What would a man who has served as managing director of MP Tourism three times, chairman of AIRINDIA LIMITED twice, chairman of ITDC once, chairman of Indian Railways once, and managing director of APTDC once discuss regarding leadership? A great deal, one might assert. Nonetheless, Mr Ashwani Lohani was brief and to the point during his talk at the Leadership Summit India Stories.
He skillfully attributed his leadership success to two key principles:
- A leader’s critical role is to provide a vision and communicate it down to the lowest levels of the hierarchy.
- A true leader fosters an enabling environment for employees, where they look forward to coming to work each day!
His talk provided numerous examples of leadership, but what resonated with me was how even the hotel’s janitor at Hotel Ashok was aware of the hotel’s target turnover and progress.
Another example was how, as Chairman of Air India, he took a stand against a politician who misbehaved with an Air India staffer. He banned the politician from flying with Air India for 20 days, an action that was unprecedented at the time. His action inspired and energised the entire staff.
