If all this is true, why then is it also true that even after the golden jubilee of our Independence, over 40 % of our countrymen and women teeter on the edge of survival, living from hand to mouth, being noticed only because they form the statistics of poverty.

• Starve when the go downs are full of food grains?

   

• Why do violence  and disease stalk our country?

   

• Why is it that our infrastructure is so poor?

   

• Why is it that our vast country has to suffer repeated embarassments in the sporting arenas at home and abroad?

   

• Why is it, in the words of our own Prime Minister, that we are among the top 10 most corrupt nations on this planet?

   

The answer, my friends, is that leadership has been conspicuous by its absence from our land.  Yes, during and just after the freedom struggle this country was populated by some of the greatest leaders who ever walked the earth.  But after their time, leadership deserted this country.  The present crop of people at the helm of affairs in every walk of national life are scarcely leaders; what they are, is open to conjecture.  But we have ourselves to blame for have we not by default let the scoundrels usurp power?

So What is Leadership? - Let me take you back 2300 years and give you Kautilya's definition of an ideal King who, in fact, is an ideal leader.  Kautilya says that, "In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness; in their welfare lies his welfare.  He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects".

Implicit in this definition of an ideal king resides the concept of leadership: the overriding concern for the welfare of the followers.  Kautilya goes further and specifies that a king or ruler's basic duties are three-fold:

1. Raksha  or protection of the state from external aggression

2. Palana or maintenance of law and order within the state and

3. Yogakshema or safeguarding the welfare of the people

Considering the Kautilyan definition, it is quite remarkable that Herb Kelleher, the legendary Chairman of Southwest Airlines (USA) affirms that employees come first and customers come second.  The logic being that highly motivated employees are the key to highly satisfied customers.  It is really wondrous that this formulation is today as accurate and relevant as it was in Kautilya's time over two millennia ago and is equally relevant and invaluable in the 3rd Millennium!

Your Role As A Leader-

• Empowering people to become world class

   

• Optimizing stakeholder wealth (maximizing stakeholder wealth in a way that is consistent with long term corporate success); stakeholders are defined as people belonging to one or more of the following groups: Employees, Investors, Vendors, Customers, Members of the public residing near the company's offices, factories and depots

   

• Developing corporate vision / Developing corporate mission

   

• Accepting / refining corporate strategy developed by management teams

   

• Monitoring and interpreting information on: corporate performance, external environment, technology and trends, transformation programs, new products and businesses.  The above will ensure that the company is proceeding towards achieving its vision

   

• Ensuring total compliance of legal, tax, ethical, environmental and quality requirements and standards

   

Leadership Is Not -

• Yelling and screaming to get your way

• Exercising power through rank

   

• Ordering people to do your bidding

• Reveling in the privileges associated with the office

• Setting one standard for yourself and another for others

• Being selfish or self centered! Being critical always talking all the time

   

• Expecting others to be at your beck and call

   

• Monopolizing all decision making

   

• Shifting the blame to others when things go wrong

   

Business owner-families, Chairmen, Directors and Managing Directors for whom companies are still cash cows in which personal servants masquerade as employees are soon destined to become kings with neither land nor subjects!