On Leadership and Core Values

On Leadership and Core Values

Our Goal

Our goal is to be a leader and innovator in the field of producing leaders and innovators. This requires our organization, from CEO to groundskeepers, to engage continuously in a process of honest self-evaluation; critical analysis; creative and courageous experimentation in problem-solving; and relentless application of lessons-learned in our operational duties, pedagogy, and personal relationships. It requires us, also, to be fair, broad-minded, and inclusive at all times, flexible in our approaches, willing to experiment—even to fail—so long as failures are but steps in a refining process. As we recognize our mutual-interdependence, we resolve to be considerate and supportive of one another, for our ultimate success is not built on personality, but cooperation, and our greatest strength lies, not in our individual talents, but in the sum of our collective efforts. We strive to produce graduates who are not only highly-capable managers, but who are ethical in all their affairs, and motivated to create an impact in their careers and personal lives. By exemplifying our values in our interactions with students, we best demonstrate to them the value of values, and encourage them down the path to an impactful, ethical career. While not every graduate will change the world, we know that each graduate can positively impact at least a small part of the world, thus creating a ripple effect for the betterment of all. The same is true of our application of these values in our internal affairs as an organization, and in our relationship with the world at large.

Leadership and Core Values

At S P Jain we endorse a concept of interlocking personal and professional attributes which constitute leadership. These values are inextricably inter-related and inter-dependent, and it is the sum of these values that drive us towards achieving our goals in professional and ethical manner. Our commitment is to embrace, espouse, and exemplify these values in our personal and professional lives. The twelve personal and professional attributes are:
| | |
|Personal |Professional |
|1. Honest. |1. Ethical |
|2. Confident |2. Networks and integrates |
|3. Intelligent. |3. Flexible and broad-minded |
|4. Fair. |4. Solution-oriented |
|5. Humble. |5. Inclusive |
|6. Imaginative. |6. Forward-thinking |
|7. Observant. |7. Knowledgeable |
|8. Courageous. |8. Clear, precise, persuasive communicator. |
|9. Responsible. |9. Fiscally conservative |
|10. Conscientious |10. Driven to improve |
|11. Disciplined. |11. Empowering |
|12. Possessing a sense of humor. |12. Customer-centered. |

Personal Attributes Honesty is the foundation of all successful relationships. It is important for us to be honest with ourselves as well as with others. For example, we undertake an honest self-appraisal of our abilities recognizing that none of us can be perfect, none of us knows everything, and that all of us have strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, our self-appraisal can be extended to acknowledge that we do have knowledge, ability, and strengths, so that we are balanced and fair in our self-assessment. This balance makes it difficult for us to be swayed by flattery or pressured by threats. Looking outwardly, we apply this same balance to our treatment of, and expectations for, everyone we come in contact with. All people have strengths and weaknesses, our relationships are healthier when we honestly take these into consideration. At the end of the day, our goal is not just to cater to our strengths and mitigate our weaknesses, but to draw the best from all of those around us, and to forgive others (and ourselves) if we fall short of some ideal (while making an honest effort).

Confidence – genuine confidence – is based on both honesty and respect. How can one become confident? Ask yourself the following questions: 1. Have I prepared thoroughly? 2. Do I have respect for the people and institutions who have taught, aided, and certified me, and for the work I have done to place myself in this situation? 3. Am I representing myself honestly? 4. Does my preparation fit the situation and expectations that will be placed upon me?

If you answer “yes” to all four questions, then there is no reason to have doubts. You have done the necessary work to earn the right to the opportunities that await you. Others who have aided you on your path – men, women, and organizations whose job it is to know – believe in you and your abilities. Those in a position to employ you do not expect perfection from you, only honest effort, And they, too, are in the best position to judge whether your preparation fits their needs. If you trust them, as well, then you have no reason to doubt yourself. Knowing these things as facts is confidence. Remember, too, that a false modesty, while in some cultures considered an attribute, is not an attribute in the professional world. In your work, people depend on your talents for performance, leadership, and problem-solving skills. To understate your abilities out of temerity is no better than overstating them – for in the end, someone is going to be entrusted with a task. If you have the ability, then it might as well be you.

Robert Sternberg, of Professor of Psychology and Provost of Oklahoma State University, defines intelligence as “…the cognitive ability of an individual to learn from experience, to reason well, to remember important information, and to cope with the demands of daily living.” Four simple things. Do you see any mention in this definition about innate speed or storage capacity for these abilities? No. Intelligence is an activity, not a state-of-being, and both quantity and speed of thought are primarily functions of education and practice – and even then, we learn to draw and state our conclusions at different speeds under different circumstances. The first one to raise his or her hand does not necessarily have the correct answer, and prudence is considered a virtue in the business world. If you think about it, in this way, intelligence is also a matter of personality and style. Unless we suffer some grave birth defect or injury, we are all born with ample mental capacity to have an impactful life and career. What differentiates one person from another in this regard is one’s area of specialization, the extent to which one has practiced these cognitive skills, and the courage and communication skills to engage effectively in the discussion at hand.

Good leaders are fair, period. This means impartial, without bias. Fairness means that one has listened or researched carefully and makes decisions based on the common good, not individual preference, and not necessarily what is in one’s personal best interest. The practice of fairness earns respect and enlists support even for policies, tasks, or decisions that may be unpopular with some members of a given community. Fairness promotes the shared vision over the individual goal or ego. Fairness may not yield fairness in return on a one-to-one reciprocal basis, but unfairness will often generate resentment or retaliation in return. Fairness is the best policy for promoting the common good.

Humility means knowing one’s place. Humiliation is what happens when one is put in one’s place. Humility is not false modesty, but entails honest acceptance of one’s skills and abilities as well as honest acknowledgment of one’s flaws and faults. Humility is also not something that one possesses, but rather, is something that can be learned and practiced. Those we describe as humble are not servile and scraping (which would be the opposite of lording it over others), but rather, quietly go about their jobs while practicing the honest self-appraisal mentioned earlier. Those practicing humility are not interested in personal recognition, but rather, in solving problems, working towards the common good, and making those around them feel better and perform more effectively.

Imagination might be the most difficult personal attribute to define. In its strictest interpretation, imagination is the ability to form an image in the mind of what is not literally perceived by the senses. In business practice, imagination is applied, not only to visualizing what is not physically present, but by communicating effectively to others what one has conceived in the mind for the purpose of creating what has been conceived. In other words, imagination is multi-directional, both taking in information and creating a vision within, but also creating a vision within and projecting it to the outside world. Imaginative thinking includes the ability to make precise, unique, and effective connections between sometimes seemingly disconnected ideas or images. In this sense, imagination becomes a tool for communication, as we all know that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Thus, imagination is the ability to identify (or create) an image, and communicate that picture through the desired words. These “pictures” are not necessarily literal images or connected to concrete, physical outcomes. One can “imagine” something that might exist only as a state-of-being, or an ideal, such as “customer satisfaction” or “world peace.” It is thus also important to acknowledge that imagination has a spiritual (and sometimes mystical) component – that some sources and cultures connect imagination to higher or other world. In whatever sense it is used, imagination is cognitive process which can be nurtured and developed. Imagination takes courage, but also draws upon our ability to work beyond perceived limitations, and to be flexible in our methodologies, multi-directional in our thinking, and open-minded in our acceptance of potential outcomes or conclusions.

Observant does not mean that one adhere to the rules. Rather, it refers to the quality of developing active awareness and being fully engaged in the moment. About 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu wrote, “The rules of the military are five: measurement, assessment, calculation, comparison, and victory.” Not much has fundamentally changed in either human nature or business since then. Technology has changed, but people have not. Good leaders, like good generals, are observant. They know where they are; what they have to work with; they grasp their situation; have clear goals; perceive their adversary’s intentions; calculate the assets and strategy arrayed against them; possess knowledge, not only of past history, but of a wealth of possible strategies to achieve the desired outcome; and, ultimately, will choose the right strategy based upon their resources, ground conditions, and the forces organized against them. Of course, being observant is a practice that should be employed in all situations, not just conflicts. The point is that leaders are perceptive and calculating in all their affairs.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, the resolution to do what is right and necessary, even in the presence of fear. It is impossible to lead without courage, for there is always both risk and opportunity in one’s actions. Every conflict contains the potential for casualties, and no significant, genuine leader ever succeeded without first experiencing (and learning from) failure. Courage means that we are willing to take risks, not only for themselves, but to accept the responsibility to take risks that involve others, as well. In making decisions, there is often something to be gained, and something to be lost. Sometimes those losses affect the people in an organization, but cannot be avoided. In some cases, the avoidance might itself create a greater loss. This is life, and this is why it takes courage to assume responsibility.

When a person does what they say will do, when a person takes ownership of their actions, and the consequences of their actions, then that person is described as responsible. Such an attitude requires honesty, courage, and discipline. Responsibility is a privilege and when one is recognized as responsible, that person is rewarded with trust. Thus, responsibility is a process which leads to closer and stronger relationships. More importantly, responsibility leads one to be proactive in life and in their career. When one perceives his or her situation as being the result of the actions of others or outside forces, there is a tendency to give up control and to become, literally, a “victim” in life. To assume responsibility is to take action to control your destiny. No one can create impact in the world without accepting responsibility for their actions.

Conscientiousness is considered by modern psychologists as one of the five dimensions of human personality and is the dimension most closely aligned with professional success (though all of the traits affect the ability to succeed). Conscientiousness is sometimes referred to as “character,” and people who score high on conscientiousness tests tend to live longer, be happier, have better relationships, and to earn more money, in addition to be more successful in their careers. However, conscientiousness is a skill that can be learned and improved. To be conscientious is to be painstaking and careful in attention to detail, to be deliberate in thought process (as opposed to rushing to judgment), and to be well-organized in action and physical presence. In general, conscientious people are hard-working, dependable, and driven to succeed. There is also a touch of ethics in conscientiousness, as a conscientious person will hesitate to go against their beliefs. The art of conscientiousness itself seems to facilitate many of the other desirable leadership traits.

While discipline is closely related to conscientiousness, the quality of discipline refers specifically to the ability to make one’s self perform under rigorous conditions. These conditions may be mentally or physically demanding, or both. The runner who trains for a marathon and the chess player who puzzles for hours over a game are both exhibiting different aspects of discipline. Similar to conscientiousness, the trait of discipline implies, not just that one carries out actions, but that one carefully considers one’s actions, and that one applies ethics to one’s actions.

What has humor to do with leadership? When we think of humor, the first thing that comes to mind is comedy, or the delightful moment of surprise that makes up the comedic experience. But humor has an older and deeper meaning. Its root word is the Latin, humere, which meant, to be moist (think humid). Its early use was in medicine and implied good health, and we still sometimes use humor in relation to feeling good, or being in good spirits. We’ve described eleven fairly serious traits or patterns of behavior here, but humor may be the one exception. Akin to humility, humor reminds us that that good leaders are balanced in their activities, forgiving of honest mistakes, they do not think too much of themselves, in the midst of all the responsibility they carry, they remember to have a light touch, too. To have a sense of humor is to appreciate a good joke—even if one is the butt of that joke. To have a sense of humor is to be able to accept – and even laugh at – one’s own mistakes. People with a sense of humor can accept criticism – accurate or otherwise. People with a sense of humor know when something is important, when it is not important, and how to step back and put things in perspective. As an old friend of mine used to say, “Don’t fight over peanut skins.”

Professional Attributes

At its most basic level, being knowledgeable means having a good education. But there is more to “knowledge” than meets the eye. Knowledge works in multiple directions, implying both breadth of education, but also depth (or specialization). As one discipline can inform another, educated people draw from a wide variety of disciplines. Classical Renaissance education included the study of history, classic literature, science and mathematics, grammar, linguistics, logic, rhetoric, politics, music and the arts, dancing, sword-fighting, and military strategy. The idea behind this was that people with a broad-based education are best able to be open-minded and creative in problem-solving. Knowledge, itself, is only the first step of the triumvirate of “thinking arts.” Some scholars speak of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, with knowledge implying the possession of facts, wisdom the ability to coordinate those facts into action, and understanding meaning to correctly project the deeper implications of the actions undertaken. Thus, knowledge might mean metallurgy, mathematics, and engineering; wisdom being the building of a bridge; and understanding being the correct anticipation of what happens when two, formerly separate communities, are now connected. Finally, perhaps the most important knowledge a leader can possess is the knowledge of what he or she does not know. Nobody knows everything, and the best leaders know how to assemble teams of experts to fill in these gaps, and then to motivate, direct, and unify them in concerted action.

Since no leader knows everything, good leaders network and integrate to achieve their goals. To network is to contract or enter into mutually beneficial, supportive agreements, and to be far-reaching in communication and information-gathering. To integrate is to enter into a relationship with someone or some entity in a position of authority – for example – to subcontract to someone. In either case, both networking and integrating bring critical talent, information, or resources to an organization. Both networking and integrating require flexibility and adaptability. Sometimes new skills must be learned, or accommodations made. They require good listening and communication skills. And, like all of these professional attributes, networking and integrating can work looking outside, from the organization to the larger society, or looking inward, towards components and people within an organization. Good leaders do not concentrate more power and authority in themselves than is absolutely necessary. Thus, good leaders find talent capable of making good decisions, empower them to make decisions, equip them to make those decisions, and support them in their work. Networking and integrating with an organization is based on good communication and a shared spirit of collective accomplishment with less emphasis on individual achievement. Integration can also mean the way in which a company or individual fits in to a larger community. There is an implied balance here, in that one is obtaining something that one needs from a community, but is also giving back and becoming part of a community. Successful leaders make themselves indispensible in their market at multiple levels. The most successful leaders ensure that they are in balanced, win-win relationships where all parties receive benefits. To derive profit with power is expected. To derive profit with ethics is respected.

To be forward-thinking means to use one’s imagination to look ahead. Good leaders are never complacent, for they know that competitors and new innovations will overtake them. Change is inevitable. To be forward thinking is to be aware of this fact, and to plan to be a driver of change, rather than a responder to change. To be forward-thinking is, not only to anticipate the way change creates opportunities, but also to be aware of how change creates pitfalls. People who are forward-thinking are not only good listeners, but good judges of character, possessing a knowledge of history, and able to see how the past has led to the present, and where present trends will place business in the future.

While being driven to improve is part of being forward-thinking, it also intimately connected to humility. When one honestly considers his or her strengths and weaknesses, it is good to acknowledge both, to safeguard one’s strengths, but to address one’s weaknesses. If one is first in their market share, they should remember that hungry, innovative, aggressive competitors are constantly seeking ways to gain ground. Being driven to improve means that one is never satisfied with success, for change is constant, and we live in today, not in days past. An old wise person I used to know said that there are only two hazards in business: success and failure. In failing, the weak may lose courage and stop trying, but success can lead to complacency – and complacency is also another excuse for “not trying.”

To empower others is to treat them with respect, and to trust them to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. To empower them is to communicate clearly to them what these duties and expectations are, and then to create and maintain a bond of mutual trust and respect. One who leads by words, but not example, does not empower his or her employees to succeed, but rather, encourages them to be duplicitous. One who leads by threats harvests retaliation. One who leads by actions encourages by example and reaps rewards based on genuine respect. One of the most critical elements of empowerment is the humble acknowledgment that we all make mistakes, and to make one’s job a safe place to make honest mistakes. No one is perfect, and failure is sometimes the best teacher. When employees know that, as long as they try their best, they will be forgiven for honest mistakes, then they are empowered to try their best. If they are “micromanaged” by a superior, or if they are bullied into submission, their fear of failure will inhibit their performance. Thus, fear of failure becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The clear, precise, persuasive communicator has one skill that stands out from all others: he or she is able, before they speak or write, to separate what they mean to say, from what is actually said. Communication may fail when one party does not say what he or she means, or when the other party does not understand what is intended. To be a clear communicator is to separate intentions from what is actually said, and to anticipate and clarify any possible misunderstanding before it arises. Thus, both clarity and precision are not so much the product of innate ability as the result of being observant and conscientious. Even persuasion can be taught, and persuasive communicators have certain traits in common. First, they build a rapport with their audience. They are good listeners, they have empathy for their audience; they have thoroughly considered the issue from multiple points of view and demonstrate that understanding in their discourse. Persuasive speakers present evidence both for and against the issue in question, but also provide evidence that anticipates and disarms counter-arguments. Persuasive speakers construct arguments fairly and avoid bias and hyperbole, preferring to sway the audience with logic, rather than emotional appeal, or appeal to sentiment. Persuasive speakers use active verbs, keep sentences short, use precise descriptions, and illustrate their points effectively with practical examples, precise and original metaphors, or with experiences to which audiences can readily relate. Experts agree that communication is one of, if not THE, most important element in leadership – for no matter what a leader knows, if he or she cannot communicate effectively, they will find it impossible to lead.

Why would a leader b fiscally conservative? If discipline and humility are part of the makeup of a leader, then they will not tend towards pointless extravagance or waste. To spend foolishly, to acquire what one doesn’t need, to become burdened down with debt, is to limit one’s resources and mobility in time of need. Sun Tzu had this to say about extravagance: “A country is exhausted when it must buy its supplies at high prices, and is impoverished when it ships supplies long distances. Attacks should not be repeated, battles should not be multiplied. Use strength according to capacity, aware that it will be spent with excessive use. Get rid of the worthless, and the country can be peaceful; get rid of the incompetent, and the country can be profited.” However, being fiscally conservative does not mean being “cheap.” To be conservative implies deliberation in one’s actions. A good leader correctly estimates the value of things, buying what is needed, when it is needed, and sometimes anticipating what will be needed and spending prudently in advance. Being fiscally conservative would also mean that one knows when to discard what is useless. Sometimes we have to let go of what we have in order to make room for something better.

What does it mean to be customer centered? The most important aspect of being customer centered is that we are reminded that products or services we offer are not about us, not about profit, but about people, and that their experience with our products and services are just as important – if not more important – than our own. Being customer centered keeps us humble. Being customer centered means, too, that we try to think objectively and creatively from their point-of-view, so that we can envision their interactions with us as people, not just their interactions with our products. For example, the software engineer who knows a program backwards and forward might have difficulty writing instructions that could be understood by a layman. The web-designer might have difficulty designing a website that is user-friendly, or the technical writer writing instructions for a product might take for granted that the purchaser will understand what they mean. It takes imagination and patience to try to see things from another’s point-of-view. Part of being customer-centered means being solution-oriented.

Solution-oriented means that where we find a problem, we fix the problem, not the blame. There’s nothing to be served by fault-finding and recrimination. In fact, where these negative qualities are present, it is usually a sign of bad management, bad communication, and an atmosphere of fear and intolerance.

It takes intelligence, imagination, courage, and humility to be broad-minded and flexible. Being broad-minded means to be open to a variety of different options, and being flexible means being willing to use them, change them, or to adapt one’s methodology to fit current needs. It means not being rigidly focused on a single process or product as a solution to a given problem, and what people call “thinking outside the box.” This requires courage because it may mean trying new things, or even the admission that one has made a mistake. For the same reasons, it also requires humility. Keeping a solution-oriented focus also helps a person or organization to be broad-minded and flexible because they remember, the goal is not to be personally vindicated, but rather, for the product or service to work for the customer.

Being inclusive is closely related to empowering, and to networking and integrating, but in some important ways goes beyond these. While empowering is task-specific, and networking and integrating are about fulfilling needs, being inclusive implies a culture in which all participants share in the benefits and rewards. As in all of our professional attributes, this approach can be either inside an organization, or outward into the community. People can be empowered, people can be employed, but inclusiveness implies that team members are genuinely valued. When companies speak of employees as a “family,” are those empty words? Inclusiveness begins from the top of an organization and works its way down through the ranks. First and foremost, it must be exemplified everyday by senior management. If “inclusive” is synonymous with “belonging,” perhaps the question is, how does management create this feeling of belonging? And why? It is important to recognize that, while inclusiveness may sound like a social program, it makes good business sense. Studies show that companies practicing inclusiveness (or, creating “inclusive environments”) are more productive. Employees are more willing to contribute, and feel freer to contribute, in a supportive and rewarding atmosphere. The companies themselves are rewarded, not only in productivity, but in talent retention, and in enhanced recruiting of talent (based upon a company’s good reputation). And productivity is measured by more than simple “output.” Increased communication and increased reliance on diversity gives organizations a broader array of talented individuals to contribute to problem-solving. And the synergy and dynamic tension produced by inclusion feeds breakthroughs in creativity and innovation. To create an inclusive environment, top management must embrace and exemplify these principles. They must be active learners in and from the community, as well as teachers. They must lead inclusiveness by being inclusive. They must explain their reasoning and then make it safe for team members to contribute without fear. Leaders must also be unafraid to speak out – even to offer correction – when necessary.

The capstone of our discussion of leadership is Ethics. With power comes responsibility, and with great power comes greater responsibility. All of the attributes and traits we have discussed so far help the individual (and, by extension, the business or corporate entity) to become powerful, effective, and impactful in their communities, not just the workplace. If you think about it, to some extent both Hitler and Gandhi were great leaders. Both shaped nations – the destiny of literally billions of men and women. So what separates the two? Ethics. Ethics in general refers to the set of standards of right and wrong that proscribe human behavior. “Ethics” refers to both behaviors that are discouraged (such as stealing) and behaviors that are encouraged (such as generosity). Ethics may be expressed through religious, legal, and social precepts, yet ethics is not the product of religion, law, or society. While ethics may be influenced by society, law, and religion, it also seems to exert as much (if not more) influence on these institutions. Ethical standards appear to have evolved as part of (or the sum of) our collective human experience, and as such, predate even the oldest known civilizations. Like all of the attributes we have considered, ethics must be practiced before it can be preached. And like all of the twelve attributes, ethics can be a journey inward, or outward. Ethics must begin with the individual, but the organization itself will benefit from creating an ethical and inspiring environment. The leaders of an organization must be the best examples of ethical behavior, but the ethical organization itself will exert a positive influence on the community. Ethics is practiced within an organization, but also in that organization’s interactions with the larger community. Ultimately, our goal is to demonstrate commitment to ethics in the larger community (networking and integrating) by volunteering, offering services, or finding causes to support. This is particularly effective if we created win-win-win situations with our customers, ourselves, and our communities. Perhaps the best definition of ethics is that it is best exemplified by the sum of the behaviors discussed so far. In the end, what matters is not what we believe, or what we say, but how our actions are judged, and what they say about us. When we respect, encourage, and practice these values every day, they gradually and without effort become our nature – they define and govern our personality. Not only is ethical behavior right for us as individuals, but they also work for organizations. Ethics gives individuals, businesses, even governments, an enduring competitive advantage.