Concept of Leadership as it applies to me

Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task"

As a concept I would break it down into three. 
1. Social Influence 
2. Enlist aid and support 
3. Accomplishing a task. 

As a leader Social Influence is the most important aspect of leadership according to me. People often say you are either a born leader or not. But I beg to differ, we all learn from experience, it is just that we all are different in our style of leadership. Some are outspoken, proactive, while others rise up to the occasion, some enjoy the factor of leading during a crisis. All these are accomplished by means of our social influence. 

Social Influence is not something which you are born, it is developed through our everyday experiences. Each individual gains this influence everyday, some learn it quicker while others take their time and it is this very own influence which describes an individuals leadership potential. 

A person connects to another person or a group through different emotions, opinions and behaviours. He uses this connection to build an influence which in turn is used to drive action. More often than not we don't realize the different ways in which we are influenced, and it is this influencing power of the highest order. Some of the greatest leaders had the ability to influence people without them knowing that they are getting influenced. It is an art that is developed over time. 

Lets look at the second part, enlisting aid and support. In this phase the leader needs to clearly communicate what are the expectations and the outcome. So long as he is able to communicate properly the needs the set of people would respond accordingly. This has to be portrayed in such a manner that the target audience are also able to connect with the subject goals, it is the responsibility of the leader to ensure that he communicates it properly that the end goals are in line with their needs and wants. Once this communication is done then the second part is more or less done. It is important to note that this stage is extremely dependent on the previous stage of social influence for the communication to work. 

And last but not the least accomplishing the task. It is important not only to initiate action, but to sustain and see it through till the end and the leader needs to be on his toes and always on the look out for the betterment of the team. His ability to think  through in critical conditions and ambiguity will decide the outcome. Hence the leader plays a crucial role during the execution phase as well. And finally after task completion the leader has to ensure that the achievements are duly recognized and rewarded to keep the team going. 

My style of leadership  is characterized by being able to think with clarity during crisis situation and leading from the front during times when I think my leadership skill would benefit the maximum  to the team and the required task. The ability to understand your team mates and their strength as well as weakness as well as yours is something which I feel I am good at and to motivate the team and encourage everyone to be at their best and perform together is something I feel is my core competency.

Leadership according to me is not in born but developed and I feel all of my leadership skills have been gained through experience and by observing other leaders, their accomplishments as well as mistakes. A leader is one who learns from his mistakes and never repeats them, a great leader is one who learns from the mistakes of others and uses that knowledge to his best of abilities. 

Deepak Parekh - Leader & Crisis Consultant to Govt of India

Mr. Deepak Parekh is the non-executive chairman of IDFC and Chairman of HDFC Ltd. Born in 1944 and a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), Mr. Parekh is at the financial helm of India Inc.

In 1978 Mr. Parekh joined India’s premier housing finance company HDFC Ltd. as Deputy General Manager and grew to become its Chairman in 1993. HDFC’s growth in stature and strength since its inception (1977), has been achieved by a steadfast focus on sound values such as integrity, transparency and professionalism, and is underpinned by a basic belief of trust by the Indian middleclass. Mr. Parekh, has not only preserved the ethos of the company, but has also strengthened it with time. His astute business acumen and farsightedness has not only made HDFC the leader in Mortgages, but has also transformed it into India’s leading Financial Services Conglomerate with presence in Banking, Asset Management, Life Insurance, General Insurance, Real Estate Venture Fund and more recently Education Loans.

In 1970, Mr. Parekh began his career with Ernst & Ernst Management Consultancy Services in New York. Thereafter he worked with Grindlays Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank for about three years each prior to joining HDFC in 1978.

Besides HDFC Group Companies, Mr. Parekh is on the board of several leading corporations across diverse sectors. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), Lafarge India and Siemens India Ltd. He is also on the boards of Castrol India Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Indian Hotels Company Ltd. among others and international boards of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (Singapore) and WNS Global Services Pvt. Ltd. (USA). Mr. Parekh is also nominated by the Civil Aviation Ministry to the Board of Airports Authority of India.

In addition to being known for his vociferous views seeking standardization and transparency in the real estate sector, Mr. Parekh is dubbed as the unofficial crisis consultant of the Government. Be it his recent role as Special Director on the Satyam Board to revive the company or the crucial role played by him sometime back during the UTI mess (late ‘90s) to recommend measures for sustaining investor confidence, Mr. Parekh has always been willing to share his ideas and experience to formulate reform policies across sectors. This at times, has also meant advising the Government to take hard decisions. 

It is this quality of a master trouble-shooter that makes him a guiding force and an active member of various high-powered Economic Groups, Government-appointed Advisory Committees and Task Forces which include housing, financial services, capital markets and infrastructure sector reforms. Some of these include heading a committee to make recommendations for the proposed India infrastructure Debt Fund; heading a committee to suggest ways of making Indian cities slum-free (Rajiv Awas Yojna), membership to high level committee constituted to make recommendations on the issues regarding the deteriorating financial health and competitiveness of BSNL, chairmanship of the New Pension Scheme Expert Group, Chairmanship of the High Level Task Force on Affordable Board etc.

Awards

 - Padma Bhushan 2005
- Attended 2009 November state dinner at the White House hosted by US president Barack Obama in honour of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh
- Outstanding Indian Business Leader of the Year
- 2008 by CNBC - NDTV’s outstanding Indian Business Leader of the Year
- 2008 - Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to the real estate sector (CREDAI)
-  Lifetime Achievement Award for services to the financial services and banking industry in India - Finance Asia magazine,Hongkong
- Youngest recipient of the prestigious Corporate Award for Life Time Achievement by the Economic Times - ‘Best Non-Executive Director – 2006’ by the Asian Centre for Corporate Governance
- Businessman of the Year 1996 from Business India
- JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award from the All India Management Association (AIMA)
- Top 25 most influential people in business and finance across Asia-Pacific as per a report by ASIAMONEY
- India Today magazine Power List for 2009
- Most powerful CEO’s of India Inc by the Economic Times 2009
- Recognition for Philanthropy and social commitment by American India Foundation in 2007
- First International Recipient of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ Outstanding Achievement Award – 2010

Leader with a Social Mission

A man with a mission, Mr. Parekh’s philosophy on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is simple yet profound. He believes that if a company earns, it must also return to the society and that companies owe a responsibility not just to shareholders, but also to all its stakeholders. This has meant nurturing every social initiative undertaken by HDFC as an investment. HDFC, under his guidance, has supported several social initiatives in the areas of education, child welfare, medical research, welfare for the elderly and the handicapped among several others. And in recognition of these initiatives in the areas of philanthropy and social commitment Mr. Parekh was honored by the American India Foundation in 2007, while HDFC was honored with the Economic Times Corporate Citizen of the Year Award in 2004.

 His clarity of thought and leadership during crisis situations have helped turn around many firms like Satyam. His strong corporate governance skills have ensured unprecedented trust by international investors on the companies in which he is part of the board of directors. During the peak financial crisis he displayed immense leadership to take on tough assignments and assisted government in many key decision making and policy framing.

 Not only is he a flag bearer for India Inc., his strong will to work for the greater good has ensured that he push for greater accountability from the government and all the stakeholders involved which in turn has resulted in many crucial policy changes.

 His ability to remain humble even after being extremely successful and his strong sense of ethics and hard work during the toughest of times has ensured he has come out as Leader of extra ordinary skill set and ability. Deepap Parekh is truly a Leader & Crisis Consultant to Govt of India