Transformational Leadership

The Gulag Archipelago is a defining book that rattled the world's conscience. Smuggled out of the Soviet Union, it woke us up to the harsh realities of the Stalinist USSR. That the book won author, Alexander Solyzhenstin the Nobel Prize for literature is only incidental to what drove the man.

https://youtu.be/j-gqJdKJPR0

Solyzhenstin is remarkable that he was not judgemental and did not attribute blame to others for his suffering. He was profoundly introspective and eventually determined that many of the ills that plagued him were consequences of his own actions coming home to roost!

How many leaders would you put into the category that the Russian was in? Imprisoned by Stalin, the very man he fought for, then exiled and down with cancer Solyzhenstin could rightfully have been bitter by life's unfairness and brutal reality. He wasn't and instead focused on getting the word out of the brutalities of Stalin's Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain was truly exposed by Solyzhenstins fictional but stark account of the realities of draconian leadership.

Mahatma Gandhi, peevishly labelled a 'Half Naked Fakir' by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was an ardent opponent of the British Empire and advocated Indian independence. He, however, bore no ill will against the British. If the average Indian on the road today looks at England with benign neglect rather than bitterness, we must thank Gandhi's leadership.

Nelson Mandela is a story of inspired leadership. Incarcerated by the racist South African government and locked up in a tiny cell for much of his youth, Mandela was the modicum of balance and accommodation as he led his country to independence and a black majority government. He again cautioned his fellow black South Africans against seeking revenge.

Gandhi and Mandela are well remembered and counted as successful leaders as they focused on the main goal rather than being distracted by peripheral issues. It is an important leadership lesson - resources and time is scarce; why squander them on the non-essential?

The MCC team visited India in 1933 for the first time that an official English team was here. Laxmi Merchant, sister of the legendary Indian opening batsman Vijay Merchant, chanced upon Gandhi and asked him to sign in her little autograph book. Leafing through the book, he noticed that the MCC team led by the infamous Douglas Jardine had signed their names. Gandhi added him to the list as the seventeenth player!?He wanted independence and had no time to waste. He had no issues in being the seventeenth man in an English team.

Transformational leadership is?a type of leadership in which leaders encourage and motivate followers to innovate and embrace positive change to grow and shape the organization's future success. This kind of leadership approach brings meaningful changes in people and social systems.