‘Good leaders are also fine listeners’

The first person who joins a leader is as important as the leader, said Meraj Hasan, Vice-President, Nuetech Solar Systems Pvt.Ltd., here recently.

Delivering a lecture on leadership organised by BL Club and sponsored by Syndicate Bank for the MBA and MCA students of Brindavan College, he said that a good leader is a fine listener and he knows how to manage people smarter than him or her.

Sharing the examples of Rosa Parks, who motivated generations to fight for civil liberty in the US, and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who fought for promoting education for girls in the Swat Valley, Hasan reiterated that one need not have to do remarkable things to be called a leader.

“One needs to acknowledge small acts of leadership. Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man, while Malala took shots in her head and neck fighting for a cause. Many refuse to take such small steps because of the fear of failure,” he said.

Sharing from his experiences, Hasan told the students that a leader must take responsibility for the failure as leadership failure will be in the public domain.

Speaking about the traits of leaders, he said that a leader should have confidence in self and others.

“You also should know how to differentiate. Leaders tend not to have as much fun as the others. What is critically important for the leaders is to celebrate with the team,” he said.

Hasan also told the students not to expect people to follow them unless they show them that they as leaders can do more than what he or she can dream of.

He also spoke about different styles ofleadership that included mentorship, coaching and supervisory.

During the question and answer session, a faculty member wanted to know whether physical appearance was important to a leader.

Hasan quoting the example of a Bollywood actor said it was not. “This Bollywood star is not goodlooking but he is a brilliant actor.”

Sharing the example of a cricketer, he said that the cricketer gave up captaincy when he was in prime form. “Some by not deciding to lead become leaders,” he said.

T. Srivenkataramana, director, MBA and MCA, Brindavan College, spoke. Mohammed Arif Pasha, head, MBA, Brindavan College, was present.

Information was also provided to students about ‘SyndVidya’, theeducational product and the interbank mobile payment services launched by Syndicate Bank.