Leadership is manifestation of strong love and compassion for people; a commitment to principles. In that sense, a certain degree of leadership is dormant in every individual. The challenge comes when one has to nurture it.
A true leader – political, religious or social – has many challenges to face. The capacity to express one’s commitment varies from individual to individual. It is often clogged by one’s likes and dislikes. Yet, a leader has to view everyone with the same outlook, appraise everyone with the same yardstick. He has to find discrimination as well as the much-needed wisdom to act at the right time.
The society he lives in and the groups he represents are not homogeneous and one cannot satisfy everybody. Yet, a leader has to carry everyone along and do justice to everybody; withstand criticism and not react emotionally to situations. Often leaders are surrounded by sycophants who try to boost their egos for their own personal agenda; they have to be guarded against.
One of the most desired qualities of a true leader is the courage to listen to critics, taking failures with as much equanimity as successes. These days leaders are defensive all the time, explaining their shortcomings or justifying their wrong actions. A true leader will neither complain nor explain, and is open to learning all the time. Admitting past mistakes and creating space for others with completely diverse viewpoints can make a leader more acceptable, universal. A leader does not pass the buck.
A true leader balances ideology and practicality, long-term goals with short-term needs. Those who stick only to idealism cannot become leaders and those who think they are very practical and without any ideology also fail. A leader should be neither generic nor specific. He has to strike a balance between personal attention to people and the generic vision for the group, community or country he leads.
A leader should have the courage to accept his weak moments. He should understand that people are magnanimous. They would appreciate his straightforwardness and accept his shortcomings rather than him trying to hide them.
Some leaders are too diplomatic while others are too straightforward in their approach. While people do not trust those who are very diplomatic, they do not want anything to do with those who are very blunt and justify their rudeness in the garb of straightforwardness. People who are very straightforward and blunt in their approach often don’t find followers. A leader has to strike the balance between diplomacy and straightforwardness.
While self-righteous people create distaste in others, those who take credit for every good action are equally distanced. A leader should acknowledge others’ contributions and at the same time see that these contributions don’t get to their heads.
A leader can create a mob but he should know that a mob’s life is short-lived. A short-sighted leader creates a mob; a leader with wisdom creates a movement. Gandhiji, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr are examples of inspirational leaders who created movements.
All this may sound utopian, but in reality, if you look keenly into the lives of the most successful leaders, you will find all these qualities naturally manifest at some time or the other. You don’t have to do much to inculcate these qualities; just their awareness is good enough to make a good leader. Be one. The world needs you.
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