What It Takes To Be A Great Leader And Entrepreneur

Anyone can grow into a great leader. Many great leaders started out as average people — they had to learn how to lead. Leadership is more than just a position and making a conscious decision to be someone worth following.

In this episode of The Payal Nanjiani Leadership Podcast, Payal Nanjiani a Leadership expert, world-renowned executive coach and a New York award-winning author goes one on one with Shweta Shalini - BJP SPOKESPERSON and ADVISOR TO CM MAHARASHTRA. She is also a serial entrepreneur, founder, investor, and mentor to Billenium Divas a woman-focused Angel Fund. This is an edited transcript of the episode . You can listen to the full episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or Google podcasts.

Payal: What are the three pieces of leadership advice that you would give to the listeners and to the people around that would help them to grow?

Shweta: The side of the field which is greener is the side that you water the most. Basically, you need to water the field, that’s what leaders do. In my journey of entrepreneurship, I have realized that nothing can be achieved alone. One of the most important things is that I don’t think that you need leaders and followers in this world, what you need is a leader who does not force people to follow. He shows them the way. People who are like minded, people who understand, people who have the burning desire come with you in this journey. A leader should primarily do is to show them that vision. He needs to believe in that vision and for that he needs to believe that he is the one who can come out with that vision. Leadership is about people and the journey. It’s not about a leader and a follower. It’s about a journey of us together.

Second, the choice of what you do is always with you, whether you want to be the moon in the night sky or you want to be a strong sun in the day sky is something that you need to choose. So your life is your choice. You are the hero of your own script. Keep control of your own life. It is in challenges that a leader can find opportunities. So work harder than everyone else. It is easy for you to come back and ask me questions but remember when you were sleeping, I was awake. When you were playing I was seeing dreams, when you were enjoying, vacationing, I was working very very hard. There is no substitute to hard work.

Payal: What advice would you give to people to develop this quality of speaking confidently and expressing their views?

Shweta: Great leaders are not leaders who set out to become or prove themselves to be leaders. They just set out to make a difference . They are out there for a purpose. They know that they can make a difference because they are created differently. Once you start believing that you are not cut out for a role; leadership is not for a role, its thought process, boss can be a title but leader is not a title, it’s a mindset and that is the reason why I am crystal clear, whether you like it or not, this where i am going. If you really want to be a leader, it is important for anybody to pinpoint in a very constructive manner. Be confident of your conviction, your goal and keep going. That’s how you end up becoming a leader.

Payal: How would Shalini define leadership?

Shweta: 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.