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6.

1 Introduction : universal inner structure

When we study analyse outstanding leaders in history who have made their mark
by doing some lasting good to mankinf a nation an organization or a cause we find
that they come in all shapes and hues – the flamboyanr , the scholarly , the artistic ,
the ascetic the gregarious and the recluse and yet when we look deeper in to their
personalities to find if there is something universal in their make up we really find
that indeed that is so . there to be component in one way or the other, is very
strong . irrespective of the region of the world they belong to , and the era of history
in which they had lived effective leaders who leave a lasting impact after they are
gone and continue to excersice positive and inspiring influence on the minds of the
people , have two things in common , both these merit discussion .

Firstly it is possible to say that in the totality of their personality they were
gentlemen in the true sense of the world . it is of interest to note that the definition
of a gentleman and of “sthithaprajnya” (man of steady wisdom as described in the
gita) is virtually the same . a gentleman has been described as under by a western
scholar .

“an honest man “

A man with a sense of duties and obligations of his positions, whatever it may be ;

A man who tells the truth;

A man who gives to others their due ;

A man considerate to the week ;

A man wjho has principles and stand by them ;

A man not to elated by fortune , and not to depresse by bad,

A man who is loyal ;

A man who can be trusted “.

Secondary, every outstanding leader has an inner hardcore in him which is


composed of certain universal virtues . if we piece these virtues together , then ,
the integrated structure that emerges can be diagrammatically shown as in figure
6.1 and 6.2
6.2 selflessness

Selflessness (or unselfishness or self sacrifice , if you like ) is the hub and heart ,
indeed the very foundation of this structure . its two other components are
knowledge and character . knowledge helps leader to determine what to do in any
given situation and the strength of character helps him to get things done by
appropriately handling people who have to implement what he wants done .
knowledge and character lend support to each other …

When we look for example who weee completely self;ess and lived for humanity at
large , we spot bhagwan sri ram , gautam Buddha , jesus Christ , and prophet
mohammed , guru nanak , ramakrishna paramahamsa, vivekanana , mahatma
Gandhi and the like . the most significant charecterstic of these man in that they
continue to have a tremendous impact on men’s mind even after many centuries .
Army motto

Us army officers from west point training academy carry the motto COUNTRY ,
DUTY, HONOUR to guide them through their carrer . the Indian army credo for its
officers is very explicit it commites them to keep their self interest as the very last
time of what they are expected to do

“the safety, honour and welfare of the country come

First always and every time .

The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you

Command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last always

And every time .

6.3 character

Each individual is a bundle of virtues and weakness – of mental and morale qualities
. the resulting individuality of a person from this balance sheet is his character , or
at times also reffered to as his personality .

Historically the quality of character or personality of a man has been the indicator
of his potenyial for leadership .

He “ once told me that he never intended to close off research on the personality of
leaders (he hoped to focus it better) but that is what happened ”

“charecters stands for self discipline , loyalty , readiness to accept responsibility ,


and willingness to admit mistakes . it stands for selflessness , modesty , humility ,
willingness to sacrifice when necessary , and , in my opinion , faith in god .
6.4 courage

Courage is the most admired of human virtue in all societies to be a man means to
be courageous . the most important act to courage for a leader is to take descisions
and to act . to take decision means being accountable for success or failure .

Peter drucker “ courage rather than analysis dictates the truly important rules for
identifying priorities . pick the future as against the past ;focus on opportunity
rather than on problems ; choose your own direction rather than climb the band
wagon, and aim high , aim that will make a difference rather than something that is
safe and easy to do ” aiming high means raising ones vision to greater heights .

6.5 will power

Churchil was invited to deliver the key note address . he got up from the chair
walked slowly to the podium , took out his small rectangular glasses, wore them and
looked at the audience . there was a pindrop silence . he then pulled out a small
piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the podium and spoke thus :

NEVER

NEVER

NEVER

NEVER

GIVEUP

EDUCATION WILL NOT : THE WORLD IS FULL OF EDUCATED DERELICTS


PERSISTENCE , DETERMINATION ALONE ARE OMNIPOTENT .
Roza fasting :

• Fasting . “rozas” during the month of ramzan is well eastablished technique


to purify the mind and strengthen will power . most religions in the world
prescribe fasting for the same purpose . water fast for 40 days in the Indian
spiritual tradition is perhaps the most rigorous practice in the world to
transform human personality .

• Revolutionaries have used the technique of placing their hand on burning


flame for a long time without flinching , in order to develop tenacity of mind .

• Giving up sugar and salt for a fixed period of time serves the same purpose .

• Bath in ice cold water in winter helps .

• Limited sleep of 6:30 hrs per day instead of 8 hrs serves the same purpose ,
and also adds nearly 450 hrs of extra time per year for studies or other
productive work

• Giving up addiction to habits like smoking , drinking , chewing pan , inhaling


snuff and so on also strengthens the will power .

• Long distance endurance running every day , or thrice a week , not only
strengthens will power but also ads to ones health .

While building our will power to preserve it is well to remember the well known
word of

WH Longfellow:

The heights by great men reached and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight.

But , they while their companion solept,

Were toiling upwards in the night .

6.6 initiative

Mutual confidence and trust accompanied by delegations of authority and


responsibility are the conditions in which initiative blooms the most . An importanc
part of strategic management is to create structure and organizational
culture in which initative of leaders at all level can have a full play .
Initiative can be developed by the habit of forethought. A leader should take some
quite time to reflect on the chosen course of actionto visualize the likely snags and
difficulties that can arise . he would then be mentally prepared if some of the
anticipated problems do crop up , and be able to modify or adopt an alternative
course of action with dispatch and vigour .

6.7 knowledge

Learning from other people’s experience has been the very hallmark of all
outstanding leaders. Learning is a lifelong and contiious endevour . the reading
habit is the biggest single factor contributing towards indirect experience “ the
greater value of indirect experience lies in a greater variety and spread of
knowledge , history is universal experience not of another , but of many others ” a
survey in a USA shows that the most of the succefull chief executive read an
average of 19 books a year incuding of non fiction works. The library is very potent
source to strengthen leadership

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