Step, trundle, quake.... are you listening?

There are learnings from the book and then there are learnings from experience.

From three jobs and three very different setups, there are several things that I have noticed about good leaders/ managers. Its difficult to cover them all in one post. So, the one that I want to write about today is "being closer to the ground".

The very first thing that this translates into is 'approachability' and 'knowledge of the ever-so-changing-ecosystem'. The more 'distant' you are from your subordinates, the more difficult it becomes to 'know' them,'manage' them, 'lead' them

It also translates into a sense of humility (at least some!). Success is difficult to manage on a personal level. A rapid climb-up in life boosts one's ego to the extent that it becomes really difficult to remain level-headed. And when one's head floats in the sky, well, they become oblivious of whats happening at the ground level... Closer to ground, also means that you understand your people, their motivations, their aspirations, and their individual 'role'in the whole ecosystem.

Being 'closer to the ground' also enables good leaders to see through immediate problems at hand and think about how things 'can evolve' in the future; this mean that the manager would get know when an approaching sound is a footstep, a trundle, or a quake..

Besides all, it lets you remain human....

PS: I am documenting these learnings so that I don't forget them when I need them the most! These are so simple and straightforward things, just that our visions get blurred to the obvious things in life!

PS 2: I love the fact that I am working. I can't imagine myself sitting at home.