Mahatma Gandhi: A True Leader In Management

Article by Dr. Pratik P. SURANA Chief Mentor and Founder, Quantum, ndia.
Mahatma Gandhi was a unique individual. If you read up some Gandhi famous quotes what will strike you is an amazing and unnatural depth in leadership styles in management of a nation's mindset. Truly, management is completely different from leadership. ike opposite ends of a coin. !hile Gandhi might have "een 'managing' the Indian freedom movement with a troop of comrades on clockwork precision, he was actually leading a change of mindset that effected change in everyone who participated with him. eadership is a"out casting a vision and allowing it to seep into others so they follow the lead. Management is a"out dealing with situations such that results "ecome tangi"le. #ou can manage people "ut that will only "e "ecause you have the authority to do so "estowed upon you. $ut you can lead from anywhere, "y e%ample, so that your influence infects others and regardless of your position or authority, they follow what you say. Gandhi said &!e must "e the change we want to see in the world.& This is a powerful quote. This is one of the leadership styles in management that encourages people to 'self'manage' themselves. (e also said, &) small "ody of determined spirits fired "y an unquencha"le faith in their mission can alter the course of history.& )nd he did that too. eadership is "est "y e%ample. *o what you say in such a way that others can do it too. Management is "est an e%pertise. *o what others cannot so you gain authority over them. $usiness leaders across the glo"e have discovered a new Management icon'Mahatma Gandhi, the +ather of the Indian ,ation. !hile leading the nation in the struggle for independence Gandhi held a "eacon to some management strategies which are critical in present day corporate world. The Mahatma is now "eing rediscovered as more than -ust a political leader who gained independence for the country. (e is "eing looked upon as a master strategists and an e%emplary leader whose ideas and strategies have great meaning for the corporate world, particularly in India. )ccording to .hah"ir Merchant, /ice 0resident, 1onsulting .ervices, Grow Talent India 1o td, 2.imple corporate strategies like vision 3freedom for India4 and core values 3honesty and non'violence4 are well illustrated in his life.5 ) master strategist the Mahatma knew how to create a vision which would "e widely shared "y the people. eadership is considered to "e the most important aspect of management. In this Gandhi

e%celled. $y identifying himself with the masses, dressing like them, living among them and empathising with them, he won their respect, confidence and allegiance. Millions responded to his call. They spun cotton, "urnt foreign cloth and made salt in defiance of the law. They su"mitted to "eatings, imprisonment and even hanging "ut did not react with violence. 6udging from his remarka"le achievements and the e%cellent and effective manner in which he selected and negotiated his satyagarha issues, and planned and implemented his campaign he was undou"tedly a management e%pert. Gandhi travelled throughout the country to make the vision of independence a shared vision among the people living in different parts of the country. +or today7s 1orporate leadership the lessons Gandhi provides is that when they conceive a transformation plan for their organization they need to think for the future and define values that will help achieve this vision. They should create a shared vision like Mahatma Gandhi. Most 1orporate plans are conceived and finalized within the four walls of the $oard 8oom. ,o effort is made to communicate these plans9decisions to the masses who are the real engines of change. )ccording to Merchant 2investing time and effort to create a share vision and defining values is the starting point for all change.5 Gandhi7s greatest achievement was that he could easily relate to the people. (e made efforts to relate to the masses through his :walk the talk7 method of rallies, dharnas, padyatras and non violent protests. .ays Merchant 2 1;< s should not talk a"out cutting costs and cost optimization to the rank and file, and then fly "usiness class or stay in = star lu%ury. iving the values is the key for 1;< s marching on the change management path.5 In his "ook :1ount #our 1hickens "efore they (atch7 )rindam 1haudhuri has written e%tensively a"out Gandhi7s style of leadership and how it can "e applied to corporate India. (e says Gandhi7s leadership style was :follower'centric7. <ne that took into account e%isting conditions "efore determining the strategy. 2Gandhi advocated leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. !hen Gandhi was in .outh )frica, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. !hen he came "ack to India, he thought of >hadi and launched non'violent protests on a greater scale.5 In India corporate managements are rediscovering the Mahatma in a new )vtar. Indian "orn Management Guru 1.>.0rahalad has said that 1orporate India needs to take a fresh look at Gandhi7s ideas. They need to apply the lessons learned from these ideas to their leadership styles. .peaking at the 0rav"asi $haratiya *ay held in ,ew *elhi in ?@@A 0rahalad had said 2the Mahatma7s ideas have particular relevance for India as it struggles to find ways to inch closer to the B'C@ percent gross domestic product growth. Today I do not know how to grow at C@ percent or more or how to create C@'C= million new -o"s every year. $ut that is not the option "efore us. !e have to reinvent new way and that is what Gandhi taught usD clarity of goals. et us have the courage to reinvent the means5 Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the availa"le e%isting methods had failed 2(e "roke tradition. (e understood that you cannot fight the $ritish with force. .o he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. (e unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. 8esource constraint did not "other him. (e aimed at a common

agendaD 0oorna .wara-. That was the motivation,5 says 0rahalad. )ccording to *r Gita 0iramal, managing editor, The .mart Manager, Gandhi he was a wonderful strategist, showman and leader. (e had an amazing pu"lic relations network and a very good relationship with the press. 2+or instance, look at the *andi march. If Gandhi had gone there quietly, it would -ust not have made an impact. (e 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. (e had a total understanding of the human psychology and used it along with his pu"lic relation skills.5 Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma7s Great Grandson, says 2Gandhi was a management Guru, he created "rands. The .wadeshi movement popularized >hadi, and for every videshi goods "urnt he provided options. +irst creating platforms for the pu"lic to connect to each other and later using their latent talents for their own advantage.5 .wadeshi, 1hamparan and the *andi .alt March are e%amples of Gandhi7s precision planning and e%ecution of pro-ects. .peaking recently at the Gandhi 0eace +oundation on his great grandfather Tushar spoke a"out the opposition Gandhi faced among this senior colleagues when he decided to march to *andi to make salt. The $ritish government had decided to ignore the naked fakir confident that he would fail and make a mockery of himself "efore his people. ;ven within the 1ongress there were many who did not go along with the plan. <ne of these was 6awaharlal ,ehru7s father Motilal ,ehru who wrote him a long letter asking him to give up the pro-ect. Motilal told Gandhi that the plan would not succeed and would cause considera"le em"arrassment to the party. Gandhi wrote "ack a single line reply >ar ke deko3 do it and see4. The march and the sym"olic making of salt galvanized the entire country. It shook the $ritish administration. The effects of the salt march were felt across India. Thousands of people made salt, or "ought illegal salt. The march mo"ilized many new followers from all of Indian society and it drew the world's attention. *andi was a key turning point in the struggle for independence.. !ithin hours of the successful competition of the march the administration ordered the arrest of the second rung of 1ongress leaders !hen the police went to arrest Motilal he asked for a few minutes to get ready. $efore walking away with the police he sent Gandhi a telegram >arne ke pehle he dekh liya 3 even "efore doing it I have seen the result4. )run Maira, chief e%ecutive officer, $oston 1onsulting Group, points out 2!e keep feeling that models of people in the !est are the ones we should follow. In a way, we remain su"servient to the leadership values and models of the !est. $ut since the last two to three years these models are "eing dou"ted even in the !est, and so it is time for India to look within itself for leadership e%amples.5 . Maira says Gandhi7s style of leadership as applied to corporate India would involve making even the lowest person in the organization "elieve in it and the significance of his contri"ution towards it. 2In "usiness, empowerment is all a"out making sure everyone is connected to the organization7s goals. Gandhi has a way of doing thatD making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal.5 ;ven among those who look up to Gandhi as a Management Guru there are a su"stantial num"er who concede that all his ideas would not "e accepta"le today. +or one thing, they say, Gandhi was against industrialization and felt it would have a highly negative impact on society. $ut to say that Gandhi was completely opposed to industrialization would "e wrong nor was he an enemy of the capitalists. 8epeatedly during his lifetime Gandhi said that he has very good friends among capitalists, including 6amunalal $a-a-, whom he called his fifth son and G.*.$irla. ) more detailed study would reveal that the disconnect "etween Gandhi7s socialist ideas and the capitalist views is not as wide as it may seem. !riting in the *ecem"er CE, CFAF issue Gandhi said 2 I am not ashamed to own that many capitalists are friendly towards me and do not fear me. They know that I desire to end

capitalism almost, if not quite, as much as most advanced socialists or even communists. $ut our methods are different.5 Gandhi offered his theory of Trusteeship which required capitalists to consider the wealth they had as "eing held in Trust for the "enefit of the poor. The concept of Trusteeship is a mid path "etween pure capitalism and pure communism. Gandhi said the rich were the 1ustodians or Trustees of the wealth they earn and that this was to "e used for the welfare of their less fortunate "eings. 2My theory of trusteeship is no makeshift, certainly no camouflage. It has the sanction of philosophy and religion "ehind it...,o other theory is compati"le with non'violence,5 Gandhi had said +or Gandhi a Trustee is one who self'consciously assumes responsi"ility for upholding, protecting and putting to good use whatever he possesses, acquires or earns. This is the essence of 1orporate .ocial 8esponsi"ility as propound "y western writers. .ays Maira 2In the last few years, there is a thinking that capitalism is not -ust a"out creating wealth, "ut you have to take care of the shareholders and stakeholders, too. Many years ago, this emphasis on the interests of the stakeholders was la"elled socialism. .o, Gandhi7s ideas and the lessons learned from him are not totally different from what corporate India would like to do.5 2 Gandhi7s e%ample as a manager and leader is e%traordinary. There was no one like him who could get people together to em"race his vision as their vision.5 says 0iramal .o, to "e a good leader you need to "e very skilful to construct "ridges of empathy with people. ;lse you will never "e in their shoes and they will not follow... "ecause you don't know them and they can feel it. This is also why most people find it easier to "e managers. Management can "e taught. eadership must "e cultivated. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who kept working on himself till he "ecame the man worthy of gaining a country's following. (e took a stand on issues. (e said, &) ',o' uttered from the deepest conviction is "etter than a '#es' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trou"le.& ) manager would try to please in order to diffuse a situation. ) leader will not worry a"out creating a situation. .o the leadership styles in management that we see with Gandhi famous quotes are distinctively what anyone can evolve into "eing. 0rovided one wants to. (e did. )nd look where it took himG