Sometimes as part of our routine duty work we accomplish certain tasks which may appear very much difficult and different to some onlookers. It may come naturally to use but for others there may be some lessons to learn.

  One such incident came in my working life, I did something which appeared impossible and was never done before . Once, one of our board level executive asked me, how could I achieve that? What did I do differently? I simply told him that , I took all measures to make sure   that no time , no effort goes waste. But when I read about leadership , I think it was a live demo of leadership .

 

 Winners don’t do different things. They do things differently, is an age-old saying that exemplifies the core reason behind the one thing everybody seeks – Success.

 

This attribute was truly visibly demonstrated by me, ex. Director HR holding additional charge of Director (Power), BHEL in a crisis situation that became a gargantuan challenge for the entire corporation.  

 

The year was 2014-15 and BHEL’s order book was full of power plant orders. There were huge commitments with respect to delivery and execution and the nation’s power development programme was hinged on the company’s manufacturing and project execution prowess.

 

BHEL’s Haridwar unit, where I was stationed as a General Manager during that period, is very well known for its engineering and manufacturing capabilities in the country and abroad. Financial year 2014-15 was an extremely critical year for the unit as it was to undertake manufacturing of supercritical sets of various ratings and more importantly, 700/800 MW supercritical sets for the first time ever.

 

The nation was looking at BHEL Haridwar and the expectations from the unit were very high. The unit was expected to manufacture Nine supercritical generators in the financial year and the progress was being monitored every month. Unfortunately, three months into the fiscal, there were only disappointments month after month. Consequently, in the first quarter, not a single generator was delivered, leading to a lot of concern both at the unit as well as the corporate level.

 

The unit made a fresh commitment of dates which were conveyed to the customers but shockingly the second quarter also drew a blank with not a single generator being delivered.

 

Alarmed, a group of functional directors visited the Haridwar unit to put forth the gravity of the situation and to gauge the hurdles being faced in the manufacturing process. Once again, renewed commitments and promises were made officially/ unofficially for delivering the product.

 

The second half of the fiscal began with fresh expectations and the month of October followed with everybody looking at the unit with a lot of hope. Surprisingly the same story was repeated and yet again not a single generator was tested or delivered even in this month.

 

Consequently, the promised figure of Nine generators was lowered to one-third or just three for FY 2014-15. The team of executives, supervisors and workers assigned the job were completely confused, demoralised and disheartened. Everybody was looking at an old electrical machines man who was deemed the fittest to take the onus, but had been out of it for the last one year.

 

Subsequently, a second review was urgently done and it was unanimously decided to bring in the old electrical machine specialist – i.e. me , I was asked to take up the challenging assignment

 

Having picked up the gauntlet, a senior person cautioned me, saying you have accepted this extreme challenge but have you looked at the magnitude of activity on paper within the available timelines?

 

As the old adage goes, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’, I replied nonchalantly, ‘if I do that ,on day one, I will be convinced that this can’t be done and I do not want to start with that perception in my mind. I have confidence that if anybody can achieve this milestone, I can also do it.’

 

With that firm resolve in mind, I picked up the baton and the journey started once again on 10^th November, with less than half a year left.

 

Knowing fully well that nine machines are to be tested on just two test beds, I decided to plan all activities keeping test bed assembly, disassembly and testing in mind. Ironically the first shock turned out to be the test bed itself. Out of the two drive VFD motors, one was not working, leaving just one test bed functional.

 

An SOS was urgently sent to the OEMs but it turned out to be futile as a huge amount of money was demanded for repairs. Help was then sought from the company’s Bhopal unit but that too was to no avail.

 

True leadership reflects in two key attributes – being a team player, and thinking out of the box, especially in crisis situations. Demonstrating both the qualities at the same time, I selected a fitter and an executive to take up the job of repairing the mammoth VFD machine. Both of them were taken aback fully convinced that they couldn’t do it.

 

Realising that this was a do or die situation,  I decided to motivate them to take it up - the argument given - In India if any customer has such a technical problem - they look towards BHEL. Then why can’t we as BHEL take up a similar assignment for BHEL.

 

The logic and the motivational words worked like magic and the two-man team took it up under my guidance. Significantly, to everyone’s surprise, the VFD motor was restored in just about a week’s time.

 

This approach, the effort invested and the jubilant outcome spread like wildfire, resulting in the entire team getting revitalised and motivated.

 

I decided to sit with all the groups in their respective sectors without disturbing their work schedule. They were told that they were highly capable, best of the best and best suited and equipped to realise their potential.

 

Also each person and each team was given the confidence to pinpoint deficiencies in incoming items - as there was absolutely no time for rework, rejection or quality related issues. Everything had to be perfect the first time round itself.

 

After the pep talk, the entire energised and reinvigorated team came together, and all the activities that could be pre-planned were identified, strategised and taken up.

 

The minutest details of every process were studied with the team and remedial actions were taken. Even the smallest activities like cleaning of the floor and cleaning of any deposits on the bottom of the tech pedestals, strengthening of support, etc., were carried out meticulously.

 

They say faith can move mountains and the faith of a leader in achieving the task on hand and in his team started giving hitherto seemingly unachievable results.

 

What looked like an impossible situation began looking achievable with the roll-out of the first generator in November itself. With Me leading my motivated team from the front, by March end, just before the financial year ended, all Nine had been manufactured, tested and delivered to power projects of national importance across the length and breadth of the country. 

 

According to me, what helped most was unshakeable faith and unwavering commitment to the goal and implementation of the core values of the company that are vital for a great company of international stature like BHEL. I also believe that looking within, realising your true potential and then tapping it single-mindedly and purposefully is the most important element for success. 

 

 

Today , when I look back and look at the activities from a leadership point of view , I think most of the boxes that need to be ticked as a leader, were ticked. Let us examine.

Here are a few leadership skills that make a strong leader in the workplace.

1. Communication

·       As a leader, you need to be able to clearly and succinctly explain to your employees everything from organizational goals to specific tasks.

·       Leaders should establish a steady flow of communication between themselves and their staff or team members, either through an open-door policy or regular conversations with workers.

·      A large part of communication involves listening. Leaders should make themselves regularly available to discuss issues and concerns with employees.

This was practiced by me regularly by making myself available at least at locations where some issues needed attention. Time was short but not a constraint.

 

2. Motivation

·       Leaders need to inspire their workers to go the extra mile for their organizations; just paying a fair salary to employees is typically not enough inspiration (although it is important too).

·       There are a number of ways to motivate your workers: you may build employee self-esteem through recognition and rewards, or by giving employees new responsibilities to increase their investment in the company.

·       Leaders must learn what motivators work best for their employees or team members to encourage productivity and passion.

My taking up this seemingly impossible task and also the example of Drive motor repair , then there was a case of exciter rotor assembly , helped in raising the moral of the team and everybody felt motivated to meet the challenge.

3. Delegating

Leaders who try to take on too many tasks by themselves will struggle to get anything done. These leaders often fear that delegating tasks is a sign of weakness, when it actually can be a sign of a strong leader.

·       Therefore, you need to identify the skills of each of your employees, and assign duties to each employee based on his or her skill set.

·       By delegating tasks to staff members, you can focus on other important tasks. Some skills that make a good delegator include:

4. Positive attitude

A positive attitude can go a long way in an office.

·       Simple acts like asking employees about their weekend or vacation plans will develop a positive atmosphere in the office, and raise morale among staff members.

·       If employees feel that they work in a positive environment, they will be more likely to want to be at work, and will therefore be more willing to put in the long hours when needed. 

Many actions were taken to reduce physical work of employees. Efforts were made to improve ventilation , hygiene and pollution in the work area that brought a lotof positivity.

5. Trustworthiness

·       Employees need to be able to feel comfortable coming to their manager or leader with questions and concerns.

·       It is important for you to demonstrate your integrity— employees will only trust leaders they respect.

·      By being open and honest, you will encourage the same sort of honesty in your employees.

As I had worked with this group for almost 30 years, the team members ne me very well. They were sure about commitment, hard work and integrity. I always encouraged them to form teams as per the work requirement. Sometimes they were even allowed to swap shifts to ensure best working teams to ensure quality and productivity too much required at that time. It helped.

6. Creativity

·       As a leader, you have to make a number of decisions that do not have a clear answer, so you need to be able to think outside of the box.

·       Learning to try nontraditional solutions, or approaching problems in nontraditional ways, will help you to solve an otherwise unsolvable problem.

·       Many employees will also be impressed and inspired by a leader who doesn't always choose the safe, conventional path.

I had worked in this group for so long and very much known for technical soundness and abilities. The skills shown in restoring drive motors , solving generator vibration issue , exciter treads issue resolution , ensured that my team members continue to have trust me. My trust in him also ensured their engagement.

7. Feedback

·       Leaders should constantly look for opportunities to deliver useful information to team members about their performance. However, there is a fine line between offering employees advice and assistance, and micromanaging.

·        By teaching employees how to improve their work and make their own decisions, you will feel more confident delegating tasks to your staff.

·      Employees will also respect a leader who provides feedback in a clear but empathetic way.

There were many such instances of sitting with task performers to resolve problems . In one sitting the problem of low Insulation resistance of bearings was resolved . The problem of time wastage in balancing tunnel was also resolved by mutual discussions. Such close meetings, discussions and feedback took the team spirit to the next level.

8. Responsibility

·       A leader is responsible for both the successes and failures of his or her team. Therefore, you need to be willing to accept blame when something does not go correctly.

·       If your employees see their leader pointing fingers and blaming others, they will lose respect for you. Accept mistakes and failures, and then devise clear solutions for improvement.

In our case we were so hard pressed for time that all efforts were on to ensure involvement of total team. As I was  trying to be always available at critical points , it gave confidence to the team . They could understand that I was willing to take responsibility and own decisions.

9. Commitment

·       It is important for leaders to follow through with what they agree to do. You should be willing to put in the extra hours to complete an assignment; employees will see this commitment and follow your example.

·       Similarly, when you promise your staff a reward, such as an office party, you should always follow through. A leader cannot expect employees to commit to their jobs and their tasks if he or she cannot do the same.

To ensure work flow , I was available from 8 in the morning to past midnight most of the days because the time available was too short for completing the task assigned.

The task performers were seeing all this , and they also knew about by commitment level shown in the past . This ensured that team excelled .

10. Flexibility

·       Mishaps and last-minute changes always occur at work. Leaders need to be flexible, accepting whatever changes come their way.

·       Employees will appreciate your ability to accept changes in stride and creatively problem solve.

·      Similarly, leaders must be open to suggestions and feedback. Employees will appreciate a leader's ability to accept appropriate feedback.

The work environment that we created and the regular review and planning to ensure best productivity level under the conditions by making required changes without any ego problems , ensured a business like atmosphere and approach.

 

All these details clearly show that this case is a live demo of leadership qualities.

 

Faced with a similar challenge today , most of the things I shall do the same way . I shall have a bit more engagement with teams and also celebrate every success with the team which I could not ensure every time last time .