If
at any time the history of BNI Super Achievers is written, I will
feature as one of the Presidents in the Hall of Fame. I indeed carry
a three-in-one feeling – delight, gratitude and honour – for
having had the opportunity to be on the dais in front of such
entrepreneurial stalwarts
Incredible
as it may seem, I too was President, albeit of my business networking
chapter BNI, whose member I am for about two years now. To be called
a President is an honour – wherever, for that is the power of
nomenclature and words.
The President of a chapter is the captain of the ship along with the Vice President and the Secretary Treasurer. We three `rookies` were picked and catapulted to lead a team of over fifty entrepreneurs whom we looked up to for our own inspiration daily. The announcement came from nowhere and caught me off-guard, though secretly I had wished for being in that position.
The reason was obvious – it gave me an opportunity to stand and conduct meetings once a week for six months. A motivational speaker and trainer could not have asked for more – a captive audience for six months. The pleasure of welcoming everyone with `Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to BNI Super Achievers chapter meeting....` was an experience I will cherish for time immemorial.
The joy of interacting with members from the dais and keeping control of proceedings was yet another amazing experience. Authority in entrepreneurial forums, where everyone is a leader is limited, but responsibility is high. And if you happen to be a President who carries much lesser experience than a lot of your fellow members, you don't just need to stand and deliver, but also find ways to stand tall in their eyes.
The President's role of course goes beyond conducting meetings. The quality of any meeting depends upon what happens post the meeting – the business interactions amongst members on an one-to-one level – and before the meeting – strategies and tactics. It is a leadership role where your authority is defined by guidelines and processes, and does not flow from a corporate-like position.
The President of a chapter is the captain of the ship along with the Vice President and the Secretary Treasurer. We three `rookies` were picked and catapulted to lead a team of over fifty entrepreneurs whom we looked up to for our own inspiration daily. The announcement came from nowhere and caught me off-guard, though secretly I had wished for being in that position.
The reason was obvious – it gave me an opportunity to stand and conduct meetings once a week for six months. A motivational speaker and trainer could not have asked for more – a captive audience for six months. The pleasure of welcoming everyone with `Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to BNI Super Achievers chapter meeting....` was an experience I will cherish for time immemorial.
The joy of interacting with members from the dais and keeping control of proceedings was yet another amazing experience. Authority in entrepreneurial forums, where everyone is a leader is limited, but responsibility is high. And if you happen to be a President who carries much lesser experience than a lot of your fellow members, you don't just need to stand and deliver, but also find ways to stand tall in their eyes.
The President's role of course goes beyond conducting meetings. The quality of any meeting depends upon what happens post the meeting – the business interactions amongst members on an one-to-one level – and before the meeting – strategies and tactics. It is a leadership role where your authority is defined by guidelines and processes, and does not flow from a corporate-like position.
This
is unlike an organisation where you are Boss to your people by
position and there is an inherent compliance towards you and your
personality. But here it is different. In an entrepreneurial forum,
you need to earn your respect by constantly adding value and engaging
them in a non-threatening manner. Here, the ground beneath is as
vulnerable as the intimidating sky above.
As President I enjoyed setting the vision for the chapter and piloting it to a different level. The idea, not the execution though, is simple – do things that will help members make more money. Having lead teams in my corporate career certainly helped a lot, but being blind to the difference in contexts would have pulled the rug from under my feet even before I could blink twice. That is the challenge when you are dealing with self-made people, who know what they are there in the forum for. Here I was dealing with people far more successful than me in business and yet I carried the humongous responsibility of helping them make more money.
Whether you are a leader in a corporate where your authority flows from your position, or in any forum where your authority flows purely from credibility, the challenge is the same – handling people. In today's world, even the leadership authority that flows from one's formal title is limited; then what to say of a context where you will be back amongst your people just as another member in just six months time! As President, I had to be acutely aware of this reality and conduct myself accordingly.
I took up the responsibility because here was another great opportunity to grow as a person and learn leadership by doing, than just by reading or teaching. I cherish all my leadership roles as an employee, and I will cherish having been President too. Leadership I realise is all about three key things:
1. Adding value
2. Making a difference
3. Leaving a legacy
As President I enjoyed setting the vision for the chapter and piloting it to a different level. The idea, not the execution though, is simple – do things that will help members make more money. Having lead teams in my corporate career certainly helped a lot, but being blind to the difference in contexts would have pulled the rug from under my feet even before I could blink twice. That is the challenge when you are dealing with self-made people, who know what they are there in the forum for. Here I was dealing with people far more successful than me in business and yet I carried the humongous responsibility of helping them make more money.
Whether you are a leader in a corporate where your authority flows from your position, or in any forum where your authority flows purely from credibility, the challenge is the same – handling people. In today's world, even the leadership authority that flows from one's formal title is limited; then what to say of a context where you will be back amongst your people just as another member in just six months time! As President, I had to be acutely aware of this reality and conduct myself accordingly.
I took up the responsibility because here was another great opportunity to grow as a person and learn leadership by doing, than just by reading or teaching. I cherish all my leadership roles as an employee, and I will cherish having been President too. Leadership I realise is all about three key things:
1. Adding value
2. Making a difference
3. Leaving a legacy
All these three are the end points of a leader's journey – the stuff by which he will be judged. But getting there requires three other things:
1. Tons of tenacity
2. People management skills
3. Conflict management
Inevitably, a leader has to put up with resistance, for human beings are scarcely easily accepting of authority of any kind – soft or hard. Every leadership assignment brings you face-to-face with people who challenge you and your ideas. At times it can even be a personality clash of sorts. As a leader, while you know who is with you wholeheartedly and who is not, you cannot be biased. This can test your temperament and sense of fairness. It is every good leader's job to rise above these challenges, depersonalise the contexts and operate purely from the larger picture perspective. A leader must always own the failures and pass on the credit to his team.
As President, I received accolades as well as brickbats. While the accolades gave encouragement, the brickbats provided great learnings and helped build my temperament. The one thing I gained from the assignment was a better temperament – the ability to stay calm when at times the tides proved pretty rough. This was crucial for me as I am by nature emotional and sensitive.
All said and done, a leader's fundamental responsibility is to ensure performance. In the end, if you get everything right, but this goes wrong, your legacy is questioned. The biggest satisfaction is that through the rollercoaster ride, we performed. If at any time the history of BNI Super Achievers is written, I will feature as one of the Presidents in the Hall of Fame. I indeed carry a three-in-one feeling – delight, gratitude and honour – for having had the opportunity to be on the dais in front of such entrepreneurial stalwarts.
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