The Anatomy Of A Leader

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams.

There are examples galore of leaders and their leadership styles- Political leaders, captains of industry, social activists, religious leaders….. Every leader you think of is unique in his calling, his vision and his style of functioning. Yet, there are certain attributes that are common to all leaders. 

Trying to unravel a ‘leaders’ personality, I came down to my own simple 3C formula, or the three dimensions of personality that make a leader.

He must have a cause

• Faith in his vision, mission or purpose
• The ability to articulate the vision
• The passion to realize the vision

The clear and passionate articulation of the cause builds conviction of people in the mission.

He must have competence

• Skill for achieving the purpose
• Complete self confidence
• Clarity of thinking and planning

The proof of competence builds respect for the person leading the mission.

He must have charisma

• Capability to inspire and motivate
• Capability of being a change agent
• Live by values, lead by example

The power of charisma builds a strong appeal for being part of the mission.

When there is a conviction in the mission and respect and appeal for a person leading it, a following starts, and when there is a following, a leader is born. A leader does not set out to be one, but becomes one by the fervent dedication to his intent, the calibre of his actions and the integrity of his conduct.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Why The 'Anna Movement' Floundered

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will attend a core committee meeting of ‘Team Anna’ here today to discuss the future strategy of his fight against corruption.Earlier on February 24, he had threatened to start another movement for the passage of a strong Ombudsman (Jan Lokpal) bill to combat graft in the country, before the national polls, which are scheduled to take place in 2014.  Hazare has been at loggerheads with the government over the Ombudsman Bill for which the Gandhian activist went on hunger strikes in April, August and December last year. 

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com, March 5, 2012

"I am Anna."

Fraught with day to day corruption, Indians of all classes identified with the ‘Anna movement’ that took an aggressive stand against the issue. Even the usually placid middle class came out in large hordes to rally behind this frail man willing to die for his beliefs. The movement caught momentum in  April 2011 and reached its peak in August 2011. However, by December 2011, much of the sizzle and fire had dissipated.

Why did the Anna movement, which achieved such huge support initially, flounder in the last leg?

Initially, UPA, grappling with its internal power politics, and a weak prime minister, simply could not fathom how to deal with the groundswell of support generated by the movement. Further, the media made it look very big, causing the government to panic. Strong-arm tactics with Baba Ramdev and the stupid act of arresting Anna just before the August fast added fuel to the already smouldering movement.  

By December, public perception had changed to a certain extent. Three points come to mind as to why this happened.

• Team Anna’s uncompromising stand
  Most people want to see the problem of corruption addressed. The announcement of the December fast, even as the bill was about to be tabled was seen by most people as unnecessary blackmailing, which could lead to an impassé.
• Corruption charges against top aides of Anna
  Top aides of Anna- Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, and the Bhushans came under scrutiny when charges of financial impropriety were levied on them. This loss of credibility was certainly one of the reasons for the movement to weaken.
• Anna’s apparent closeness to BJP
  Anna was seen as ‘above politics’ by the masses. However, his public appearances with leaders of a Hindu-biased opposition probably hurt this image. And the UPA cashed on it, sparing no effort in insinuating Anna’s political motives.

Finally, the political class outwitted Team Anna. Getting its act together, the UPA saved face by masterminding the “Sense of the house” resolution in the Loksabha, making Anna’s fast redundant. Yet, it is quite clear that the political class did not want the ‘Janlokpal’ bill, as Team Anna would have wanted. The bill was effectively scuttled in the Rajyasabha.

This great movement, which addresses the major issue we all are concerned about, seems to have bitten the dust for the moment. Let's hope the fire is re-ignited! As for now, we can only wait and watch how the 'Janlokpal Bill' scenario unfolds.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Winning

Winning is a worthy goal. But to win, you must first compete. You must put your heart and soul- your complete focus, energy and skill into the task of competing. Yet, the odds are, you may not win.

Winning is an expectation that can be met, but not exceeded.

Consistent success is accompanied by heightened expectations, and any failure to meet those heightened expectations can be magnified greatly. Losing can have an overwhelming effect on the competitive mind, an effect that can be best described as ‘agony’.  Consequently, the defence mechanism to this intense mental suffering is ‘agony avoidance’.

One of the major psychological ramifications of agony avoidance is the development of a ‘winning at all costs’ mindset. This mindset condones breaking the rules of the game. It is willing to accommodate unfair means and cheating. This, clearly, cannot be a strategy for long-term success. Not only can your game be up any time, you will never feel the exhilaration of a fair win or a boost in your self worth.

The challenge is, therefore, to put it all in the proper perspective. 

Taking a life-long view, the sum of your wins must exceed the sum of your losses, with the endeavour to maximise the wins and minimise the losses. Those who fail to take this long view may miss taking on each challenge with sportsmanship, fair play and personal responsibility, thus, missing out on the process of constant self-improvement, an essential ingredient in formulating long term success.

Long term success calls for being able to deal with losing. A healthy competitive spirit can be developed if you work on cultivating the following:

• Learning: Turn defeat into a positive learning tool. Find where you fell short, work on your weaknesses, get the little things right and, thus, increase the chance for success the next time you compete.
• Self-motivation: Tell yourself, you gave your best shot then, you will continue to do so always. You must refocus, re-energize and rededicate yourself to compete again.
• Resilience: Get accustomed to dealing with adversity and overcoming obstacles. Each experience will equip you to tide over future difficulties in the workplace and in life.Nobody wins all of the time. It’s what you do with these losses and what you can learn from them that will create future wins. So, let there be no room for self-doubt. Cultivate the resilience required to come back stronger.

Finally, it’s all in the mind!

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.