What we can learn from an IAS officer?

I have met three IAS officers till date for different purposes. I observed their work style closely and figured out few things which make them different.

1. Important come, Important in- Being a management graduate I was taught that first come, first in practice is good, which means that the person who has come first should meet you first. But, IAS officers don’t follow this method. They follow important come, important in. This means that the person who has more important work will come first and rest people can follow. 

2. Data-Driven Decisions- IAS officers are more interested in written evidences than anything else. Oral oaths have no place in their work system. They understand the complexity of law and they know that they are accountable for every decision. Hence, written communication is best for their work. They believe less on experts’ advices and more on scientific research papers. 

3.Work in a cool environment- Once I read in a magazine that working in a cool environment makes you more productive than the hot environment but I never took that thing seriously. After, working with 3 IAS officers I realized that findings in that magazine article were right because all IAS officers prefer to work in A.C. rooms. Their rooms are chilled and will give you a pleasant feeling.

4. Sharp Memory- An IAS officer will either remember you by your name or face but they will remember you. They have their own styles of remembering people.  

5. Delegation- IAS officers are very busy. Every day they get at least 500 letters each carrying some complain. It is impossible for one man to know and do everything. Therefore, they allocate the work to the expert of that field and after that they differentiate the outcomes with the desired expectations. Their work is to make others work.

6. Sense of Urgency- IAS officers work fast. If someone comes with a problem they act quickly, they make him or her comfortable and give attention to them. They don’t procrastinate and delay in taking action. Sometimes they will surprise you with their speed. They teach you that a person should not only work hard but also fast.

7. Direct Conversation- In a management college, lots of focus is being made on indirect conversation but when you will meet an IAS he will talk directly. He will ask what's the issue? He will act upon it and game over. He has no place for small talks. He will not even waste time on Hi and Hello!. He talks about work and that's it. He will not twist his words. He's very direct in his approach.

The First Step of Leadership

Whenever, we read management books we find a detail list of leadership traits. But, they don't talk about the first step of leadership. May be authors don't research properly or purposely ignore this first step.

History has seen leaders who had more than one spouse and leaders who followed chastity throughout their life. We have seen leaders who were rich and who were poor. We have seen leaders who drink alcohol and leaders who were teetotaler. We have seen leaders who were great communicator and leaders who were average speakers. But, one thing common between all the leaders was the first step which changed their life. .

If you want to be a leader then the first step is that you forget what your parents, teachers, friends or anyone has taught you. And, then believe only on those things in which you believe to be true.

If you believe something because someone told you it to be true then soon your faith on that thing will vanquish. Leaders have firm believe on their thoughts because they believe on them deeply. Leaders give new things to the society because they refuse to learn the old concepts of the society e.g. If Gandhi would have thought that India is a slave country from years then he would not have fought for the freedom ever. If Lincoln would have thought that slavery is a part of American society then he would not have fought for the freedom of slaves. If Florence Nightingale would have thought that nursing was a poor profession of that time then world would not have remembered her as a ‘Lady with the Lamp’. If Galileo would have thought that the Earth was flat then we would not have known its real oval shape.  

They rebel against the odd of the society because they never let society to impose something on them. They did what they felt was right. They questioned the existing system. They had guts to argue.

Many people do what others are doing. They want to play safe. Fighting with something needs energy, mental fitness and time that is why, we see only few leaders in the society because every leader is a fighter from inside who refuses to give up. 

Every Leader has given some original idea because it has ability to think differently which comes from this step only.

 

In 21^st century organisations don’t need managers, they need Leaders with management skills because lots of change is going around in the society and Leader is the catalyst of every change.

We all can become leaders if we collect the courage to take the first step of leadership.