“Success spells Hard Work”.
“Dignity Decorum Devotion”.
“Service Before Self”.
“Work is Worship”.
“Dedication, Steadfastness and Truth”.
Institutions often claim to have committed themselves to a cause, which they usually project by way of an adopted motto. Though surely there would be many, I haven’t personally come across an institution which lays claim to “producing” leaders with an output-to-input ratio of 1:1.
Leaders, as the word would suggest, are those individuals from amongst a group of people who have the capability of guiding that group towards achieving a particular cause by setting imitable personal examples intermittently. In all walks of life, and across professional/non-professional fields, leadership can be found in varied dimensions. Truly speaking, no blueprint or prototype could be defined in a textbook manner, adopting which could turn an individual into a leader. Nor can conferment of institutional authority over an individual automatically turn him/her into a leader. Some leadership qualities may be found in an individual in situ (“nature” —so to speak) and yet others can be developed in an individual over the passage of time (through “nurture”).
As we move through the possible reasons for requirement of leaders to the various leadership qualities (which I shall categorize into essentials and desirables), we shall try to examine what it takes to become a leader. In the process, I hope that readers would associate examples from their own professional/non-professional lives to analyze whether many amongst the individuals whom they observe playing leadership roles are worthy of being termed ‘leaders’, or that most of them are merely paying lip service in their roleplay.
Why a Leader?
While not going into the historical instances of origins of leadership, one point-of-view about the requirement of a leader shall be hereby explained. It would have been splendid, had all the individuals who wish to achieve a particular cause, or who are placed at a particular institutional pedestal, possessed a quality of thinking and acting unanimously all the time. Practically, there is always a requirement of a moderating/governing body which carries out the task of rational assessment of each and every step that is proposed to be taken to achieve a particular goal. Such a body, at the helm of its affairs, needs to have a leader who directs logical discourses and finally sanctions a particular course of action on behalf of all the individuals who wish to achieve a particular cause. Additionally, an individual who has been chosen to be the leader, is expected to possess and put to use certain qualities (essentials and desirables) which most other people belonging to that group might be lacking. In institutions which have designated leadership roles, the person holding a leadership role is expected to have (or to have developed) such qualities through education and/or experience. In the following paragraphs, the term “leader” has been contextually used to represent someone who has either been chosen as a leader of a group devoted to a particular cause or someone in whom an institutional authority to play a leadership role has been vested. An underlying assumption has been taken that the followers/subordinates do not have their personal ambitions of usurping the leadership role.
Let us first have a look at the Essential Leadership Qualities which are required in an individual for a leadership position:
1. Truthfulness: There is a Latin maxim which states Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici—by the power of truth I, while living, have conquered the universe. The most important aspect of functioning of a group/institution to be understood by a leader is the fiduciary aspect. Truth forms the very foundation of group/institutional relationships. A leader who, through both word and deed, projects the true aspects of any issue in front of his followers/subordinates is bound to have an environment devoid of suspicion. Furthermore, the leader should understand that on a continuous basis, the leader has to build mutual trust among all the individuals present in the group/institution.
Often, individuals might tend to view truth through their own perspective and they may contend that truthfulness can be issue-based. The habit of viewing truths from a particular perspective may be developed through nurture. However, an individual’s instinct about effective communication of a particular truth is something which cannot be taught through nurture, but rather has to be natural.
2. Determination: A leader’s commitment to achievement of a particular cause is directly proportional to the intrinsic quality of determination which the leader should possess in situ.
3. Perseverance: There is a very famous story about how King Robert the Bruce was inspired by a spider as to how one should keep on pursuing a goal despite the oddities. Perseverance is the practical manifestation of determination. No benchmark could objectively be defined for this quality; nevertheless, this in situ quality is something whose glimpses are visible in a leader’s day-to-day actions.
4. Courage: There are many forms in which courage, which could be called an umbrella term, can be exhibited. Courage is required to form an independent opinion and to thereafter stand by it. Courage is also required to persevere ‘when the chips are down’.
One of the finest examples of courage is the ability to render support to the followers/subordinates against the adversaries or the institutionally more powerful. In this regard, Field Marshall SHFJ Manekshaw had famously stated:
“A ‘Yes Man’ is a dangerous man. He is a menace. He will go very far. He can become a minister, a secretary or a Field Marshall but he can never become a leader nor, ever be respected. He will be used by his superiors, disliked by his colleagues and despised by his subordinates. So, discard the ‘Yes Man’”.
5. Empathy: Simply put, any action before execution should always be put to test by the leader by proverbially putting himself/herself in the followers’/subordinates’ shoes. Empathy is something which cannot be simply taught to someone. It is essentially the part of someone’s nature. The power that a responsible position confers upon a leader should not be used to reign in corruption. A simple self-assessment test for a leader is that the moment when he/she has to assert his/her authority in execution of an action by explicitly verbally stating it is also precisely the very moment when he/she has failed miserably in being a true leader.
6. Adaptability: Adaptability to the environment is a testimony of the intelligence and emotional quotient of the leader. Change is the law of nature and thus inflexible individuals, when they are assigned leadership roles, are bound to bring a downfall to the group/institution.
7. Self-Control over Prejudice: To err is human. Human beings are vulnerable to forming prejudicial views based on non-balanced opinions/perspectives. However, the job of a leader is to make sure that self-control wins over prejudiced views while deciding about the fate of his followers/subordinates.
Having gone through the Essentials, the Desirables for a leadership position are as follows:
1. Logical Thinking: Any decisions which are taken based on logic are bound to stand a greater chance of success. One of the aspects of logical thinking are to take into consideration alternative points of view, and to not merely dismiss/snub counter-views as regressive ones.
Definitiveness should be exercised only after a due logical deliberation over the varied view-points concerning an issue, not before it. Prejudicial rejection of view-points could be a result of ego, which is not beneficial for the group dynamics.
2. Rhetoric: Rhetoric, one of the three ancient Greek arts of lower division (Grammar and Logic being the other two), is the art of persuasion through spoken or written word. A leader’s soft-skill of non-coercive persuasion is a very effective tool in getting a task executed; it also helps in preservation of respect in the minds of the followers/subordinates towards the leader.
3. Positivity: Positivity in the leader percolates in a top-down way through the entire group/institution. It is an asset for the mental well-being of components of the group/institution.
4. Morality: Morality and ethics cannot be simply described in a nutshell. It is, however, instinctive thinking that sets aside a leader from the herd. Walking the walk after having talked the talk is one of the confidence-building measures that emanate from morality. Truthfulness, which has been enlisted as a separate essential quality, is another aspect of morality.
A person aspiring to be a leader should always know that his/her word and deed are almost always in scrutiny under the watchful eyes of his/her followers/subordinates. The simplest and yet most effective maxim that leaders should follow is ‘Look before you leap’. Sometimes, silence is indeed, proverbially speaking, ‘golden’. Leadership, as has been said, can never be based on a rigid prototype; it is rather the by-product of the exercise of a judicious mix of the essential and desirable qualities in an individual.
