`They can`t teach you visionary leadership`-Business Standard

They can`t teach you visionary leadership
WHAT THEY DON`T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL
Habil Khorakiwala / New Delhi July 4, 2006

Habil KhorakiwalaA B-school equips you to become a successful manager. What it does not and cannot teach is visionary leadership. Leadership is often confused with management.
Management is all about achieving objectives through creative ideas and strategies. Visionary leadership involves the ability to look into the future and predict the future. It requires lots of guts, courage of conviction and risk-taking ability to pursue the vision with vigour.
But that is not enough. A visionary leader is a great communicator and teacher. He has the ability to transplant his conviction to his followers and inspire them to work for the vision, with enthusiasm and dedication.
He can inspire such conviction that his people not only give their best efforts to fulfill the vision, but are even willing to undergo sacrifices to achieve the lofty goal. Gandhi was a great leader. In business, there are many examples of visionary leaders who have taken their companies to great heights.
There is lot more to visionary leadership than talent, intelligence and determination. There is a human side to leadership. The human side is evident while dealing with sensitive issues.
At the same time, the leader does not get obsessed with the human issues and lose out on the tough, relentless pursuit of the vision. One has to balance both sides — it comes naturally to visionary leaders.
To succeed, one has to accept the world as it is and rise above it. One cannot see the world in black and white. One has to operate in areas of grey and pursue objectives through uncertainty and ambiguity.
Can these be taught? Learning concepts of leadership will not make every student a visionary leader. As management thinker Russel Ackoff said, you can be taught to draw, sculpt or compose.
Doing these things well will not automatically make you a great artist, sculptor or composer. A visionary leader is a great artist, inspiring and driving everyone around to achieve his visionary goal.

Habil Khorakiwala is chairman, Wockhardt Group. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1983.

11% CEOs find job stress too much--Business Standard write-up

11% CEOs find job stress too much: Survey
Our Corporate Bureau / New Delhi July 10, 2006

Here is another classic example of “What they don’t teach you at B-schools” for Indian CEOs. When under constant stress consult your doctor and do not just settle for home-made therapies. After all, investors’ confidence is closely linked to the health of the person at the helm of the company.

The latest Assocham Business Barometer (ABB) survey revealed that over 66 per cent of the 270 CEOs and CMDs polled had admitted that they did come under stress, with mental pressure being the severest of the ordeals.

As many as 22 per cent said that the stress level was moderate for them, while 11 per cent said it was too much. The worst part of the story is that 82 per cent of the medical consultants, who took the ABB survey, said company heads did not visit them unless they had visible and severe life-style related diseases.

Instead of fixing an appointment with a doctor, most CEOs read books and spend time with their families to cope with work pressure, the survey said. Corporate honchos prefer to consult doctors only when they have symptoms of diabetes, blood pressure, indigestion and insomnia, clearly indicating a lack of understanding of stress-related health complications.

About 70 per cent of industry leaders coping with work pressure suffered more from mental stress than physical strain, the ABB survey, that covered most of the industry sectors, revealed.

“Doing business in India under severe competitive conditions is not easy. It tests your physical and mental stamina,” said Assocham President Anil K Agarwal.

Severe business competition puts the maximum pressure on company heads who are always looking for “innovative” ways to stay ahead of rivals. As many as 77 per cent of the ABB respondents said severe business competition was the main culprit.

Reading books (stealing time at airport lounges etc), spending time with family and listening to music are cited as the three main stress busters. Yoga is catching up fast among corporate leaders while playing golf has taken a back seat among CEOs’ favourite stress busters.

Poll respondents also believe their peers in the US , Europe and China suffer from more stress.