Knowledge ,learning and Leadership

Knowledge ,learning and Leadership

Knowledge and continuous learning  are preconditions for  Effective Leadership. When we want a house to be built we immediately think of engineers and architects who know about the building a house. Here also an architect will have more specialized knowledge about how to make the maximum use of space in a aesthetic way. The civil engineer will have knowledge about the  structure and other details of the construction. when we want to repair our shoe we take to a master cobbler to do the job. For almost everything we need people with special knowledge in the field. We always look for people with  knowledge and experience to do things for us .

 Socrates during his conversation emphasized that professional and technical competency   are the essential ingredients of effective leadership without which leadership will not succeed. During crisis people look  only at leaders who have knowledge and experience ,for  proper guidance .A leader will flourish in times of uncertainty .He will never be scared of new challenging situations which will give him opportunities to exercise his knowledge ,experience and the resulting power. 

Challenges normally bring out the best in people who matter. A comfort zone is not always a breeding ground for   real confidence.  And confidence itself is very fishy and vague when somebody is in a very congenial   environment: where there are no challenges .Socrates said:

 “For confidence breeds carelessness, slackness, disobedience :fear makes men more attentive ,more obedient ,more amenable to discipline. The behaviour of sailors is a case in point. So long as they have nothing to fear, they are I believe ,an unruly lot ,but  when they expect  a storm or attack ,they not only carry out all orders, but watch in silence for the word of command like choristers.”

Whatever may be theories about leadership people take instructions and work according to them only if they have conviction in that the leader knows what to do and how to do it in times of crisis. The true leader does not show any doubt about their own abilities . Just as every profession  needs specialized knowledge and skill, a soldier should know how to fight ,how to handle a gun, a doctor should know anatomy and physiology to learn medicine leaders should have thorough knowledge of what they are doing .

 Academic qualification alone may not be sufficient for leadership instead it needs the power for taking decisions, grit , determination and a gut feeling.  A true leader will not go by  the data or information  alone available to them instead they will trust in their own intuition .However the saying “at the Top you are alone “goes well with leaders of the top order. This is true of all fields : corporate, politics, knowledge industry education ,medicine sports and games ..to name a few ; IN FACT ANY ORGANIZED HUMAN ACTION .

A leader should be an eagle, an owl, a horse , a tiger, a cat , a fox, a chameleon , a sage who meditates, and what not... and finally a an excellent human being !!          

Continues....