Leadership is the invisible yet powerful force behind bringing in the alignment in an organization. The difference between an efficient and successful organization and an inefficient and unsuccessful one is the alignment of goals and vision across teams. A true leadership would succeed in bringing that alignment and making sure everyone’s talent and effort are put in right things and in the right direction, at all times. Love your customer and fear your competitor – your fellow team member is your only ally that can help you succeed.

What Electromagnetism tells us about Leadership. This question might sound funny at first. However, if you understand the mechanism at work behind electromagnetism, you can draw a lot of similarities between an electromagnet and a successful organization. If you are interested keep reading …

Throughout my schooling I loved Physics. It kept me intrigued and interested at all times. A few concepts of Physics stuck with me till date. Now and then I find a few analogies of physics which I apply in my professional and personal life. Electromagnetism is one such concept that stuck with me.

The concept behind it is very simple. Take a piece of Iron, attach both sides of it to a power supply and let the electricity flow through it continuously. After a certain time the iron piece becomes a Magnet. It’s that simple. Let’s see what happens behind the scene. Before the electricity is passed through, the iron atoms are all haphazardly aligned – although the parts (domains) of the iron piece have magnetic power, the random alignment of atoms across domains cancel out each other’s magnetic power. Electricity brings all those atoms across all domains into alignment and in one direction. That’s all electricity does. The result is – a piece of iron with a limited to no usage becomes a highly useful magnet that enables a lot of technologies that transformed the world.

To apply this to the culture of an organization, we often see a lot organizations with missing alignment across multiple teams and organizational units. Although the individual teams are capable and intend well, their efforts could cancel out each other’s unless their goals are well aligned. In my opinion, the first and foremost responsibility of a Leader is to bring that alignment in the organization.

Leadership is the invisible yet powerful force behind bringing in the alignment of goals in the organization. The difference between an efficient and successful organization and an inefficient and unsuccessful one is that alignment of goals and vision across teams. A true leadership would succeed in bringing the alignment and making sure everyone’s talent and effort are put in right things and in the right direction, at all times. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to implement as it sounds. That’s where true leaders stand out. The forces of destruction often found within the organization. There isn’t a single successful country with severe internal conflicts. So do the organizations.

Love your customer and fear your competitor – your fellow team member is your only ally who can help you succeed.

Electromagnets remain to be magnets until the alignment is in place which fades away slowly – unless that electricity is flown time to time through it. One day these iron pieces become permanent magnets that do not require electricity anymore – An organization that’s self-sustainable and the one that does not require a Leader – that’s the nirvana of Leadership.

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