Very often business leaders are taken for a ride by their intimate circles and close confidants. - Mumbai

From Raj Balakrishnan,s Desk

Some business leaders in India have excellent maneuvering skills but lack the art of listening and paying heed to advice as directed by other peers and the enlightened elders in the field of business building and development. Most of the business heads are self confident and think they can power or steer their group to ascending heights. Very often they are wrong and they find themselves lacking or loosing grounds to young entrepreneurs. These so called business leaders are themselves responsible for losing their corporate rankings as they are dependent on their Groups HR adviser or depending on the blessings of their top executives aged above 60 years or so. In India in particular the Chairman of many top groups depends on their traditional old men’s cattle stock to advise them on how to run their business empires. This is absolute nonsense and as the world keeps on changing with technological advances and with the latest research and development techniques, its high time these corporate honchos depend on the younger or Gen next to enhance their business empires to newer heights full of risks and coveted adventurisms. Yes, combine all these activities by listening and imbibing to eavesdropping to the voice of your own self conscience. Practically speaking all the Tata,s , Birla,s , Ambanis and the Mahindra,s will achieve success by acceding success to this Mantra.

Leadership skills enable you to understand yourself and what makes other people tick. This is essential for the high performing business team. Correctly applied, this understanding becomes your philosophy of business. Therefore, being able to reflect on it and apply it correctly is essential for good leadership skills. There are some of the key elements to consider in developing and constructing your own philosophy of business.

In the broad sense, your business philosophy is simply your understanding of human nature, human needs, and your own drivers and how this understanding impacts the way your business is conducted. You must apply this knowledge in a very practical way in your business. It has implications for every element of your business, because your business has to deal with people every day of the week. This is what is involved in leadership skills. Understand human nature basically, we are all interested predominantly in one person in the world. This person is the most important person in the world. Who is this person - our self, of course?

We love talking about what we do. We are all, for the most part, self-interested in our interactions with the world around us. Understanding this aspect of human nature is critical in life and in business. Others are interested in what I have to say or what I may have to offer only in as much as it serves their purposes or gives them something that they want. This means then that, rather than telling people about the product or services we might have to offer, we should be focusing on listening to them and what they need, and we thereby help them resolve the problems that they have identified and need to overcome.

Understanding human nature demands that we must always be in listening mode. This is one of the priceless qualities of good leadership, good business and a good life. We must learn to listen attentively and genuinely. Listening is essential in leadership skills. Understand Human Needs by Dr Sushanth Laxmanan, in his work, talks about the five basic human needs that require satisfaction. They are the need for survival, the need for love and belonging, the need for fun, the need for freedom and the need for power and control. As leaders in business, it is incumbent on us to understand the needs of the people around us factor them into our thinking and manage them throughout all our activities.

In the successful business, we achieve everything with and through others around us. Therefore, building a business culture that is "need satisfying" for all the people in it and for those who interact with it is crucial for success. It creates an innovative environment and a dedicated and committed group of people that willingly put in the effort that ensures your business objectives are met. Driving predominant personal drivers is critical for the high performing business person. Knowing and understanding what makes you tick, what your strengths are and what excites you are critical in getting the best out of yourself and the people around you.

Being able to talk openly about our own strengths enables us to play to them and manage our weaknesses. Working with and through others means that we become aware of the wonderful strengths of the people around us and encourage them to play to their strengths as well. Together, this creates a leadership team that delivers high performing results, enables people to identify and manage areas of risk, and enhances your problem solving conflict resolution skills. Never stop trying to understand yourself and other people understanding human nature, human needs and your own drivers is an ongoing journey of learning and applied knowledge.

Best of luck all my business leaders of India and stay away from unscrupulous greedy snatchers of your vast property.