Leadership is perhaps one of the most widely talked about topics in HR yet less practiced in reality . It is a skill that cannot be taught overnight in any course but can be definitely mastered on the job.
Today there are innumerable small and medium enterprises that are driving the Indian economy, creating wealth and generating jobs. Undoubtedly excellent leadership can give these companies a cutting edge and create impact yet many small and medium companies lack the capability to grow and develop leadership across various levels
Notwithstanding that technical and functional expertise are essential domain skills for leaders , the possession of these alone will not guarantee future success . The adeptness to nurture and develop a team, proficiency in communication, honing and the right application of one’s soft skills are crucial in such organizations. Organizations must pay attention to promote the development or availability of these skills as part of organizational capability building.
The most important ability that will help leaders in small organizations succeed is their own self awareness and self regulation and agility. The ability to introspect, to look at not only one’s strengths but one’s limitations , to change and adapt according to the needs of the business and the situation, to learn and grow professionally are the important qualities of leadership in today’s fast changing business landscape. Small and medium organizations must never stop learning. Learning through training interventions like sensitivity training,” lessons learnt” sessions or live case studies will promote sustainable learning in such organizations and change the working culture .
Having said that , the HR in such companies must focus on succession planning and must build a strong talent pipeline for future leadership roles. Also by taking on roles in other departments for some time atleast temporarily , leaders from various functions will be able to appreciate each other’s issues and perspectives thus building empathy -an important quality for leaders. This is often missed out when one confines oneself to one’s departmental boundaries all the while. Organizations also need to inculcate big picture thinking and a systems approach to problem solving.
In such companies, in the hectic frenzy of daily activities and the fight for survival , important communication may get missed out . For example leaders may communicate instructions to get a job done , but may not communicate role or performance expectations before a project begins. So juniors may fail to understand clearly their role expectations from the seniors and the company.
Similarly timely performance reviews, the ability to give constructive feedback to team members are also utterly critical . Leaders must understand what is it that motivates different folks , at the same time binding the individuals as a team , complementing each others strengths and weaknesses . Moreover raising the capability bar through effective talent acquisition and management and effective skill and competency based training and development will further build organizational capability in small and medium companies.
Constant upgrading and learning by existing talent is a must for progress. Leaders must learn to develop leaders, not just get the job done. It is when an organization stops learning and developing its future leaders that it tends to stagnate and finds it difficult to scale up. Also failing to learn from your mistakes is a dangerous symptom. In small organizations decision making by leaders must be timely and quick or else momentum slows down and so does the progress. And most of all leaders must possess a positive and energetic attitude as they are role models for others.
