Assignment No.

02

BPS

Leadership qualities

Submitted By: Rafia Riasat

BBA-MF17-ID280

MS-Management Sciences

BBA-VI-C

9171077

July 02, 2020

Submitted To:

Sir Adnan Iftikhar

National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad; Pakistan

Email : [email protected]
MAHATMA GANDHI

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

Cultural, religious and political differences should not provide the backbone to invoke conflicts
that can only bring sorrow and destruction to our world. A great leader always leads with an
exemplary life that echoes his ideals. Mahatma Gandhi sacrificed his thriving law practice and
adopted a simple life to live among the millions who lived in poverty during his freedom
struggle. Today, we see modern leaders cajoling the masses with promises that they never intend
to keep - let alone practicing what they preach in their own lives. One cannot bring world peace
to all unless a leader demonstrates peaceful acts of kindness daily. Reasonable Even after stating
that India would be divided over his dead body, he realized that partition was inevitable as the
only solution to the Hindu-Muslim divide, and accepted it. Although Gandhi was a man of faith,
he did not create any specific dogma for his followers. Gandhi believed in the unity of all
mankind under one God, and preached Hindu, Muslim and Christian ethics. Strategist Ideas
travel very fast. Gandhi is a fascinating figure. He was a wonderful strategist, showman and
leader. He had an amazing public relations network and a very good relationship with the press
then. For instance, the Dandi march, if Gandhi had gone there quietly, it would just not have
made an impact. He knew he had to create an event to make an impact and so he took his
followers on a march that stirred popular imagination of the time. He had a total understanding
of the human psychology and used it along with his public relation skills. Discipline Mahatma
believed that challenging his self-discipline heightened his commitment to achieving his goals.
He was a focused leader that had a "Do or Die" attitude. He 'would free India or die in the
process. Mahatma would do extraordinary things to improve his discipline and his commitment.
Do what others cannot so you gain authority over them. So, to be a good leader you need to be
very skillful to construct bridges of empathy with people. Else one will never be in their shoes
and they will not follow... because you don't know them and they can feel it. This is also why
most people find it easier to be managers. Management can be taught. Leadership must be
cultivated. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who kept working on himself till he became the man
worthy of gaining a country's following. He took a stand on issues. He said, "A 'No' uttered from
the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
A manager would try to please in order to diffuse a situation. A leader will not worry about
creating a situation.

PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing
methods had failed. He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with
force. Resource constraint did not bother him. Have the courage to invent the means. Change the
paradigm on how we can run. He aimed at a common agenda. That was the motivation. He
suggests that India needs to fundamentally change the way it can grow. He unleashed the power
of ordinary people in the country to fight under a unifying goal. If one can understand the motive
of your opponent's leadership; one can find ways to tackle it. We keep feeling that models of
people in the West are the ones we should follow. In a way, we remain subservient to the
leadership values and models of the West. But since the last two to three years these models are
being doubted even in the West, and so it is time for India to look within itself for leadership
examples. The country today stands divided on whether what he did was good or bad. There was
neither a leader before him nor one after him who could unite us all and bring us out in the
streets to demand for what rightfully ours. Gandhi advocated having leadership styles that were
dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a
suit and a tie. But when he came back to India, he thought of khadi and launched non-violent
protests on a greater scale. At times Gandhi had to be quite flexible leader. At times he had to
change his plans around to counter British rules and tactics. Gandhi's style of leadership as
applied to corporate India would involve making even the lowest person in the organization
believe in it and the significance of his contribution towards it. In business, empowerment is all
about making sure everyone is connected to the organization's goals. Gandhi has a way of doing
that: making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal. Gandhi's example as a
manager and leader is extraordinary. There was no one like him who could get people together to
embrace his vision as their vision. His belief was probably the most important factor in
Mahatma's success. He not only had self-belief but he had the ability to inspire the Indian people
to believe in themselves and their goal of freedom, even though all the hardships that they faced.
One of Mahatma's beliefs was Willpower Overcomes Brut Force. Social Progress Leadership is a
necessary part of the social process. Any group, association, organization or community
functions the way its leader leads it. It is truer in the collectivistic cultures like India where
people follow the path shown by the great people. Leadership is an integral part of work and
social life.

SEEK FRIST TO UNDERSTAND

Situation where a group of people want to accomplish a common goal, a leader may be required.
Leadership behavior occurs in almost all formal and informal social situations. Even in a non-
formal situation such as a group of friends some sort of leadership behavior occurs wherein one
individual usually takes a lead in most of the group activities. The first time Mahatma got up to
speak in court, when he was working as a lawyer, he could not speak one word out loud due to
fear. This caused him great humiliation. Even though he failed miserably, those failures
eventually lead to him becoming one of the best public speakers of all time. There were quite a
number of times Gandhi failed; each time he used the failure to improve his leadership skills and
to improve himself and the task at hand. Mahatma shows us that the even the best leaders still
fail and make mistakes. He also shows that the difference between good leaders and great leaders
is that the great leaders acknowledge and learn from their mistakes. Inspire and Motivate Leader
must have ability to move the masses; it's not just true for political leaders, but also
organizational leaders. Simply lead with your heart and show that you actually believe in the
purpose of what you stand for. Emotions are contagious, both that of optimism & pessimism and
must be guarded in public. Even in crucial and uncertain times, it's important to keep positive
emotions. While it is important to communicate reality, it's equally necessary to give sense of
hope. Leaders must encourage a culture of pride in the employees; they should be able to harness
the collective creative energies of an organization. A leader must have the ability to bring out the
best in others, to enable others to act. When the employees feel that they "only work here", the
leadership has typically failed. Credibility is single most important quality of a good leader; it is
the foundation. A foundation that is built with honesty, integrity, and self-discipline. Employees
look up the leaders as the role models, or simply the person who brings meaning to their daily
job. If the leaders can't practice the solid values they preach, their ideas will be shrugged off.
Every leader must realize that employees are constantly observing and analyzing their actions,
evaluating consistency between their work and their deeds, judging their integrity. Leaders must
exercise self-discipline by suppressing their own personal egos or emotions.