Leadership quality 8/9

Trains have played significant roles in Leadership. One incident which all of us know is the South African train incident, which made Mahatma out of a man.

But we are not going to talk about this incident. But another incident in the same man’s life. Gandhiji was traveling from Madras (now Chennai) to Madurai. He noticed people around him were wearing foreign clothes. He asked them why weren’t they wearing Khadi. They said that they were poor to buy Khadi. That hit him hard. When he reached Madurai, he had made up his mind. He was not going to wear western clothes from now on. It was going to be Swadeshi. If the Khadi was costly, then they would do with only the loin cloth, but not wear western clothes which was cheaper.

It was a simple decision, but its consequences were far-fetched. We can even say this incident, changed India’s struggle for Independence. At one level, the subtle message was if people find Khadi expensive, they should reduce their clothing needs so that they don’t end up buying western clothes. At another level, Gandhiji changed the movement from being fought by western educated Indians to the movement of the masses, by wearing what millions of Indians were wearing and can connect to. At an altogether another level, he made himself simpler. He was showing the values of simplicity through his dress. He became more approachable as one among masses. This led to a huge following and the movement started to spread wide, leading to Swadeshi, Civil Disobedience and eventually Indian Independence.

Is simplicity a trait Leaders require? Let us look at Valluvar has to say on this.

Where king is easy of access, where no harsh word repels,

That land's high praises every subject swells.

 “The whole world will exalt the country of the king who is easy of access, and who is free from harsh language.”

Valluvar talks about ‘Katchikku Eliyan’ , which means one who looks simple to the eye. It is not just the looks, but also how easy it is to access. Leadership by definition is an elevated position. But that does not mean, they can afford to be aloof and not be approachable. In short, Leaders have to be simple and approachable. Most of the great leaders of the world have made sure they do this.

We saw Raja Raja cholan being the darling of the masses and how he would talk to his soldiers often and was very approachable. Even Alexander the great, used to wear what his soldiers wear. He spent time with his troops. He was found walking through the camp, stopping to talk and listen to groups of men.

We are seeing several leaders of today like Ratan Tata being approachable to the employees and/or leading simple lives.

Circling back to the concept of Generosity in leadership, how much time do you spend with your reportees? How approachable are we to our organization?

This post is dedicated to all the leaders of India who believe in being approachable and simple. If you like this post, more than just clicking on the like button, tag a leader who you think is simple and approachable.

If you like this post, you will also like my other posts in this series.

Post #1, Post #2, Post #3, Post #4, Post #5, Post #6, Post #7, Post #8