Meet Ashwin

Obsessive Learner

Technologist / Lifelong learner / Cloud, Data, API / Engineering Leader / Traveler / Habitual reader

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Being a Boss vs Being Bossy

December 8, 2016 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Being a BossImagine getting to the office on a Monday morning.

You had a wonderful weekend and desperately wish it was a little longer!  While checking your emails and getting ready for the week, there is a call from your boss.  He is asking you to be in his cabin, right away.  You oblige.  In his cabin, you find few of your peers with a dreaded look.  You sense something is not right. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: being a boss, leadership, management, managing people

Resilience is Key

March 7, 2016 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Resilience

Resilience is key to leadership.  It is one distinct quality that differentiates an extraordinary leader from the rest.  It is a skill that can be built using a combination of competence, confidence and courage.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity and delivering commendable performance both as an individual and in a group.

How many of you know about Arunachalam Muruganantham?

Popularly known as Indian Sanitary Pad Man, he revolutionized the distribution of sanitary pads in a community where the mere access to them is difficult.  He invented a cheap machine that can produce pads at a lower cost for women who could not otherwise afford them.

This invention came at the cost of his family, society ridicule and money.  But with one quality, he kept going on and delivered a miraculous product that can change the lives of many – resilience.

He is a true leader who embodied resilience in his real life.

What’s your moment of resilience that you can immediately recall?

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons by Brett Curtiss

Filed Under: Good Life, Leadership Tagged With: adversity, arunachalam, india, leadership, resilience, sanitary pad man

Leadership

May 1, 2015 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

The misconception about Leadership is still widespread.

Leadership is not about creating followers.  It is all about showing the way, leading by example and creating new leaders.

Bill Gates very nicely put it this way:

Bill Gates on Leadership

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

In my opinion this message is universal and works in all contexts of leadership.  Being a task master and a single point of failure is the worst a leader can do.

A true leader must create an ecosystem where everyone is empowered to do their job well and then moves on.

Image credit: LikeSuccess.com

Filed Under: Leadership, Management Tagged With: bill gates, empowerment, leadership, management, managers