Strategies to Make Vital Shift from Manager to Leader

GNIOT Institute of Management Studies (GIMS) was privileged to initiate Chanakya Talks Series with Mr. Suresh Kumar Sharma (Associate Director-Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd) as our special speaker on the 10th of October 2020. It was an excellent opportunity for the students of PGDM Batch 2020-22 to interact with such a magnificent personality. He yielded a strong foundation for aspiring managers by shedding light on strategically making a vital shift from a manager to a leader. 

He kicked off the session by quoting, “All managers are leaders, but All leaders are not managers”. He mentioned that having managerial skills with leadership skills is an excellent combination. However, having only managerial skills with no trace of leadership skills is a sign of ranking down in the world of hardcore competition. It is essential to be Knowledgeable, Action-oriented, Informed and Tactical, for being a successful manager. However, to rank up among all the managers in the world, an individual must be Insightful, Visionary, Influential, and Strategic. These four components will add a trace of leadership skills along with managerial skills. He stated that leadership skills come with practice. There is no existence of magic spells which a person can brew to develop leadership skills in a day. Leadership comes with regular practice of increasing self-awareness, getting an emotional quotient in action, having a broad perspective of every field, being innovative and creative, and always thinking in future tenses.

Before the vote of thanks from our Head PGP, Prof Mayank Kumar Pandey, Mr. Suresh Kumar Sharma signed off the session by handing over many keys in the form of suggestions to unlock the path for adding leadership skills with managerial skills. The suggestions were:

• Developing the habit of reading- Books, Newspaper and Magazine.
• Enhancing the knowledge about world dynamics- Business, Social and Political.
• Applying the learning.
• Developing communication skills.
• Discipline.
• Consistency.

“Businesses do not compete, Leaders do. Companies do not die, Leaders let them die”.