The most important rewards for an individual or a team for their contributions are feedback, respect, and recognition. All these are intertwined in such a way that one feeds the other. The first important factor is feedback because without it, you are in the dark about how to improve or reinvent yourself.

Simply saying something is not up to the mark or remaining silent when it has not met the requirements is not a sign of a good leader. A good leader enables the team with proactive and timely feedback at regular intervals so that individuals can elevate their contributions. Leadership is an art; few can master it. A leader who boasts that they know everything and can do better than anybody in the team is a regressive leader who only does this to satisfy their ego.

A true leader empowers their team with the necessary tools and infrastructure to enhance the team’s output, all while providing guidance and allowing them the space to grow and flourish. Feedback is the heart and soul of the team’s system.

If one doesn’t give proper feedback on anything on a timely basis, how does the team know how they are progressing? Feedback is crucial oxygen that should be supplied at a steady rate for the team to survive and work efficiently. If the leader is not bothered and living in their cocoon then nothing could be done, things may be brighter initially but it won’t yield any tangible results.

A good leader or an able leader should enable the team in all ways and develop the team so that it can work with efficiency and precision, inspiring the team members to push the envelope beyond their limitations. It is an iterative process, and the leader should keep working until the team can work in a silo mode with minimum interventions from the leadership.

It not only makes it a very well-knit working unit but within itself it develops a fluid environment which is fertile and conducive in creating future leaders. When such fluidity is available it gives the freedom to express, try different things and see things in various perspectives and deliver unlimited awesome outcomes as a team.

One such leader in teaching I have come across is Dr. MS Devi an Associate Professor- Finance in Shiv Nadar University, Chennai. What she brings to table as a teacher is quite astonishing when she has very little room to manoeuvre to try different things in her work environment.

She is not using a genius-type strategy but follows an age-old principle. At all times, she tries to put herself in the shoes of students, and from there, she starts to trace the student’s journey (SJ) and tries to see how various touch points in this journey affect the students’ performance or their acquisition of various skill sets. By understanding the SJ and giving valuable, timely feedback, she has altered various student views and confidence in such a way that they are excelling in their careers now. Another aspect is that she recognizes their efforts, even though they may not be great initially, but she values and appreciates them with utmost humility and a sincere heart.

You don’t go to a big B-school or Ivy league or have decades of experience to become a good leader but learn and evolve as a leader in your own way. Focus on the principle to guide and develop the team in a constructive way at all times.

“Leadership is an evolving learning process” – Ezilarsan PKP, Founder of VentureExpress – Creative & Management Company (www.venturexpress.in).