VOLUME X – CHAPTER 4
AMBIGUITY – THE SPRING BOARD OF LEADERSHIP
Be not a designation Principal
A routine day at the school. After the morning assembly the Principal calls the Vice Principal and tells him about those who are on leave so that he can prepare the substitute work time-table. Then he summons the Head clerk and asks him to get ready, the returns to be sent to Delhi in the next 3 days. Then he asks for the Primary Supervisor and asks her to prepare a note on how she could stimulate thinking among her students. He sends a note to the PET asking him to discuss in the last period about the arrangements to be made for the cluster volley ball matches to be held shortly in the school.
Now all those people have been told specifically what they should do and given the deadline. But who tells the Principal what he should do? The Management has simply told him “You shall run the school”. No job description given. He has to improve that is all. A blank cheque given which he has to fill up. How that is his headache. That is his marriage or his funeral as he takes it.
It is this ambiguity that makes a leader or makes one an also ran.
At the lower rungs the work is well defined but as you move up the hierarchy the grey area becomes larger and larger. It is this ambiguity which prompted Roger Fulcon to write a beautiful book “Common sense leadership”.
The Management gives you a mandate for you to fillup and execute. The skeleton is provided to you. You have to add the flesh and blood. If you are a leader you will relish this ambiguity because it impels you to bring out the best in you. It is not a bottle neck. But a challenge for you to bring out your creative talents and innovative acumen. It gives you scope to turn your ideas into Action Plans. If you are just a Principal by designation then this load of orders directions, would mystify you and throw you into a mental pandemonium. But not so far a leader.
A designation Principal expects his staff not to commit any mistake because that will reflect on him. But leader considers mistakes as inevitable because he is happy that his staff are active- that is why mistakes have been committed. No action- no mistakes, all is well with his world- that is the attitude of a designation Principal. He is bothered “If mistakes occur what shall I do?” He is like the French Marshall who asked “If France is defeated what shall happen to me?”
This is an imperfect world. So mistakes are bound to occur. The question is not “If mistakes occur” but “When mistakes occur”. For a leader a mistake is another learning experience to understand that that particular mode of action is not correct and will not work. When mistakes occur the leader gets into a Damage Control. Exercise and tries to rerail the staff within the minimum possible time.
A leader admits the genuine mistakes of his staff. He takes responsibility for their honest errors. He even encourages them to experiment. Go at a tangent and thereby commit mistakes- because he knows that he can’t impose or set any limits on their imagination or innovation or intuition.
A leader understands about the obvious perceptible overt resistance to any new idea and also detect the covert hidden resistance which can cause a silent damage to his initiatives. He is capable of getting people to do not only different things but also do things differently. He knows that you can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg.
The former U.S. President D. Eisenhower said- “Leadership is the art of getting some one else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it”.
Lt. Gen Kaul who left his post of duty in the North East in the [1962 India and China war] and got himself admitted into the All India Institute of Medical Science Delhi is a designation General [Principal] but Lt. General Jagjit Singh who led from the front and captured Dhaka in the 1971 India Pakistan war and was a leader who throve on ambiguity.
Are you Lt. General Kaul or Lt. General Jagjit Singh?
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VOLUME X – CHAPTER 5
ADVISORS OR ADVERSARIES
Beware of Tambura and Hunch back
When you join a school as Principal you will find a Narada or and a Manthara [Kooni] in your staff. In our Mythology Narada is said to be a harbinger of confusion. When he visited some body they were afraid if he brought a good news or bad news. What he said may initially appear to be bad but eventually it will turn out to be good.
His advice to Kamsa that since only Devaki’s eighth child was going to kill him, he need not be afraid of the first seven and his advice to Vasudev to handover to Kamsa all his first seven children to gain his confidence and thus save the eighth child by taking it away to a safe place- both have a positive result as its goal.
But Manthara’s mind was full of poison and she injected that poison into Kaikeyi’s mind. Her advice had a negative result- Rama going into exile for 14 years- The king died.
Narada though dubbed as a mischief maker and a quarrel monger had the good of people in his heart. He advised the Pandavas to make their own rules regarding sharing Draupadi and thereby prevented any rancour among them.
As a Principal look around carefully and observe who is acting as Narada and who as Mantharai. Is the Narada advising you as a Kamsa or Pandavas- plotting your fall or wishing you well? Your Narada will not have a tambura or your Manthara will not have hunch back.
When you [aPGT] have been promoted and have taken over as Principal there may be many who could not take to it kindly. You may see quite a few willingly [unasked] coming forward to offer you advice- even a word picture of every staff member. You may see a senior person who knows things coming to tell you everything about the school. Is he informing you as is he gauging you? Another staff may tell you what you should do to get a name. Is he laying a trap? Information that reaches you may be complimentary or contradictory!
Whom should you listen to? Whom should you encourage? Whom should you rely upon when you are required to pull up an ailing school. You have to listen. But listen to all your staff. Sometimes you may have to wonder if anyone is adopting a patronizing or God fearing attitude towards you or trying to make you dance to their tunes or prod you towards making decisions that will be beneficial to them or perhaps they are the black sheep acting on behalf of someone who does not want you to succeed. In actual life no one comes to you with an aura or an arrow. Will you look at them with doubt or distrust or due respect?
Advice for free
In one school when the author took over as Principal, a Teacher came and told him “Sir you have to be careful about Mr so and so.” The author replied, “Thank you sir for the useful information. Please ask your friend to be more careful about because he will find my reach much longer than his”. Later on the author and that Mr. So and so became very thick friends.
In another school one teacher came to the author and said “Please keep an eye over so and so”. She is capable of seducing any one. The author found later that his advances have been rejected by her and hence his accusation.
In another school the author was told by a teacher, “Sir we have three musketeers in our school. You have to do as they say. They have so much freedom and power here”. The author told her “please don’t worry. This kind Arthur will take care of all their challenges”.
Trace the hidden agenda
In another school on the day of taking over when the author asked the PGT Eng senor most teacher to organize a farewell function for the outgoing Principal he refused saying.
“Sir all our ACRs he has spoiled. We all hate him, so we are not in favour of giving a farewell to him”. The author replied, “I understand the feelings and emotions of all of you, but professional etiquette requires that we should be courteous and polite to an outgoing person.
You organize the function. But you present him a pen to symbolise that he should write only positive things about others with that pen”. He agreed and the function went off peacefully.
In another school the author was told by a master that the driver of the school bus was unmanageable and that he was an authority unto himself. The reason found later revealed that he was threatened by this master for not agreeing to stop in front of his house. The same master also told that the head clerk was very haughty towards the teachers.
A couple of weeks later the author asked the First Assistant Senor TGT and Primary supervisor to sit together and work out bus stops convenient for 4-6 students to assemble easily so that no pupil had to walk more than half KM from his/her home and also they saw to it that the bus stop was not near or opposite any pupil’s home.
Regarding the head clerk the author found that he had only advised the staff not to use the office phone too frequently for personal purposes. In the first staff meeting the author told the staff “I know you will not use the office phone unless it was absolutely necessary. You simply enter your name and number called in the register to checkup with the monthly bill. You need not pay for it because the Govt of India is rich enough to foot the bill even if all 50 of you make one call a month”.
The number of personal calls got reduced very much. There was no need for the head clerk to advise the staff.
So it all depends on how you understand people, gauge their intentions and address the situation. Never succumb to praise or flattery. Tigers and foxes in sheep skin may be prowling around you. Have your eyes and ears wide open. Don’t get carried away by what you hear. It may be interesting or frightening, but weigh it from all angles before you decide to act, digest and then decide.
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ONE WHO KNOWS (VOLUME X – CHAPTER 4 & 5)
(DIMENSIONS OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF A PRINCIPAL)
1341) One who classifies people into 3 types
a. Those who know that they know
b. Those who don’t know that they don’t know
c. Those who know that they don’t know
1342) One who explained to his economics students what is business:-
a. Father – Bring Money – Capital
b. Mother – Manages Home – Management
c. Maid – – Labour
d. Little Boy – – Future
1343) One who knows that there is need to constantly grow, because today growth is not an option but mandatory.
1344) One who quotes to his staff the advice of Eric Hofer:-
“In this time of dramatic chance it is the learner who will inherit the future and the learned will find themselves equipped to live in a world which no longer exists”.
1345) One who tells his staff and students:-
“Don’t respect me as the Principal
Respect me as a person fit to be respected”
1346) One who asks the question
Is it
Value for money
Or
Money for value?
1347) One who understands that innovations can happen only when people connect, collaborate share problems, share opportunities and learning.
1348) One who knows and tells his staff that innovation requires
1349) One who knows that leadership has to create a culture that
Inspires curiosity
Challenges current perspectives
Creates spaces of freedom
Drives discipline
1350) One who wants to develop his school as a Brand and takes these 4 steps:-
Brand Appraisal
Brand Definition
Brand Measurement
Brand Expansion
1351) One who knows that management is like venturing into the ocean:-
“Out there in the water there is none to help you. You have got to find your way. Everything depends on a Sailor’s navigational skills.
The sea changes its hue even as it continues to tango with sunlight-green one moment blue the next then there is a cloud cover and the water appears grey. The wind gathers speed and the waves are higher nature’s elements are at play.
Amidst all this sailing can be a hard job, there is no perspective of space. There are no roads, only and open area. The sailor has only wind, water and waves.
But when you venture deep into the vast expanse of water, you will find peace of mind.
Management is just like that. He knows he is alone – only his intelligence intention and imagination – his aids!
1352) One who wants to follow in the foot steps of Ahrendts left CEO of Burberry – what Sir John Peace Chairman of Burberry said of her:-
“She motivates people. She inspires people. She is the sort of person who wants to see things succeed as a team. It is a rare quality. She is a Uniter”.
1353) One who knows that education management “is just a deeper relationship with a much broader constituency because it includes everybody”
1354) One who has the following traits as list by R.S.S. Mani:-
a. Leadership
b. People relationships
c. Integrity
d. Quality
e. Customer orientation
f. Innovation
g. Performance management
h. Identification with the institution
i. Coding with changes.
1355) One who follows the 7 step model in providing an objective performance appraisal
a. Objectives / Performance standards are set for each
b. These are communicated to employees
c. Review/Monitoring of the above
d. Check actual performance vs. Standards set, on a term basis
e. Identify gap/deficiencies if any
f. Jointly decide on a corrective action plan (as needed)
g. Reset objectives/standards for next term.
1356) One who knows that even as a horse which understands its rider the moment he mounts it, his staff would understand him on the first day itself.
1357) One who knows that management is “making desirable things happen through acceptable means with limited resources and the copperation of all concerned.
1358) One who knows that management is not wishing or hoping that thing would happen, but making them happen by planning, organising and monitoring.
1359) One who knows that management is making things happen as are desirable by all.
1360) One who knows that management is not an a moral value – neutral activity and that no goal can be achieved through immoral, unethical or unfair means.
1361) One who knows that management, “If it is to remain a socially legitimate activity, has to adopt only means which in some sense are socially
acceptable.
1362) One who knows that “no magic hand exists that can replace resources”
1363) One who knows that trying to get more out of less is the focus point of management.
1364) One who knows that he has to secure the staff’s willing cooperation if it is to be sustainable and their commitment has to be secured.
1365) One who knows that the staff have “to be motivated, trained, empowered, led, guided and coordinated so as to reinforce one a mother’s effort”.
1366) One who knows that he has to be concerned with the survival and prosperity of all concerned with the institution
1367) One who knows that management includes concepts such as:-
a. Goal congruence
b. Planning
c. Resource efficiency
d. Motivation
e. Staff development
f. Empowerment
g. Total quality management (TQM)
h. Customer satisfaction
i. Stake holder alliance
j. Social responsibility
k. Value orientation
1368) One who (like the character in a pay of Molieri who thought that prose was something highly technical was pleasantly surprised that prose was what he had been talking all his life) exclaims:-
“Is this management?
My God! I have been doing this only all My Life!”
1369) One who has done away with the cabin culture and has implemented the open office layout.
1370) One who stresses “productivity through people” and has made it the watch word of the institution
1371) One who has appraised his +2 students of the following courses they can take without going in for a regular college education
a. Paramedical courses
i. Diploma in pharmacy
ii. Diploma in lab technology
iii. Diploma in dental mechanic
iv. Diploma in dental hygiene
v. Diploma in ophthalmic assistant
vi. Diploma in radiological assistant
vii. Diploma in radiography diagnosis
viii. Diploma in radiography therapy
ix. Diploma in nuclear medicine therapy
x. Diploma in record technician
xi. Diploma in perfusion technology
Courses offered in Madras Medical College and Christian Medical College, Vellore.
b. Special courses at Polytechnic Level
i. Petrochemical Technology
ii. Polymer Technology
iii. Computer Science Engineering
iv. Refrigeration and Air-conditioning
v. Textile Process
vi. Man Made Fibre Technology
vii. Machine Tool Maintenance And Repairs
viii. Automobile Technology
ix. Pulp Paper Technology
c. For women (Polytechnics)
Location at Madras, Madurai, Coimbatore, Ettayapuram, Virudhunagar
i. Costume Design & Dress Making
ii. Commercial Practice
iii. Architectural Assistantship
iv. Cosmetology
v. Computer Science & Engineering
d. Film Institute offers
i. Diploma in Film Technology Film Processing, Editing, Direction, Screenplay Writing at Madras and Pune
e. Hotel Management & Catering 3 year course in Chennai
Cookery, Food Service Management, Bakery, Canning, Reception, House Keeping, Hotel Operational Management at Delhi, Manipal
f. Fine Arts
i. FA Drawing and Painting (Stella Maris College, Chennai)
ii. B.Sc. in Interior Design
1. SIET College, Chennai
2. Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore
iii. B.Sc. in Textile Design
1. Ceramic Design
2. Painting & Scuatorl
Govt College of Arts / Crafts – Chennai.
iv. B.Sc. in Visual Communication (Loyola College, Chennai)
v. Product Design, Furniture Design, Textile & Apparel Design, Design & Fashion Technology
(Sophia Polytechnic – Bombay, JJ School of Arts – Bombay)
g. Shipping and Transport
T.S. Bhadra – Calcutta
T.S. Mekhala – Vizag
T.S. Mavalakshi – Gujarat
i. Navigation Engineering Weather forecasting & Fire Fighting (Maritime Academy – Bombay)
ii. Merchant Navy
T.S. Rajendra – Bombay
Directorate of Marine Engineering, Bombay
Lal Bahadur Shastri Nautical and Engineering College, Bombay
T.S. Bhadur, Calcutta
T.S. Mekhala, Calcutta
iii. Radio Officer
(Dept. of wireless Planning Union Min. of Communication – New Delhi)
h. Pilots
i. Flying Club, at Madras, Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta
ii. Distance Education Offered as Madras, Madurai, Bharathiyar, Bharathidasan, Annamalai, Alagappa, IGNOU Universities
i. Clerical
i. Typing, Computer Knowledge Essential
ii. Recruitment by UPSC, TNPSC
iii. Railway Recruitment Board, Staff Selection Commission, Banking Service Recruitment Board and LIC
Information can be obtained for all courses from the University Students Advisory Bureau at Madras
1372) One who has learnt from great criminal lawyers that he has, (to get the required information) to interrogate:-
a. Calmly with an innocent person
b. Carefully – with cunning person
c. With faith with an honest person
d. With compassion with a person who is afraid
e. With anger with a cheat
f. Like the honor with a liar
And do all these with dignity and eagerness to arrive at the truth and without seeking publicity
1373) One who follows 25 principles:-
a. Have a firm handshake
b. Look people in the eye
c. Never give up on anyone miracles may happen any day
d. Always accept an out street ched hand
e. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out
f. Never deprive some one of hope. It might be all that they have
g. When playing with children allow them to win
h. Give people a second change but not a third
i. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret
j. Be modest a lot has been achieved before you
k. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose
l. Don’t burn bridges you may have to cross the same river
m. Never miss an opportunity to tell someone that too love them
n. Live your life so that your epitaph could read no regrets
o. Take charge of your attitude don’t allow somebody else to choose it for you
p. Visit friends, staff, students parents and relatives when they are in hospital. Enough if you just stay for a few minutes
q. Send a lot of greeting cards sign them – “Someone with thinks you are terrific”
r. Answer the phone with energy and enthusiasm in your voice
s. Keep a note pad and pen on your bed side table. Wonderful ideas may strike you at night
t. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial is their job
u. Compliment the meal when you are a guest in someone’s home
v. Remember you a success is based on your ability to deal with people
w. Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person behind you
x. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt at important moments
y. Don’t expect life to be fair always
1374) One who combines 4 aspects
Intention
Initiative
Ideas and
Execution
1375) One who always tells his students quoting margaret mead:-
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique just like everyone else”
a. One who knows that he has to strategise, administer and deal with:-
i. Alienation and grouping ingroups and outgroups
ii. Failure to learn from best practices and feel a sense of infallibility deterring out-of-boy thinking
iii. Managing many non instead of a few earlier (science PGTs Face this Dilemma)
iv. Balancing autonomy with structure
v. Strategic head or administrative expert or staff champion or change agent
vi. Transactional or transformational
b. One who has employable skills:- (As Listed by:- Deodutta Kurane Group President Human capital & Management – Yes Bank)
i. Execution:
One who has the ability to set and meet challenging goals
Self-accountability for achieving results
Finding better, faster and efficient way of doing things
ii. Flexibility
One who has the ability to adapt to changes openness to new ideas willingness to work in non-comfort zones
iii. One who has a Customer orientation
Ability to focus on the needs of the customers (like the education superintendent of Lakewood, County, Denuer, Colarado – U.S.A.)
iv. One who has a Willingness to Learn
You should have the will to learn everyday something new
v. Personality
One who has a high level of energy and willingness to interact with people
vi. One who displays Ownership and Commitment
1. Self-Discipline
2. Acts dutifully
3. Aims for achievement
4. In a planned manner
vii. Attitude
One who has the ability to look at things in a positive manner ability to spot out opportunities
viii. Teamwork
One who develops a positive working relationship encouraging involvement affirmative interpersonal skills in coping with complicit treating others with dignity and respect
Maintaining a friendly demeanour valuing each others’ contribution
ix. Innovation
1. One who has the ability to think creatively and critically, intuitively, yet conceptually.
2. Adopt new approaches to problem solving
x. One who has a Passion Quotient
In the movie “Legally Blond” Reese Witherspoon’s famous court room dialogue:-
“When you push your body beyond a limit, it will be challenging; but soon you find that the body adapts and what you thought was impossible to do, becomes a little more easy”
One who has Keith Ayer’s “Passion Index” this demands a mind and body activated and revved up at all times.
Our attitudes, culture and values play a huge role in determining the “Passion Index”
An Octagemarian said:-
“My goal in life is not to survive but to live passionately, humorously eloquently and with lots of style”.
xi. Humanity, philanthropy and ethics
One who follows Tata’s Ethics “Jamshedji Tata embraced the zorastrian religion’s most central tenet – that the mission of the righteous person is not merely to live a good life, but to make life better for others.
The spectacle of an enterprise as highly moral as it is profitable is rare in a society which has grown accustomed to thinking of business success as a zero, in which one’s triumph requires another’s defeat.
“Tata companies continually aspire to better ethics, just as they are committed to better business practices”
– Peter Casey
xii. Power
One who knows that power means leaving behind a legacy it is about changing the status quo and making a difference that is lasting
As a leader, he has the responsibility and accountability for many people’s job so he knows that helping people grow in their capacity and deliver solutions is his biggest responsibility.
He knows the trick of how to realize accountability without abusing power.
He knows that only through influence he can create a followership of people who believe in his vision and strategy.
He approaches opportunities by asking himself if he has the skill sets to deliver.
He knows he can evolve only if he wants to learn some parts of his job, which he doesn’t know.
He looks for a 70-30 mix – 70% he feels he knows in which he wants to make a difference and 30% new to him which he wants to learn.
He knows that actually not knowing everything about his job makes him a better leader because he has no presupposition.
He respects people who are opinionated.
He is not dogmatic but willing to listen to others’ views he knows that if he is decisive and direct, then his people would know that what they see is what they get.
He knows that his role is to see around the corner and figure out what transitions are happening that, he knows, defines him as a leader, because his people give him the energy.
– Padashri warrier CTO – CISCO
xiii. Work vs. Personality
He knows that he should be no. 1 because of his work and not because of his changing personality.
He knows that leadership is a mix and balance of friendly and familiar.
He has a broad strategic thinking with an eye for execution, constantly gauging the environment and look for opportunities.
1376) One who possesses a different kind of commitment and a curiosity for the unknown and the power to inspire
1377) One whose unbeatable combo of passion and drive fuels the fire within him.
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MAN strives to provide himself with food clothing and housing for the sake of the body. He must also provide himself with something to keep the mind healthy and happy. It is the mind that conditions even the body. The mind is the instrument, the flywheel, and the thickest comrade of man. Through it, one can ruin oneself or save oneself. Regulated and controlled, channeled properly it can liberate; wayward and let loose, it can entangle and bind fast. – Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
