The human mind is the most powerful tool that we possess. It can do positive as well as negative wonders. The placebo effect is defined as a phenomenon that influences beneficially in illness, failures, despair etc. It is attributable to the brain–mind responses to stimuli we receive from some people or some objects in our life. The placebo effect is more famous in medical context; it is a substance with no known medical effects, such as sterile water, saline solution, or a sugar pill, alternative therapies such as reiki, pranik healing. People follow some Gurus some follow soothsayers because they get Placebo Effect.

The fact is that placebo reduces negative emotions which in turn decrease pain, anxiety and despair. I am talking here about placebo leadership. Leadership is not an easy task; it doesn’t happen just by itself. Placebo leaders are empathetic. Empathetic leaders understand the needs of others; they are aware of people’s feelings.

Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected President of South Africa. He was the face and leader of the Anti-Apartheid movement, relentlessly fighting against racial discrimination all through his life. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state following the Rivonia Trial. His tremendous focus, determination, and will dismantled the apartheid, Mandela come out as a champion and lead his country into having an equal and free future. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. I call Nelson Mandela a placebo leader.

Placebo leaders make encouraging impact on their people. They maintain communication and show up during periods of uncertainty.  Even when there is not much to say, keeping a regular pulse of communication, especially face to face, provides reassurance and consistency. Visibility of leaders in crucial times is comforting. During the Corona virus pandemic it is observed that women-led countries have tackled the pandemic much better. Seven countries in the world where women are heading the nations, have tackled Covid 19 tactfully.  Their empathetic leadership has cautiously tackled the situation. Those seven countries have lowest numbers of casualties.

Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand could practically wiped out Covid 19 by end of May 2020. She gives the credit to the spirit and discipline followed by her citizens.  Germany, led by Angela Merkel, has lowest death rates than other Euro Nations. Sanna Martin, the young Prime Minister all of 34, of Finland governs with a coalition of four female-led parties, has had fewer than 10 percent as many deaths as compared to Sweden. And, Tsai Ing-wen, the President of Taiwan, has presided over one of the most successful efforts in the world at containing the virus, using testing, contact tracing and isolation measures to control infections without a full national lockdown.

Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland has successfully brought down the death rate by Covid-19 in Iceland. In Norway, Prime Minister Erna Solberg is using technology to the fullest use to track isolated patients. The patients don’t feel lonely.  The current Prime Minister of Denmark is Mette Frederiksen closed her country’s borders on 13 March. A few days later she closed kindergartens, schools and universities and banned gatherings of more than 10 people. Her decisiveness appears to have spared Denmark the worst of the pandemic: its death toll stands at less than 250, and the number of patients being treated in hospital for Covid-19 is falling drastically. Placebo modulates emotions via verbal information.

The worst effects are seen in such times when rumour mills spread alarming information. But when people get the chance to ask questions themselves to find out what points their leaders are making, when they are asked how they are feeling and when they get regular information and hard facts from the Government agencies they feel comfortable. Possibly the biggest impact of sustained communication is on trust which is a crucial commodity during change. 

I call Ratan Tata also a placebo leader. The 82-year-old leader of Tata Trust donated a massive sum of Rs.500 crores for fighting Covid-19 crisis calling it as ‘one of the toughest challenges that the human race will face’. Ratan Tata is well known for his philanthropy, shared the note from his charitable organisation. He captioned the post, “Tata Trusts and Tata group companies have in the past raised to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time.” On 26 November 2008, in a series of attacks in Mumbai, when Taj Mahal Palace hotel was attacked, destroying the interiors, killing of guests, including the destruction of the hotel’s roof in the shootout, it’s worth a mention here that Mr.Ratan Tata went all out to care for each and every employee of the hotel to help them recoup from the shock. All categories of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated during the time the hotel was closed. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money orders. Employees were treated like family members.

I get tired of hearing about soft skills as most important skills required for effective leadership. Please note that U.S Army Field Manual on Leadership Development is one of the best sources on leadership, insists repeatedly that empathy is essential for competent leadership. Without empathy, one cannot build or nurture followers.  Devoid of compassion one cannot inspire followers or elicit loyalty. Empathy is most essential in negotiations of any kind.

When you are told “do as I tell you”, “you are not up to mark,” without listening to you, without understanding your predicament it lets down your morale. When this happens, you lose enthusiasm and goodwill among the staff. It drains energy of people, it disappoints people. Poor leaders suck all good energy of their teammates.

A leadership style refers to a leader’s characteristic: his behavior while directing, motivation style, guiding, and managing their group. Great leaders can inspire positive thinking, innovation, positive movements and social change. They can also motivate others to perform, create, and innovate.

The way Southwest handled 9/11: Southwest is known for its impeccable customer service. In the aviation industry it enjoys its position because of good customer service, Southwest always has put customer service first; no matter what the situation. On the dreadful September 11, 2001, airlines were forced to shut down for days for avoiding more problems. The passengers were shattered and they trying to recover from the abrupt shock. Since all airlines were shut, all airline passengers, flight attendants and pilots were stranded with the planes across the United States. Instead of simply sitting and waiting, Southwest employees were encouraged to take passengers for bowling, sightseeing, for movies to pass the time.

During these tough times, many airlines started cutting jobs in the months following 9/11, because the airline industry had been badly affected, and many airlines were forced to cut their workforce by up to 20 percent. During such tough time, instead of following the trend, Southwest announced within three days after 9/11 that it would keep all of their employees and start a $179.8 million profit-sharing program for employees. Southwest CEO James Parker felt that the foundation of the airlines was built on integrity and sound principles for the past few decades, and at such crucial time he felt that his airline must support the passengers.  Parker’s timely decision and action has become a case study.

As you start observing some people whom you consider as great leaders, you at once see that there are immense differences in how each person leads. Natural leaders inspire individuals to do well, contribute to the success of the organization. Born leaders use feedback and role modeling, not as a control mechanism, but to inspire others.

No matter what the situation is, something that mars organization is practicing double standards; witnessing people say one thing, and do something else. This betrays and demoralizes all stakeholders. Deceit is very destructive. It might work for few days, but it soon evaporates peace of mind. If you are in a leadership position, you must be prepared to take responsibility of your team. You cannot run from result of your team whether good or bad.

Why did Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s soldiers fought so hard for him? What if he sat on top of a hill, safe from the battle? Probably he wouldn’t conquer so many battles. He would have been just another average general in our history books, instead of the example of a successful leader that we know today.

Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected President of South Africa. He was the face and leader of the Anti-Apartheid movement, relentlessly fighting against racial discrimination all through his life. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state following the Rivonia Trial. His tremendous focus, determination, and will dismantled the apartheid, making him come out as a hero and lead his country into having an equal and free future.

Jack Welch of General Electric (GE) pushed GE to new heights; he had to turn everything upside down. Everything changed in the organization. He developed the idea of a “boundary-less” organization. This means that everyone is free to brainstorm and think of ideas. Instead of employees waiting for the nod of some higher up and wasting time, they could meet Welch anytime to discuss about their ideas. He wanted his team to turn loose, but he ensured that performance comes first. Everyone from the lowest line worker to senior manager got Jack’s equal attention; if they had something to say about a new idea that could make the company better, Welch would give the person credit. Jack Welch walked his talk. He stayed true to his passions. As a result, GE became an incredibly successful company under his able leadership. His team was always willing to follow his direction, because the people within organization knew that he always kept his word.

Your team enthusiastically works for you if you do what you say. They observe you; they keenly pursue your actions. If you only order things and don’t get involved in the operation, they might not follow you enthusiastically. And, if your actions don’t follow your words, they will suspiciously look at you for everything you tell them. If trust is not present in your group relationships, you may struggle to make meaningful connections. As a leader, avoid damaging trust because once lost, it is difficult to rebuild. Walk your talk.

Competent lawyers are the courtroom heroes. Law is an integral part of nearly every area of our life – from the environment, trade, education, medicines, entertainment, marriage, childbirth, sports to death. When things go wrong in society we first think of lawyers. Be it a divorce, stealing, bribery, bankruptcy, IP theft, corporate slip-ups; when fundamentals and practicalities begin to crumble, lawyers swoop in like heroes to protect their clients against the offenders. Taking help of lawyer is a simple instantaneous action, born out of necessity. People call lawyers not because they wantto, but because itnecessitates to.

Can a lawyers’ role be narrowly defined as an antidote to conflict? Are they required only to avoid or manage disputes? The common most notion of a lawyer is – the one who is skilled at finding ‘loopholes’ in the system and help his/her client escape from a sticky situation. But this is our narrow-mindedness if we define their role in such tapered frame. And, we cannot deny that to one up the law one must know the law.

Law is the way society regulates its behavior. It creates rules of conduct that are widely understood and gives us parameters for resolving disputes and defining acceptable codes of conduct. Our centralized, state, and local laws regulate everything from how we do business with each other to how we behave in public places, our duties and responsibilities in society, how we keep our surrounding to where we can park our cars. Because law is considered a technical profession not easily comprehended by the untrained, individuals and companies hire professionals-lawyers-to help them realize it and conduct the procedures it defines. The role of lawyers cannot be limited or underrated. Lawyers have enormous power, which they use daily to effect change for their clients. Without law and order we cannot live peacefully in this world. In some or the other way we permanently depend on lawyers.

Law has been one of the popular career choices for youngsters. Those who come from families of lawyers usually opt to study law. Anyone can choose to study law as long as one has the passion for it. There are many areas of specialization in law these days. Maritime Law, Cyber Law, Business Law, Civil Rights Law, Entertainment Law, Environment Law, Immigration Law, Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Labor Law, Taxation Law and many more. I listed just few of them. Today for every action and every activity we find a specialized lawyer. Traditionally, students could specialize in either civil or criminal laws.

People who enter this demanding and comprehensive profession do so for many reasons. It is a great paying career and it is a challenging career which requires lot of research and people skills. If you love it make a career in it. To be precise, lawyers can have a broad range of responsibilities depending on the specific area of law they practice. But if you think being a lawyer mainly involves making speeches and grilling witnesses in a courtroom, think again. Even trial lawyers-those who specialize in courtroom litigation spend surprisingly little time before a judge or jury. For every hour in the courtroom, many more are spent doing research, conducting interviews, or writing documents in preparation for proceedings. Many lawyers, in fact, never set foot in court. They work in the back office.

In broad terms, lawyers apply their interpretation of the law (the codified rules of their society) to advise their employer or client on completing transactions in compliance with the law or resolving disputes based on current understanding of the law. At its most basic level, a lawyer’s role is that of a supporter and adviser. Attorneys use specialized knowledge to research and interpret the intent of the law and apply it to whatever circumstances their clients face. It’s an imperfect practice, as the interpretations of the law may vary significantly based on the circumstances of the situation.

The legal profession can be divided into two major categories: litigation and transactions. Litigation, which concerns both civil and criminal law, is the process of arguing a dispute between two parties. Transactions relate to business and personal matters that usually do not require courtroom argumentation. For example, a lawyer may counsel a client in the transactions of preparing a will, contract, or lease; to help secure venture capital for a new company; or to prepare a patent for a new technology. However, if the will is contested or if the venture capitalists sue the business owner for fraud, that would then require an attorney with litigation skill.

Depending on the type of law they practice, lawyers will spend their time on paperwork; researching, preparing for, or participating in trials and advising clients. They spend hours in law libraries, online databases, and case studies for researching legal precedents. They prepare contracts, to the point note, and other documents, assembling boilerplate paragraphs (it is the sections of code that have to be included in many places with little or no alteration) or writing from scratch. They need a sharp mind, sharp focus and razor-sharp communication skills. Humor and wit is an added advantage as it can lighten the courtroom atmosphere.

They plan and conduct depositions or interviews with witnesses. In complicated cases, these can generate thousands of pages of testimony-all of which have to be read, analyzed, and refined into usable information. They present their evidence-the information they’ve gathered about a case and about the laws relevant to a case-in a court of law, arguing before a judge and/or jury. Alternatively, they may present their research findings to clients, advising them on business or other issues.

If you want to make a splendid career in law, you need to sharpen your analytical ability, attention to detail, logical reasoning, persuasiveness, sound judgment and of course writing ability.  I want to list here one of the most essential element for the career and that is of emotional intelligence. They need to empathies with their clients, they need to respect and honor their colleagues, and most important they need to be good listeners.  Impassive, unemotional and detached lawyers are never in demand. The market does not want a lawyer who is only half a person. They also need to be tech savvy and good in time management.

If you are interested in making a career in law – you can either do a three-year law course after graduation in any discipline or a 5 years’ course after 12th class. In fact, the 3 years’ course is now giving way to the 5 years’ one which is seen as a better option. In most cases, colleges run the 3 years’ course only for those whose main discipline in graduation is something other than law, or working professionals who want to do an LLB as an additional qualification. The five year course is meant for those who want to take up law as a career – be it as a litigator, or any other kind of legal professional. For the five years course the national law entrance exam, CLAT (Combined Law Admission Test) which basically tests the student’s general English, legal aptitude, general awareness, logical skills, etc needs to be cleared.

The LLB course is regulated by the Bar Council of India which sets rules and regulations regarding legal practice in the country. Any specialization is done at masters, M. Phil or PhD stage. A higher degree helps candidates in their career advancement. It is an honorable career.

Our nation needs competent and efficient lawyers for enhanced law and order. People like Mahtma Gandhi, Dr. Amedkar, Lokmanya Tilak, Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela were some great people who had donned the Lawyer’s coat sometimes in life.