Harish Dunakhe- Assignments- Leadership & Team Building

Leadership & Team Building

SIBM Exec. MBA 2010-13 Harish Dunakhe Roll No. 33310

Assessment of Assimilation Test Set No 1

Course Name – Leadership & Team Building Batch 2010-13

Date: 29/04/2012 Semester IV

Day: Sunday Maximum Marks 30

Note- 1.Answer any three questions.

2.All questions carry 10 marks each.

1. In Indian context, Mr N R Narayana Murthy symbolizes a story of a game changer in the Corporate Leadership. Highlight his traits and contributions.

2. Steve Jobs quoted a commandment from Steward Brand “Stay hungry stay foolish” while delivering his commencement address to the Stanford University students in 2005. Can you go further from here and set for yourself additional commandments.

3. Project Manager is a coveted post and demands specialized attributes and skills to be effective. Spell out a few.

4. Write short notes on any two of the following:- a. Differentiate between a leader and a manager. b. Daniel Goleman’s theory about the Emotional Intelligence (EQ). c. Time management techniques.



1st Question:

In Indian context, Mr N R Narayana Murthy symbolizes a story of a game changer in the Corporate Leadership. Highlight his traits and contributions.

Backdrop: How Infosys was founded.

When Mr. N R Narayana Murthy founded Infosys, IT industry was not established. In fact there was no IT industry at all. During early 80’s the businesses were highly regulated. Besides the IT outsourcing was in nascent stage. US & European companies especially the US companies were exploring options of reducing operational cost by outsourcing of IT related work to economical nations such as India. Tata Consultancy and Patni Computers were the present companies during that time. Mr. Narayana Murthy resigned from Patni to found Infosys along with a few of his colleagues and friends Krish Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani etc. A few more IT companies were also founded during that time. Wipro and Sonata Software were to name a few.

Post founding Infosys in 1984 the company faced tough years initially and later made unprecedented growth. The company grew more than 100% year on year. Within 10 years of its inception it was a more than Rs. 100 Crore company. In next 10 years company grew further and was more than 1000 Crore

company.

A few of the reasons why Infosys grew and laid foundations of the Indian IT industry are listed below.

1. Growing demand for IT related services from US & other developed markets 2. Availability of English speaking, computer literate manpower 3. Favorable tax structure, infrastructure availability from Govt.



How Mr. Narayana Murthy is a game changer:

Mr. Narayan Murthy based his business on following values:

1. Inclusive Growth a. Employee Stock Options b. Wealth Distribution to employees and shareholders

2. Corporate Governance a. Transparency b. Voluntary disclosure of financial data

3. Ethical Business practices

It was tough during those days…. However he didn’t give up and ensured he stood by his values.

The contribution was significant. It was a pleasant start of good business practices. We can do good business by doing ‘good’ to others i.e. to stake holders- customers, employees and shareholders etc. He created wealth for many families. There were many symbiotic businesses supporting Infosys were founded by many people. Bangalore got its name as Silicon Valley of India because of sustained efforts by Infosys and development efforts by government.

A few of leadership traits he showed are listed below:

1. Strong Value System 2. Self-Belief 3. Vision- could foresee what’s in the near future 4. Courage 5. Hard work 6. Execution Excellence 7. Wealth creation 8. Risk Management- manage risk of a growing organization

Conclusion:

Mr. Narayana Murthy created wealth for many people and many generations. People who invested in initial years of Infosys are millionaires today. He has become the role-model for many to emulate. The leadership traits he possesses are the benchmarks one can aspire to attain.

“Courage is the most important leadership attribute, requiring difficult decisions that often run opposed to popular opinion”.

- N R Narayana Murthy at A S Deshpande Memorial Lecture

held at Mumbai on 18th

December 2011



2nd Question:

Project Manager is a coveted post and demands specialized attributes and skills to be effective. Spell out a few.

Ans:

Project Manager according to me is a combination of effective Leadership and Managerial skills.

We are aware of some of the leadership skills which we look in to effective leadership and there are a few managerial abilities needed to successfully accomplish a task.

Leadership Skills Managerial Skills

Project Manager

Most of the projects have following challenges:

1. Uncertainties about scope, resources, timelines – Progressive Elaboration 2. Ever increasing costs, limited budgets 3. Highly demanding customers in a fiercely competitive market 4. Multiple stakeholders with different agendas to drive 5. Pressure on achieving quality at low cost and in less time 6. Softer Aspects- such as self-motivation and team motivation

1. Vision2. Motivation

3. Problem-solving4. Lead by example

5. Courage6. Inspiring

Communication

1. Planning2. Effective Execution

3. Time Management

4. Coordination5. Control

6. Optimum Resource Utiliztion



Therefore it is imperative for a Project Manager to lead his team in such a way that he doesn’t overpromise and under-deliver. The pressure from customers to deliver more in less resources and cost will always be present and in fact, would increase with time. The competing companies might tempt customers with their offers. It’s therefore, a Project Manager’s responsibility to ensure he & his team delivers as per the committed deliverables. However, to do that, he consistently needs to motivate his team, optimize his costs, manage customer expectations well and keep him motivated about the positive outcome.

My Experience:

I am currently involved in a highly sensitive security solution project at a prestigious Indian Airport. The stakeholders are AAI, Airport Management, BCAS- Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, CISF- Central Industrial Security Force and local IT team at Airport. The challenges I can visualize at this site are manifold. These challenges get compounded due to involvement of multiple stake-holders and their contradicting agendas. The Project Manager’s job here is a tight rope walk. He has to manage BCAS compliance, CISF requirements of security solutions and also comply with the Airport security norms. It’s a tough job and everyday poses a new set of challenges.

3rd Question:

Write short notes on any two of the following:- • Differentiate between a leader and a manager. • Daniel Goleman’s theory about the Emotional Intelligence (EQ). • Time management techniques.

a. Difference between Leader & Manager

SR. NO. LEADER MANAGER 1 Visionary- Establish grand and highly

stretched vision which may be difficult to achieve

Execution abilities- Skilled to achieve execution targets.

2 Lead by example Planning- Ability to plan the activities effectively so as to reduce uncertainties

3 Motivator- Ability to motivate teams to achieve outstanding results

Time Management- Effectively execute activities in stipulated time

4 Courageous- Ability to take tough decisions at times when needed.

Coordination- Effective coordination with multiple stake holders.

5 Inspiring Communicator- Ability to inspire people with his highly contagious positive attitude and effective communication.

Optimum Resource Utilization- Work with lesser resources, and do more with less… Optimize costs.

6 Problem Solving- A leader should be able to solve his team’s problems. He should be an astute troubleshooter.

Control- Ability to review progress, take corrective actions in time so that given targets are achieved.



b. Time management techniques:

Various techniques can be used to manage time effectively. A few of the techniques are listed below.

1. Creation of Priority List

Creation of priority list is a powerful way to manage the time well. We can divide our activities as per the grid mentioned below.

Urgent Not-urgent Important A B Not-important C D

A – Activities are Urgent & Important: Finish those ASAP.

e.g. – Travel reservation.

B – Activities are Important but not urgent. Plan those ahead of time and execute.

e.g. – Business Planning, Important meeting involving multiple stakeholders.

C – These Activities are urgent but not so important. Finish these as soon as possible so that we have time for more important activities.

e.g. – Paying electricity bills, mobile recharge, tax claims

D – These activities are neither urgent nor important. Plan to finish those in free time. Avail sometime of a day or week to finish such activities.

e.g.- nail-cutting

2. Tracking progress

If someone is weak in managing his time, then he should periodically track progress of his activities and the amount of time he has spent to finish those activities. Later he can review those and compare that with others. This will help him track how he does certain things as compared to others.

3. Creation of Time Management Goals:

The focus of time management is actually changing our behaviors, not changing time. A good place to start is by eliminating the personal time-wasters. For one week, for example, if we set a goal that I am not going to take personal phone calls while I am working I can manage my activities very well.

4. Find out where you're wasting time – The energy leaks and time leaks.

Actually we cannot manage time. We have to manage our activities in the available time.



Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What are your time-bandits? Do you spend too much time 'Net surfing, reading email, or making personal calls? Tracking your daily activities explains how to track your activities so you can form an accurate picture of what you actually do, the first step to effective time management.

5. Learn to delegate and/or outsource.

For effective time management, we need to find out what all activities one can delegate…. e.g. Photocopying, documents, coordinating with Administrative staff, making logistics arrangements… I believe we should allow others people carry some of our work load.

6. Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.

While crises will arise, you'll be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time.

7. Set time limits

Taking telephone calls, reading and answering email can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead, set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it.

8. Be sure your systems are organized.

Being organized helps one use the time effectively…. One needs to ask him / her if he / she are wasting a lot of time looking for files on the computer.

9. Don't waste time waiting

Use the waiting time effectively. While you are waiting for an activity to be completed by others or you are waiting at airport / you are in a queue somewhere, make sure you carry your pending reading material with you. Point is, use your waiting time, and don’t waste it.

Summary:

You can control and accomplish what you want to accomplish… provided you manage activities in the stipulated time. We must know that we can’t really manage time; we need to manage our activities in the available time.



Assignment No. 3:

You have been selected as Team Leader by your company to proceed to Gabon in West Africa/any country in Africa for a joint venture with a local company. State your action plan.

Gabon’s government has recently shown positive signals to attract investment in their country. Visit of its President Ali Bongo Ondimba to India in 2009 started positive discussions for Indian companies investing in Gabon.

Our company has already decided to supply Engineering products required for Oil Exploration. A joint venture is formed with a local company. As a part of our effort to send our team to Gabon we will take following steps.

1. Activities completed so far a. Appointment of Team Leader- which is me in this case. b. Formation of Joint Venture

Next steps:

2. Documentation of the Joint Venture to be understood before visiting Gabon 3. Cultural training – Understanding of the local culture. Interaction with JV partner to know more

about that country. Knowing more about climatic conditions- since it’s a tropical country. 4. Legal training- understanding laws of Gabon- what is allowed, what is not allowed.

5. Visiting Gabon

a. Once I understand Gabon’s culture, political setup, legalities and other such factors, I should visit Gabon before I take my team there. This step is important as it will give me firsthand experience of Gabon before I recruit people to work in that country. Besides I could understand the JV partner and its setup.

b. Since I am the team leader it’s important for me to know the job related challenges. It will reduce the number of changes team might experience in Gabon. Here the job



location is new, team leader that’s me would be new to the team and working conditions would be new.

c. Understanding the market conditions / manufacturing challenges in important. How customers / people in Gabon work, behave is more important to me. This understanding would help me manage probable future challenges once the team is on board. I think the Team Leader should be a few steps ahead of its team in terms of skills and knowledge.

6. Formation of team

a. Recruitment- Next obvious step is formation of team. Recruiting members who are mentally prepared for an African country are to be recruited.

b. Following is the evaluation criteria: i. Relevant experience ii. Mental toughness

iii. Positive attitude iv. Persistent track record of previous employment

c. Training: Preparing the team for Gabon and job to be done there.

7. Execution and Evaluation: While at Gabon I anticipate we would face challenges w r t the team behavior and team’s efforts to acclimatize themselves.

8. Reviewing the team’s performance regularly and taking corrective actions such as recognizing efforts, rewarding appropriately, morale boosting, motivation, replacement of teammates etc.

Summary:

A tough territory away from home needs different kind of leadership abilities. A team that works in Gabon needs to be mentally tough as it’s not an easy territory to work in. Team must know what they are getting in to. Secondly they must be rewarded accordingly.



Assignment No. 4:

At present Indian political leadership both at the center as well as in the states is facing many challenges. The effective handling will demand special efforts. Analyze various aspects and suggest skills which you consider are essential to deliver the desired results.

First of all, let’s put forth the challenges our political leadership faces today.

Challenges:

1. Trust deficit: People have started losing trust in the political leadership due to various charges of corruption against government and a few leaders in opposition.

2. Lack of vision: The leaders in various political parties discuss issues which people at large don’t wish to relate to. The country needs infrastructure, inclusive growth, systematic efforts to reduce poverty and stable government. The vision which politicians show today is still stuck at basics such as caste, religion & regional development or populist measures which please certain factions of the society but deprive the people of India.

3. Coalition Government: The parliamentary democracy and no upper limit on no. of political parties make India a chaotic democracy.

4. Quality of Leaders: Corrupt, not so educated leaders who cannot effectively represent their constituencies as well as cannot take studious efforts in policy decisions are in abundance. Very few leaders are well educated and can effectively articulate in parliament as well as state assembly.

5. Governance: Bureaucracy & red tape-ism cause delays in taking decisions which affect implementation of various public welfare policies.

6. Defunct Administration: India spends more than 55% its earnings on salaries, pensions and associated benefits to its employees. This leaves us with less money for development. Besides we are crippled due to high level of corruption at every level.

7. Lack of Direction: Political leadership, I believe is unable to provide an unambiguous direction to the countrymen. Presence of too many leaders from multiple parties and social activists means lack of general acceptance of these leaders…. This obviously results in chaos. Lack of direction is palpable with their popularity…. our Prime Minister / Chief Ministers cannot attract sizeable crowd to their functions.

Now that we have listed these challenges let’s look at the skills that we need our leaders must have.



We will use Herzberg’s two factor theory for our political leadership.

Delighters:

- Visionary, clean, transparent, non-corrupt - Passion for national service- commitment, dedication, hard-work - Single-minded focus on national progress & development - High Educational qualifications - International exposure

Hygiene factors:

- Clean background – no serious criminal cases - Organizing skills- should enjoy support of his party-workers - Good orator, Administrative skills. - Ability to handle uncertainties - Ability to present himself / herself effectively - Understanding of public concerns, knowledge of the political system

Summary:

The above model lists out a few skills & abilities. Presence of Delighters increases our public’s satisfaction whereas absence of Hygiene factors cause dissatisfaction. Our political leaders must have above mentioned skills and abilities to be an effective politician to lead our country towards development. Our political leaders should have India on their mind. Highly passionate leaders who have sense of urgency to develop country and countrymen are the needs of the hour.

No satisfaction / No Dissatisfaction

High Satisfaction

High Dissatisfaction

Technology

Harish Dunakhe- Assignments- Leadership & Team Building