A SIMPLE QUALITY OF PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
In
Napoleon Hill’s famous book, ‘Law of Success’, he emphasized on many principles
(Laws) of success. Essentially, they were nothing but the personal attributes,
or, to be precise, the attitudes we needed to succeed. The ones that made a lot
of sense to me, when I was ‘struggling and seeking’ in my life, were these two simple
personal-attributes: Initiative and Enthusiasm. I was amazed to realize how
easily these two attributes could be owned by all of us… How important and
effective they were
.
When we are
enthusiastic, we simply glow… It reflects in our speech and action… It is
simply infectious!
The attribute
of Initiative goes hand-in-hand with the attribute of Enthusiasm. It is difficult
to tell as to which comes first – Enthusiasm or Initiative… They are twins!
Initiative is
the quality of doing the work without being told. It’s the quality of going the
‘extra-mile’… doing the work with joy, not for money alone…
Both,
Enthusiasm and Initiative, are attributes of personal leadership. Much later,
when Stephen Covey came out with his classic, ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People’, the first habit he highlighted was - ‘Be Proactive’. I instantly related
this habit – this attribute – to the twin attributes which Napoleon Hill had
highlighted: Enthusiasm and Initiative…
Proactive
people stand out… They get noticed quickly. Organizations, always, look for
employees who are enthusiastic and who are full of imitative.
This
morning, I was teaching a S.Y BAF (Bachelor in Accounting and Finance) student.
She went to a reputed Commerce college in Churchgate. I was to urgently deposit
some cheques in my bank account, for which I had filled the deposit slips and
kept ready. I had planned to do this little task after her class. Suddenly I
realized, that the bank was on her way home. So, instinctively, I said, “Beta, can you do me a small favour?”
“What is that
Sir?” my student asked.
“Can you
deposit these cheques in XYZ Bank which is on your way home?” I said.
“Where is this
Bank Sir? My student asked.
I spent the
next ten minutes trying to describe and explain, and, the young lady’s face was
telling me clearly, “Drop it”!
And, I did it,
immediately.
All that I had
to do was, go and do it myself… It would hardly take some fifteen minutes!
Nevertheless, being
her teacher, I asked my student, before I sent her off…
“Have you ever
been to a bank, beta?”
“Only once,
when I had to open an account.”
“Have you ever
filled a deposit slip?”
“No, Sir.”
“What about a
cheque?”
“No Sir.”
The only thing
many parents – like this young one’s – are obsessed with is in sending their
young ones to ‘the Top’ Commerce colleges in the city. They have prepared them
to travel to the far end of the city, by bus, train and taxi… But, they have
never bothered to prepare these young kids to do the routine bank work…
“What worth is
this degree - Bachelor in Accounting and Finance?” I still wonder.
Maybe, both
parents and teachers are responsible for this kind of bookish education…
But, what
about that twin quality of Enthusiasm and Initiative… Like, “Sir, give me the slip
book… I will do it”?
Yes, that
quality is not taught either at home or in classes…
It has to come
from within… A simple quality of Personal Leadership, Sir.
GERALD D’CUNHA
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