Leader vs Dictator (EQ vs IQ) 🎖️
66% of people are more committed to work in a democratic style of leadership as against 16.5% in an autocratic leadership style. It makes leadership a complex mix of art and science in the modern era
Who is more revered? Is it the King or the General? The general is the best in warfare but yet serves the king. Who is a better leader? A person with a skill-set or a person with empathy
The above analogy may be a little confusing. What has a king to do with emotions and general to do with intelligence? But it’s not that straightforward. Let’s first start with a small mythological story. We are all aware of the story of Ramayana. How Lord Ram attained his victory over the demon king, Ravan, without any help from his own kingdom Ayodhya.
But if we look at some minute details it’s a classic example of EQ mostly prevailing over IQ. Raavan as most of us know was equivalent in knowledge to 10 knowledgeable pundits. He was a seasoned astrologer, doctor and could recite all the Vedas, both forwards as well as backward. He was also one of the fiercest warriors with knowledge of tantra and an ardent Shiv devotee. At his heydays, Raavan was feared in heaven and earth and no one could defeat him. Lord Ram on the other hand was serving his 14-year exile term when he had an encounter with Raavan. He had no kingdom, lived in a forest without any possessions with his younger brother Lakshman and his wife Sita. But yet he was successful in defeating the mighty Raavan replete with all resources and knowledge. The reason?
Right after Goddess Sita was abducted by Raavan, Lord Ram had to search for an army. Since he was in exile, he couldn’t take help from his kingdom so he had to search for allies. Cutting long story short this is a classic example where Lord Ram makes emotional relations with most of the people he meets along his way King Sugreev, Jambuvant, and above all Lord Hanuman who is one of the most popular characters of the epic.
Lord Hanuman was so much devoted to Lord Ram that he could do anything for him and Lord Ram himself considered Hanuman as his younger brother. So when both the armies had an encounter Lord Ram had generals and soldiers who were devoted to him. On the other hand, Raavan had an army full of able generals but they feared Raavan and only did their duties. And the result is known to everyone. The true leader had won.
So, if we consider modern-day jobs what should be one’s approach. To attain the respect of their team and become a leader or just command them and become their boss? But it’s easier said than done. In a scenario where strict timelines have to be made and the accuracy of work has to be bang on it sounds more of jargon than a practical concept. But if you see extremely successful business leaders today, they are wonderful people managers. They know the importance of the emotional commitment of the workforce towards the organization. But let’s take it one step further and analyze why most of the people today are bosses and not leaders. Then after getting the causes let’s see if there is some solution to it.
Keshav and Karan-who's a better leader
Both Keshav and Karan were team leads of their respective teams. Coincidentally both took their respective responsibilities on the same day. They also had team members with similar profiles and abilities. The following are the briefings to their teams on the first day
Karan- Good morning team. My name is Karan and I am your new leader. I have graduated from XYZ institute which is one of the top-tier institutes in the country. I know you guys have a great track record and are adept at your field. But I also observed a few gaps that need to be closed immediately. So I want to shift Mr. X from the Y department to the Z department where I feel his competencies can be better utilized
Keshav- Hi, team. Can you all please go ahead and introduce yourself one by one to me so that I am well aware of your names and competencies.
I know that we will form a great team going ahead. But I would first like to take a few suggestions from you as to where I as your team lead can fill the gaps in our working so we achieve even newer heights. As you are more aware of both the problems as well as solutions it will be better if we brainstorm on the solutions together.
After 6 months from their first days, the following contrasts came in the 2 teams:
Karan’s team was more or less at the same place from where they had started. They have improved on a couple of areas where Karan had taken wise decisions. The KPIs of the team members had also remained more or less the same barring a few who had shown substantial improvement as they admired Karan.
Keshav’s team had shown an extraordinary improvement overall. The bonding among the team members had increased because they not only had the freedom to speak about the problems publicly but also had the responsibility to solve them as a team. Almost all the team members’ KPIs showed extraordinary improvement because they were all focusing on their strengths and not weaknesses.
So what went right on the part of Keshav?
He gave himself and his teammates the time to re-evaluate the situation and each other.
It was always a 2-way discussion and not a 1-way monologue
The learning attitude of Keshav spread amongst his team members too. Everyone started asking questions and finding innovative solutions.
And lastly, Keshav knew very well that his good technical skills and theoretical knowledge could only take him so far. To explore the way beyond, the team had to improvise and develop practical solutions to solve problems
With this, I hope I have shown the importance of having a high EQ and its link to being a successful leader. Be safe and healthy and keep reading more to lead a holistic life!