Everyone says “Excellence” is a journey that never ends. I sometimes ask as to how to discover this journey in life. It looks like it is easier said than done.

I was watching a TV show recently and realised what this could mean to us in our everyday lives. I saw a flautist, who played the flute as if God was playing the flute through his fingers.

I have seen sportspersons win match after match and still never feel they have arrived. They always think ,that there is something better to play in the next match, than whatever they have done so far. This is true for individual players as well as teams.

I have met subject matter experts, who can speak endlessly on their subject and can answer all your questions ,as if the subject was discovered by them on earth. Their quest to learn is never ending and their thirst for knowledge is limitless.

One meets common men and women in everyday life who excel in whatever they do and we imagine they have peaked in their domain. However, when we meet them each time, they make you realise that their journey has just begun.

A sculptor is not happy with a masterpiece nor a musician with a Grammy winning song. An actor does not end his journey with an Oscar nor a sportsperson with an Olympic medal. What makes us pause our journey when we do not even excel at our city level, leave alone district, state or country level.

After observing people, who excel in different walks of life I realise that they have some discerning qualities, which may be worth emulating. The first amongst all of these qualities, is their unequalled passion for whatever they do.

A sculptor may spend years to create a masterpiece but is never satisfied with just one. Similarly a sportsperson may have won laurels around the world in Olympics or World championships , but still doesn’t stop trying to improve always.

The second quality of a person who excels , is their limitless learning in life. A sportsperson person recently said in a press conference – “There is no failure in sports”. There are good days and bad days. You win some and you lose some but you never give up to do better all over again.

The third quality which I would love to imbibe is that their quest to do better every day of their lives. You never see them resting on their past laurels. What they did yesterday is over and what they are doing today is for a better tomorrow.

Now, let us look as to how we could apply these basic principles in our every day lives. First we need to identify what we are passionate about. Sometimes, we may not be sure and that is fine. We may discover along the way and sometimes even by chance. Once you are passionate about something, your zeal to excel increases.

Secondly, we need to learn to learn, unlearn and re-learn everyday of our lives. What we learnt in our childhood may not be relevant today. What we know today may not be applicable tomorrow , with the changing technologies impacting our lives. So , we need to have limitless quest for learning always.

The third quality is to compete with the best and to begin, compete with oneself. We all can be a better version of what we were yesterday. It could be as simple as the speed of our walking or the way we play a game. As long as we have the passion to excel, our journey never ends.

Life is a journey to excel in whatever we do and then its fun all the way.

S Ramesh Shankar

1st May 2023

One of the questions often asked in my career is -“What style of leadership will make you a successful leader ?. The answer is simple. Lead by example as your followers follow what you do and not what you say. This is true in family, organisations or in society at large.

Let us understand how we can lead by example in a family setting. Many parents think that because of their age gap, children may listen to whatever they say. This may be true up to the age of 10 or so but thereafter as they turn an adolescent they tend to rebel and are not interested in following your boring advice day in and night out.

Let us keep it simple. If we want our kids to brush their teeth before they have their morning cup of milk, coffee or tea, we need to practise it. If we have a bed coffee without brushing our teeth in our bed and expect our children to brush their teeth before they have it, it may never happen.

If we work or play with our mobile while having our breakfast, our children may never eat breakfast without a mobile in hand. If we watch TV while having our food, they are likely to do the same. On the other hand, if we want them to be away from mobile while having food or while studying, we need to practise it before we preach.

Then while we are driving, if we speak on the mobile for work or otherwise, our children observe our actions and repeat the same when their turn comes. No lecture on road safety can be given to a child whose parents do not practise it on the road.

If we move to the organisation again, our actions will always speak louder than our words. If we want our team members to be punctual to work, we need to arrive before time and show them what we expect. If we want them to attend meetings on time, we need to start and end meetings on time. If we want them to respond to emails promptly, we have to first reply to all our emails instantly. If we expect impeccable behaviour with our colleagues, suppliers or customers , then the way we deal with these stakeholders, sets the role model for them.

Society is a mirror image of families and organisations as social units. We can expect citizens to be law abiding and dutiful ,if we practise it within our families and organisations. Even the politicians with high personal credibility will always be respected and regarded and not otherwise. Even if we look back at history, the leaders we admired are those who always led by example and not because of their oratory skills or execution skills alone.

Let us not complicate a simple subject like “Leadership”. We do not need books or lectures to understand leadership. It is as simple as “Learning by doing”. If we practise before we preach, we may never need to preach to anybody. One can recall teachers, managers and family members whom we adore. We admire them not because they ordered us what to do, but they always showed us what to do and how to do it and we happily followed them.

Let us lead by example from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

30th March 2023

 

Someone asked me “What is the difference between steps and footsteps ?“. I had no immediate answer but found it a good point to reflect on. All of us take steps in every stage of our lives. We study hard, work hard, take care of our family and society and always want to leave our imprints behind for the future generations.

While all of us take steps, not every imprint of our steps is followed. The ones which are followed by the next generation ,I may call footsteps. The difference between steps and footsteps is all about “Followership”.

How do we leave behind a legacy that generations after us ,want to follow us ? Our children do not follow us because we are their parents. We as students do not follow teachers because they taught us . Employees do not follow leaders because they were their bosses in their career.

Then what is the “X” factor in us ,which makes children, students, employees and even citizens follow us ,after we become past tense in our lives. In my view, it is this “X” factor which is difference between our steps and footsteps.

We can see in every walk of our lives ,that we have leaders who may be successful and very effective in whatever they do. It could be our own parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, sportspersons, politicians or corporate leaders. However, some we remember and follow while others fade away after their lifetime. What are the distinguishing factors between such leaders whom we remember and follow and others whom we forget ?

What are the qualities in human beings which makes people follow them during their lifetime and even after they are no more ,in human form ? Why do some people become role models for others and some do not quality for this title ?

The first quality which people look for ,in their role model ,is their behaviour. While excellence in whatever we do ,is considered a pre-requisite for being followed by others, it is our behaviour, which outlives our lifetime. People may forget what you taught them in life but never forget how you treated them.

The second quality which people want to follow is groundedness and humility. The people who excel in whatever they do, are always grounded and feel that their journey of excellence never ends in their lifetime. They always have their feet on the ground and are unassuming by nature.

The third quality of leaders in different walks of life, whose footsteps all of us want to follow ,is their selflessness. They live for others and are always willing to share all they know ,with everyone who could benefit from it. This makes followers fall in a bee line for such leaders.

So, in my book, the difference between “Steps” & “Footsteps” is “Followership”. The qualities which distinguishes whom we may follow or not ,are their impeccable behaviour, their humility/groundedness and their selflessness.

Let us try to leave footsteps rather then our steps behind us.

S Ramesh Shankar

23rd January 2023