Abhijit Bhaduri’s Blog
I write about careers in the AI Economy and about the world of work. The sketchnotes are my own.
Is it a mistake to look for charismatic leaders
We tend to equate charisma and leadership qualities. While it takes a charismatic leader to re-energize a team that has given up, the problems of charismatic leaders far outweighs the positives. The conviction of Elizabeth Holmes on multiple counts of fraud is a warning for us.
The clueless and the charismatic
Narcissists focus on looking good themselves. They often do not grow the second line of leaders, so that there is no one who has the “stature to challenge their decisions”. Many start-ups are as guilty of not investing in building a second rung of empowered and capable leaders.There could well be a better choice than choosing between the two extreme leadership models that we have seen. The price is paid by the employees and common investors. This must change.
Courage and Inspiration: The New Leadership Standard
The most inspiring name on the 2019 list of leaders is Greta Thunberg. She is a 16 year old student activist who is campaigning for climate change. On Twitter page she describes herself as "a 16-year-old climate activist with Asperger [syndrome]". Her work on climate change earned her a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Making her a year younger than Malala who won it at the age of seventeen.
Creating Compelling Content - The New Leadership Requirement
Video and voice are engaging the new learner. Businesses have to create content that is interesting. If it is not interesting, the content is not consumed. There is a 270% growth in voice queries (YoY) in India. Nine out of every 10 new internet users in the country will likely be an Indian language speaker. These trends have three sharp implications for organizations...
The Perils of the Parallel Universe
One look at Zuckerberg’s testimony before the European Parliament shows how powerless the lawmakers are because they do not understand how modern media works. The US senators were not much better when it came to questioning Zuckerberg. The lawmakers pose for selfies and photos with the very person they intend to grill. Part of the problem was the clear ignorance, if not befuddlement, in the face of technology displayed by most of the senators, many of whom are of a ripe vintage. At times Zuckerberg resembled the polite teenager who visits his grandparents, only to spend the afternoon showing them how to turn on the wifi.
Trust in a hyperconnected world
When people put up videos that are slickly edited to leave out flaws and pauses, they convince us that they are not being authentic. It is your flaws – not your perfect self that makes you trustworthy.
Dalai Lama on Listening
We tend to view the ability to speak as a sign of leadership potential. What about the ability to listen? This quote by Dalai Lama puts it perfectly. If you want to learn something new, then here is the one thing you must start doing ...
Can a growth mindset enable success
The experiments in “growth mindset” were primarily done on children in the beginning and it was observed that intelligence does change in children and fluctuates the most during adolescence and then stabilizes. So just wishing for it to increase is not going to make it happen. Think of intelligence as the processor in a computer. Having a faster processor makes the programs load faster.
2018: When the dark side of leadership dominated
This year saw the dark side of leadership coming through for some of the most iconic leaders in some of the most high-profile companies in the world. The pattern is always the same. When high-profile leaders are questioned by the media, they tend to ignore or mislead the media rather than take it as a way for course correction. 2018 showed us three glaring examples of the dark side of leadership.
Getting Distracted by Shiny Objects
You want to look for information, you will get it - lots of it. There will an equally large number of journals that will tell you that "research shows..." that you ought to be doing something. There will be an equally powerful publication that will tell you that what you just spent time learning and telling your team to implement is the equivalent of "fake news" in the world of management. You want to get on with your ever-growing To-Do list but these shiny objects keep distracting you. You are not alone.
How to Build Gravitas
Gravitas was one of the virtues that "Romans of good character were expected to exemplify and pass on through the generations." Gravitas came from the word gravity and was used to mean a sense of the importance of the matter at hand; responsibility, and being earnest. Firms coach senior leaders in building their executive presence. Gravitas is an important element of Executive Presence. Can it be learned? ...