sunil nair

Tag: leadership development

  • Manager vs leader

    I know you have had your share of “manager versus leader” debates, articles, studies, info-graphics comparisons, and even memes! It’s overwhelming. And I don’t want to burden you with more proof or my perspective on this pointless debate. Yeah, leadership is sexy. Everyone wants to be a leader, and nobody wants to be “just-a-manager.” I…

  • To be ignorant and ask questions

    “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” (Peter Drucker) I’m pretty sure my former boss hated the quote above. That’s why the last thing he told me during an annual performance review was, “Sunil, try to go easy on your questions; you ask a lot of them!”…

  • Punishing the messenger

    Despite our best intentions to not shoot the messenger, more often than not, we end up doing just that. It happens all the time with all of us. Of course, we know the messenger is only trying to help or pass on information, insights, or suggestions from their perspective. And yet we blow them up!…

  • Playing favorites

    A lot of sucking up goes in an organization than most leaders would like to admit. And while most of them can’t see in themselves what they see in others, more often than not, the very same people send subtle (sometimes strong and obvious) signals to their subordinates. About what? To not criticize or share…

  • Clinging to the past

    If you think blaming ourselves or others is terrible, let me assure you that deflecting blame onto events and people from the past is just as bad. I’m a highly context-driven person, so history is essential to my day-to-day and future decisions. The trait also allows me to think and reflect deeper.  However, as a…

  • An excessive need to be “me”

    Be honest — how many times have you screwed things up or annoyed everyone around by thinking out loud, “that’s just the way I am!”? If the answer is “all the time, Sunil,” you and I know that we have a problem, don’t we? Our faults, despite our conviction or our best efforts to rationalize,…

  • Better engagement with the team

    While employee engagement is all the rage (and for the right reasons) these days, leaders need to realize that a large part often depends on how they show up as humans at the workplace. I found these simple and timeless insights on how to engage with your employees better. I’ve been trying these for years…

  • Telling the world how smart you are

    I’ve had the privilege of meeting leaders who consider themselves smart, ambitious, successful, experienced, motivated, or any other adjective spend an inordinate chunk of time positioning themselves above the people they work with. If that’s you, let me tell you — it is damn annoying! Of course, all that positioning might not be apparent, but…

  • Passing Judgement

    It’s easy for leaders to fall into the trap of rating others and imposing their standards on others. What starts with some helpful ‘opinions’ usually morphs into targeted judgment. Don’t believe me? Well, have you ever expressed approval or disapproval about something or someone? If the answer’s yes, that’s judgment, my friend. It’s much different…

  • Refusing to express regret

    Regardless of who and where you are as a leader, refusing to admit that we’re wrong or take responsibility for our actions is one of the most destructive interpersonal flaws. And that because for most people expressing regret or apologising is a painstakingly tricky experience. Why? Because they think it’s akin to losing a contest.…