiring story at Boston.com – that “E” in CEO can sometimes stand for “Empathy”. http://tinyurl.com/c7gh9l
• #QUOTE “Nearly all men can stand adversity – but give him power, and the extent of his character will be revealed.” -Anonymous
• RT @SKanderson “The desire to win only matters when coupled with the desire to prepare.”10:41 PM Mar 16th from web
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “I’ve never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.” ~~Author Unknown
• RT @MarvinTowler “The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.” -Robert Frost
• RT @BreakThruGuy @silixell “Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.”–Lois McMaster Bujold
• A gem from Seth Godin – “The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.” http://tinyurl.com/bsd4us
• “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience – well, that comes from poor judgment.” -British author A.A. Milne
• #QUOTE “Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.” -Josh Billings
• #QUOTES “Life is luck, make it.” – Mother Teresa
• #QUOTE The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. –William Pollard
• #QUOTE “If it wasn’t for the rocks the river would have no song.”
• #QUOTE “Life is a grindstone whether it grinds you down or polishes you up – it depends on what you are made of.”
• #QUOTE “Needs can be met, greeds never.”
• RT Ben14864: #QUOTE “Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.” – J. Donald Walters
• RT @Mike_Wesely #QUOTE: “He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody. ~Joseph Heller. (Just loved this one) Good Day!
• RT @Mike_Wesely “If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.” ~Arthur Goldberg
• RT @Ben14864 “The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” – David Russell
• RT @JayKoch @Ben14864 “The world has the habit of making room for a man whose words and actions show that he knows where he’s going.- N.Hill
• @Mike_Wesely “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner was you.” Read more @ my blog http://tinyurl.com/dmr4vh
• #GreatThought “Some people just don’t want freedom of choice though, they want freedom from it.” http://tinyurl.com/brf5eq
• RT @Mike_Wesel #QUOTE: “Rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.” ~~Woodrow Wilson
• RT @JayKoch “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• #PowerQuote “The most effective marketing is human to human; everything else is a compromise.” http://tinyurl.com/agu93u10:50 PM Mar 5th from TwitterBar
• RT @nametagscott MANAGER: “But my door is always open!” EMPLOYEE: “True. My question is – Are your mind and heart open too?
• #TRIVIA When month & day form square root of year,math geeks celebrate “Square Root Day”. 3/3/09 was that day which comes only 9 times in a century.
• #GreatQuotes “It isn’t the mountain that wears you out, its the grain of sand in your shoes”
• A professional knows it is very easy to attack/destroy, much harder to build, augment, be help and think abundant. http://qaspire.com/
• On web, why would someone connect to you if you have not built a value-based relationship? Even if they connect would that be helpful?
• Ten Personal Commandments of Management/Leadership at http://www.qaspire.com/ What commandments do you follow to lead?
• #SundayHumor Palmist to a Politician: You stand a good chance of winning elections since both the head and heart lines are missing!
• #SundayHumor Palmist to a man: You have nothing left in your right hand and you have nothing right in your left hand!

Jack was a “do-as-directed” professional. He used to tell his colleagues, “I am paid to do the work and my manager is paid to think about what I should be doing”. He would never own up anything more than his own tasks and would refrain from even thinking about the overall project. Times were good and he could survive working in that large IT company for 6 years with very average career growth.

Economy changed and company started cutting costs by laying off. Jack was a perfect candidate to be laid off. Post layoff, he was on his own. There was a vacuum around him with no one to tell him what to do. He had to own this situation if he had to survive. His personal leadership suddenly came to the fore. He thought, brainstormed, networked  and worked hard towards getting a new job in a different area. Layoff stirred him from within to initiate something and own it up. For the first time, he looked at getting a new job as his own responsibility. Sense of purpose took over him.

There are similar cases when people take entrepreneurship route, start an NGO or execute bright ideas after they are laid off or subjected to a difficult personal situation.

Personal leadership is within all of us but somehow organization’s bureaucratic structure kills/supresses it. Difficult times like these stir people from within and it is interesting to see how average people take charge of situation (in this case, their careers) and demonstrate personal leadership.

As we know by now that leadership is not about position, title or power. Leadership is a state of mind, it is about doing the right thing and realizing that the focus is on YOU.

Joe was made responsible for getting proposal out to client. Joe blindly delegated it and instructed his team to send it to client once done. When proposal went to client, mistakes were found! When asked, Joe mentioned that he did not review the final outcome. Does accountability just mean delegating?

Note: A mini saga is a story in exactly 50 words (not 49, and not 51!). This mini-saga is derived from a real-life experience.

You can also read the other mini-saga “Knowledge and Action” that I wrote way back in 2006.

Lets accept it – doing a good presentation is difficult. You stick to your powerpoint slides and you fail to impress. You do it without a powerpoint and you might loose the track. You take more time than scheduled and you loose respect. You speak a little more on same topic and you sound repititive.

From the presentations I have done so far (to clients, prospects, peers, academic lectures etc.) I have learnt how to introduce right, set the stage, build perspectives, be interactive, generate audience interest, relate topics with real life examples, modulate voice for better effectiveness and more importantly – respect other’s time.

Seth Godin (who himself is a great presenter) lists down two most important elements of being a great presenter. He says -

The two elements of a great presenter

1. Respect (from the audience)
2. Love (to the audience)

There are no doubt important evolutionary reasons why this is true, but in my experience, every great presenter earns the respect of the audience (through her appearance, reputation, posture, voice, slides, introduction, etc.) and captures the attention of the audience by sending them love.

I think one of the ways to express your love to your audience is to be passionate while presenting. Usage of right voice tones and being expressive when presenting can go a long way in engaging the audience. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech is one of the finest examples of how to speak with passion. His intensity in presentation was strong enough to bring tears in the eyes of audience.

Seth Godin further says -