Where have all the leaders gone

 “Where have all the leaders gone ? “

This is the title of the autobiography of IACCOCA ,the former PRESIDENT  of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, where he created MUSTANG and the CHRYSLER corporation ,which he famously saved from ruin . The title speaks a lot about the present state of affairs in the world of business , politics, religion ,education and also in every conceivable field of human activity. We see many people ( both men and women ) shooting up to some high  position from nowhere and look at him or her in admiration but within a short time ( before we know what happened ) they fall down from heights in ignominy proving that they had only feet of CLAY.  (Of course some of them survive the heat of leadership and is showing signs of real leadership qualities suitable for the future- we will discuss about them later in this article ) 

The result is that the world which could boast of GREAT LEADERS like Gandhi, Martin Luther ,Churchill, JRD Tata ,Kennedy , Abdul Kalam  to name a few , lacks  living leaders who could inspire and become role models for the future generations ( GEN : X  , Y  and  Z ).   There is a lack of trust but all is not lost for the present generation has the ability to produce leaders who can influence in  a sustained manner in the midst of supersonic speed with which the world gallops forth.

Leadership is ,to a great extent  a matter of attitude. There is “leadership’ quality in everybody but the quality of that may vary fro person to person. John Adar ( Said to be the world’s first professor of LEADESHIP studies has authored many books on the subjects.)has said that ‘leadership capability can be developed by anybody with dose of” careful thought , and practice” and of course adding to it some ability to take risks with a willingness to correct.

In the recent times , the world has seen many people with tremendous leadership qualities in different countries but they have to stand the TEST OF TIME to sustain their image . But , for the present discussion on this subject of leadership let us mention the name of STEVE JOBS ,who in many ways proved to be a leaders in his own right and is sometimes called as the BEST CEO of the 20^th century and also the first decade of the 21^st century. In the book” I , STEVE ( Steve Jobs in his own words ) “ there is a reference to his Curriculum Vitae which gives an insight  into what could be some of the main ingredients of leadership.

JOB’S CURRICULAM VITAE :Objective: I am looking for a fixing upper with a solid foundation. Am willing to tear down walls, build bridges and light fires . I have great experience , lots of energy a bit of that VISION THING and am not afraid to start from the beginning. SKILLS: that “ VISION THING”, public speaking ,motivating teams and helping to create really amazing products.

Job’s idea of leadership is very clear and it has tremendous optimism and this is driven by a sort of aggressiveness and a clear sense of direction . Vision becomes the leading light and all other things follow .This came a person who was called the best CEO of the century considering his strength of vision, proactive nature built into his character , risk taking ability, the skills to motivate people towards great things ,tremendous communication skills with which he could convince people, great revolutionary ideas and what not !! He could build tams which could work with high energy and focus despite many odds under which many would have buckled. He knew the“ was  “   “ ..is..  “ , and  the “ would be “ of things .

“Knowing how things work gives the leader more real power and ability than all the degrees or titles the world can offer” John Adler  ( Jobs was a university ‘drop out ‘!! The magic of leadership depends on mainly four areas : PURPOSE , PEOPLE,PROCESSAND ULTIMATE GOAL,AND PERFORMANCE. All these should work in harmony and it is like a SYMPHONY of which the CONDUCTOR is the LEADER.

Each of the words given in capital letters can be discussed in depth but it does not fall in the purview of this article. All these traits do not exist in watertight compartments . They compliment each other and is driven forward in harmony and power only when they are fired by the most important thing in leadership “ PASSION” .

To a question < what makes a leader successful “. Charles Handy – the management GURU –in an interview to BBC replied : PASSION - . According to him leaders should have faith in what they do. Passion without a sense of direction , personal integrity, ethical standards will make leaders morally corrupt .All leaders should have a moral COMPASS within which should guide them in the proper direction . When an analysis is made of the above traits , it is very clear that – it is a rare combination and comparatively difficult to achieve without working upon it with great motivation and passion.

We have a clear dearth of such leaders the world over in all fields “ where have the leasers gone “ In fact they have not gone anywhere : they are amongst in plenty but only very few emerge into the limelight . The ultimate question is whether leaders are BORN or MADE. ythis is a million dollar  question but and there are conflicting views but we can see that all explanations in this regard are contextual and never complete and , in fact, there is no ultimate answer to this question . again CHARLES HANDY ,in his inimitable style viewed this in a beautiful way” “ I don’t think you can teach the skill, or learn them from others , but often it is a matter of finding yourself in the right place …So , while these skills cannot be taught , they can be brought out under the right circumstances. I often say that life is like an apple – it falls into your hands . But it won’t fall into your hands unless you stand under the tree. You have to find the ORCHARD ,find the TREE and then something may happen.”

When the situation is found the person who has these traits or who would like make an attempt will jump into the fray and use their knowledge , experience ,courage , conviction and CREATIVITY to effect a change in the environment keeping close to his vision. CREATIVITY has a vital part in leadership which involves imagination, visualization, going the extra mile ,thinking beyond the established conventions and should be ready to face resistance and be bold to overcome it.

All these needs an understanding of the problem, excellent communication skills to present the problem to the people and tremendous interpersonal skills and he should have excellent capability to trust his intuition and should be guided by insights .CREATIVE LEADERSHIP is the key and an analysis is made we can find that all great leaders had and have all these qualities and more – right from Gandhi to Abdul Kalam to JRD Tata to Ratan Tata to Amarthya Sen ( in India )  to many people in business  science , sports , culture  and in all fields of human activity .. the list is long… In fact leaders are everywhere but they are not seen or they do not know that they have these qualities of leadership.

Leaderships qualities can e developed through conscious training people with an inherent desire to become one that means he/she should have a passion to become a leader in the chosen field . Creativity forms the core of leadership along with many other qualities which have to be nurtured with care , warmth and dynamism. Davis listed the main qualities of the qualities of CREATIVE PEOPLE : THEY WILL BE : curious, energetic, experimenting ,independent, industrious, flexible, open minded ,original, playful, perceptive, persevering questioning, risk taker ,self aware ,sensitive …. Goldsmith listed the qualities of leaders of the future: Seek options, not plans, look for what is possible, must be flexible, pursue vision with intent, tireless, inventive, observant, risk takers who are ever hopeful builders, challenge assumptions and paradigms, empower the talent ,intelligence and creativity  of others.

KOTTER, who has written much on the  leadership, listed five points on LEADERSHIP AND LIFELONG LEARNING : Risk taking ,Humble self reflection, solicitations of opinions , careful listening, openness to new Ideas. KOTTER’S five points have great relevance with what we discussed in connection with creativity. Since KOTTER’S list of qualities of leadership are in line with the creative qualities it is highly possible to develop these in people through a well designed CREATIVITY TRAINING and it will have a tremendous impact upon leadership development .

LEADERSHIP is nothing but effecting CHANGE and leaders always think differently and influence people to accept CHANGE and execute it effectively. Leaders are few and far between but they are there …. Let us accept that fact. All organizations should open up avenues for development of new leaders and encourage people to take up responsibilities. There are millions of MANGERS but hundreds or perhaps thousands  ( ? ) of leaders who can inspire people to DREAM , VISUALIZE AND IMPLEMENT IDEAS … ideas that can change the status quo … give freedom to others …..and they will surprise you with ideas and tenacity and the willingness to execute the ideas in a very creative way.

Managers manage within a framework , Leaders inspire people to take risks and go the extra mile ….and of course take the responsibility. Search for them ,find them, the will change the world for good .Trust the true leader , leadership is a matter of choice . You can choose…

Prof: Rama Bharatha Varma