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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

March - 2011 - issue > Management

Identifying Leaders and Leadership Qualities

Kahuwa Jyoti Das
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Kahuwa Jyoti Das
Identifying a successful leader is difficult as you cannot asses the inevitable changing business landscape; however, leaders have some common traits, responsibility and integrity. So how can you stand aside from the crowd and prove yourself as a leader or rather a successful leader? Leadership involves loving the job, knowing the subject, taking responsibility and meeting deadlines are important to get noticed in front of superiors. In this world, where everybody and anybody want to become a leader, you cannot succeed in your field of expertise if you do not love what you do. It becomes very hard for the companies to choose someone as their next successor as Integrity is something you do not find in everyone.

“A smooth talker most of the time is a fraud,” says Himangshu Goyal, Country Manager at IBM. Another important factor is reinventing you and meeting the new challenges like dealing with new technologies, new marketing, new business structures, and new cultures. This may seem that you are moving in the opposite direction against all collective wisdom however if the person succeeds in reinventing, the rewards are enormous. This IBM India head was never a front bencher, but like some of his friends, he has emerged as one of the new leaders of India. You cannot just rest on the same position if you want to have the continued success and profitability. Leaders in companies change within a decade, someone who was in the top ten lists may fall in the next decade. So, how to know whether we are hiring the best leader? Dr.Vimal Kulkarni, Vice president & the Head of Knowledge Management & Innovation, Geometric has been in the company for 15 years and he informs that quest of knowledge and versatility is something he looks for when he is hiring. For Ashank Desai, Founder and Ex chairman of Mastek it’s a different take. He thinks building a leader is better than choosing one from the crowd, as according to him, you might not find the right person for the job if you choose and hence, rather build someone for it.

For being built as a leader, one has to get noticed in front of his superiors as future heads. It’s not always about performance to get noticed, rather it’s more about the values. A person should have the integrity and the sense of loyalty because the person can be nurtured for performances but cannot be taught values.
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