Leadership Interaction - Darshana Jain, CEO, Snapper Future Tech

In this interaction, Darshana Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, talks about the leadership qualities required for building a team in an organisation and how to interact in a team environment.

What are the leadership qualities that are required to advance in your field?

The leaders in my field have to make sure that they are always ahead of the curve. To be able to lead diverse teams as the technology evolves, requires significant community involvement. We are paving the way for adoption and advising corporates on the value for the same or lack thereof. Product development and services form an essential part of our company in doing so. We also need to constantly innovate and pioneer efficient global solutions that can provide a level playing field for small, medium and large organisations across sectors. Build strong and technically-sound teams that are able to comfortably ride the waves of evolution.

What should be the equation between a leader with his/her team?

A startup usually has a open culture and small teams which are very well connected with a lateral structure. Each member of the team has to dig deep within to deliver the best from behind a screen, especially while working from world as in today's situation.

It is absolutely integral that first, a leader should hire the people with the right attitude. Passionate about technology, curious and energised, that’s what describes the team at my workplace. Once you’ve crossed that hurdle of hiring the right person for the job, the equation then evolves into one of equals where we’re constantly brainstorming, innovating, reinventing the wheel and together building solutions and products that are globally accepted. I think creating the right environment at work that allows everyone to express their views and ideas, keeping it open and making sure everyone is well-informed and on the same page is also essential for a balanced relationship between leaders and their teams.

How can a junior staff gain access to a leader in the pyramidal structure of an organisation? 

That entirely depends on how you choose to run your organisation, which be could small, mid-sized or large. If you are someone that likes to keep an open environment at work and wants to do away with hierarchy, then you’ve already created a workplace where access is not an issue at all. In larger organisations you do need to put in place leaders at various levels to ensure the efficient running of the enterprise.

Skip meeting are a great way to keep in touch with junior staff. Pizza / Coffee with Directors helps open conversations thrive.

Do you feel that the periodic assessment should be made of the senior management by the junior members of the organisation?

Creating a culture of feedback, both positive and negative is important for all employees of the company, senior and junior. This helps a person grow, even when they are at the top of the ladder.

Organisation culture comes from the value system that it chooses to follow. When the organisation’s way of doing business provides a successful adaptation  to and ensures success, those values are retained. For startups, this inevitably ties to a founder's personality; but as the company grows, these should be co-created by the leadership team. Peer appraisals are a way to have some check and balances in the senior leadership. The entire leadership of a company should be trained to listen, watch for cues and act in accordance. Every employee in a workplace must feel safe, be appreciated and contribute to the best of his/her ability.

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