LEADING BY EXAMPLE MOTHER’S INSPIRING FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS

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A MOTHER’S INFLUENCE IS INTEGRAL IN RAISING A CHILD INTO A STRONG LEADER. ABRAHAM LINCOLN ONCE SAID, “ALL THAT I AM, OR HOPE TO BE, I OWE TO MY ANGEL MOTHER.” Every year on second Sunday of May, we pay tribute to our mothers for their invaluable contributions to our lives. To mark the special occasion of Mother’s Day this year on May 09, Realty+ presents the views of real estate leaders sharing their beautiful bond with their mothers. Mothers lead by example, they guide the family members and manage home and work diligently. If there’s one thing we all know about mothers is that they can demonstrate a great amount of patience and maternal instinct to care and protect the young. But they are also very adept at encouraging the children to become more self-sufficient as they grow up and boost their confidence when they need it. When asked, most of the successful leaders agree that, mothers have been the biggest influence in their lives. And it makes sense. Mothers are our first example of real leadership. The life lessons we learned as children from our moms, has helped us better understand and approach the role of leadership in our organizations. While, we acknowledge and remember our mothers every day of the year, the Mother’s day gives us an opportunity to celebrate them and their very important role in our lives. Here are the notes penned by the business leaders for their mothers, recognizing their contribution in building and shaping their character and the leadership ability. MY FRIEND, LEADER, MENTOR AND GUIDE Paras Pandit, CMD, Sheetal Infra Pvt Ltd. “Mothers are our first teacher in life. She inspired and motivated me to grow without any barriers. She taught me at a very young age to take life as a challenge and wholeheartedly seize the day every day. My mother always said, problems are part of life. She taught me how to make wise choices, even in the most uncertain situations. I have grown seeing my mother juggling various household chores to make sure we all had our dinner together no matter how busy or rough a day. She always said you work for a better life and once you have, you must live that life. Seeing my mother care selflessly for every member of the family made me realise how important relationships are in our lives. And nurturing them only enhances with time and makes it stronger. My mother is my idol and in every sense she is my friend, leader, mentor and guide. She always taught me to be peoples leader and think from the perspective of others need and requirements and honour commitments no matter the consequences. You have to use your influence and persuasive technique rather than positional power. You have to be grounded no matter what and do your part humbly and set an example out of your action for others to follow and inspire. As a leader your job is to protect and care about your people than yourself. I have learned from her to look at the larger picture and think outside the box. Till the issue has not been resolved don’t rest and approach should always be positive whatever the outcome may be. However, once you reach home switch off phone and no business discussion or office work load should be carried home, that’s what my mom taught me from the day I started my business. After reaching home I give my 100% to family as in her own words “family comes first, rest all can wait” in life. Another life lesson is that in relationship you have to be giver rather than just receiver. That kind of relationship without any expectations blossoms and remains intact for lifetime. By giving your time, care, sympathy you will be more than happy for yourself and others. Make a habit of playing with family, watching movie or reading together and dinner should be a must with entire family every day. I plan on giving back to society as we run ‘Givingback’ foundation to nurture our relationship with ourselves and others.” MOTHER’S UNIVERSITY IS VITAL TO LEARN LIFE SKILLS Sunil Rohokale, MD & CEO ASK Group “I grew up in a small town and my mother was a working woman. She ensured at a very early stage that I participated in elocution competitions at school and public debates. This developed my confidence and speaking skills which helped me conquer the stage fear. She always insisted that I participate in sports, cultural and social events which taught me to be a good team member. Mother’s university is the most essential and vital to learn life skills. Mothers always want the best for their kids and want to see them be successful holistically. Mothers contribute to become worldly wise at every step of life. My mother was no inch less. My mother always trusted and empowered me to take the responsibility of weekly and monthly vegetables, groceries and household essentials during my high school days. Before spider-man she made me aware of the fact that ‘with power comes responsibility’. Ours was a joint family and my parents being the eldest, our house was the common meeting place for all our family members, friends, relatives and students as my parents were wonderful teachers .Being raised in a farmer’s family helped me to remain rooted. Hence building relationships came naturally to me. This taught me a critical lesson to be a successful human being - ‘building bridges is most important’. My grandmother and my mother were very spiritual too. They modelled mindful living for me. Today on Mother’s day I want to thank my mother for instilling values and beliefs which help me steer my career in the corporate world in a successful manner. I owe it all - being fearless, optimistic, life learner, mentally and physically agile, financially fit and deeply spiritual, to my mother.” FIRST TEACHER AND SCULPTORS OF MY LIFE Madhusudan Pai, Chief Financial Officer, Century Real Estate “There is a famous Kannada proverb “Beleyuva siri molakeyalli“ that means the development of a seed can be seen in the sprout itself. Likewise a mother sees our true potential and flaws right from our childhood days and guides us silently throughout our life. As I grew up, I learnt to lead a disciplined life, maintain my daily routine, and manage time and resources effectively from my mother. She also taught me the importance of communication, team work, sharing, caring and empathising. Her struggles, selflessness, dedication, her unparalleled loyalty and support to the entire family inculcated the same qualities in me. Today, be it my home, my work or family it is her values that help me make the right decisions. The way she balanced the priorities of the entire family taught me a lot about balancing my own team. As a leader, I help my team members grow both personally and professionally, support them in everything they do, just like my mother did with me. I wish all the mothers around the world a very Happy Mother’s Day and thank them for being our first teacher and sculptors of our life.” NO INFLUENCE IS AS POWERFUL AS THAT OF THE MOTHER Amit Goenka, MD & CEO, Nisus Finance “A mother is the bedrock for the child to blossom into a valuable social contributor. This entails developing skills, fortitude, a strong moral compass and value system. In constantly reminding and honing these and being always there to restore equilibrium to my tormenting mind and soul, my mother remains my largest inspiration and influence. Through her own life example of unending toil, zeal for superlative familial joys without yearning for rewards or accolades, a quest for constant learning and perfection and encouraging each one of us to achieve one’s full potential and blossom; has helped me be a better human and leader. She remains however stern and unwavering in her commitments, to beliefs and values and unaccepting of shirkers, immoral and extreme behaviours. In demonstrating fierce loyalty to the family, limitless sacrifices and undisclosed deeds for furtherance of family, stoic in others errors but unforgiving for self and vision for higher quests in all aspects of life, instil leadership and entrepreneurial spirit in me. In finding goodness in every situation, joys in each endeavour, an unwavering belief in optimal outcomes and power of Almighty, in accepting our fallacies, maintaining her tolerance, my mother helped mould a congenial disposition to problem solving, taking each problem as a challenge that can be met without fret or fear. My mother has demonstrated the ability to engage across all aspects of life’s wonderous joys. In picking up new hobbies and skills, in dividing time to stay involved in each family member’s life and activities, while constantly learning and teaching without succumbing to any limitations. Creating constant mandates for presence and engagement with family and also ensuring uncompromising accountability to work has set up a system for creating a healthy work life balance as a way of life. In enthusiastically celebrating occasions, successes and events, creating opportunities for people to get together and share memories, staying connected and fostering genuine empathy for people and their well-being has taught the value and method for nurturing relationships. Despite discomfort, in going out of the way to help and assist, to engage across the spectrum of family and society, being responsive to people’s needs and requests has furthered value and centricity in relationships. In giving and not expecting, in selfless help, in generating deep mutual respect, delivering on mandates with full enthusiasm and sincerity has helped me build my own relationships and nurture them. As quoted by Sarah Josepha Hale, ‘No influence is as powerful as that of the mother.’ Mother’s Day is but a small opportunity to reflect with gratitude on the extraordinary divinity of the being called Mother.” MOTHER IS A GOD’S GIFT Jayesh Kariya, Managing Partner - Alliances, Integrow Asset Management Pvt Ltd. “Mother”, “Maa” “Ammi Jan” “Aai”, whatever we call her, is a source of inspiration for everything that surrounds us. She is a true leader in all sense as she imbibes all the qualities of the Best leader – passion, courage, protection, strength, acumen, compassion, intution, emotional intelligence, integrity, commitment, selflessness, family first, multi-tasking, problem solving, sacrifice, nurturing relationship and many more. I have seen her closely leading from the front, from middle and from the back. She has a GOD’s gift to change gears swiftly as the situation demands. You will recollect your childhood days, the fights that you would have been having with your siblings or friends and your mother resolving the disputes using stick and carrot approach all the time. In fact, she stands up all the time as mediator to resolve any issues in the family. Why? Because she has only one motive “keep the family united and instil strong values” In the old days also, women used to work or run businesses, but the challenges were not complex for her to manage both. With the changing times, she has adapted herself to manage complexities around home front and her business/job as expectations roared and the sensitivities have increased manifold. How is she able to do all this? Simple, her inherent qualities and all-round leadership qualities makes it happen. Mother is a “Super Guru” in managing and nurturing relationships. Ask me why? Before becoming a mother, she has played multiple roles – a daughter, sister, lover, wife and mother. In each role, she not only developed but nurtured relationships at all stages, which has created lasting impact on people around her. Again, credit goes to her inherent qualities. We have millions of examples around the world of a mother leading from the front – whether at business, profession, job, or country front – and at the same time managing her home front effortlessly as well as smilingly. Mother is a GOD’s gift and her value cannot be measured in manner. Her presence in our lives have to be experienced and cherished. My salute and deep respect for her.”