Leader

Old man Lao Tzu [lived in 5^th century BCE] was wise enough to be known as the Old Master. He thought that a leader was best when people barely knew he existed. When his work is done, his objectives are fulfilled, people will say: ‘We did it ourselves.’

A good leader makes the people successful. A bad leader makes himself successful. You never saw Mahatma Gandhi advertising himself anywhere, did you?

Since Gandhi is not fashionable anymore in India, let me take another example. Let it be from fiction. Neoclassical fiction. Joseph Conrad’s character, Jim in the novel Lord Jim.

Jim is a promising young man whose dream is to become a hero. But when the chance comes, he fails. While serving on a ship, named Patna, that is carrying Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and the ship strikes some underwater object, Jim’s opportunity to be a hero arises. The ship springs a leak and there is a storm rising in the horizon. The crew save themselves by abandoning the ship. Jim succumbs to the temptation too instead of doing what a hero should. But the ship does not sink and eventually Jim has to face the inquiry after which he is stripped of his officer’s certification.

Jim is not a bad person, however. On the contrary, there is something noble within him. This quality helps him get another job: as the manager of a trading post in the remote territory of Patusan where he emerges as a hero by defeating a local bandit. Gradually he becomes the spiritual leader of Patusan. At the back of his mind, Jim is constantly conscious of his cowardly deed on the Patna. Jim faces many challenges including a conspiracy against him. In the end, he dies as a hero, preserving his idealism, though he could have saved himself if he was willing to budge on his idealism. 

Ideals make you a hero, a real leader. If you surrender your ideals merely to stay in power, merely to be the leader, you are not a genuine leader. You are not genuine. Hence you need to advertise yourself as the leader. You need to convince the people that you are still their leader though they have understood time and again that you have jumped the ship and you will do it again when required. You are not a leader really. You are a schemer. You know how to go on and continue to be there at the top.

A leader lives for the organization, institution, nation, or whatever he is leading. In the old understanding of leadership, a leader is a person who is able to hold a vision, articulate it clearly and communicate it with passion and charisma. That kind of a leader sits on top and governs the people as if the people have no brains of their own. That leader gives rules and diktats. Those who flout the rules and directives are arrested and thrown in prisons. Critics are unwanted for these leaders. Even jokes are not permitted.

A good leader does not come with any ossified vision. A good leader allows his followers to think creatively and productively. He facilitates the emergence of novelty. He creates conditions for growth and development rather than giving rules and directives. He uses his authority to empower his followers.

This does not mean that a leader does not require vision. On the contrary, vision is vital to any leadership. A vision is a mental image of what we want to achieve as a group/institution/nation… How do you achieve that vision? The answer to that is also important. The end does not justify the means. Leadership is not like heading an army in a Mahabharata war. Leadership is a surrender of your self and its great qualities to the service of the people. The people are more important than you. 

PS. This post is part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023

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