REALIZATION 1
THE LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE : THE BEING THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
By Col Abhay Gupta
We have mistaken leadership for ‘doing’. Leadership is more about ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.
Scope Of the Study
Dronacharya pointed to a bird on the tree as a target to his student-archers and asked what they saw. Some said they saw ‘the bird’, others saw ‘a bird sitting on the branch’. Only Arjuna said “I see the white of the eye’.
In this study we are not talking about Corporate Leadership or Military Leadership or leadership in any particular area. Area specific leadership brings in new dimensions, like the skills and the peculiarities of the environment, making the study more complex and distracting. If we remove the group, situation and skills what is left is a person, just a human being, who can prove to be a leader or may fail in the role of a leader.
This paper is about the pure science of leadership.
‘I wish you wouldn’t keep appearing and disappearing so suddenly,’ said Alice.
‘All right,’ said the cat. This time it disappeared quite suddenly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the smile, which remained sometime after the cat had gone.
‘Well, I,ve often seen a cat without a smile,’ thought Alice, ‘but a smile without a cat! It’s the strangest thing I ever saw in my life.’
Alice in Wonderland
INTRODUCTION
Leadership is the most written subject after spirituality; yet it is the least understood. Some people have gone to the extent of saying that, ‘leadership is like weather – you can talk about it, but you can do nothing about it.’
We have been listing out the principles of leadership by studying what good leaders do, but we have never tried to explain the principle that leadership is – why they do, what they do. Without a clear understanding of the principle the application remains flawed. It is for this reason that the subject continues to haunt us as an enigma.
Leadership is not a puzzle to which there is a solution, or has an answer given at the end of the book – even if you know the answer you can’t become a mathematician. There is an element of mysticism about leadership. It is a mystery that can reveal itself.
LEADERSHIP DEFICIT
Understanding the Deficiency of Leadership
When there is abundance, a thing is never spoken about. The deficiency is felt when a thing, earlier in abundance, goes in short supply, it become a talking point, an Issue. ‘Environment’ was not an issue 30 years ago, but it has become an issue today! The fact that an eminent national newspaper, Times of India, is conducting a national debate on Leadership is a clear pointer that the subject of leadership has become an ISSUE today. The HR community in the corporate world is desperately looking for the magic wand that will unravel the secrets of leadership.
Reasons For Deficiency
Demand And Supply Equation Gone Awry In Post-Industrialized World. The requirement of leaders has gone up considerably with businesses going global. Only born-leaders, who are indeed few in numbers, are available in the environment. While the demand has gone up the natural supply has remained constant; and, we have not been able to train leaders.
The reasons for our inability to train leaders is that the training models have been evolved incorrectly due to the scientific orientation.
Ø The industrial world has always had a skill-predominant view. The academia has tried to fill the void of leadership by propagating leadership as a skill. Management science has thrown up many theories on leadership – motivational, X-Y, Transformational etc. One could collectively term them as the Doing Theories, do this, do that …. They have offered some solutions, but the mystery continues to persist. The inadequacies of all the theories is evident from the fact that progressively we have been led to a point of such gross deficiency today that leadership has become an ISSUE!!! Leadership is the foundation on which the edifice of skills stands. We have been trying to do it the other way round. It is for reasons of such skewed approach that the business houses today are compelled to address to issues like Ethics in Business.
Ø A scientific spin has made leadership prescriptive. Scientific approach to study of leadership has focused on the ‘doing’ aspect of leadership whereas leadership is more about the ‘being’ aspect. It is a typical case of the ladder leaning against the wrong wall. However, if we know the principle we need not worry about the particular action to take in a given situation : wise actions flow naturally from right principles.
LEADERSHIP : PROBLEM OR MYSTERY
Is leadership a problem or a mystery? To unravel the truth let us understand the difference between the two. A problem is something to which there is a solution, and there could be different methods to arrive at the answer. Mystery on the other hand is an observed phenomenon that cannot be comprehended by our current intellect. A mystery has no solution, but when we understand the phenomenon, the mystery dissolves. We have all played the game with infants whereby a toy is quickly tucked under the armpit; we show the empty hand to the child and he is mystified; with another fast movement of the hand we make the toy reappear. The entire phenomenon, of the toy disappearing and reappearing, is quite mysterious to a child. The moment child realizes that we were hiding the toy with a quick movement of the hand the mystery disappears. The game is over from that day onwards.
Even if leadership is treated as a problem the methods of finding solutions can vary. One type of people, the ones who have been trained intellectually for problem solving, generate options and alternatives to arrive at a SOLUTION. The solution can be found either within the framework of existing, proven technology, or by undertaking new research. We can comprehend the working of this model, the problem-solution approach, with the following two examples.
# America, when faced with alarming levels of teenage violence, discovered that there were a large number of teenagers carrying weapons. The solution they found was to install metal detectors in schools. A common sense view will reveal that though the teenagers were effectively deterred from carrying the weapons nothing was done to remove the violence from their minds. The violence persisting in the teenage-minds would find expression, sooner or later, in differently mutated forms. A solution is found but the problem remains!!!
# In another instance, Americans found that fountain pens do not work in space due to absence of gravity. They launched a research, and after spending a few million dollars they invented a writing instrument, a gravity-immune ‘astronaut pen’ that would work in zero-gravity. The Americans then launched a campaign to sell the invention, to recover the R&D cost.
The Russians when faced with the same problem started using pencils!
Another approach to problem solving, the one adopted by gifted leaders, goes something like this. They solve problems in a totally different manner. They look at the problem and ask why it exists. They address themselves to the CAUSE, rather than the manifested symptom of the problem. With such an approach the problem itself disappears. True leaders thus never solve a problem; they dissolve the problem. Such an approach to problem solving may appear mysterious, but it is a WAY.
Another lot, marginal though in numbers, are the people who get so possessed by the problem that they forget to look for a solution! They are the people who normally land themselves with anxiety, depression and stress related medical ailments.
Einstein said, ‘No problem can ever be solved at the same level of consciousness that created it.’ This approach to problem solving requires a new level of consciousness, a new awareness.
With an obsession with finding solutions, a solution will invariably be found; the irony of this approach is that the problem persists! Sooner or later the problem resurfaces in a mutated form. The intelligentsia has tried to treat the subject of leadership as a problem, and have tried to find solutions through intellectual enquiry. The solutions have kept us occupied, but the problem remains! We are still struggling with the subject of leadership.
Leadership is a mystery. The subject continues to mystify us because we have treated it as a problem and have occupied ourselves with the solutions rather than make any effort to understand its mysticism. As a result of this incorrect orientation leadership as a subject persists as an enigma.
THE BEING THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
There is nothing special about attractive force of the earth; this force can be found in all bodies in the universe. Newton.
One can visualize a leadership model in the form of a building. A building has a foundation that is buried deep inside the earth, and on top of it the superstructure is built. The foundation of leadership likewise is being a good human being, and the superstructure is the skill, a particular domain knowledge.
There are innumerable definitions of leadership. The essence that is universally acceptable is that a leader is a person under whom the team willingly does what he wants done, because they want to do it. Something very similar is described in Gita. There are no terms like ‘leader’ or ‘leadership’ as such in Gita, but there is an unmistakable reference to the subject in Chapter III, Verse 21; ‘Whatever action a superior man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues’.
(Yadyad-aachrita shreshtastha devetaro janah,
Sa yat-pramanama kurute lokas tad anuvarate.)
In essence the leadership situation, leader-led interaction, can be compared to a suspended magnetic needle that will always point in the North-South direction due to the magnetism of the earth. The leader is akin to the magnetism of the earth, a forever-present gentle force; and the subordinates are like the iron bars that are magnetized under the influence of the leader. Just like a steel bar becomes magnetized, not by introduction of any new element, but simply by realignment of its molecules, the leader induces magnetism in the led. The led, the subordinates, under the influence of a leader become electro-magnets; they willingly do the requisite work in harmony with what the leader wants them to do.
A leader actually produces many artificial minds that are an exact replica of the natural mind of his.
The Principle of Leadership
The first thing is to understand the principle that leadership is. The only way the principle of leadership can be explained and understood is as energy; and the theory is called The Being Theory of Leadership.
Leadership is pure cosmic energy in full flow through a person, without any attenuation. One can visualize it as a torrent of cosmic energy. The energy of a leader is beyond a particular threshold, whereby it has a strong field; this field is called CHARISMA. It is a field similar to the magnetic field; it is an aura, an invisible halo around the person. It is an invisible force, just like magnetism and gravity but much more complex, under the influence of which a magical spell is cast on the group.
The effect of the force of charisma on others is called Inspiration. A leader is thus the Pied Piper of men - he mesmerizes them, hypnotizes them; the men have no choice but to follow.
When the cosmic energy gets attenuated then the residual energy is not sufficient enough to create a field.
NO AURA
FIELD OF CHARISMA
In a leader the residual energy is very high because it is not attenuated by the natural processes of a human mind (self); this high energy manifests as PASSION (in the leader) and ENTHUSIASM (in the team). In other words, a leader is just an extremely good conductor of cosmic energy.
‘Motivation’ and ‘Inspiration’ are totally different forces. In relation to the led the former is an inside-to-outside force while the latter is an outside-to-inside force. Motivation is experienced within the heart of the led, while inspiration is the force that he unconsciously experiences, outside-to-inside. Leadership is not about motivation.
Leaders inspire others; they have a charisma, the subtle magnetism, under the influence of which the subordinates give their best for the accomplishment of the common mission stated by the leader. The subordinates in fact do not even experience a moment of doubt, a feeling that they have another choice. In the presence of leaders others too get elevated to higher realms of existence.
The Empirical Truth About Leaders
That leaders neither teach nor preach is a common experience of all those who have been in proximity of great leaders. Whoever has heard Gandhiji ever delivering vitriolic sermons to work up the adrenalin, or Netaji holding leadership workshops for the Azad Hind Fauj. Yet their one-liners, Bharat Chodo or Tum Mujhe Khoon Do Mein Tumhe Azadi Doonga, were powerful statements that mobilized the masses to positive action. Whoever heard of Mother Teresa writing a dissertation on Love and Compassion?
The truth about these apparently simple words is that they rose from the depth of their hearts, their Being, and thus had tremendous power.
About the Energy : Quantity and Quality
‘Unfortunately for most people, their fear; their anger; their hatred are the most intense situations in their lives. Their love is never so intense, their peace is never so intense, their joy is never so intense, but their negativities are. …………..’.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
What the above passage is suggesting is two aspects of the energy, the quantity and the quality. Most people do experience highly intense energy, but occasionally; and that too in a negative manner. In a leader not only the quantity of energy is high, it is also of a particular quality. Only when the energy is intense and is of a particular quality will it have the capability to produce the aura.
The cosmic energy gets attenuated due to the natural processes of the mind. The mind-filter categorises situations into likes/dislikes. Large quantities of energy flows only if the situation is to our liking, but the energy is severely attenuated if it is to our unliking. If we can create a shunt around the mind then there will be no attenuation of the cosmic energy and we will have adequate quantity of energy available.
Next, a word about the quality of energy. The cosmic energy manifests in three distinct frequencies – sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. These distinctive frequencies are termed as gunas. Chapter XIV of Gita is a complete treatise on the interplay of gunas, the three energies. Combination of these energies produce the attitude in a person.
The sattvic energy is the harmonizing frequency; it is that which works for obtaining a balance, and works for the well being of the others; the rajasic, manifests as likes/dislikes and results in attachment/aversion; people with rajasic energy are the ones interested in personal conveniences and preferences over-riding a larger good. The tamasic energy is that which is purely selfish in nature.
A robber or a chain-snatcher display high energy, but their energy is tamasic in nature; the small children running out of class room represent rajasic energy; and people who forsake their personal safety and comfort for a higher cause, the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Mother Teresa, are the live examples of sattvic energy.
Going by the principle of conservation of energy, the energies cannot be destroyed; they can however be transformed. The quantity of residual energy can be increased by removing the natural obstacles to the flow. The quality of the residual energy can be improved by transformation - Tamasic can be transformed to rajasic; rajasic can be transformed to sattvic. Leadership is all about predominance of sattvic energy over tamasic and rajasic in a person.
‘……… if you transform your energy in a certain way, it naturally becomes compassion and love.’ Sadhguru
There are rules for handling these energies. The removal of obstacles whereby the attenuation of energy does not take place is possible through awareness of the natural obstacles. The rearrangement of energies is the possible through transformation.
TRAINING OF LEADERS
The Traditional Methods of Training Leaders
At one end of the spectrum are the born natural leaders; they emerge on their own creating a context of their own choosing. Leaders of the highest order do not necessarily even need a situation; they create the context for their own leadership. People like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Swami Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji, Medha Patkar or Baba Amte, or the second tier people like Prannoy Roy, LN Mittal, Ashok Chauhan and Siddharth Basu are live examples of people who either identify with an existing situation or have created a context of their own choosing.
The next tier comprises of people who avail of the opportunities available. They are the people with strong potential for leadership; the lucky ones come under the direct influence of born-leaders. The natural leaders act as mentors, strong magnets that facilitate the blooming of the potential in the chosen few; JRD under JN Tata, Ratan Tata under JRD, Nandan Nilekani under Narayan Murty and Anil and Mukesh under Dhirubhai Ambani are some of the live examples from the contemporary world. But since the natural leaders are few, not many potential leaders are benefited by mentorship.
The third tier comprises of people who are aware of the phenomenon of leadership, having experienced leadership first hand. Having tasted, they struggle with self-development, learning through books and biographies, do-it-yourself manuals, and whatever help comes through the academia. Such endeavours take rather long in blooming.
The fourth tier, the other extreme of the spectrum, is a very large chunk of people who keep wondering if this subject of leadership has anything to do with them! They think that leadership as a subject is applicable only to their bosses!!!
The New Approach to Train Leaders
Transformational Leadership is the most widely accepted theory today. It postulates that people can choose to become leaders by concentrating on what s/he is (beliefs and character), what s/he knows (job, tasks, human nature), and what s/he does (implement, motivate, provide direction). The theory comes close, but still misses the point. The theory is still focusing on transformation of a person by modifying his skill base – the ‘doing’ aspect of leadership. It misses out on the fact that skills and tools do not make a leader.
No cosmetic treatment will produce leaders. Training for leadership has to focus on the ‘being’ aspect. Transformation is the essence of training leaders. When we talk about transforming a person while training him for leadership we are talking about transforming him into a New Person. Transformation here does not imply a mere change of form, from liquid to gaseous state; what is suggested is a transformation of a higher order – hydrogen to Helium, a completely new end-product that displays no characteristics of the original material.
Creating a New Person implies that a person after transformation has a new set of beliefs and values than what he earlier had. He has transcended his lower ‘self’ and is firmly rooted to his ‘Self’. Any meaningful training for leadership has to aim at developing a new set of attitudes in the aspirant. What is required is an inner transformation by inner re-engineering, one that creates a New Person.
In training for leadership we have to create totally new people. We have to aim at producing New People - people who have large residual energy of the right quality.
How To Increase the Flow of Energy?
Rs 1000 crores have been spent on the Ganga Action Plan in last 20 years with the aim of improving the quality and quantity of water available in the Ganges. It is an irony that despite 20 years, and the money spent, the situation has not improved.
How can we increase the flow of River Ganga ? We have no control over the input because it is already of the highest order – Cosmic. We cannot melt the glaciers. The commonsense way to cleanse Ganga is to stop polluting it; Ganga has an in-built mechanism, the ever-melting glaciers, to cleanse itself. Concurrently, removal of the obstacles and closing down inappropriate diversions in between would help so that the flow of current of the stream is not reduced. Given these conditions the mighty Ganga can cleanse itself!
Just like the flow of water is dependent upon the gradient, how much attenuation of cosmic energy takes place in a person is determined by his ATTITUDE. If our attitude has a correct orientation (divinity/ Self), and is free of natural obstacles (self), the flow of energy will be of leadership grade.
We may claim that we are a person with a positive attitude, but we do not know that we are an unconscious slave of Nature (PRAKRITI). It is because of Nature that this energy flowing through us gets attenuated, unconsciously.
We thus need to understand the nature of these obstacles, become aware about them, so that we can transform ourselves into a New Person.
How to Train for Leadership
The foremost requirement is the methodology to be adopted. To know a thing intellectually and to know it through experience are two different dimensions. If we aspire to train leaders the training has to graduate from a purely intellectual enquiry to being an experience. The training to be holistic has to experiential.
The steps to be followed for such training are:
Ø KNOW THE SYSTEM. Training for leadership implies knowing the circuitry through which cosmic energy flows, the natural barriers that impede the flow and making the aspirant experience the same.
Ø Having known the System, undertake certain practices to de-condition ourselves so that the present instinctive reactions are replaced by new set of conscious responses.
Ø Train so as to progressively move from the current Conditioned Instinctiveness to Pure Spontaneousness, and from Effort to Effortlessness.
CONCLUSION
One can be a good professional (doctor, engineer etc) without being a good human being. But to be a leader it is fundamentally essential to be a good human being.
Leadership is idealism in action. A leader is an ideal man with strong domain-related skills. The institutions, the best of B-schools, are training people for the requisite skill sets; no training is being attempted to create an Ideal Man. An Ideal Man is described in Gita (Chapter XII, Verses 12 to 20); it also describes in detail how to obtain to that state of Being which can be termed an Ideal Man.
When an aspirant has obtained to a particular state of Being, and it is superimposed with a particular skill, have we obtained a leader.
Hence the Being Theory of Leadership.
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