Leadership qualities and Dhul Qarnain

It is well-known that a very small percentage of mankind go on to become leaders who rule over their masses. Yet, those who do, exercise considerable influence (good or bad) during their tenures. This story of Dhul Qarnain that Allah has narrated in the Quran serves to be a beacon for anyone who occupies, or intends to ascend to, a position of authority and leadership over a large number of people.

There are scores of articles and blot posts on the Internet that list and describe desirable leadership qualities for the benefit of the innumerable, young, ardent and wannabe ladder-climbers out there, which list the prerequisite innate as well as acquired traits of successful leaders.

Life coaches, authors, motivational speakers and corporate trainers have made lucrative careers out of giving conferences on sustainable leadership, and “how to become successful managers/CEO’s” et al. No surprise that self-help books on this topic penned by so-called gurus abound online and in print, many of them going on to become bestsellers.

The greatest book of all, the Quran, also throws light upon just what it practically means to be a leader, by narrating this story of Dhul Qarnain in Surah Al-Kahf, without mentioning any of his traits in the form of a list that we can all immediately start to incorporate into ourselves, but rather, by describing his actions and behaviors during his successful conquests; in particular, how he dealt with the people he came to rule over.

These people included those he had never even met before, nor (as in one particular case), whose language he even understood; people whose towns he traveled hundreds of miles to reach and eventually preside over.

Yet, Dhul Qarnain was so successful in influencing his subjects, that he was able to convince them to submit to and worship Allah as the only god,- and he did this without shedding any blood!

Sadaf Farooqi in her blog. Here

Who's the leader?

I don't like Thomas L Friedman. He is the example for WASP White Anglo Saxon Protestant. His essays are written in simple, straight sentences. Besides he has the knack of narrating grippingly. But he is WASP. He is simply anti-Muslim, anti-Islam, anti-non-American. For him only thing that matters is America. Even then I continue to read him off and on. Occasionally he writes sensibly. The following passage is an example:

Yes, it’s true that in the hyperconnected world, in the age of Facebook and Twitter, the people are more empowered and a lot more innovation and ideas will come from the bottom up, not just the top down. That’s a good thing — in theory. But at the end of the day — whether you are a president, senator, mayor or on the steering committee of your local Occupy Wall Street — someone needs to meld those ideas into a vision of how to move forward, sculpt them into policies that can make a difference in peoples’ lives and then build a majority to deliver on them. Those are called leaders. Leaders shape polls. They don’t just read polls. And, today, across the globe and across all political systems, leaders are in dangerously short supply.

From Thomas L Friedman's piece in The New York Times. Here

Leadership is getting excited and making things

Leaders are not what many people think–people with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see whether anyone is following them. “Leadership qualities” are not the qualities that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without them. The include, at the very least, courage, endurance, patience, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness, determination, a keen sense of reality, and the ability to keep a cool and clear head even when things are going badly. This is the opposite of the “charisma” that we hear so much about.

So, to hell with all that noise. It’s just a big mass of envy, chatter and FOMO. Let’s get excited and make things. 
Caterina Fake in her website. Here

Knowledgeable individuals and the wisdom of the crowds

If you ask someone to guess the number of sweets in a jar, the odds that they’ll land upon the right number are low – fairground raffles rely on that inaccuracy. But if you ask many people to take guesses, something odd happens. Even though their individual answers can be wildly off, the average of their varied guesses tends to be surprisingly accurate.

This phenomenon goes by many names – swam intelligence, wisdom of the crowd, vox populi, and more. Whatever it’s called, the principle is the same: a group of people can often arrive at more accurate answers and better decisions than individuals acting alone. There are many examples, from counting beans in a jar, to guessing the weight of an ox, to the Ask The Audience option in Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

But all of these examples are somewhat artificial, because they involve decisions that are made in a social vacuum. Indeed, James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds, argued that wise crowds are ones where “people’s opinions aren’t determined by the opinions of those around them.” That rarely happens. From votes in elections, to votes on social media sites, people see what others around them are doing or intend to do. We actively seek out what others are saying, and we have a natural tendency to emulate successful and prominent individuals. So what happens to the wisdom of the crowd when the crowd talks to one another?

Andrew King from the Royal Veterinary College found that it falls apart, but only in certain circumstances. At his university open day, he asked 82 people to guess the number of sweets in a jar. If they made their guesses without any extra information, the wisdom of the crowd prevailed. The crowd’s median guess was 751.* The actual number of sweets was… 752.

A report in Discovermagazine. Here

Three Tips to effectively communicate your vision

As a leader, it's your job to craft a vision for your team, unit, or division. Once you know what that is, you need to be able to communicate it to a wide audience in a way that they can understand, relate to — and ultimately believe in. Here are three ways to do that:

1. Repeat yourself. To rally people around your vision, you need to remind them of your message and reinforce what you are trying to achieve. Don't worry about sounding like a broken record.
   

   (Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) used to repeat his sayings thrice. eg. Once Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) kept his hand over his heart and said "Piety (Taqwa) is here! Piety (Taqwa) is here! Piety (Taqwa) is here!)

2. Make it two-way. Don't pick up a megaphone. Be sure to create dialogue around your message so that people hear it and understand it.
   

   (Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) used to raise a question and then provide the answer.)

3. Put out calls to action. Don't just tell people what you imagine for the future, ask for their help in making it a reality. Be specific about what you want people to do and why.
   

   (The whole life of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is ample testimony to this trait)

From HBR website. More Here

Compassion, character and competence: Three elements of leadership in Islam

Leaders inspire and that is where they differ from teachers and mentors. Leadership lies in the capacity to inspire a group of people to pursue an articulated vision, and to ensure their continuous cooperation for the realization of this vision. Leadership does not develop in a vacuum. It has to germinate among a specific group of people, impart a vision to them, mould their attitudes and understand the values and concerns of the community. The task of crystallizing a shared vision necessitates communication skills. Vision has then to be summed up in goals and divided into targets.   Great leaders have mobilized masses with the sheer charm of their personality, sincerity of their purpose, and force of character. Prophet Muhammad was divinely gifted in all these aspects. But where he excelled over all others was his kind, compassionate demeanour, robust listening, polite manners and tolerant disposition. Yet he was never short of grit or suffered from paucity of determination. When it came to principles, he was a mountain of courage. His biography is dotted with such instances. When his uncle Abu Talib asked him to give up his mission under intense pressure from elders of the Quraysh, the Prophet’s reply was, even if the opponents placed Sun and Moon over his palms, he would not budge an inch from his mission. Similarly, he emerged a great strategist when faced with an overwhelming might of the non-believers in the Battle of Trench. His insightfulness was in evidence in concluding the treaty of Hudaibiya.   Several people have leadership qualities. But they lack skills. This is where management practices could be employed to hone skills among individuals to take up the task of leadership of the community organizations. Leading with Compassion by Louy M. Safi draws heavily on the model of the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, with compassion as the major hallmark of his persona. Yet his audience is American Muslims of 21st century.   Though Safi’s postulates could be universally applicable, they are specifically aimed at Muslim communities inhabiting North America, especially in the United States and Canada. Creation of team spirit among a people who come from diverse ethnic background and endowed with culturally plural heritage is indeed an onerous task.   Safi says compassionate leadership combines in itself all three elements in equal measure i.e., compassion, character and competence. Only deeply rooted values act as the anchor of collective action. Islamic management principles are based on both ilm (knowledge of the reality) and hikmah (wisdom) i.e., judgement by which knowledge is brought to bear on action.   The author effectively debunks the present day connotation of certain Islamic terms and explains the Prophet’s action in elaborate detail. For instance, tawakkal alallah is today taken to mean as shunning preparation and planning and explained away as pinning hopes on Allah. But the Prophet’s advice to a colleague to tightly tether the camel to a peg and then repose trust in Allah effectively demolishes the all-pervasive misconception.   Second half of the book deals with organizational structures and management principles involved in managing Muslims institutions such as mosques, schools and Islamic centers in the United States. The book carries great appeal for those who may be looking for induction of Islamic principles in modern organizations. Usefulness of vision and mission statement, aims and objectives, target fixing and tools like SWOT Analysis have also been explained. However, the typographical howlers and grammatical gaffes do add a sour note.   The book will prove a great help and guide for those managing institutions or are engaged in social work.   Maqbool Ahmed Siraj's review of the book 'Leading with compassion' in Islamic Voice. More Here.

Five Ways to Ensure Mediocrity in Your Organisation

Many chief executives use the tough competitive environment as a handy excuse to put off salary increases, tighten the screws on performance, and generally drop any pretense of creating a human-centered workplace. But the tough-economy picture has two sides. Only those companies that make the effort to keep their employees productive by treating them decently can expect to see continued productivity gains. Much of the workforce has tuned out, waiting for a more welcoming job market to make career moves.

Here are five of the most insulting leadership practices, the ones that virtually guarantee a business will end up with the most self-esteem challenged, optionless team members when the dust settles.

1. If you desire a mediocre workforce, make sure your employees know you don't trust them.
When employees know they're not trusted, they become experts at "presenteeism"—the physical appearance of working, without anything getting done. Congratulations! Your inability to trust the very people you've selected to join your team has cost you their energy, goodwill, and great ideas.

2. If you want to drive talented people away, don't tell them when they shine.
Fear of a high-self-esteem employee is prevalent among average-grade corporate leadership teams. Look how hard it is for so many managers to say, "Hey Bob, you did a great job today." Leaders who can't say, "Thanks—good going!" can plan on bidding farewell to their most able team members in short order.

3. If you prefer a team of C-list players, keep employees in the dark.
Sharp knowledge workers want to know what's going on in their organizations, beyond their departmental silos. They want some visibility into the company's plans and their own career mobility.


From LIZ RYAN's article in Businessweek
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