Tag: Leadership
We have often come across this phrase – “Great leaders are born, not made“. This phrase beautifully sums up the basic tenant of the Great Man Theory of leadership.
March 08 is celebrated across the world as International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate and applaud the amazing social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women globally. A day when we all celebrate the progress towards gender equality i.e. inclusion and participation of women, from the household to the public spheres.
Celebrating Women’s Day in your office is more than just a day on the calendar; it’s an opportunity to inspire, motivate, and empower your teams. A thoughtfully curated Women’s Day celebration can help organizations foster inclusivity, recognize achievements, and promote a culture of growth. From meaningful gestures like personalized giveaways to engaging team-building activities, there are countless ways to make the day memorable and impactful.
Here are some creative ideas for celebrating Women’s Day at work, along with our curated list of dynamic female speakers to inspire your teams:
1. Personalized Giveaway
Create a personalized message for each women employee at your organization and put that note on their workstations. If most of your employees work from remote locations, you can also circulate a personalized email message. The idea is to make them feel they are special and important.
In addition, the HR managers can also create a photo collage of women achievers at their organization. They can showcase this collage through various platforms such as intranet, desktop wallpapers, and emails. Such kind of recognition will solve two purposes. First, it will send a message to all those women achievers that how the entire organization value their efforts and achievements. Secondly, it will also inspire and motivate other female employees to achieve more and more.
2. Implementing a Women’s Leadership Program
A Women’s Leadership Program (like this one) is one of the most impactful ways to ensure the long-term development and success of women leaders in your organization. The business impact of running such a program includes:
- Fostering a more diverse workforce, bringing varied perspectives and experiences to the table
- Expanding the pool of potential successors, ensuring a robust pipeline of talent for future leadership roles
- Promoting balanced decision-making, drawing on diverse viewpoints and improving overall organizational outcomes
- Demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity, boosting employee morale and engagement across the organization
- Positioning the organization as forward-thinking, attracting top talent, and enhancing its reputation in the market
Investing in a Women’s Leadership Program not only supports the professional growth of women but also strengthens your organizational culture, paving the way for lasting success.
3. Book a Female Speaker to Motivate Your Team
An impactful way to celebrate Women’s Day is by inviting a dynamic female motivational speaker. These speakers bring unique perspectives, inspiring your teams to embrace leadership, resilience, and growth. Whether you’re planning a women in leadership workshop or exploring new ideas for Women’s Day activities in the office, these talks can leave a lasting impression.
Major Prajakta Desai
An inspiring leader and trailblazer, Major Prajakta Desai’s journey from the Indian Army to corporate leadership embodies resilience and determination.
Key Topics: Leadership in adversity, fostering high-performance cultures, and nurturing future leaders.
Sufiya Runner
With record-breaking endurance achievements, Sufiya Runner inspires audiences to overcome challenges and push their limits.
Key Topics: Lessons from endurance sports, resilience, and teamwork.
Roshani Shenazz
As a holistic therapist and thought leader, Roshani Shenazz empowers individuals with mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices.
Key Topics: Emotional intelligence, diversity in leadership, and personal growth.
Smita Tharoor
An expert in unconscious bias and cultural inclusion, Smita Tharoor’s talks challenge stereotypes and foster inclusive environments.
Key Topics: Combating unconscious bias, creating inclusive workplaces, and leadership development.
Namrita Chandi
Namrita Chandi’s inspiring story as a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force motivates individuals to embrace resilience and rise above challenges.
Key Topics: Women’s empowerment, overcoming adversity, and building resilience.
Rhea Mazumdar Singhal
As the founder of Ecoware, Rhea Mazumdar Singhal exemplifies leadership in sustainable business practices.
Key Topics: Sustainability in business, purpose-driven leadership, and entrepreneurial challenges.
Deeya Bajaj
An adventurer who has climbed the highest mountains on every continent, Deeya Bajaj’s story inspires leadership, resilience, and environmental responsibility.
Key Topics: Leadership in adversity, women’s empowerment, and sustainability.
You learn read more about Deeya Bajaj in this blog post – “Deeya Bajaj – The Girl Who Conquered Mount Everest”.
Natalia Cohen
Part of the first all-female team to row across the Pacific Ocean, Natalia Cohen’s story showcases the power of teamwork and mental resilience.
Key Topics: Mental resilience, effective team dynamics, and navigating challenges.
4. Host a Fireside Chat
Engage your teams with an inspiring fireside chat featuring extraordinary women leaders. For instance, in 2024, we hosted the FocusU Firestarter, a special edition titled “Inspiring Women to Transform Workplaces.”
This event brought together five remarkable women who have shattered glass ceilings and redefined what women can achieve. From scaling Mount Everest to leading corporate boardrooms, commanding skies, and shaping future leaders, these women challenged norms, defied expectations, and made their mark in traditionally male-dominated arenas. Their stories inspired participants to think beyond limits and drive transformation in their workplaces.
Organizing a similar fireside chat can:
- Inspire your teams with real-life success stories
- Highlight diverse perspectives and leadership styles
- Foster meaningful conversations about inclusion and empowerment
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” – Abraham Lincoln
Today, we are living through the most transformational changes that the world has ever witnessed. The work environment is complex and dynamic, which implies that today’s success can transform into tomorrow’s liability overnight. The key to not only surviving such change, but to prospering during this evolution is human resilience.
Very often, when we ask organizations what is essential to bring organizational effectiveness and gain competitive advantage, the common replies are associated with the organizational structure, culture, technology, and management practices. However, these organizations fail to mention two primary elements that are key to bring organizational effectiveness – innovation and creativity.
Continue reading “How A Visionary Leader Can Enable Innovation?”
If we were to ask about the most commonly heard phrases about first time managers, the answers would most likely be on similar lines.
Doesn’t it make you wonder, though? If there’s a gap between what’s expected of newly minted managers / leaders and the training they go through?
After all, the two worlds are as different as chalk and cheese. And regardless of how well they might be trained, new manager face a host of challenges while breaking into their newly acquired leadership shoes. One of the biggest reasons for this gap is that most managers in the workforce are promoted because they are good at what they did, and not necessarily good at making the people around them better.
And managerial position, like any other leadership role, requires a delicate balance of both – individual competence and enabling others to achieve excellence. Let’s now, take a look at a host of challenges a newly promoted manager faces, and ways to ease them into their new role –
1. Team handling
When the promotion happens from within the team, there’s a sudden shift in the dynamics of the team. This may lead to some tension and resentment.
In such a case, it is important for the newly appointed manager to remember that their success depends on the success of the team. Instead of being unreachable, work to build confidence among your team members. Create a healthy boundary even as you continue to work as an integral part of the team and help your team accomplish the required tasks.
2. Time management
As a manager, you play a dual role. You have to accomplish your own tasks, while also helping your team members in their tasks.
It is important to prioritise your team because if your team wins, you win. However, that doesn’t mean you can slack off in your individual role. They key is in planning your day out Ina dance. Make a robust plan that allows you to balance your time and energy well.
3. Team productivity
As a manager, you are responsible for the productivity of your team. A challenge of this manner requires you to understand the psychology of each individual team member. Some people lead with the stick, while others do so with the carrot.
Have one-on-one meetings with each team member to understand their needs better, and act accordingly. It is equally important to maintain transparency within the team. If any concerns arise, discuss them openly and pro-actively.
4. Clear communication
As their manager, it is important for you to maintain efficient channels of communication with your team. Be direct, patient, and transparent with them. Work to create an open environment where ideas and questions are welcomed. Also, work on being a good listener.
5. Delegation
As a first-time manager, delegation is yet another skill that needs to be mastered. It can be hard, I initially, to let go of the control you have over all your tasks. This rings true especially in the case of driven professionals who got their promotion by excelling at all their tasks.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to guide your team members and share responsibilities with them. This will not only help build better inter-personal relationships but add to your productivity. Effective delegation can help build trust and enable overall team, growth.
Give team members sufficient authority, responsibilities, and resources based on their skill levels and experience; while, still keeping an eye out for any help or guidance they might need. This will help them feel confident and competent in their jobs.
6. Empowering your team
A common managerial trap that most first time mangers give into, is the temptation to jump in and micro-manage every single team member’s actions.
When faced with questions by your team members, encouraging them to figure out the answers for themselves. Your job is to guide them, and help them through the process, even as they solve the riddle on their own.
Furthermore, make sure to give them clear goals and hold the bar for quality where it’s needed. But, never do the work for them. This will allow you to build a team of high performing ‘doers.’
7. Effective listening
Your role as the manager isn’t just to drive your team towards their goals. But, rather, enable them to feel confident and safe in their individual roles. In this respect, effective listening in one skill that can help make a huge difference.
Engage your team in heartfelt conversations, often. When you build a safe space for your team members to share their problems and ask questions, you allow for impactful growth. Giving a person your full attention will not only make them feel valued, but also allow you to help them in the best way possible.
Remember, the strength of the wolf is the pack. A leader is only as effective as their team.
8. Walk the talk
Doing what you say you will, is an important leadership trait. Thus, it is important that you don’t over commit and under deliver.
Only when you strive to hold yourself accountable to your words, can you do the same for your team. Regardless of the nature of the obstacle, as a leader you need to keep trying. Your actions will set the path for the rest of your team. People are more easily inspired by their manger’s actions than they are, by mere words.
9. Be Vulnerable
One of the biggest misconceptions about any leadership position is perhaps the idea that leaders have to be infallible. Often times, new managers can get overwhelmed with the new set of responsibilities bestowed upon them. However, due to the fear of being ridiculed or appearing non-competent, they shy away from talking about their problems.
However, it is important for a manager to create and enable an open environment. A safe space for problems to be brought forward will help the team tackle them better. It will also help establish effective inter-personal bonds between the leader and their teams. A vulnerable man aged, open to ideas and discussion can set the tone for positive conversations and constructive feed-forward.
10. Constructive Feedback
As a manager, it is your job to call out your team members on their mistakes. However, this doesn’t come naturally to everyone. New Manager, especially find themselves struggling with giving effective and constructive feedback.
They key is to focus on the results, and avoid the blame game. You feedback should aim at helping your team member do their jobs better. Asking if they require any help often is considered an important part of any constructive feedback. Maintaining an open line of communication will help you imitate difficult conversations with much more ease.
Remember, at the end of the day, it is about helping people grow into a better version of themselves, while ensuring overall productivity.
This brings us to the end of this list. We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Feel free to share some of the biggest challenges you might have faced as a first time manager, or leader, with us.
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman wrote, “People leave managers not companies. So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people – in the form of better pay, better perks and better training- when, in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.”