The Art of Public Speaking

"Presentation skills is one of the most important skills in the 21st century."  - Bill Gates. 

Imagine yourself standing in front of the mirror at midnight – panic struck eyes, fear hovering the face, and trembling limbs – a total wreck. 

Neither, a performance evaluation nor a board meeting. Still the adrenaline rush is so strong to keep you sleep deprived for few days now. What else could be the reason for such nervousness?
Astoundingly, these are “common” symptoms of a person preparing for a PUBLIC ADDRESS or a SPEECH.

PUBLIC SPEEKING – an art and skill we see and admire in many, my recent favourites being our PM Shri. Narendra Modi and the US President Mr. Barrack Obama, is a nightmare to a large number of us.

Our PM, Modiji’s speeches are feast to the ears. No wonder he captured world’s attention with his public speaking skill and all have seen him catapult to the present position which draws similarity, in strategy and execution, with yet another great speaker – Barrack Obama. Both brilliant with words.

Let me feel proud to share that one of the best speeches I have eared recently is that of Modiji’s address at the Capitol Hill at the joint session of the US Congress on 8th June this year. What a marvellous and breath-taking speech!! 8 standing ovations! 66 clapping intervals!! Truly spectacular!

The steps of Old State Capitol, Illinois on 10th February, 2008 along with the whole world, witnessed a spectacular exhibit of public speaking skills of Mr. Barack Obama, when he announced his candidature to run the presidential elections. His historic victory speech on being the 44th President- Elect, on 4th November, 2008 amazed billions around the globe, yet again. Not to mention, Mr. Obama connects well with his audience through his speeches. 
Both these honoured speakers gracefully inspire and influence the audience, which is quint essential trait for any good public speaker. One can learn quite a lot from these speakers. 

Today, we are in an era of rapid changes and high uncertainty and people look for clear directions and guidance. Whether forming new visions, or targeting an innovation to untried markets, or speaking to media, or addressing social functions or simply conducting business or team meetings, the ability to make effective speeches is mostly the crucial factor that decides success or failure.

The terms “hearing” and “listening”, though it may seem the same, have different meanings. Many a times, people only hear to speakers but don’t listen to what they speak. Making the talk interesting and participative can make the speeches more effective and result oriented.
There are, of course, natural speakers with inborn talent & aptitude for Public Speaking. But I strongly believe that good speakers are not always born – they can be trained as well. 
We all have latent skills. An awakening and perfecting these skills, along with the right perspective, a few Public Speaking tricks, and a couple of modulated punch lines will make the task less challenging.

Let me now share few simple tips that can help you be effective speakers. 

1. Define the Purpose: To create interest among your audience, you must offer a good reason to them to listen to you. Their time is valuable, which means that your speech should answer their one simple question: “What’s in it for me?"

2. Develop the speech: To make a great speech, you need to start by building on an appropriate outline that considers timing and the whats, whys, and hows of the speech. Keep both, the target audience and the objectives of the speech while developing the speech content.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice: Having a concrete outline and well prepared speech alone will not win the battle for you. The key is continuous rehearsals. Repeated speech practice and rehearsals help in identifying problematic areas and strategies to avoid any obvious mistakes from occurring. You can also join speaking clubs like Toastmasters, or volunteer to speak at local events, and practice at work. The more you speak, the better you will get at it.

4. Nervous to Natural: Be yourselves. Good audience can quickly identify if you are trying to imitate someone that you are not. Relax - your best self is your real self. Your audience is almost nervous as you are. Involve them as soon as possible to calm everyone's nerves.

5. Breath: Before you start uttering the first words, take a deep breath and look at the audience. Connect with their eyes, take in their energy and begin.

6. The magic of 3: The first 3 minutes of the speech is crucial, because during this time your audiences’ attention is naturally high. You have only one chance to make a first impression and you need to grab their attention, establish the rapport, and ensure they will buy-in immediately to what you are conveying.

7. Keep it Simple: Have a few key points listed and use numerous real-life examples for each one. Your audience is looking forward to learn something new from you. Understand that they are not waiting to test your knowledge.

8. Make all movements Purposeful: Moving around the hall, just for the sake of moving or to wash out your nervousness is annoying for the audience. There is no need to move all the time. Try standing planted from time to time. 

9. Check your Pace: People often speak too fast when they are nervous. Slow down. Take something to the podium with you that will serve as your reminder to slow down. Obama & Narendra Modi are masters in this and remember how effective it is.

10. Bring a Visual: Place something on the podium that makes you smile. It could be a picture of your family, a silly toy or a rock from the ocean. It might sound silly, but it really works!

11. Close it Right: A fine closing will make your audience feel good about what they've learned. Try to inspire them to Act and leave them with something that reminds them of you and your key message. Make sure to end your speech with a bang!

12. Take feedback: Ensure you request and get a feedback from your audience after the session. Also have an evaluator, a speaker, to monitor your performance for the day. Discuss a couple of points to improve and later implement those suggestions.

I am confident that anyone who practices the above simple techniques while making a public speech, can do a neat job. However, let me remind you that true success in any endeavor is the will and attitude to improve continually. This starts with a commitment to improve. Audience feedback and suggestions are the best source to evaluate your performance and its effectiveness. A word of caution here is not to take these feedback personally or self-criticizing and be defensive against them. Remember, there can be lessons to be learnt from even a crank, if you have the will and patience to listen!

We may not be able to stand in the shoes of Mr. Obama or Modiji at Public Speaking but sure we can make good speakers out of us – speakers who can inspire any audience!

NOW, ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT SPEECH?!

Shamim Rafeek
Corporate Trainer | Motivational Speaker | Business Coach | Author
www.shamimrafeek.com

Leaders- Help Others, Help Yourself !

To be a successful leader, we need other people’s intelligence and other people’s cooperation. We need to be able to attract into our life and work the help, assistance, influence and active involvement of lots of other people in achieving our goals. Let me narrate a funny but interesting story which tells us the importance of being useful to others that makes us lovable & respectable in our organization.

Once a stranded tiger entered the washroom of a corporate office and hid itself in a dark corner. As there was always human movements outside, the tiger was afraid of coming out. Many persons frequented the washroom, but the frightened tiger did not attack any one.

But after four days it could not bear the pangs of hunger and caught the man who went in and ate him up. This man happened to be an Assistant General Manger of the organization, but nobody noticed his disappearance. Since nothing happened by way of attacking, the man-eater tiger became more daring and after two days caught another man and ate him. This man was the General Manager of the organization. Still nobody worried about his disappearance (some people were even happy that he was not in the office).

The next day, the tiger caught the Vice President who was a terror in the organization. Again, no one tried to finish off the tiger. The tiger was very happy and decided that this was the right place for it to live.

The very next day, the happy tiger caught a man who had entered the washroom with a tray of teacups. The frightened man fell unconscious. Within 15 minutes, there was a big hue and cry and everyone in the office was out in search of the missing man. The search team reached the washroom, flushed out the tiger and saved the unconscious man. He was the tea supplier to the office!

The story tells us, it is not the position but usefulness to others that makes one lovable and respectable. We need to realize the fact that, no matter how independent we are as individuals, we depend upon others to define ourselves and create purpose in our lives.

Let me share with you seven things we need to do in an organization which form the basis for effective work relationships. These are the actions we should take to create a positive work environment for people:

1) Talk about solutions- not just the problems: Most of the people spend lot of time identifying only problems. That's something any one can do. But the solutions to the problems are the challenge that will earn respect and admiration from team members and leaders.

2) Never play the blame game: We tend to alienate team members, subordinates, and people reporting to us. But, we may need to identify who was involved in a problem. We also need to understand about the work system which caused the team member to fail. Instead if we say, it’s not my fault and publicly blaming others for failures will earn enemies. These enemies will only help us to fail. All we need is allies at work.

3) Our communication matters: If we talk down to another team member, use sarcasm, or sound nasty, others hear us. Once a senior manager of an organization told me, "I know I shouldn’t scream at my team member. But, sometimes, they make me so mad. Tell me when is it appropriate for me to scream at the team members?" My answer is simple- Never! Giving respect for our people is a hallmark of our organization.

4) Don’t blind side a team member, manager, or people reporting to you: If a team member hears about a problem related to him through an email sent to his superior, we have blind sided that team member. It’s better to discuss problems with the people directly involved. We will never build effective work relationships unless our team members trust us.

5) Keep our words: In every organization, the jobs are interlinked. When we fail to meet deadlines or commitments given, we affect the work of other team members. It’s important to keep up our words, and if we can't, make sure all affected team members know what happened. Give a new due date and make every possible effort to honor the new deadline.

6) Give full credit for accomplishments, ideas, and contributions: Can we accomplish a goal or complete a task with no help from others? As a leader, how many of the great ideas we promote were contributed by our team members? Take time and energy to thank, recognize, reward the contributions of the team members who help us succeed.

7) Help other team members to find their potential: Every team members in our organization has talents, skills, and experience. If we can help them to harness their best abilities, the entire organization will grow. Let’s compliment, recognize, praise, and value contributions. By doing this, team members do find and contribute their best.

Like Brain Tracy says, we can accomplish anything we want in life by simply finding ways to help other people to accomplish their goals in life. And the more creative we are in leveraging and multiplying our talents and abilities times the talents and abilities of others, the higher we can rise and the faster we can move forward in our life.

Want to help yourself? Then be ready to help others!

Shamim

Want to be a Good Leader? - "Lead by Example, Not by Extortion"!

I got a short message in my mobile phone today morning which says, " If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” This is the famous quote from former American President, John Quincy Adams. What a simple way of defining a " leader "! When we zoom in, it takes us to an interesting topic, " leading by example ".

As leaders, we have a choice either to lead by example or by extortion. Leadership by its nature bestows us with powers and many of us lead by enforcing the powers and influence we have. But we forget the fact that leadership by extortion don't make people to follow us but probably chase them away from us. When we set a good example through values, we illustrate the behavior we expect from others as they interact with each other and conduct their business.

We all have read the saying, "practice what you preach, do not preach what you do not practice". The statement explains it all when it comes to effectively leading by example. If we want to be efficient leaders, we need to “walk the talk” and not only “talk the talk”. Interestingly, there are two types of leaders: Those that lead by their words, and those who lead by their actions. The ones who lead by their actions are leaders who lead by example, or getting people to follow them based on what they do, and not what they tell others to do.

Let me share with you today an inspiring true story from the life of Mahatma Gandhi which tells us how important it is to lead by example. The story is about Mahatma Gandhi trying to counsel a child for removing a bad habit.

One day a lady came to Mahatma Gandhi with her 10 year old son. She told Gandhiji, " my son has a bad habit of eating a lot of jaggery ( a special kind of Indian sweet ). I have been telling him to reduce eating jaggery but he does not listen to me. Mahatma ji, the whole nation listens to you and you are a revered personality. I am sure my son too will follow your advice. Please tell him not to eat too much of jaggery."

Mahatma Gandhi thought for a while and asked the lady to bring her son again after a week. After a week , the lady again took her son to Mahatma. Mahatma Gandhi put his hand on the head of the boy and told him, "My dear child, don't eat jaggery too much. It can be harmful".

The conversation ended. The puzzled lady asked Mahatma, " Bappu, this was simple. You could have told him the same thing last week itself !! Why you made us come again after a week ?" Mahatma told the lady," I myself used to take jaggery till last week. I needed a weeks' time to quit eating jaggery so that I could counsel your son with conviction".

That's Mahatma Gandhi ! No wonder, he lead millions and walked our country to independence with his simple leadership style - leading by example! Many great leaders of the past walk the talk. Another example is Winston Churchill, who led his country to victory by uniting and inspiring the whole of Britain. The truth is, effective leadership does not come easy. An effective leader is someone who earns respect, not someone who demands it.

Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda says, Leadership is not a quality. It is an experience that an individual who has undergone personal growth and transformation radiates. He says, Leadership is a state not a status. Most of us achieve the status of a leader, but not the state. State is totally different from status. Status comes from society. When he use the word 'state' he mean our inner space. Our inner space should be matured enough to handle the responsibility, which we assume.

The question is, how do we most effectively lead by example? No doubt, leading by example boosts morale, and it helps us gain a sense of control over those we are managing. When we are willing to get our hands dirty to show others what has to be done, we are not only making people respect us, but we are helping others learn skills that they will need to be better employees as well.

Let me take you through some simple tips which can help us to lead by example.

1) Think before we talk : Think before we speak or act. As a leader, our words and actions will be looked upon and criticized or emulated by others. People want to believe in their leaders.

2) Believe in ourselves : Believe in what we do and do what we love. If we don't believe in our goals, then convincing others that they should work towards them will be very hard.

3) Be fair & honest : Treat others as we would like them to treat us. If we treat others fairly and justly, we can expect that they will treat us the same. If we treat them unjustly, expect that they will treat us unfavorably. A good leader is honest and respectful.

4) Be pro-active : Create chances and be pro-active. Don't wait for opportunities to come to us. Being pro-active instead of reactive enables us to be ready for difficult situations and take advantage of positive circumstances.

5) Give our ears : Listen to others. Listening is a key communication tool. Showing others that we are interested in what they have to stay will help gain their respect. If they don't respect us, they won't want to follow our lead.

6) Decision making : Stay firm in our decisions. If we aren't committed to our decisions, we can't expect others to be committed to theirs.

7) Be a team player : Stand behind our team. If a team member makes a mistake, take the blame for the mistake. Don't point fingers. Figure out why the mistake was made and how it could be prevented in the future.

8) Be a role model : We have to speak the part, dress the part, act the part, smile, be appropriate and do not complain. Sounds difficult, but we have to build up our reputation as a strong and well balanced leader that others will want to emulate.

9) Be Positive : Be consistent and do so with a positive attitude. Being fair with everyone and if someone needs to be corrected for something then do so in private.

10) Take care of ourselves : Of course to be productive as a leader, we must take care of ourselves and find a healthy balance. That balance differs from one person to the next, so finding our own will be up to us. Take care of our mind, body and soul to create a positive person.

It is said that, great leadership takes strength of character and a firm commitment to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Which means, doing what we say, when we say it. If our team can't trust us, we'll probably never lead them to greatness. I am sure, leading - and living - by example isn't as hard as it might sound. It's really the easiest path. If our team knows that we'll also do whatever we expect from them, they'll likely work hard to help us achieve our goals.

Remember, great leaders model how they want to be, to their people thus developing a level of relationship which is truly astounding - be ourselves, be natural and enjoy our work and our life - and be prepared to show it!

How about making our organization filled up with "inspired people" in an "inspiring atmosphere" led by an "inspirational leader"? Let's be a leader who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way - A leader who leads by example not by extortion!

Shamim

Visit : winnerinyou.in

Our Employees- " The Most Valuable Intangible Assets "

1st April - Corporate India is heading to yet another Financial Year beginning! Companies across India would have finished their stock taking (measuring the quantities of stock held) of raw materials, semi-finished goods, finished goods, capital goods etc. on 31st March. This stock will find a place in the last years Financial Statement as Closing Stock and current year Financial Statement as Opening Stock.

While starting the journey to another financial year, let me raise an interesting question to the Corporate world- along with the stock taking of our physical goods, don't you feel its important to take the stock of skills level of the most valuable asset in our Organization - the Human Asset?

It goes with out saying human asset is the key intangible asset for any organization. In today's dynamic world, it is the human assets and not the fixed or movable assets that differentiate any organization from its competitors! If so,during last financial year ending, how many of us have taken the stock of skills level of our human assets?

" Our ASSETS walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning," says Narayana Murthy, Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys. In today’s knowledge economy, the single most important and powerful factor that differentiates one organization from another is the Human Resources (HR) or Human Assets.

While humans can be physically replaced, the skill-sets and knowledge of a person leaving an organization cannot be exactly replaced by the successor. It is widely held among business decision-makers that the skill of employees account for 85% of a company's assets. Employee skills determine the speed and success of organizations.

Most of our employees are hired to do specific functions based on current need. As the strategic direction of our organization changes, these employees (human assets) yield less and less. In other cases, employees hired for a specific function never have their full capabilities assessed or explored. Further, there is a general inability to quantify the capacity of human resources. Consequently, the organization cannot effectively determine when it has reached its affordable human asset capacity level.

It is also important for us to understand that the skill sets of our employees helped us to reach certain targets during the last financial year. It is obvious that we will set an ambitious target during this financial year probably with the same set of employees. Remember, the skills level of our people enabled us to reach here but is it enough to take us to the next level? Should we take the stock levels of skill sets they possess and address the gap if any? I believe performing a skill gap analysis will help organization to understand gaps in performance and possible areas for training and development.

Once the benchmark of critical and preferred competencies is established for the role, the employee and the manager can assess the level of proficiency for each competency. According to Joni Rose, a skill gap analyst, this can be accomplished using one, or preferably a combination, of the following techniques:

Performance Reviews – a standard performance review usually includes a discussion between the employee and his or her manager to assess the competency proficiency. A strategy for professional development to allow the employee to improve their performance or improve their chances of a promotion can be included in the review.

Interviews – interviewing managers and employees with open ended questions allows for qualitative data to be accumulated. Resistant attitudes, misconceptions and other barriers to good performance may be revealed using this methodology that may not be revealed during a manager-employee performance review conversation.

Customer Feedback – if customers or stakeholders can be surveyed or interviewed they can be a great source of feedback on the performance of a group of employees or individual employees.

Performance Tests – certain skills can be tested using standardized tests and metrics can be measured to provide quantitative data (multiple choice, fill in the blank etc.) of performance levels.

Audits – A checklist of operational standards can be made and employees can be checked against the list.

Once the skills gap have been identified, strategies for closing the gaps can be determined. Strategies include training (if a lack of knowledge is apparent), job role reassignment (transfers, portfolio changes), allocation of new resources, improvement of rewards and incentives, goal setting, or termination (if the fit can not be corrected by other means).

As our employees talent, ability, and grasp of the business improve, some group members are likely to realize their own high growth potential. We will probably suffer minor setbacks when losing a valuable team member to a better job or even another company. Be happy; this is one of the best indications that we are giving our employees important skills.

By helping employees to scale up their critical skills, we will be able to establish skills accountability and foster continuous learning - a key strength in today's marketplace of constantly changing environment. Lets create and promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in our organization, and respect Human Asset - the most valuable Intangible Asset.

While wishing you a successful financial year ahead, let me remind you to take the stock of skills level of your employees and fill the gap if any! Do visit my website www.winnerinyou.in for more!

Shamim

M. S Dhoni - Leadership Lessons for Aspiring Leaders

Many of us many a time might have realized that leadership is not about a position but an attitude. It is all about making a difference to one’s own self and others. It is an inner shift, a calling, an urge, a pull, a realization and a cause that kick starts the leadership or changes journey for many. Over the years I have looked for a role model, or a story of a leader that is embedded in an experience that is life changing and learning for every aspiring leader. It might be a great idea to draw some lessons from the leadership style of successful people around us from all walks of life.

My search ended the other day in an In flight magazine while I was traveling from Chennai to Portblair. It was an interview with New Youth Icon of our Country, the Captain of Indian Cricket Team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Born on 7th July 1981 in a small town called Ranchi at Jharkhand, he announced his arrival into the international arena in 2004-05 with a bang. M.S Dhoni has come a long way with his unique leadership style and aggressive brand of cricket.

Dhoni has made Team India, the best team in the world today with his charismatic leadership. Ever since he became a captain, Team India has performed like a champion in all forms of the game.

A young captain leading a team of youngsters in a game. I am sure,not many hopes were pinned on the team that traveled to South Africa from England, especially after the big three – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly – pulled out of the inaugural edition of Twenty20.

Still, the team led by a Mahendra Singh Dhoni reached the finals to take on arch rival Pakistan. On their way to Durban, they knocked out biggies like England, South Africa and Australia, and even defeated Pakistan in the first round in a bowl-out.

Against Australia and later against Pakistan in the finals, he trusted the inexperienced Joginder Singh to bowl the last over! This too was ignoring the tested bowlers he has in the team.

He displayed tremendous potential of a great leader after he led India to victory in the finals of Twenty20 against Pakistan. The icing on the cake was the triangular series win against Australia in Australia in 2008. And the journey continues with a clean sweep against Srilankan's in their own land.

The first thing he said to Ravi Shasthri during the presentation after India won the action packed India-Australia semis was “Before I start Ravi, yesterday I read an article on Cricinfo. It says according to you Aussie's are the favorites. I think me and my boys proved you wrong and I think you are happier than us." In fact when I heard it, I told myself, here is one guy who knows how to touch the right nerve of the people!

After the series win, look at his statement - "It doesn't matter whether people say we are the best team or not or whether we have won or lost the previous match. In every match, one has to start from the scratch. It is important that we carry the momentum in the game. During the series we had the motivation, we had the plans and most importantly we executed those plans well." Doesn't it speak of a great leader?

When Ganguly was playing his last match, as a gesture of respect, or so it was claimed, Dhoni asked Ganguly to take charge of the team when the ninth Aussie wicket fell. Whenever he has an opportunity, he showers his players with praises.

Well, I guess its time for Corporate India to learn from this young leader. In business, most of us with no experience head on against the global biggies, just the way as the Indian cricket team had no track record to back them against in-form teams like South Africa, England and Australia in the Twenty20 Cricket. And the fearlessness and confidence have helped the Dhoni's devils that they are globally the best. That tells us, Dhoni's leadership kit mean a lot for Indian Industry and Corporate Leaders.

I think managing under change is a vital attribute to be learned from the leadership under Dhoni. A good leader doesn't mind going out and exploring. Change in business is very rapid. Platforms, markets, products keep changing, and when change happens, a new and fresh leadership perspective comes handy, just the way it did for a new cricket format like Twenty20, which is a completely new and disruptive change. Dhoni's risk taking ability, inclusiveness and time-pressure qualities are good examples of leaders on the business side.

If you notice, instead of pressing teammates to win, Dhoni told them to just enjoy the game. Also, he has mentioned at several forums that he believes to live in the present and not worry about future or past. That's another management tip. Too much strategizing for the future is not recommendable in a dynamic business environment. Dhoni's leadership style represents teamwork, empowerment and confidence.

Remember, he gave the last over to Joginder Sharma who doesn't have much a track record. But it worked ! This is super critical in grooming people. Most leaders tend to move people who are low on confidence to less complex tasks and away from the limelight. That kills their confidence even further and gives them the impression that the leader has lost confidence in them. On the contrary, by putting such a person in front of a challenging task, it tells the person that the leader has confidence in his/her abilities and will be fired up to put in 120 per cent. This happened with Joginder Sharma in two critical matches, where he was hit all around the ground and still given the last over. He delivered on both instances!

Dhoni's style is not just aggressive, it is more rational. Even in the absence of seniors, he could lead the team to success. This tells us, with a "B" team, it is easy to focus on getting the best out of the team - it gives opportunity and environment for the untested to show themselves and become stars.

Learning from this, even in our business, putting the team before ourselves, and putting the organization before the team, is the single biggest challenge in execution. At the end of the day it is about joining the dots (aligning the strengths and weaknesses of individuals) to work for the team rather than against.

Leaders need to be assertive yet humble and must rarely allow their personal egos to be an obstacle for the success of their organization and that's what M.S. Dhoni showing us through his current leadership style.

Another learning from Dhoni is about, Optimal utilization of resources, which is vital for any business. Instead of giving excuses for lack of best resources, especially with the current scenario economic crisis, it is better to perform in whatever resources a leader has to his disposal. Interestingly, Dhoni never complains about absence of a Sachin or Sourav or Rahul Dravid.

What more Dhoni has exemplified that a leader has to be a consistent performer himself and that is demonstrated in the way he has been entrusted with the crown of captain ship at such an young age.

I also believe, another leaf out of Dhoni's kitty is his 'talent management' skills. He utilizes every team member at his disposal and brings out the best performance whether he is a senior or junior player. He provides opportunity for every team member to prove themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.

His 'people management' skills tell us, he is truly a great leader. When team members see their leader calm in extreme situations, they will not be rattled. It will enable them to focus on their work and do what is expected of them. Dhoni was always calm - whether the bowler started off the last over in the finals with a wide ball or the batsman played a series of dot balls in a slog over.

In short, Dhoni gives the following Leadership tips for every aspiring Leader :

1. We should be a performer and we should demonstrate the same to our team. Performance is itself the most effective communication down the line.

2. Leader has to be humble in way to consider part and parcel of the team and not above the team.

3. Give genuine respect and trust to the team members.

4. Allow them to experiment and take risk.

5. In case of failure, encourage him / her to introspect and do it next time with more vigour and better planning.

6. Make every one in the team feel that , even though we are leaders, we are just one among them.

7. We should also believe in the ones who failed in the Team. At crucial times a team member who was not able to deliver might do miracles.

8. As a leader, be calm in extreme situations and lead the team from front.

9. Share the credit of success with your team members and praise them in public.

10. Above all believe in every member in the team.

In a nutshell Dhoni's story is all about an ordinary man doing extraordinary things and a role model for every aspiring leader. Each one of us could use this model, pattern and design to create our leadership journey.

Fire in the Belly, Sweetness in Words and a Cool Head, Dhoni has arrived with a New Leadership style.

Any takers?

Shamim

Tips for Developing Leadership Skills

We think and talk a lot about Leadership and how to develop the Leadership skills. I believe, in order to develop Leadership skills, as a leader we must be willing to acknowledge that, developing it is not an accomplishment - it's a never-ending process. It's a process full of many awesome moments and many lonely days. It's fun and exciting one day and then the next day we wonder why we ever wanted to lead in the first place. Many of us secretly fantasize about being a great Leader!

Being a leader isn't easy - it requires commitment for the long haul. It's not something we can just accomplish and then move on. Being a leader requires hard work, sacrifice, commitment and a willingness to grow ourselves.

The leaders I admire most are the ones who give selflessly of themselves and make personal development a priority. I can not give of myself as I leader if I do not first take care of myself. Great leaders balance personal development and organizational development. Both are important and one without the other does not work.

As I have observed some of the great leaders, I find they all have some things in common.

20 Things Excellent Leaders Do Consistently:

1)Read. They are committed to staying current and learning industry trends.

2)Attend workshops. Again they are committed to learning.

3)Join associations. Excellent leaders know that being a part of one or more professional associations is important. More importantly they get involved and volunteer their expertise.

4)Take time off. They make taking time off a priority.

5)Network. Excellent leaders are master networkers.

6)Believe. They believe in themselves and their abilities. Self-doubt and low self-esteem are stumbling blocks.

7)Look at the big picture. Excellent leaders have an unnatural ability for seeing the big picture. They are visionary and help others to embrace their vision.

8)Goal-orientated. However they do it - great leaders set goals in some way or another.

9)Mentor. They mentor others and have a mentor or two. Valuing both giving and receiving feedback.

10)Work with integrity. Great leaders are honest, hard-working and conduct all their business dealing with integrity.

11)Develop others. Excellent leaders make developing and challenging others a priority.

12)Care about others. True leaders genuinely care about people. They make time for them and they are passionate about helping others develop their true potential.

13)Discipline themselves. Leadership requires discipline. Excellent leaders discipline themselves in order to accomplish the tasks at hand.

14)Have fun. The best leaders are the ones who love what they do and have fun with it. Everyone wants to be around a leader who knows how to have fun but still gets the job done.

15)Willing to sacrifice. Leadership often equals sacrifice in some form or another. Great leaders are willing to sacrifice for the team - excellent leaders will never let on that they had to sacrifice for the team.

16)Speak boldly. They are not afraid to speak their mind. Yet they are able to do so with respect.

17)Willing to get their hands dirty. I love when I watch a leader jump in and get dirty. True leaders are able to put aside their role and do whatever needs to be done - even if it's not glamorous.

18)Act humbly. Excellent leaders do not flaunt their status or power. They are humble and have a commitment to serve others.

19)Think often. Leadership requires thought and planning. Excellent leaders plan time to think and to process information before making major decisions.

20)Are awesome! Excellent leaders are awesome - they are dynamic, focused and you feel better when you are around them.

As a leader we all have the ability to be excellent. Take time today to look at this list and if it make sense, decide which one you could implement on your quest for developing Leadership skills.

Take care & have a great week end!

Shamim