Recalling Leaderships Traits of Shivaji Maharaj Bhosale

Shivaji  Maharaj , world renowned leader displayed great leadership qualities in the management of his vast empire.
“He was one of the greatest personalities of world history”, says Colonel Anil Athale. His management skills which date back to more than 384 years are still considered among the most valuable case studies in the management industry.

Let us appreciate some of his management skills.

1.  Democratic:
He believed in the democratic pattern of administration when the term “democratic” was 100 years ahead of his times. His policies were clearly promoting the welfare of people in the midst of the feudal system. WeLearn considers this quality as one of learning aspects for every leader. It teaches us to think out of the box in present times and create examples for the future.

2.  Paternalistic:
Shivaji as a leader is remembered as a father-king for his citizens. He was protective and worked for the welfare of his subjects and states. He devised this strategy in a manner that would not hurt his citizen to the slightest. He was successful in all his endeavors, spreading his “magic” to all who encountered him.

WeLearn agree and believe that in today’s time it is neither difficult nor impossible to strategize like him. Workshops like Analytical skills and Creative learning crack the most difficult puzzle of management and enable you to think in this manner

3.  Fair administration:
Shivaji established a fair administration of income tax and employed civilians to collect the taxes. He also established the system of affordable loans for farmers in need. WeLearn takes a cue from his administrative skills, not only for the way he handled his citizens but especially for the way he efficiently managed his administration smoothly.

4.   Ahead of Thinking:
WeLearn considers this quality as most important.

Arya Chakra said “Shivaji was a ‘true king’ since he always worked for the welfare of his people.” In those times as well as today there are two kinds of people, one who work and others who occupy chairs. Those who occupy chairs were called “Vatandars”, ruled by default since their birth in such families and turned to be autocratic. Shivaji Maharaj termed them as “enemies of the nation” and wrote on how to deal with them in his book of policies called “Adnyapatre”.

In short, be it an engineer, doctor, scientist, lawyer or successful businessman; Shivaji  Maharaj’s policies are very relevant even after 300 years. Through his example we can learn the art of attracting and retaining loyal followers as well as having a clear vision of the future. These two qualities are relatively important for being successful in today’s competitive world, irrespective of the fact that one is at an executive level or in the managerial level.

Click here for more details on Hybrid Distance Learning Management courses.

By
Priyanka Hodavdekar

 

6 SALES MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Do Monday morning sales team meetings give you jitters? Are you worried about how to induce your team to boost sale? No doubt the job of a Sales Manager is more difficult than other department managers.

Here are 6 simple sales management strategies to enhance your Sales Management skills:

Identify team goals and objectives – Set realistic targets for your team. Place yourself on the sales end and think if the goal is achievable. Also set a timeline to achieve the set targets.

Keep it simple and transparent – Quite often your sales people can gauge if you are trying to manipulate them to succumb to company policies they don’t like. And it can backfire on you as the ‘one responsible’. So be transparent..

Welcome team inputs – Have a  ear for inputs from your team whether it’s an opinion on company policy or a new campaign. If you don’t like something, say why. It generates respect for the team and that in turn will earn you respect.

Explain – If there is any change that affects your team, do not just bomb them with news. Explain why you are making a change and that a different approach is sometimes gainful.

Be a team player – As a Manager, you are in between the senior management and your sales team, acting as an interpreter for both the sides. Hence it is fundamental that your interpretation does not affect either side.

Give positive feedback – Money and recognition are two main motivating factors for sales people. As a manager, money is not something you can control but a positive feedback always boosts your team’s confidence and helps them achieve their targets better.

Join the free workshop on Sales Management, conducted by We Learn to learn more about sales management skills and sales management strategies.

Click hereto Join the workshop on Sales Management Conducted by weLearn.

                                                                                    -By Madhuparna Panigrahi

Crimson Tide: Movie for Management Training

Capt. Ramsey: “Speaking of horses did you ever see those Lipizzaner stallions?”
Hunter: “What?”
Capt. Ramsey: “From Portugal. “The Lipizzaner Stallions” The most highly trained horses in the world. They’re all white?”
Hunter: “Yes, Sir.”
Capt. Ramsey: “Yes, Sir you’re aware they’re all white” or “Yes, Sir you’ve seen them?”
Hunter: “Yes, Sir I’ve seen them. Yes, Sir I was aware that they are all white. They are not from Portugal; they’re from Spain and at birth, they’re not white; they’re black,Sir.”
Capt. Ramsey: “I didn’t know that. But they are from Portugal.”

This single scene is enough to highlight the conflict between various hierarchies within an organization.

Movie Learning is a unique tool. With its visual and audio medium, it creates a huge impact within a Management training classroom, as it can be a powerful tool in teaching “Conflict Engagement”, “Office Communication” and many more related topics. Office atmosphere is one place where you would be seeing all sort of emotions, and it’s important to have a check on how you react mentally to your work demands. This is the time you will discover your real character and the thoughts that goes on within yourself.

In this movie, Crimson Tide, Hunter is an XO officer under his Commander Capt. Ramsey. This is around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, when they are entrusted to lead a Submarine for a missile launch operation against Soviet Union. During their journey they destroy an enemy submarine in a dog fight and incur little damage.

In this whole scenario, we are shown how the Captain with an impeccable 40 years of active navy service record, doesn’t trust the newly joined XO. He is responsible for  the whole conflict, and when they stand up to their individual beliefs and intuitions, with the will to serve the country, their clash becomes a mutiny inside the submarine. And this exactly reaches a climax in this specific scene.

In the dialogue about “Stallions”, Capt. Ramsey, a White Officer, indirectly insults his Black Subordinate Xo Hunter, This single scene conveys how a work environment conflict and the language used, can reveal the character of one’s innermost thoughts. It also shows how different people react in a normal situation and after the climax, Capt Ramsey accepts that he was wrong and resigns He recommends his Xo as the next commander of the ship.

The Movie Learning Workshop is a wonderful tool, when used in Part Time MBAor Distance Learning MBA training.It helps one learn how to emerge out of Office Conflicts as a better person.

The Social Media story of a Pioneer Brand

Did you know that Tata Docomo has the largest social media community? With 8 million fans on Facebook and 2 billion message impression, Tata Docomo is ruling the country’s social media scene. It is not necessarily one of the widespread mobile networks, yet they are one of the first Indian brands to be omnipresent across all social networks, big or small. How did they do it?

When Tata Docomo entered the market in 2009, their very first strategy was to use social media which itself was a niche segment in India. It was a big risk but it proved to be the best strategy to build their brand equity. The core idea was to create a brand that is warm, friendly and conversational. It reached out from every corner of the web and to every possible target audience, not as a corporate brand but as a friend willing to engage the consumer in a one-on-one dialogue on anything and everything related to the brand, The objective was to build the most loyal set of beta customers who in turn would support the brand in their micro-communities at every moment.

In their current campaign on ‘Complete the story’, Tata Docomo invites users to take part in their ‘Hate incomplete stories? Complete this one’, contest. Here, people get to share their creativity within and outside their communities. And every day a new story attracts more viewers. The hook is a HTC smart phone.

Also, they have kept the approach straightforward. To be a part of this community, you have to join the Tata Docomo community on Facebook and Twitter. That means you need to ‘Like’ the Facebook page and ‘Follow’ the Twitter account before you can participate. Once you participate, you can watch a video which would open in YouTube, where in turn you can find links to other promotional activities. It brings more views, shares, likes and even direct participation. Also, the Twitter account will have more followers as it is mandatory to follow the Twitter handle. The strategy is simple yet brilliant and way beyond just a ‘Like’ campaign.

Click here to join free webinar conducted by weLearn to more about “Brand Building through Social Media”.

Listening as an Art of Communication

When it comes to communication, people often tend to focus on speaking effectively. However, it’s important to note that all great communication happens only if you are an attentive listener.

Many communicators have attributed a great deal of importance to good listening as a key to powerful communication. There are several reasons why listening is a critical part of effective communication. For one, when you listen to an individual, you may be able to fully understand the person’s mindset, perspectives and expectations. At a psychological level, when you listen to another individual the person feels a tremendous sense of importance. Studies point out that everyone wants to strike a conversation with someone who is an active listener.And listening is not about mindlessly saying “uh..oh” to every sentence that is spoken-out. This type of listening will often be viewed as an insult by the speaker. Proactive listening is about staying completely tuned to every word, syllable and statement made by the speaker.

Listening takes a lot of hard work and intense practice. However if you want to earn the distinction of being a great communicator then you cannot afford to ignore this important communication tool called listening. No doubt this can be difficult. Not all conversation that we hear is particularly engaging or interesting. However, that’s where the challenge lies. You should be a dedicated listener even while the other person is probably indulging in one of the most boring and uninteresting pieces of  conversation.

Further, if you want to be a good listener then it is crucial that you allow the person to completely finish his/her thoughts. Before beginning to reply, you can wait a moment so that the other person gets a chance to add something which he has previously not incorporated.

If you practice this for some time, people will relax when conversing with you because they will know that they don’t have to rush to get their two cents in. They will appreciate the fact that they can communicate with you and be heard. 

Similarly, along with good listening, also occasionally repeat what the other person has spoken. This can create a lot of intimacy with the other individual. This also helps the other person to correct any misconceptions that you might have acquired while listening to him.

The next time you think of conversing with another individual remember the adage: “lend your ears, not your words” and you may probably achieve the reputation of being an able communicator.

weLearn offers you exciting options to Develop your Soft Skills and Communication skills.

 

Face Up To Challenge: Women At Work.

Nobody can relate to situations in the lives of women better than women themselves. In India, inasmuch as the country may have modernized in terms of professional working for women, they are still seen hiding behind their own blocks and restrain themselves from being heard, appreciated, respected, valued and promoted.

Kathy Caprino, who is training and coaching women and emerging female leaders for the past eight years as a former corporate Vice President, has often observed women being de-motivated and lacking in powerful, effective and commanding authority in their communication. Kathy Caprino found the following as the top six challenges that a professional woman confronts, thus hampering her from delivering positive results in the competitive work place

Dont Take Things Personally:

Women tend to think over particular goings-on at work again and again, get emotionally affected, and they take things personally.  Observe critically from expansive, neutral and balanced perspective rather than taking things too personally.

Negotiate For What You Deserve:

Study says, men negotiate their salary, position, bonus while women are reluctant.  That said, it is important to negotiate and speak up powerfully for what you deserve and show the quality of confidence. What you want, you will not get, till you ask for it.

Continue Education:

The more you learn, the better you develop your ability to move places, you can continue your education and also polish your leadership skills  and communication skills, through Distance Learning MBA programs.

Challenging Power:

Women have faced immense struggle to speak up with authority or speak their mind against the management or majority. But if they fail to challenge they cannot rise to leadership positions. Kathy says “The question which arises in mind is not “How should I challenge“, but “How best can I challenge authority so that I am heard, understood, and valued for my input?” The correct answer to that question is available to you only after you thoroughly examine the culture and ecosystem you’re involved with and understand how to thrive in it.

Making your powerful presence felt:

We all have a “power gap” which covers an area where we feel we are “not capable of” or “not confident of doing “. Women, especially make these power gaps because they feel too vulnerable and embarrassed more than ever. The only key to overcome those power gaps are to face it, learn it, achieve it and be a success instead of feeling embarrassed about it.

Kathy says “The quickest path to success is to own where you feel ‘less than’ and strive to accept and appreciate yourself fully while at the same time taking positive steps to rebuild your confidence and legitimately bolster your sense of self-worth.”

by Priyanka Hodavdekar

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