Shiqurdu is a collection of thoughts. Although an odd sounding name, but felt appropriate for the collection.
These are simplified quotes in Hurdu (Hurdu being a mix of Hindi and Urdu akin to Hinglish i.e., hindi and english). Although in some cases the language has been simplified but attempt has been made to retain the thought and the poetic flavor.
These thoughts have been picked up from various publications. Credit goes to all the original writers who penned down these deep meaning messages.
Friday, 16-10-2020, 05:00 pm IST (Duration 1 hour)
SPEAKER: Air Marshal Anil Khosla (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VM
Former Vice Chief of Indian Air Force
The event went off very well.
Covered talk under three parts as follows:
Fighter Pilot Traits
“Fighter pilot is an attitude. It is cockiness. It is aggressiveness. It is self-confidence. It is a streak of rebelliousness, and it is competitiveness. But there’s something else – there’s a spark. There’s a desire to be good. To do well; in the eyes of your peers, and in your own mind.”
– Robin Olds, Fighter Pilot
It is not all glamour.
It involves lot of hard work – to become one and to continue performing as one.
It involves lot of Studies.
It is not as risky as it seems – safer than Indian roads.
It requires high level of physical and mental fitness.
Self discipline is an essential trait.
Qualities required are:-
Physical and moral courage.-
Integrity & Loyalty
Reliability & Dependability
Passion
Dedication
Leadership Aspects
Everyone who has someone looking up to him or her is a leader. Some practical leadership aspects highlighted were as follows:
Lead by example, Follow adage : “Do as I Do rather than Do as I say”.
Leader has to be honest, fair and transparent in his/her dealings.
Change in style of leadership required in this information age. From TELL type to SELL type.
As a leader delegation of tasks to subordinates is important. Task is delegated not the responsibility. Post delegation give space to work, rather than constantly overlooking their shoulders. Upward delegation should be avoided.
Inculcate feeling of ownership amongst colleagues and subordinates for better involvement.
Open communication lines are essential. They should not be linear and long.
Good Working Environment and Culture
Following aspects were stressed:
Team work and team building is important.
Encourage initiative and involvement and habit of going beyond routine.
Adopt proactive approach for planning and execution.
Efficient feed back and monitoring system is a must.
Encourage research, brainstorming, out of box thinking and innovative approach.
Encourage healthy discussions. Difference of opinion should not be construed as dissent.
Training, grooming and mentoring are important for the organization.
Promote safety culture.
Interactive Session
Interactive session was quite long (extending almost to one hour). Questions and discussions were about following:
How to balance between delegation and ownership.
China situation and solutions.
Balakot strike experience.
Decision making process.
Quality of manpower and shortages.
Compulsory military service.
Procurement procedure and corruption.
Sharing of experiences related to
Scary experiences.
Difficult decisions.
Most exhilarating events.
Women in Defense services (Air Force)
Video Recording Due to technical glitch entire session could not be recorded. Some portion of the Q& A session has been recorded. Please check out at:
Any organization will do well if it has a healthy working environment. Responsibility of creating a good and productive environment rests with the senior leadership. Senior leadership not only has to insist and encourage but also lead by example to achieve this.
During four decades of working in the Air Force, few aspects related to good working environment appealed to me. I made these as my guiding principles. Some of these are as follows:-
Leadership: Everyone who has a subordinate working under him or her is a leader. All the leaders should follow what they advocate. Motto should be “DO AS I DO” rather than “DO AS I SAY”. Also there should be Fairness, Honesty and Transparency in all their dealings.
Sell or Tell Type of Leadership: Younger generations have ready access to information and are very aware. The leadership style has to change with times. Giving a task and explaining the rationale behind it generates better acceptability and involvement. Need is for more of SELL type approach rather than TELL type of leadership.
