In the year 2021 , I spoke with several leaders across the globe who were kind enough to be a guest on my podcast this year. They spoke about their challenges, their journey and opportunities. Above all, these world class leaders shared some of the best advices that could help people grow professionally and succeed in their career.
So as the year 2021 comes to an end, my awesome team worked on putting these advices together in one blog so that it can help you prepare for a great 2022.
Here is some Leadership advice from the World's Top leaders :
Swami Mukundananda - World Renowned Spiritual Guru :
We all want external growth but the basis of that has to be our inner development. We all run on the outside and we ignore our inner development. Let anyone analyze their time and schedule for the entire year and see how much time they allot to investing in themselves , to focusing on becoming better people. But that is the very foundation. If we can focus on becoming better people, if we can focus on having better attitudes, better ideals, better beliefs then success on the outside will come very easily. Grow from within to succeed in life.
Michelle Proctor - Chief of Staff, SAS :
Don't allow circumstances to steal your joy. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more , do more and become more, then you are a leader." Do you inspire others to be better? If the answer is yes, regardless of where you are in the organization , you are a Leader
Chhavi Mittal: Television Actress
The most important is dedication. Passion , perseverance, consistency of doing things. You have to put in those number of hours, you have to hone your skills. You have to be dedicated and passionate about what you want to be successful at. Don’t just do it thinking after the year if I put in so much effort , after a year it's going to give me so much money. Go slow and rise in rank. Just enjoy the journey.
Sanjiv Razdan: President Coffee Bean &Tea Leaf
First of all, be clear about what you want to achieve , if you don’t know where you want to go , you are going to drift and land up somewhere. When it comes to your career, have some aspiration and some clarity about where you would like your career to go. If it's about your personal development, it's really important to understand what might be one or two big things that you need to be working on at any stage of your life and career. Constantly keep investing in yourself and sharpening your sword. Find ways of growing and learning . Be persistent.
Shweta Shalini: BJP Leader
Narendra Modi. He has connected directly to people. He takes out time, he plans in advance, he brings in the people. The people ask him the question , then he answers that. He delivers it well. The biggest quality of a leader is to consistently follow his own dream and conviction. If that conviction is connecting with people, if that conviction is getting to know and help more people, if that conviction is understanding where the need gap is , If that conviction is to speak your heart out, understand the tradition of India, there is nothing that can stop you.
HK Joshi: CEO , SCI
Just believe in yourself. Try to excel in yourself. Do not try to compete with others. If you have to compete, compete with yourself. Break your own records. They have to concentrate on their own strength,, they have to build on their own strengths, believe in their own self and keep excelling on their own records.
Josef Werker : Penbrothers & Co-founder of Humble
Help others around you. Become the best version of themselves.
Brijesh Singh: I.G POLICE MAHARASHTRA
The existence of police is a result of the breakdown of functions of society. I would actually like to live in an unpoliced world. I would like to live in a world where there is no police, where there is no need for police. It's difficult but it's possible.
Sanjay Sinha: CHRO
To him leadership is making ordinary people do extraordinary things in life. Lead the team with a lot of energy.
Ramona Jackson: Chief of Staff/Sr. Director - CIENA
Frequent connections, check in with them. Flexibility. Try to understand the dynamics going on and be flexible. Transparency. Being transparent as a leader, enables your employees to be transparent with you.
Rajneesh Jain: President /CFO Reliance JIO
Learn new skills. People need to adapt to these changing demands. Focus on the upscaling periodically, there is a huge expected demand in fields like data analytics, process automation. Knowledge has become the new capital. Knowledge is the only capital that you require nowadays . People need to adapt to risk taking mindsets . They should focus on innovation. Coming up with creative ways so that people can solve problems for the masses. Innovation has nothing to do with something complicated rather it is supposed to make things convenient and simple for the masses. Innovation in the right context can capture this opportunity that the Indian market offers.
Dr. Srikumar Rao: Founder - RAO INSTITUTE & AUTHOR
You recondition yourself on that. The moment we accept the universe, exactly as it was, our habitual wanting self dropped away and when it did, we did not have to do anything to experience happiness. Our life right now with all of the problems we think we have is every way as perfect. In that resistance, we see our unhappiness. We live our lives in the ‘if .. then’ model. If this happens, if I get promoted, if this happens then I will be happy but as always it does not work. We never recognize the model that’s wrong.
Sunil Goyal: Managing Director- YourNest Venture Capital
A leader is a person who takes calculated risk. He is a guy who is very analytical. He knows that rewards will be multiple times higher than the effort that he is going to be putting in and then goes after that particular strategic choice. He is the person who knows how to make the most of limited resources. He will find out whatever are the resources available and then how to maximize output you are looking at. He has the conviction, he has the insight. He will be so inclusive to listen to every opinion that is there in the room that once he decides, everybody walks along it.
Alok Nigam: Senior VP & Group CHRO - Bhartiya Group
Communicating does not mean talk. Communicating means listening more and talking less. That’s how you will understand people . You have to understand people. Pay attention to the smallest of details but don’t micromanage. You are not in a popularity contest. You are not here to become the prime minister. Don’t do those things which make you popular. Be fair to people.be empathetic, listen to them .Servant leadership is another important concept. You are here for the service of the people. You are here for people.
Howard Behar: Former President Starbucks Coffee International
Setting goals, doing ambitions that you don’t like, you gotta write it down. Only about 2% percent of the people would do this. If you do this and you are constantly evaluating it , it can change anything you want to Live your life with intention.. Doesn't mean you are going to be happy everyday . You're gonna have happy days, sad days, disappointments.
Paul Dupuis : Chairman & CEO RANDSTAD Japan
By declaring you want to be a CEO one day, we need to stop focusing on the top of the mountain if you declare that. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Leaders should focus on what they are doing right now as your mission and be the best that you can be in this mission. Focus more on TODAY.
Siddharth Dabhade : Managing Director MIQ INDIA & SAARC
First define what success means to you. Try to create a plan to achieve it. It might be 10 years down the line. This is how my success looks like to me and how I can create a 10 Year plan. If this is my 10 year goal or if this is what success means to me then what can I do to go in that direction? Define success , from there you will get the direction and then start moving on it.
Nelson Fernandes: Commissioner European Economic Chamber
It's a pleasure. Every time time I meet someone from another country, from another culture. I always have that urge. I want to have more time, I want to learn more languages, and I want to know more about the person. I try to pace myself not to become one of those nagging people. I have trouble being a part of the group where that person who is in a position of leadership is inactive. The reaction may even be doing nothing. To inspire the rest of the group, that’s what I believe.
Animesh Kumar: President HR & Transformation ZEE
Integrity of effort. You can’t always control all the variables that are there. Integrity of effort is what is always in your control. In the long term it always pays back. We are moving very rapidly to an environment where the key determinant of success will be your ability to collaborate with people that you don’t know and never worked with earlier. Building the elasticity to be able to work with diverse people and fundamentally be the most inclusive person
Ankit Vengurelekar : Managing Director- LINKEDIN NEWS
It all comes down to having a growth mindset. Growth mindset is one of the top buzzwords in organizational psychology. But what is a growth mindset? Not waiting for your company to hand out any favors or opportunities to you but identifying them and going and grabbing , owning them up , taking initiative, showing proactive approach. Not just depending on your main day job for your growth and creative and intellectual and monetary satisfaction. If you are in your 20’s or if you are in your 30’s show everything at the problem. Take as many chances as possible. Try as many completely different new streams and things as possible. Reach out to people from different fields to understand their work.
Subin Balakrishnan: Sr VP, Chief of Security & Vigilance
The ability to say what you will do and then follow it up with doing what you said. If you stay in this path of communicating very precisely about what you intend to be doing and then doing exactly what you said you would do . It builds trust and it just bonds the parts of the organization together. Ideate constantly, plan consistently, innovate regularly and persevere relentlessly.
Kewal Handa: Former Non-Executive Chairman - UNION BANK OF INDIA
In today’s world, I think the biggest thing that is required in terms of skills is agility. Agility is the pivot very quickly , in an open flexible mindset, so as to have a rapid response real time. What we are learning is that you are adaptable. Are you coming with a fixed rigid thoughts or you understand other’s point of view and agree with them and make decisions. Are you adaptable to changes which are hitting you. Second important thing is resilience? Never give up. Keep on learning. Talk to consultants, go to the meeting, take up courses. Start respecting people, give them their dues. Positive attitude, you can never be with heads down and walking. You have to be positive and spread that energy across the organization. Next important thing is accountability. If you fail, take it. Don’t punish them for failures. Let them make decisions. The message you have to give is you have to innovate.
Rajan Wadhera : Celebrity Chef
Whatever your product is , just put your heart into it. If you do things, put your heart into it and do it honestly, end result would be beautiful. Do take criticism positively because good criticism and good competition is very healthy. If I am honest in my work, in my approach with other people, it will give me fruitful results. Courage is destiny.
Apurva Purohit : Co-Founder – Aazol Ventures | Author | Independent director
Leadership has always been a practical demonstration. It is what we do everyday in our lives. Taking accountability for yourself ,for the environment around you, being in charge and saying I am in charge of my life. I am in charge of my career. I am in charge of my household. I am in charge of my organization of my country because I am accountable for my country, for its messes and I will find solutions. Being accountable makes you find solutions. For the other aspect, how do you impact and make a difference for other people around you. It may be a hundred thousand ecosystem country.
Swaroop Banerjee : Chief Business Officer , Zee Live
You have to get up, look around you and be active. You need to innovate in whatever you do. Get yourself up and be with it everyday day
Leah Marone : Corporate wellness consultant.
Going back to the basics of just us being humans and understanding that if we are constantly operating, if we constantly run the race. Resilience is actually very different from stamina. Stamina , we have an endgame, we have a finish line, we have a date. Resilience is generating that self awareness. Pushing when you need to but also time for rest and recovery. It's boundary setting, it's creating a structure, it's communicating , it's leaders stepping up and doing the same for their employees.
Vasuta Agarwal : MD ASIA PACIFIC at INMOBI
Leaders don't create followers, leaders create other leaders. Leadership is not about yourself, it's about how you enable other people on their leadership journey and what it takes for you to do that.
Jayne Morgan : Cardiologist/Executive Director of the Covid Task Force in Atlanta, GA.
Let us all take care of one another.We are all a part of this species of homosapiens. We live on planet Earth, in the middle of this galaxy. We are so infinitesimal to the entire galaxy. We need to work together , to hold together in all aspects because this is our planet, we are the only species . We need to take care of ourselves and of each other.
Deeya Bajaj - Mountaineer
Dream big. Work hard to achieve those dreams. Keep your eyes on the summit.
Anindita Mookerjee: Head of Corporate Communications L & T MRHL
Know your shortcomings. Work on the requisites for improvement. Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do .Your attitude determines how well you can do it
Dr. Ruchit Shah : Cardiologist, India
We are seeing these patients day in and day out. Most touching thing is losing a young person to COVID 19. We had a couple who was 35 years old. Both of them landed on a ventilator , finally requiring more oxygenation and despite the best available care they couldn't make it. Probably they reached the hospital late. Do not consider any of the government interventions as a game changer. The game changer is all individuals who take care of themselves. If you take care of yourself and you take care of your family as a unit, you would not acquire COVID.
Stephen Kremple - CEO of Kremple Communications, USA
Leadership is the ability to connect dots , how you see things and that others may not. Your job is to inspire and rally your team , your people ,your organization around that vision that you have. You see things that others don't. Your ability to pull all those pieces together for your organization.
Murali Parna- Ex CEO of MVP group International-USA.
As a leader you have to constantly make decisions all the while. The ability to come up with those choices which you can choose from and to make those decisions is very important. You alone cannot make the difference. You need to learn from others. Listen to others. It's a responsibility of making decisions.
Mansi Dholakia- Pharmacologist certified in Psychology| Published Author||Mental Health Advocate
Self care is giving the world the best of you instead of what's left of you. Ponder on that. Looking after yourself is the best thing you can give the world too.
Sabyasachi Dutta -Managing Director.
You need to be humble. Don't show arrogance. Never lose your humility. Be always grateful. Success comes and goes. At the end of the day. You should be good enough to meet people and they should kind of remember you.
Sandra Stowe : Financial Expert.
It depends.Time is changing. Just not having girls or women come up with mathematics , technical discipline. It does. It tunes off. It's like listening to people in foreign language. But if you understand it, start making sense of the word, then it become an interesting topic for people to discuss.
Namrita Chandi :Renowned Aircraft manufacturer
We need to let go of whatever does not serve the life. Take that baggage out. Go off your negative self or negative thoughts which act as energy vampires and drain out all our positive energy.Letting go of toxic people around, negativity that's happening in any form. Just let go of anything that is not serving you
Robina Singh: National Director at Ascend , USA.
Be a pragmatic visionary. Find at least one person in your professional circle who challenges you. The importance of failure in life.
Urvi Bham- Former Sr. V.P. at Bank Of America. and current CEO of Vikara Risk and Compliance LLC.
Embrace your difference. Do not try to blend in. Encourage conviction and stand behind your viewpoints. Tell your story and celebrate yourself. Your path is your journey and your journey is your story.
Hope this is of much value to you in your journey to success.
Your Friend + Mentor
Payal Nanjiani
