The other day while introspecting through my career achievements, in general, I suddenly remembered a professional with whom I had worked for a few years as his deputy .
The company was not in good shape, making huge losses, and the owner paid hefty compensation to get the best available talent for reviving the lost glory.
Having worked with one of the largest system driven organizations of that time, for many years, I was suddenly at loss of enthusiasm and initiatives on the very first day.
Although I was told about the background and also the current state of affairs, living with it even for few hours happened to be a different kind of experience. Only news worth mentioning was: My new boss would be joining the next day.
Well, he came; mingled freely with all of us; and in a few days became extremely popular. In less than 3 years he turned around the company from a blacklisted entity to a self certified vendor supplying precision engineering products to a galaxy of public and private sector organizations.
I followed him blindly, rather he made me follow him blindly, which I did not realize at that point of time because his ability to inspire and motivate people was remarkable.
Entire team worked round the clock, happily, embedding in mind a single objective of reviving the lost glory of the company in terms of reputation as well as profitability.
He successfully removed all other priorities of life from our mind channelizing our strengths in one direction and, finally achieving the objective.
What made him such a good leader, is a million dollar question!
I think it's his 'Social Intelligence' skills, exhibiting empathy and becoming attuned to our moods literally integrating his own brain chemistry with that of ours, his followers. He actually removed the "Fear of Failure" from our mind....
Apart from professional issues we could confide in him about personal matters also, taking his guidance time and again and in that process made him an integral part of our life.
It was a unique biological synchronization or brain interconnectedness through which he guided us to develop a genuine interest in the purpose, fostering positive feelings in us.
Well, a recent discovery of mirror neurons in widely dispersed areas of human brain confirms above connectivity, that help us detect, consciously or subconsciously, someone else’s emotions through their actions and our mirror neurons reproducing those emotions. Collectively, these neurons create an instant sense of shared experience: Mirror image!
Perhaps, because of those mirror neurons' intervention we minutely observed and followed his actions moving seamlessly towards the goal -- no longer his, but ours too.
That's why, I strongly believe that 'Social Intelligence' is one of the most desirable leadership traits.
What's your take? Pl, share!
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