I recently attended a Global Table Conversation organized by IEDP which had Mr. Krishna Thapa as a speaker.
Krishna Thapa is a Gurkha from Nepal who shared his story of growing up in a traditional Nepali village along with the lessons and insights he gained from watching how his community leaders dealt with natural disasters and other challenges. He also detailed the realities of the selection process to become a Gurkha in the British Army and subsequently to be the first Gurkha to be invited to join the SAS.
Among the many gems of wisdom that he shared, here are some that stood out for me.
1) Will I be ok with my decisions 30 years later?
My insight - We make decisions everyday. Some big (in terms of impact) some small (mundane). Some are successful, some aren't. Taking a decision means allocating sufficient time to identify the variables involved, assess them and their possible degree of influence on the current situation, and of course the impact of the decision. We sometimes miss out on giving sufficient careful thought to the impact of our decisions. Some of the impacts of decisions are immediately apparent and others invisible to us at that time, and become visible much later. The reasons for the impacts being invisible are many. In today's fast paced world, it is difficult to identify and understand those reasons within short timeframes. So his (Krishna's) method of checking his decision "Will I be ok with my decision 30 years later?" is to ensure that:
a) I have taken into account whatever information is available to me in the given timeframe
b) I have applied my own knowledge and experience in the best manner possible,
c) I have done whatever I could to make sense of the circumstances.
d) I have consulted and pooled my knowledge and experience with whoever I could, as quickly as possible in the given timeframe and taken their inputs, applying them wherever possible.
Whether you lead a team (never mind the level) or not, these are great guidelines for taking decisions.
2) Save others to save ourselves.
The background to this statement was how he and his team went about assisting others and themselves during an avalanche in the Himalayas during a climb, and how he listened to their suggestions - thus enabling a higher survival rate among the climbers with him. He spoke of a helping mindset which was developed as he grew up in his village, where the survival of one meant the prosperity of all.
My insight - The importance of teamwork and collaboration is critical to the survival of the team and the organization. In fact, the situational leader will match his input according to his team members needs and capabilities to execute specific goals / KRAs. He will encourage them to help one another as well. It's tough to call one's department a team if each team member is too preoccupied with executing their own KRAs at the cost of the department goals.
3) The leader is like a lighthouse.
My insight - This is because, like a lighthouse, he / she shares their light (knowledge and experience) at all times, as much as possible, so that others can learn, be guided and make better decisions on their course, and reach their goals. It means that he/she don't wait till it gets completely dark (urgent) but starts sharing information with the team as early as possible. He also won't bombard them with information all the while, or too soon, again depending on the goal at hand, and his team members' capabilities.
An insecure leader who hoards knowledge and experience is going to bring down not just himself but the organization. How? The pace of work will reduce due to bottlenecks created by information hoarding and slow approvals because the team is not empowered to share information or take decisions. Soon the competition will overtake such an organization.
By doing all these three things, the leader would have achieved the highest level of leadership -
Krishna Thapa is a Gurkha from Nepal who shared his story of growing up in a traditional Nepali village along with the lessons and insights he gained from watching how his community leaders dealt with natural disasters and other challenges. He also detailed the realities of the selection process to become a Gurkha in the British Army and subsequently to be the first Gurkha to be invited to join the SAS.
Among the many gems of wisdom that he shared, here are some that stood out for me.
1) Will I be ok with my decisions 30 years later?
My insight - We make decisions everyday. Some big (in terms of impact) some small (mundane). Some are successful, some aren't. Taking a decision means allocating sufficient time to identify the variables involved, assess them and their possible degree of influence on the current situation, and of course the impact of the decision. We sometimes miss out on giving sufficient careful thought to the impact of our decisions. Some of the impacts of decisions are immediately apparent and others invisible to us at that time, and become visible much later. The reasons for the impacts being invisible are many. In today's fast paced world, it is difficult to identify and understand those reasons within short timeframes. So his (Krishna's) method of checking his decision "Will I be ok with my decision 30 years later?" is to ensure that:
a) I have taken into account whatever information is available to me in the given timeframe
b) I have applied my own knowledge and experience in the best manner possible,
c) I have done whatever I could to make sense of the circumstances.
d) I have consulted and pooled my knowledge and experience with whoever I could, as quickly as possible in the given timeframe and taken their inputs, applying them wherever possible.
Whether you lead a team (never mind the level) or not, these are great guidelines for taking decisions.
2) Save others to save ourselves.
The background to this statement was how he and his team went about assisting others and themselves during an avalanche in the Himalayas during a climb, and how he listened to their suggestions - thus enabling a higher survival rate among the climbers with him. He spoke of a helping mindset which was developed as he grew up in his village, where the survival of one meant the prosperity of all.
My insight - The importance of teamwork and collaboration is critical to the survival of the team and the organization. In fact, the situational leader will match his input according to his team members needs and capabilities to execute specific goals / KRAs. He will encourage them to help one another as well. It's tough to call one's department a team if each team member is too preoccupied with executing their own KRAs at the cost of the department goals.
3) The leader is like a lighthouse.
My insight - This is because, like a lighthouse, he / she shares their light (knowledge and experience) at all times, as much as possible, so that others can learn, be guided and make better decisions on their course, and reach their goals. It means that he/she don't wait till it gets completely dark (urgent) but starts sharing information with the team as early as possible. He also won't bombard them with information all the while, or too soon, again depending on the goal at hand, and his team members' capabilities.
An insecure leader who hoards knowledge and experience is going to bring down not just himself but the organization. How? The pace of work will reduce due to bottlenecks created by information hoarding and slow approvals because the team is not empowered to share information or take decisions. Soon the competition will overtake such an organization.
By doing all these three things, the leader would have achieved the highest level of leadership -
He would have created more Leaders
Would you like to have your leaders coached ?
Would you like your next line of managers groomed for leadership in the Situational Leadership Model?
Then write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com or call me at +919820155778 to set an appointment for a telephonic discussion.
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