Sunday, 2 April 2017

Build Leadership Skills for Indian Students


“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ― John Quincy Adams


There are mushrooming leadership development programs for students in the developed countries to impart leadership skills and abilities in students. Some prestigious international universities have customized training programs including Harvard Business School offering degrees in the domain of leadership. However, there are no such initiatives and courses in India despite being the second largest populated in the world with the highest number of young population. In fact, there is a huge potential for leadership training programs for youth in India.  Unfortunately, India doesn’t have organized method to impart leadership training for students except in a few premier business schools. 

During my leadership training programs I often come across with students raising questions whether leaders are born or made. I try hard to persuade them that leaders are made rather than born. Most of the leadership skills depend on emotional intelligence that can be cultivated through teaching, training, observation, experience and practice. Hence, anybody can acquire leadership qualities unlike talents which are inborn and the same has been substantiated by a number of leadership gurus including Warren Bennis, Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell.

Developing leadership skills in students needs an integrated approach and coordinated efforts from various stakeholders including educators, students, parents, educational institutions, industry and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) to enable students shift from campus to corporate successfully. Here is the blueprint to achieve it:

                                                                                       
Role of Students

Learning leadership is like learning how to swim. Only when you get into water you learn the art of swimming. Hence, take a plunge to lead from the front.  Here are some of the ways to acquire leadership skills and abilities:
  • Be passionate to lead from the front with a heart to make a difference in the lives of others.
  • Visualize yourself as a leader as visualization is one of the effective tools to achieve whatever you want in your life. Remember, a battle is won twice – first in mind and second in real life.
  • Apply SWOT tool to assess your strengths and weaknesses, and search for opportunities from threats.
  • Work in teams to understand team dynamics and improve your emotional intelligence.  Practice is the most effective way to learn any skill and leadership is not an exception. You cannot become a crackshot unless you lose some ammunition.
  • Take successful leaders as your role model and find out the qualities you admire and imbibe them.
  • Read inspirational books. Most of the leaders are great readers including Abraham Lincoln.
  • Find out the problems that affect the people; create a common cause; influence the people; build a strong team; align their energies and efforts; and motivate them constantly to accomplish your goals and objectives.
  • Delegate routine tasks to others so that you can find more time to undertake challenging roles and responsibilities. 
  • Spread the fame when things go well and take the blame when things go wrong.
  • Learn, unlearn and relearn as the world is changing rapidly. In addition, what works now might not work in future due to increased uncertainty, volatility, complexity and ambiguity everywhere.


Role of Educators

Educators must take initiative to build leadership skills in students to enable students find themselves comfortable to lead at the corporate world.  For instance, they must encourage students to participate in simulated ‘United Nations Assembly’ which is a mock exercise for students wherein students represent various countries in the world and discuss and debate on pressing global issues. They can also discuss the ways and means to ensure global peace and security and maintain ecological balance.  They must encourage students to participate in group discussions to develop leadership skills.


Role of Educational Institutions

  • Organize events, functions, conferences, tours and excursions. Also, conduct industry visits for students to expose them with the practical world to build skills. 
  • Nominate class representative for each classroom to build coordination and leadership skills.
  • Encourage students to participate in NCC, NSS, and NGO where they work with other team members and they are the right avenues to learn team dynamics to build leadership skills.
  • Inspire students to participate in jungle training, mountaineering, or river rafting where they have to work with other members.
  • Teach them how to handle pressure and work under stress to achieve all-round success in this century.
  • Balance both curricular and extracurricular activities as presently Indian educational institutions don’t emphasize on extracurricular activities. Building leadership skills fall in the bracket of extracurricular activities and these skills groom students as well-rounded personalities.

It is essential to build leaders on continuous basis as the Baby Boomers are retiring and there is a dearth of leadership talent in the leadership pipeline globally. Current complexity calls for leaders who can take on challenges head-on.  Hence, it is strongly recommended to include a few courses on leadership development along with soft skills to groom leaders for tomorrow.

Future of any country depends on developing healthy minds in healthy bodies and it requires developing a unique mindset, toolset and skills set among the students. India has less number of leaders when compared with the size of population. Small countries produced the best leaders. What is wrong with India? Why is India unable to produce the best leaders in the world? India had a great leader like Swami Vivekananda who left an indelible mark internationally by spreading tolerance and universal brotherhood. India needs more such Vivekanandas to inspire Indian youth to change their mindset with a proactive and positive attitude to grow along with other civilized and advanced nations in the world.  


Note: This article has been adapted from my award-winning book, ‘Student Leaders: Growing From Students To CEOs.’ Here is the link to purchase and post your review: http://www.amazon.com/Student-Leaders-Growing-Students-CEOs/dp/9351101630  




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Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html 


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/



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Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.


Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
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Friday, 17 March 2017

Gifted Book to Kiran Bedi ― ‘Professor M.S.Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders’




Dear friends,

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ― John Quincy Adams

I am excited to share with you that I had the privilege to meet Dr. Kiran Bedi and gift my bestselling book titled, ‘Professor M.S.Rao’s ‘Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders’ on 15th March 2017 at Puducherry (India). She wrote foreword for this book, and I dedicated this book to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam whom I admire the most. Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: https://lnkd.in/ew3futU Here is the link to purchase this book and post your kind review on Amazon https://lnkd.in/gBUkcu9  

Here are the posts from this book that are trending on social media:  
  1. Do Indians See the Glass as Half-Empty? https://lnkd.in/fVvJWZ8
  2. Does Your Attitude Matter more than Your Intelligence and Experience in Employment Interview? https://lnkd.in/fSVAtkT
  3. Are Indians Followers, not Leaders? https://lnkd.in/fCrxv-g
  4. Emphasize Character Education in Educational Institutions https://lnkd.in/f5yWR9n
  5. Build Positive Attitude in Indian Students to Groom them as Global Leaders https://lnkd.in/fxsXEnd
  6. How to Bridge the Gap Between the Industry and Academia? https://lnkd.in/fT4KdBR 
  7. One Person Who Can Change The World Is YOU! https://lnkd.in/f7xriCd


Reference




If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414


Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html  


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.



Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
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Sunday, 26 February 2017

Inculcate “Soft Leadership” in Indian Youth to Achieve Global Peace and Prosperity


"We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead." ― William Arthur Ward


Leadership is a widely talked subject internationally. It gives lots of energy, enthusiasm and inspiration to many readers. However, it is highly challenging to practice it.  Anybody can talk about leadership from outside but to get into leadership role and walk the talk is easier said than done.

It is essential to build Indian youth as leaders as our nation needs leaders to ensure better quality of living, and to take the future generations forward. There is an urgent need to build soft leaders in youth rather than ordinary leaders as India being a peace loving country that created great global leaders including Mahatma Gandhi who pioneered peace with an emphasis on truth and non-violence.


What is Soft Leadership?

Leadership basically depends on three aspects ― how you communicate with others; how you make decisions; and how you take action. When you can execute these three activities effectively you become a successful leader. However, to evolve as a soft leader, you must communicate with an emphasis on soft skills; make decisions by blending your head, heart and gut; and take action keeping the ground realities and goals in your view without compromising people-orientation. There are 11 Cs that constitute soft leadership. They are: character, charisma, conscience, conviction, courage, communication, compassion, commitment, consistency, consideration and contribution. It is highly challenging for people to cultivate these 11 characteristics. However, if people possess more than 6 traits they get into the fold of soft leadership.


How to Excel as a Soft Leader?

When you want to excel as a soft leader there must not be ‘character gap’, ‘communication gap’, ‘commitment gap’ and ‘courage gap’. When you stick to these four sutras you can excel as a soft leader. ‘Treat the people the way you want to be treated’ is the old adage. But as a soft leader, you must treat all people with respect especially the people who are lower to you in rank and file. The soft leaders possess humility and a servant attitude.  In Jim Collins’ parlance, they are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. They help their people grow beyond what people dream of growing. That is the hallmark of soft leadership.


Gen Y and Success

The Gen Y is highly ambitious but impatient. They are hard working, not smart working. In rare cases, they are smart working, not wise working. They want to touch the heights of success without emphasis on ethics and integrity. They must acquire the right means to achieve their success. Since Gen Y is in a hurry, they may tend to make more mistakes apart from compromising integrity and ethics. They must learn that short-cut will cut them short forever. If they want to stand in the race to stand out as soft leaders they must emphasize on ethics. Although it might take a little longer time, it is worth achieving success with integrity and ethics. It is a fact that people often look at negative things in leaders rather than the positive things. As a leader you are always under the scanner. Hence, you must walk your talk properly with an eye on your ends with an emphasis on ethics, values and morals.


Be a Giver, not a Taker

According to Adam Grant, author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, there are three types of people in the world - Givers, Takers and Matchers. Takers contribute less and expect more from others. In contrast, givers contribute with a great heart without expecting anything from others. Matchers fall in the middle of the road who believes in proportional returns for their contribution. They hover in between givers and takers. Givers think of what is that I can do for others, takers think of what is in it for me and matchers think of what is to barter and mutually beneficial to us. Soft leaders are givers, hard leaders are takers and smart leaders are matchers.

Takers are plenty who are at the bottom of the pyramid, matchers are at the middle of the pyramid and givers are at the top of the pyramid who is very few in number. They are the people who make a difference to the world. Soft leaders belong to the top of the pyramid. They don’t mind who takes credit for their efforts and achievements. They are altruist with people-orientation a blend of personal humility and professional will. Their pockets may be empty but their hearts are rich. We need such kind of leaders who can walk their talk to contribute their best to make a difference to the world.

Here is the difference between takers and givers: Takers are often found to be selfish people while givers are often found to be selfless people. Takers are often whiners while givers are winners. Takers often blame the circumstances while givers look for opportunities to work with what they have to contribute. In the present world, takers are more but givers are less. That is why we have more followers and less leaders. And leaders are givers. There is thrill in giving rather than taking from others. Everyone knows that we don’t take away wealth when we depart from this world. We leave this world either with good reputation or with bad reputation depending on our contribution. Remember, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela stand out from others because they were givers. They sacrificed their lives for the welfare of others. That is why they are still remembered today. Do you like to be remembered like them? If so, you must adopt soft leadership where you respect all people with your personality, attitude and behavior and make others truly special.


Build Soft Leaders Globally

Presently people appreciate partnership rather than traditional command-and-control leadership. They believe in the concept of ‘give respect and take respect’.  There is a drastic change in the mindset of the people globally due to the rapid changes in the technologies. It is essential to explore soft leadership rather the traditional leadership styles which got outdated. Hence, build soft leaders in Indian youth who can emphasize on soft skills rather than hard skills; people-orientation rather than task-orientation; transformational leadership rather than transactional leadership; others-centered leadership rather than self-centered leadership; ‘what is that I can do for others’ rather than ‘what is in it for me’ to bring smiles and make a difference in the lives of others. Remember, the words of Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."


Note: This article has been adapted from my upcoming book titled, “Soft Leadership: An Innovative Leadership Style to Resolve Conflicts Amicably through Soft Skills and Negotiation Skills to Achieve Global Stability, Peace and Prosperity” Here is the link to free chapter: https://lnkd.in/bNDJ7uA   




If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414


Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html 


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/



Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.



Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
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Saturday, 25 February 2017

Replace Religion with “Love” to Achieve World Peace



“We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.” ― William Gladstone

Currently we have too many religions in the world. Some of the people from their religious faiths believe that their religions are superior to others leading to conflicts and terrorism globally. People must learn that all these different religions are different means to reach God. Mahatma Gandhi once remarked, “The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.” It is unfortunate that people started looking at the differences instead of looking at the similarities. It has become a cause for concern globally as some people resort to violence and terrorism based on their religion. Hence, it is essential to pioneer a common religion for the entire humankind to bring people into one platform to promote universal brotherhood to achieve international peace and prosperity. Can we name that religion as ‘Religion of Love’ which every human being craves for? People who believe in this religion must love all people across the world irrespective of language, region, race, caste, creed and community. It must be based on four pillars of truth, non-violence, empathy and compassion. Additionally, this ‘Religion of Love’ must be based on the concept of ‘love your mother but don’t hate another person’s mother’ and on the principle of ‘respect to all, disrespect to none’.

Life is an Echo

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.” – Mother Teresa

We must understand that life is an echo. If you give best you get the best. If you love others, others will love. Here goes the famous story on ‘hate and love’. A boy often complained to his mother that he hated the people. Mother advised him to go to the top of the hill and shout the same. The boy started to shout, ‘I hate you,’  He heard the response as ‘I hate you.’ He shouted louder and the echo got louder. Having vexed, he returned home and informed his mother that he heard the voice ‘I hate you.’ Mother smiled and advised her son to go again and shout ‘I love you.’ The boy went to the top of the hill and started to shout ‘I love you.’  To his surprise, he heard the same response. He shouted louder and the echo got louder. He was excited, returned home and informed the same to his mother happily. The mother responded that life is an echo. If you do good, you get back the good. If you do bad, you get back the bad. Therefore, you must always do good to get good as what goes around comes around. Similarly, people across the globe must shed their cynicism and pessimism and start loving people with a positive attitude. In fact, attitude makes a huge difference. Hence, people must improve their attitude and love the people around to enable the world to live with lots of love.


Believe in ‘Religion of Love’

Albert Einstein once remarked, “All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” Hence, all religions are the branches of love. Here is how you can wed and spread the new ‘Religion of Love’:

See good in others. Improve your attitude to make this world better place to live. Grow as a global citizen with a universal mindset. Treat all religions as equal and respect them. Remember, no religion preaches violence. It is the misguided elements who spread wrong messages in the name of religion to create ill-will among the individuals. Above all, we must remember that given the choice between the sword and the spirit, it is the spirit which is always stronger than sword.  Hence, develop the spirit and replace religion with love to promote world peace. Above all, follow the sage words of Lao Tzu:

“If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.”


Note: This article has been adapted from my upcoming book titled, “Soft Leadership: An Innovative Leadership Style to Resolve Conflicts Amicably through Soft Skills and Negotiation Skills to Achieve Global Stability, Peace and Prosperity” Here is the link to free chapter: https://lnkd.in/bNDJ7uA   




If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414


Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html 


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/



Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.



Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
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Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Be a Giver to Build a Better World


"I shall pass this way but once. Therefore any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again." — William Penn 


I have a good friend of mine who is an acclaimed American author and an international speaker. We have friendship for the last five years and we value our relations profoundly.  He endorsed some of my authored books and wrote foreword for a book. We regularly exchange our knowledge over e-mails.  In one of his e-mails, he mentioned that in America, relations are valued on reciprocal response. His viewpoint was thought provoking and I decided to explore it to enlighten my readers.

There are various kinds of people in this world. Most of them expect from others without contributing anything. Worse, there are some who demand too much from others as if they had a right to ask for it. Such people are known as selfish people. Some of them even go to the extent of exploiting the relations for their short-term ends. They are also known as takers. You must safeguard from such selfish people in this world. Once they avail the opportunities they say ‘good bye’ to you forever. Such people often fool the people around and cannot grow in their lives as they cannot succeed all the time to fool others.  Abraham Lincoln rightly remarked, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Hence, these people will be checkmated over a period of time and end up with stagnation. 

Takers are fakers. They fake others. They wear multiple masks to get their things done. You can easily identify takers as they approach you whenever they need your help. Once the work is over they don’t show their faces. They approach you again when they need your help. To bridge the gap in relations, they tell lots of lies to cover up. Unfortunately, they end up in a fiasco. At times they come to you with an impression to help you with a hidden agenda to take big favors from you. Hence, be careful with takers in your life.

In the second category, you will find people who seek help from others and also reciprocate when the time comes. They often think ‘what is in it for me?’ They are known as matchers. This category is somewhat better than the first category. Some of the people in this category will also have the ‘attitude of gratitude’ which is a healthy sign. They will regret if they are unable to help others who helped them in the past. This second category is better than the first category of takers.

In the third category, you will find people in a limited number who always think of helping others. They are altruistic people and help others without any expectations. They are known as givers. Most times they are exploited by first category of people. In spite of being exploited by others, they still want to extend their hands to make a difference in the lives of others. They live like legends and remain like legends beyond their lifetime. If you look at leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela to name a few, they were givers who lived like legends.

When you diagram them into a pyramid, first category falls at the bottom, the second category in the middle and the third category on the top of the pyramid which is few in number.  Most problems come to the people who are takers as they often exploit others. At times, they also demoralize the givers who want to help the genuine and the deserving people. Conflicts also tend to arise among the second category of the people who expect reciprocal response from their relationships. If they believe in the slogan of what goes around comes around the conflicts can be averted in this world. 

Givers are transparent and clear. They are generous by heart and noble by nature. At times givers are exploited by takers. They may also lose their interest to help and serve others. Since generosity is the hallmark of their nature and servanthood is their behavior, they keep giving to others. That is the reason why most of the givers excel as legends over a period of time. And that is the reason why the world is moving in the right direction under the leadership of givers. 

Selfish people add value for themselves, not for others. Altruistic people add value to others, not for themselves. Selfish people keep profit before purpose while altruistic people keep purpose before the profit. Selfish people are losers while altruistic people are winners. Hence, differentiate between selfish and altruistic people. Stay away from selfish people and invite altruistic people to create positive vibes to build a better world.

Why I need to share these aspects with you is that you will be able to manage your time by focusing on the people who are really good with whom you take pride in crossing your path in your life. You also get great satisfaction by helping the deserving people who have the ‘attitude of gratitude’. Above all, you will be able to invest your precious time in the right people to create a utopian world.            


“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” — Barbara de Angelis




If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414


Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html 


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao, India
Blog: http://professormsrao.blogspot.com
Blog: http://professormsraoguru.blogspot.com




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.



Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.


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