Mani Shankar Aiyer, MP among others participated in a Panel Discussion on ‘Re-Imagining Leadership - A Dialogue with Leaders who Matter' at the Woxsen School of Business

February 19 2016, 21.07 PM IST || Pocket News Alert

Mani Shankar Aiyer, MP among others participated in a Panel Discussion on ‘Re-Imagining Leadership - A Dialogue with Leaders who Matter' at the Woxsen School of Business

The other Panelists included: Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Business World and Paromita Chatterjee, Sr Editor, ET Now

Speaking on his concept of leadership, Quoting Nehru’s Biographer, Michael Brecher, Mani Shankar Aiyer said that mere action alone was not enough ” Sardar Patel was a man of action and Jawaharlal Nehru, was man of right actions”

“I consider myself as failure in the political arena. I want to soon exit from politics”: Mani Shankar Aiyer

Hyderabad, February 19.....A Panel Dialogue "‘Re-Imagining Leadership - A Dialogue with Leaders who Matter' was held today at Woxsen School Business from 12noon to 2.30pm. It was organised as part of the Woxsen Leadership Series. The Panel Discussion was the third among the many lined up under Leadership Series by Woxsen.

Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP who the Chief Guest, while talking about his concept of Leadership said that he adored Jawaharlal Nehru as his role model. He became Prime Minister when Mani Shankar Aiyar was six years old and he died when he was 23 years old. Nehru died disappointed man as he felt betrayed by the Chinese aggression in 1962 and that forced him it reverse his stand on non-alignment and seek US assistance. During a discussion on leaders often being expected to be men of action, Quoting Michael Brecher, Nehru’s Biographer, Mani Shankar Aiyer said, Patel was man of action and Nehru was man of right action.

How do you define Leadership. Do you define Leadership by success or doing things your own way, Mani Shankar Aiyer asked? Is doing the right thing that makes a good leader, he questioned the audience. For me what matters is what you stand for and standing by your belief makes a good leader, he said. The means are more important than the end he added.

A Leader is somebody who takes both success and failure in his stride. Leadership is not about taking the easy way out. As a leader you need to be true to yourself, Mani Shankar Aiyer added.

The other panelist, Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor in Chief, Business World said being successful involves failure. Nelson Mandela was in jail for 27years. When he was freed he worked with those who put him in jail. He believed in collaboration, rather than competition. Quoting Nelson Mandel as saying, Anurag Batra said, as a leader, my job is to make everybody comfortable.

Leader is somebody who is genuinely interested in developing others, he said.

Paromita Chatterjee, Senior Editor of ET Now, who moderated that panel discussion informed that when some successful CEO of 90s were analysed , humility was found to be one of the most sought after skills that successful leaders possessed. Anurag said to be good leader, one needs to be humble and compassionate. As a leader, you need to think a little of the present and more of the future.

Mani Shankar Aiyer said, when I was a Union Sports Minister till 2008, he had wanted the government not to go for the Commonwealth Games as it was an "enormous waste of money". I said that because the poor would not have access to India's biggest sporting event. I said what I felt to the detriment of my political career. So I have always believed that a good leader should be true to oneself.

“I consider myself as failure in political arena. I want to exit from politics” he said.

Anurag Batra said “I believe in whatever I believe”. If you believe what you want to do, you will achieve, he said.

Replying to a question asked by a students who wanted to know when a disruption happens in politics in India, what would be the consequences? The panelists replied if that happens, more women will become leaders, the young will get into politics and people who know nothing about politics will get into politics putting an end to dynastic politics.

In order to thrive in today’s complex and uncertain business environment, it's imperative to lead creatively, adapt to changing business environments and innovate as success of any business depends largely on our ability to do the above. Against this backdrop, Woxsen School of Business organised this power packed panel dialogue, RE-IMAGINE with an overarching theme ‘Re-Imagining Leadership - A Dialogue with Leaders who Matter' informed Veen Pula, Promoter and Founder of Woxen.

The audience got to hear the views on the leadership imperatives for business success from some of the most dynamic leaders, experts and visionaries who have carved a niche for themselves in their respective fields, added Veen Pula.

The Woxsen School of Business has been founded with the singular mission of advancing the frontiers of management theory and practice. In keeping with our mission, we invite distinguished leaders and management experts from various walks of life such as CEOs of International Corporations, renowned business leaders and change makers to interact with our students, added Veen Pula.