The early 1980s in India was a colorful era of black-and-white television, and one of the shows that beamed across TV sets was Star Trek, the science fiction series that was originally telecast in the US and parts of Canada between 1966 and 1969. The series, set in the 23rd Century, was about the voyages of a starship, the USS Enterprise, which was led by Captain James T Kirk, the commanding officer. His team comprised, among others, of Mr. Spock, the first officer; Leonard McCoy, the chief medical officer; and Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer.
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| Vimarsh Bajpai |
While on its mission to explore a new life and new civilizations, Captain Kirk encountered situations that required instant decision making, apt delegation of work, and realistic goal setting, which is much like the business leaders of today who run either their own enterprises or are part of leadership teams in the organizations they work.
Captain Kirk’s work was made arduous because of the sudden challenges that his team would encounter from an invisible power, sometimes threatening the survival of the starship itself— a stark similarity with the recession in the West, and the resultant economic slowdown in India in the past few years. The situation called for industry leaders, particularly those heading start-ups and SMEs, to show immense courage and charisma to keep their enterprises afloat. Captain Kirk’s leadership style, and those of the subsequent captains of the Starship Enterprise, has for years been the subject of study. Parallels have been drawn between their negotiation techniques and information gathering process with those of the leaders and managers in organizations.
The leader of today’s world however, has changed dramatically since the time the fictitious starship ventured the space. It has been over 40 years since the series was written and telecast across the world with innumerable sequels. While many of the past lessons on leadership are still relevant, new models have been explored to meet the growing demand for leaders. The problems today are far too many and more complex because of the global interconnects between economies. The workforce is now multicultural, and companies work around-the-clock to meet demands of ever-demanding customers. The Internet has helped make islands of communities whose members share their ideas and ideals openly. Today, you have no place to hide if you deliver services that do not meet customer expectations, and if your products come wrapped in colorful packing but fail to meet the needs of your customers. With so much changing around us, how can the companies and leaders of today continue to resist the much-needed change? The leaders of the past were supposed to know more than their subordinates, and Marshall Goldsmith, one of the world’s leading executive coaches, calls it the apprentice model. The one who headed the enterprise or a business unit was almost next to God, and those who reported to him were expected to learn from him and grow. But today’s leaders, says Goldsmith, manage knowledge workers who know more than their bosses. Therefore, the leader of today has to learn to listen and ask, rather than just say what to do and how to do it. The leader has to be more receptive to the thoughts of others and have his ears close to the ground. It is a good sign that more business leaders are flocking on Twitter to directly connect with their customers and stakeholders. This is the dawn of new-age leadership that emanates from the desire to make a real difference to the community. Running a business today is more dynamic than ever as all departments are organically interdependent and complement the growth of the organization. One inefficient department could drag the organization down a few notches. This makes it all the more important for a leader to hire key people who are brighter than him; those who have clear vision and can dole out fresh ideas and solutions without fear or hesitation. The new-age leader looks for potential intrapreneurs to join his organization, not just mere employees. Intrapreneurs are free thinkers who perform best when motivated to try out new ideas on the ground. They are believers in a value system that is based on customer satisfaction, rather than plain profits. So, if you have assembled a group of nodders, drawing from P. G. Wodehouse’s short story The Nodder, symbolic of the “yes man” mentality, your enterprise could soon land into more trouble than that of Captain Kirk.
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Vimarsh Bajpai is an entrepreneur, a writer, and a content and communications consultant. As the founder of Samvad Sutra, he works with organizations and individuals to help them communicate better.
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