A designation can give you authority, but it cannot automatically make people respect you. Dr. Yogesh Pawar breaks down five everyday leadership practices that turn a title into trust — the qualities that make employees choose to follow you, not just report to you.
Dr. Yogesh Pawar
Founder, School of Inspirational Leadership
“Why should employees look up to you, and what makes you deserving of the position you hold?”
You may be the founder of a company, the head of a department, or the manager of a team. Your position lets you assign responsibilities, approve decisions, and evaluate performance — but it doesn't automatically make employees see you as a leader. Great leadership requires practising authority responsibly and becoming worthy of the trust placed in you.
For entrepreneurs and MSME business owners, this distinction matters. Employees watch how a leader communicates, decides, responds to mistakes, and treats people — and over time, those actions decide whether a team merely follows instructions or genuinely believes in its leader.
In this masterclass
Prefer watching? Jump to the full session with Dr. Yogesh Pawar below, or keep reading for the detailed breakdown.
Practice 1 of 5
A good leader doesn't expect employees to follow standards the leader is unwilling to follow personally. If you expect punctuality, you must respect time. If you expect ownership, you must take responsibility for your own decisions.
Imagine an owner who asks employees to control expenses but personally approves unnecessary spending without evaluation — the team notices the gap between what the leader says and does, and it damages credibility.
A practical leadership question
"Am I consistently demonstrating this behaviour in my own work?"
Leading by example includes:
Practice 2 of 5
People find it difficult to follow a leader who doesn't know where the organisation is going. Employees need more than daily tasks — they need to understand the larger direction and how their work contributes to it.
Telling employees to "increase sales" may not provide enough direction. A better approach: "Over the next year, we want to strengthen our presence in two new markets — sales will focus on acquisition, marketing on lead generation, operations on delivery capacity."
A strong leader can explain:
Practice 3 of 5
Leadership isn't about speaking all the time — it's about creating space for others to speak. Employees close to customers and operations often notice challenges senior leaders can't see immediately.
When a project is delayed, an ineffective leader blames the team immediately. A thoughtful leader first understands whether the delay came from unclear responsibilities, insufficient resources, or an execution gap.
Make communication psychologically safe:
Everything covered so far — and what's ahead — comes from this SIL Masterclass session. Watch it in full, or continue reading below.
Practice 4 of 5
Some leaders believe authority means controlling every decision. But when all decisions depend on one person, employees stop taking initiative — they wait for instructions even when they know what needs to be done.
Instead of "Do exactly what I have told you," a leader can say: "This is the result we need. Recommend the best approach, identify the risks, and tell me what support you require."
Empowerment still needs clarity on:
Practice 5 of 5
A leader's character becomes most visible when things go wrong. When a project succeeds, an insecure leader takes all the credit; when it fails, the same leader blames the team — this creates fear and weakens trust.
Instead of "Good job," explain what the employee did well: "Your early identification of the delivery risk helped us resolve it before it affected the customer. Thank you for taking ownership."
A responsible leader asks:
In a founder-led business, the leader's behaviour has a direct influence on company culture. Employees interact closely with the founder, and many decisions are concentrated at the leadership level — so the founder's habits gradually become the organisation's habits.
As a business grows, the founder can't personally supervise every customer, employee, and activity. The organisation needs responsible leaders at different levels — which makes leadership development a requirement for scalability, not just a personal-improvement exercise.
Build greater trust among employees
Improve accountability
Reduce decision-making delays
Strengthen coordination between teams
Develop capable managers
Retain valuable employees
Create a culture of ownership
Prepare the organisation for sustainable growth
Understanding leadership principles is valuable, but improvement begins only when they're applied consistently.
Identify one behaviour to improve
Choose one specific leadership behaviour — listening without interrupting, providing clearer expectations, or appreciating employees more consistently.
Ask your team for feedback
Ask trusted team members what you should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing as a leader.
Define the expected change
Convert the feedback into an observable action — document the revised priority, explain the reason, and confirm its impact on timelines.
Practise consistently
A single positive action won't change leadership culture. Employees need to experience consistent behaviour over time.
Review the impact
After a few weeks, speak with the team again. Understand whether communication, accountability, or decision-making has improved.
The real test of leadership isn't how people behave when the leader is in the room — it's how responsibly they work when the leader is not present.
A designation may give you the right to make decisions, but how you use that authority determines whether people respect you. Leaders must ensure they deserve the authority they hold — strong organisations ultimately require strong, responsible leaders.
Integrity, clear communication, active listening, accountability, empathy, and the ability to empower others. A good leader also demonstrates through personal actions the behaviour expected from employees.
By communicating the company's direction, listening to employees, delegating responsibilities, accepting feedback, and creating opportunities for team members to take ownership.
Authority comes from a formal position and gives a person the power to make decisions. Leadership is the ability to earn trust, influence people positively, and guide them towards a shared objective.
Employees closely observe how their leaders behave. When a leader's actions match their expectations and communication, it builds credibility and encourages employees to follow the same standards.
By being consistent, treating people fairly, listening to concerns, appreciating contributions, maintaining commitments, and accepting responsibility for their decisions.
MSMEs need capable leaders to distribute responsibilities, improve decision-making, and reduce dependence on the founder. Leadership development helps growing businesses build accountable teams and prepare for expansion.
SIL works with entrepreneurs and growing businesses to strengthen leadership capabilities, improve organisational effectiveness, and develop teams that take greater ownership.