Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, Partner, Khaitan & Co. Decodes the Playbook of Successful Leaders

Mr Jhunjhunwala discusses the attributes of a good leader

When asked about what it takes to be a good leader, Mr Jhunjhunwala said, "apart from being good at work, a good leader should always be passionate about his work. He should have clarity of thoughts, he should be humble, courageous and must have the confidence to take people along with him. Additionally, a good leader should be a good listener, fair in practices, goal setter, efficient, and be ready to roll up his sleeves to work himself also. Well, no one can have all these things as no one is perfect but a good leader can identify the key qualities related to his circumstances and follow." 

A good leader needs to constantly reinvent himself

Talking about the role of a leader in the virtual era, he maintained, "one has to constantly reinvent himself. A good leader should be communicating especially in these corona times. They need to invest in the right direction and take decisions very quickly. They can’t procrastinate the work and wait for the right time." 

Good leaders delegate effectively

Mr Jhunjhunwala explained the value of time optimization for a leader and affirmed that a good leader should have good deputies to delegate effectively. He emphasised the importance of trust between people. He also highlighted the fact that good leaders don't micro manage everything.

"Leaders need to rethink. Lockdown has taught us the use of technology and technology can help to optimize and manage the time well. The willingness to learn something new holds the key." 

Mr Jhunjhunwala shares his leadership mantra

Sharing a leadership lesson, he urged everyone to be passionate. "Give a 100% to whatever you do, It doesn’t matter whether it’s big or small. Whatever you pick up, whatever you do give your heart to it. Take pride in the work that you do. You should be proud of your work. Find your strength and quality and follow it." 

Holistic happiness is a true measure of success

When asked about the measure of success, he maintained, "I would like to quote a saying that 'you can’t manage what you can’t measure.' For me, it is happiness for sure. And that happiness is not just about me, it is for my people, for my team, and for our clients. How much I sleep and how well I sleep is my measure of success."  

Mr Jhunjhunwala's 10 commandments to young lawyers

When asked to give advice to young legal leaders Mr Jhunjhunwala gave the following 10 tips:

• Be systematic and organized
• Build your relationships and don't have a purpose to your friendships
• Collaborate
• Have the ability to manage conflict
• Recognize others
• Use your time productively
• Don't stop learning from people around you and engage with intelligent people
• Try and find your specialization to get noticed
• Don't get so busy that nobody knows you
• Stay hungry, passionate, driven and most importantly remain a good human being.

Before signing off Mr Jhunjhunwala reminded everyone to live by the motto—"work hard and party harder!"