“Leadership is not about titles,
positions or flowcharts . It is about one life, influencing another.” ― John C. Maxwel
Ranbir runs
his Tailoring shop at Pradhikaran in Nigdi. I met him for the first time more than a decade ago,
when we were new to Pune. I wanted to alter a dress, and was looking out for a
tailor who could do it. 'Prakash Tailors' is a well known tailoring shop in Pradhikaran. Ranbir was also an employee of
Prakash Tailors. The shop is a small one in the hub of Nigdi where one had to
wait for a turn during the busy hours. There were three tailors called 'Masters' and many young boys working under these 'Masters'. The 'Master' is the master brain behind the design, the cutting
and stitching of the dress, a few youngsters are given the opportunity to seam
the stitches, add buttons and beautify the dress according to the requirement
of the customer. Prakash tailors would always delay the customers as they were willing to wait to get their
clothes stitched by those proficient 'Masters'. Hating the situation, I began
looking out for someone who could help me out without making me linger.
ABC plaza
is a large commercial block with many shops. It had a mini super bazaar named Subiksha in
those days. I happened to see Ranbir there for the first time. He was busily
running about, from his then shop into a new one on the opposite side in the same
complex, instructing the workers and carpenters regarding the necessities in the shop. The shops in ABC plaza are tiny with their ceilings
beyond fifteen feet in height. Shopkeepers construct a landing with stairs, making a small room like structure on the loft.
Ranbir had a few sewing machines put away upstairs in the loft where his
employees sat undisturbed. Down in the main shop he had a few small fans fitted
all round, a nice length of an open cupboard was built, where he could hang the
newly stitched clothes, a table and a few more necessities were being designed before he began his shop. Ranbir was a young lad in his twenties, enthusiastic and persistent. He had barely three employees then, but
today in his new shop we can see an array of people sitting and working away in
a pleasant airy atmosphere, accompanied by radio or the television. What impressed me then was the friendliness he
carried within him. He gladly asked me what I wanted and gave me the altered
dress back within a few hours. Ranbir soon became my regular tailor. I stopped
going to Prakash Tailors. Ranbir was meticulous and the dresses were always
stitched within a week delivered in spic way. These days the service is better,
he sometimes stitches clothes in a day or two too.
Ranbir is
decent and would nev er
bargain regarding the price. He definitely adds that he needs to increase the
cost of stitching as he has to pay his employees. I saw him brooding as he
remarked this, and then told me they find it difficult buying the basic
necessities of life. I stopped bargaining from that day as I understood that
the shop had its good days like those of Diwali and bad days like the rainy
season when the customers were low, but he had to pay a bonus like everyone
else and pay the employees every month. He has the elderly employees whom he
calls Kaka, or cha-cha lovingly. The youngsters are also happy for Ranbir has
never considered himself a boss. Once when I visited the shop, I found Ranbir
and his employees enjoying the match. Perhaps it was the world cup special, he
said that they were unofficially off that day. I could hear them shriek and
enjoy for each ball the Indian team played. We did not mind the delay in the
delivery of our stitched clothes as we all had grown fond of Young Ranbir. Once
he made a great mistake of stitching the Salwar out of the cloth meant for the Kurti.
He quickly apologised and said he would pay me for the mistake. I felt awkward,
and told him that it wasn’t needed. People said the salwar was the best one I
had. My regard for Ranbir kept increasing each time. I liked the amicable
behaviour , his decency in handling customers and the ability to handle the shop
as a young leader being a part of his team. Even when people would come up
with grave mistake he would nev er
call up the employee who had made the mistake, but would slowly make them
understand why the fault had occurred and how it could be rectified.
One of the
days I saw a customer who wanted an immediate job of attaching a silk ribbon to a
Dupatta willing to pay any amount. Dupattas , also known as Chunnis , are a
beautiful accessory to Salwar Kameez, an Indian attire. I looked on as Ranbir told
the lady that they could complete the job only the next day as the people who
had given their clothes first deserved to be given their clothes first, and the
employee couldn’t overwork as his mother was unwell. I marvelled his wisdom in
being steady in his relations with his employees and unyielding to money.
Today
Ranbir has an employee specially to alter clothes as women want their
clothes to be altered periodically to match the changing trends. He also has a wonderful team of tailors who work
in the most proficient manner and an array of customers from all walks of life.
He is busy and has nev er
forgotten the secret of retaining the quality with integrity. Above all he has led
his team in the proper direction, allowing his employees to grow and flourish
through a constant inspiration by being a component of the team, and not being
distant. Being successful is one part of life, but thriving on success deserves an innate ability to influence and empower fellow beings.
“A
true leader is a person whose influence inspires people to do what is expected
of them to do. You cease to be a leader when you manipulate with your egos
instead of convincing by your inspirations.” ― Israelmore Ayivo
Rightly said,Leadership is more of "We" than "I".
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the post Vimala, that was exactly what I wished to illustrate.
ReplyDelete