Defining materials in terms of shape, size and other characteristics is easy. But when it comes to define a human being, the task becomes very fuzzy. So, we latch on to simpler ways of identifying a person by a set of skills, as an engineer, or a plumber, or a lawyer, or a writer etc. While this serves our immediate purpose, a lot is missed out when we judge a person based on skills alone. As we grow, we begin to realize how vital other not-so-obvious characteristics are, which affect our growth, at all times.

Although there may be no one perfect way to capture the characteristics of a human being, here is a tool that can help one to analyze self and measure one’s self-growth in six-stages towards becoming a creative leader, in more convincing manner than just skills.

HR-Print™ and Six-Stages of Leadership-Growth

"How far you go in life depends upon your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday you will have been all these."

-George Washington Carver

"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."

-Ralph Nader

What is an HR – Print^©?

Like a seed, every individual has possibility to grow and achieve one’s full potential already existing within. However, having potential is only a prerequisite. It does not guarantee success by itself. Understanding one’s self and making efforts in developing it decides the extent and nature of our success.

HR-Print is a dynamic tool designed to help in measuring our growth as we progress. It uses five specific parameters to help us characterize our overall self and quality of mind at any time:

1. Attitude
2. Skills
3. Knowledge
4. Aptitude
5. Value

By evaluating the state of our mind with regards to theses parameters can lead to continuing growth of our mind and ability. It can help to identify and prioritize specific aspects about ‘one-self’ which require focused attention to improve upon, at any time. This can thus ensure continuity of growth at fastest possible pace.

• Attitude — Our “frame of mind” towards self; others; work; and Nature.

• Knowledge — Our understanding the purpose and principles of relationship of Self with other entities; with work and the Nature.

• Skills — ‘Work-specific’ abilities i.e. Professional Competence. For instance, training as an engineer, doctor, accountant, manager , technician, farmer, salesman… to play an active role in life.

• Aptitude — Our natural and inherent characteristic i.e. Identity

• Value — The constant characteristic in life: consistency & motive

Attitude is an external element of mind. It is like a key that we need to open our home. Once we unlock the door, key is no longer required for living inside. Likewise, once we have developed positive attitude in all respects affecting our life, attitude becomes a non-issue thereafter. However, till we succeed in achieving a positive attitude in all aspects, it is like standing outside one’s home that is locked. So, no matter how palatial and beautiful the inside of our home may be; it is of no value to us till we learn to find the key of positive attitude and apply on each aspect of mind separately.

With open mind’s willingness to learn, the next important factor is our knowledge with regard to:

• Ability to acquire material-wealth for day-to-day living and for growth
• Understanding the nature of self and purpose

The element which relates most with our day-to day life is our skills i.e., our professional competence which ensures that we are able to learn and do routine work proficiently. All our abilities ultimately have to take form of skills to enable us to execute thoughts into actions in a routine manner. Once learned well, skills, however, may not require the use of our mind’s creative potentials. Continuing growth therefore requires us to make sure that we delegate some of our routine work to others and free our own time for fresh creative work. When we allow few skills alone to consume most of our time in routine work, our real creative potential remains untapped.

Traditionally, the human society is conditioned to believe that only a few gifted ones have the creative ability and are destined to think about the unknowns. The rest of the population must conform and confine themselves to the machine-like routine roles which are decided for them by those who know better. Their productivity would be measured in terms of routine work like in case of machines which have fixed output per unit of time. This possibly has been the greatest form of manipulation bestowed upon the mankind by limiting its growth within the orbit of just making a living, at most a comfortable maintenance.

Given a choice, who would not want to be happy while working? This however is possible if a person gets to work in area of his own aptitude (i.e., inherent characteristics that he naturally enjoys). The real aptitude is the one where a person wants to work for no other gains but for the sheer pleasure of doing the work. Knowing and developing skills in the area of one’s own aptitude can be the most vital issue for every individual for achieving success at the fastest pace.

While acquired skills and knowledge affect the pace and extent of success, values (i.e. nature of motive and consistency) that any individual adapts would decide whether the success achieved is meaningful and remain irreversible, i.e. sustainable. There is little point in faster pace of success in a wrong direction.

Benchmarking Six Stages of Self-Growth

Measuring progress is possible if one can evaluate the stages of growth. The following six stages can help one understand and identify the critical aspects which require focused attention at any point of growth.

Stage 1 — Becoming a … Self-initiated WORKER

Sense of humility to learn from all, and boundless enthusiasm for more work are the key hallmarks of being a committed worker. One learns skills which make ‘one’s work’ critically important and indispensable for an organization. The challenge in life lies as never ceasing to be a good worker, no matter how high a person rises.

Stage — 2 Becoming an….. Efficient TASK MANAGER

This is when a person develops ability to take full responsibility of completing a task within pre-specified time and available resources.

Stage — 3 Becoming a … Value Creator

A curios mind, always looking for opportunity to improvise whatever one comes across. One develops ability to identify and create Intangible Wealth and then convert it into Tangible Wealth. This is when the QTQ (quality-time-quotient), discussed elsewhere in the book, continues to rise for a person.

Stage — 4 Becoming a ….. TEAM-builder

Driven by urge to facilitate others’ growth, one develops ability to inspire mutual-trust among people and nurture them in learning how to identify and pursue their Aptitude (i.e. Identity)

Stage — 5 Evolution of a … LEADER with Purpose

This is when one develops ability and conviction to take charge and fulfill a purpose that leads to common good of a group of individuals.

Stage — 6 Implementing -- Four Agendas as a LEADER

When a leader has ability and works to achieve focused purpose. Here again, one can develop one’s self in four possible ways :

6.1 As a Business Leader

One has vision and ability to setup new business ventures from scratch. This requires one to identify and undertake pioneering risks to create fresh wealth in society through creative utilization of human minds and promoting development of nature-compatible technologies.

6.2 As Knowledge Facilitator i.e Teacher….Creator of Leaders

One has vision and ability to inspire and facilitate individuals to work towards becoming a Leader with a Purpose.

6.3 As Frontier Researcher .. i.e. Knowledge Seeker

One has vision and ability to do active research and unlock the secrets and principles of Nature, not yet known to the mankind, to solve problems and enhance human efficiency.

6.4 As Institutional Leader

One has vision and ability to create and manage new institutions, which provide abundance of opportunities to individuals’ growth towards leadership role, in areas of their interests and aptitude.

Evolution of a purposeful leader

No one can ever attempt to thrust oneself to become the leader of any group of individuals. Holding any kind of top position does not guarantee that the group will treat the person as its leader.

Leadership is about taking charge of a purpose, not of the people. If the purpose represents the common interest, the group itself leads a person to take full charge of all the resources and free will of the entire group.

When the group begins to believe that the leader has no personal motive, it begins to work together as one TEAM. They believe that the Leader is no longer just one individual; but one who represents “Identity” of the group. Every one in the group begins to find a mutual presence with leader. In a way, the leader becomes the ‘integral mind’ of the group. The leader thus ceases to be an isolated individual-self during those moments of leadership actions. They live with the group and die with it. Such is the bond. This greatness in human-mind comes alive, especially during the toughest crises, such as wars. How nice it would be to develop leadership of such order in peace times as well, in every walk of life.

The term failure does not exist in the mind of a leader. Warren Bennis, the acknowledged world guru on leadership theory from New York and his co-author Burt Nanus have to say about leadership and failure .

“… the most impressive and memorable quality of the individuals they studied was ‘the way they responded to failure.. They simply don’t think about failure, don’t even use the word, relying on such synonyms as “mistake”, “glitch”, “bungle”, or countless others.”

The leader may not be superior in knowledge to others; but has the ability to draw upon the collective wisdom of the group as a whole. They never feel insecure whether they know a solution or not. They have absolute faith that someone somewhere has the solution; and as a leader their task is to create an appreciative environment that automatically facilitates the right person for the right task. The real leader facilitates others in two ways:

• Taking greater responsibility and allowing others to move up the ladder;
• Taking pleasure in appreciating people with greater ability to move up beyond his own responsibility.

On the other hand, a person feeling insecure about his own ability to rise further tends to close doors for subordinates’ growth. They are afraid of being superseded.

Every human being is born with the potential to be a leader and play a major role some day. It is only our own fears that restrict our growth up to a specific point. It is after such a leadership with purpose, that further progress towards success can be made. The success has to be irreversible, if it has to yield infinite prosperity. The attitude which is necessary for such leadership is the prime theme of the next chapter.

* Excerpts from Creation of Wealth: Myths, Perceptions & Facts (working title); forthcoming book by Tulsi Tawari