Leadership Lessons from the Mahatma Gandhi

“Great endings have always had humble beginnings”.Even after decades of Indian independence,the Gandhian philosophy still applies to modern life. His struggle for India’s freedom movement started small, to achieve the “cult” status of the bygone era. Gandhi’s legendary leadership qualities have withstood the ravages of time to hold good even in today’s technology-driven world.

Leadership skills in the modern scenario go beyond the belief of “creating a following”.  With the public being well-informed, leadership is about creating a personal brand, which will not just inspire but establish a life-long connection with the brand’s identity.

Gandhi’s core leadership principles centre on competencies, which will help thrive, sustain and establish the LEADER in all spheres of live. They are:

• Continuous learning and improvement: One of the leading qualities of Mahatma Gandhi was that he kept an open-mind to the thoughts and ideas of his followers. On many instances whenever he was found to contradict himself, to the extent of questioning his sanity, he would plainly tell his followers, “Accept the second and ignore the first one”, indicating his open desire to improve and learn.

• The “other” is not a “label” but just another human being: All were alike to Gandhi from the prince to a pauper; the common man to the political leader. This helped him to keep an open mind and give undivided attention to what the other person was saying without any preconceived notions arising from the person’s background.

• Excellent listener: As a remarkable trait of leadership, Gandhi possessed this quality, which helped to listen to the unsaid and the articulated as well. He was always seen to be “seeing with his ears”

• Proactive in identifying resistance and moving towards Sustainable change: During the 1920s, when Gandhi was questioned about the greatest problems faced by India, he answered “callousness of intellectuals”; much in contrast to the anticipated answer- “slavery and British rule or pervasive poverty”. Gandhi’s long-term vision was towards building a sustainable society, where the helmsman or the knowledge-wielding, were made to be responsible for all their actions.

• The end does not justify the means: Whatever the goal may be, the path towards achieving it should be pure, conscience-driven. As a stringent conscience-keeper himself he advocated a path, which would be as much a matter of pride as the goal itself.

• Self-awareness and discipline: According to Gandhi, the more one delves into one’s inner self, the better it helps to identify the true spirit within – the strengths and weaknesses, creating the necessary space to make conscious, life-changing decisions. Discipline in all walks of life, was one of the primary teachings of Gandhi and he practiced it to improve efficiency and enhance life-management skills.

• Value-driven vision and execution efficiency: It is one thing to dream big and an altogether different aspect to be able to realize the dream. Gandhi had a vision of a free India and he took it step by step to make his dream and the dream of Indians come true. He brought his philosophy down to realistic approach to create a mass-following, which would see eye-to-eye with his Vision of free India.

• The holistic approach for every endeavor: What sets apart a leader from the rest is the approach and the attitude. A holistic approach helps to look beyond the ordinary and takes into consideration all factors underlying a problem.  During the freedom struggle, the non-cooperation movement, the Sathya-Graha or the practice of Ahimsa, gave Gandhi and the India’s freedom struggle sustainable strength to fight till the goal was reached.