Hello Ram,

At small inputs you can consider being in the so-called small-signal range of the input device of your amp. Transconductance is then defining the settling of your amplifier. In the slew-rate situation, the output voltage changes linearly over time (constant current charging a capacitor). In small signal behavior, the settling is exponential with a C/gm time constant (you will notice the similarity to a RC time constant in the passive case).

Paul