 Vijaya Shankar
Founder, Sharon
Software Systems
Vijayashankar is the Founder of Sharon Software Systems, with 9 different ventures, harnessing th...
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 To quote a book by Robin Sharma, he says no one is worth the Title, without performing the best for his or her organization. You would have come across the book with title “The Leader with No Title ". When I was young, when I graduated I had a job in hand. Though I had wanted a career in pure development, the chance was hard to come by. I did get good advice, and took the first break, to get into the corporate world. Coming from a middle class background, and a small town I wasn’t so sure about working in Metros and getting adjusted with life. Talking to my uncle, cleared lots of thoughts. I also got lots of tips from my cousins and friends, about venturing out to learn from the best. I had my marketing school during the initial training period. Learnt from best minds, on what is expected in the computer field and how to work with customers. Though, I am from a business family background, working with corporate clients, needed nurturing. I seeked out to my managers and their leadership insight got me accolades, once I performed the tasks to the best of my ability. On reaching USA, the concept of work and life balance got caught into me. Working from 7 AM to 4pm, and having almost half the bright day for you, was a blessing in disguise. I was able to do things I liked, like working out, reading books or having local drives. Even in the various projects that I was part of, I was fortunate to have the best leaders, where I was able to talk to them to understand their inputs on what they wanted, and how they wanted inputs and feedback and vice versa. Without a proper leader, no one can perform. What lacks in the colleges in the training on working in a corporate environment for some time, before graduating. I understand things are changing slowly for undergraduate students worldwide, on internships etc. That prepares them to be a good leader. Many offers come along to you. But you have to stick to the one that gives you the best fit, in terms of what you want to do, and your ability. And learning potential. Money is not the only motivator. For me, I always wanted to dwell in entrepreneurship. Learnt skills that I lacked and I was missing through friends. Idea of providing jobs and creating something new on your own (hardship!) if the best challenge a technocrat can have in his lifetime. Having tried many ventures, and working with investors, I now realize what an immense platform I was provided with! Moving from a good corporate life to a bootstrapped mode, working with little or no salary has its own piques. However, looking at the larger picture, in terms of returns etc., that kind of leadership life, is worth living for. Few of youngsters, I talk to during recent times, always want things on a Silver platter. Well, life isn’t like that for all. You have so many ideas, in your head, but you have to build it, with the right team to deliver. Very few are lucky to get the right investors or incubation breaks. In the formative years of one's career, people have to look at earning by working with someone for some time. You should not try to make many changes. It would be ideal in the initial stages of career that one stay with an employer for a long time. You can take the right sabbatical breaks after few years of service and try out ventures. This way you can go back to your job, if things don’t work out. This not only teaches how to perform and excel, but "how not to" as well. Leadership is an acquired skill. You work with many projects and learn. You develop by practicing it and also mentoring the right set of individuals. Making right decisions at the right time is the key. It is not what a leader does, but how he performs the tasks in handling the team matters. In Summary, a leader grows by doing best, what he does! Experts on CEO
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