Oxford dictionary defines leader as, ‘a person who heads a group of people’ and Cambridge dictionary defines it as ‘a person who manages or controls other people, especially because of his or her ability or position’. Both the definitions appear incomplete as they talk about heading, managing or controlling only which is something that an administrator, manager, or a boss would also do. Napoleon Bonaparte has said, “A leader is a dealer in hope”. It is an interesting statement that may explain a very important characteristic of a leader – inspiring and motivating the people, and giving them hope.
According to it, the attribute that separates a leader from a common man is his/her ability to dream big, and to encourage and bring hope to the people and nurture it till the hope is realized. Cuban (1988) describes leader as the person who shapes the goals, motivations, and actions of others and initiates changes to reach existing and new goals. This definition seems quite adequate as it not only talks about securing the existing goals, but also creating new ones. Also this definition separates leaders from managers or administrators very clearly by adding the words ‘shaping’ and ‘motivation’ as a leader is the one who inspires and motivates others rather than simply making them do things.
‘Leader’ and ‘Leadership’ are quite old terms. Stogdill R. M. (1950) says that these words date back to 1300s and 1800s AD respectively. Research about leader and leadership is one of the most widespread disciplines because people are interested to study it from different dimensions and perspectives. Leadership has been defined by many philosophers, intellectuals, researchers and leaders themselves differently. Oxford dictionary puts leadership as ‘the ability to be a leader or the qualities a good leader should have’, while Merriam Webster dictionary defines leadership as ‘the capacity to lead’. Both the dictionaries put leadership as capacity or set of characteristics that would enable a person to lead, however, the difference is that whereas Oxford dictionary talks about leadership as something that makes an individual ‘a good leader’, Merriam Webster talks about ‘leader’ only without going into characteristics.
It has been agreed upon by many researchers that leadership is not a single step, but a short term evolutionary process, comprising of learning and developing, that even leaders who are considered “inborn leaders”, go through. Kesting and his co-researchers (2016) said that leadership is a process by which an individual motivates, or influences others to achieve their common goals. Motivating and inspiring people to follow a specific set of principles and programmes depends highly upon the leader and his/her leadership style and skills. In other words, leadership tends to create a bond with the people who are led at personal level so that they are inspired, not forced to achieve the goals and targets. Similar observations have been made by Stogdill (1950) in his article ‘Leadership, membership and organization’ published in Psychological Bulletin.
The meaning of leadership has changed with time and space. There are some qualities of a leader that were considered good at one time, but unacceptable at the other. Similarly, characteristics and qualities of a leader, that make him great, change from region to region and society to society. In some societies and regions where there is still tribal culture or at least its influence; the role, responsibilities and attributes of a leader are quite different than what they are in more democratic societies of the world. Similarly, regions with autocratic rule or dictatorship, whether military or civil, experience a different set of leadership attributes which may not find acceptance elsewhere. A leader may be political (democratic or autocratic), social, organizational, bureaucratic, delegative, transformational, transactional or situational, however, this article shall primarily refer to political leadership because of its dominant role in nation building.
The question, “Who is the greatest leader of all time?” is one that has intrigued historians and scholars for centuries. The answer is not straightforward, as it varies based on individual perspectives, cultural contexts, and the criteria used to define greatness. Some may argue that the world’s greatest leaders are those who lead with courage and conviction during times of war, while others may highlight those who bring about significant social change or those who innovate and transform industries. When I consider the greatest leaders, I focus on the qualities that make someone truly exceptional. Leadership is not solely about achieving success; it’s about the journey, the impact on others, and the legacy left behind. To figure out what makes a leader truly great, we need to examine several core traits and values. The leader should be embodied with, clear vision along with strategic thinking to make it happen, unwavering character and integrity, resilience and perseverance to withstand tough times, challenges and setbacks, empathy to connect common people and understand and share their feelings, inclusiveness to accommodate and respect diversity, communication skills transcending ordinary rhetoric, learning agility, and above all the leaders should symbolise the values and principles they are advocating. Their deeds should commensurate with their words.
In the Holy book of Qur’an (61:2), the believers have been admonished against any discrepancy in preach and practice, ‘O ye who believe! Why ye say that which ye do not’? Alama Iqbal, the poet of the East, while trying to ignite the minds of youth, through his poetry, by persuading them to emulate falcon (Shaheen) for its swooping, and soaring and tireless flight, he, in a couplet in Bang-e-Dara has urged them to relearn the lesson of truth, justice and valour to become fit for their duty to lead the world – ‘Sabaq Phir Padh Sadaqat Ka, Adalat ka, Shuja’at ka; Liya Jaye Ga TujhSe Kam Dunya Ki Imamat Ka’. One of the most important attributes of a leader is the ability to admit his or her mistakes. Since leaders are faced with so many problems and challenges and are in a position to make countless decisions, things inevitably go wrong.
The sign of a superior leader is not that he avoids making mistakes; it’s that when he does, he learns from them. In this remarkable letter dated July 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln congratulates General Ulysses Grant for an important victory — the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Lincoln differed with Grant about how to handle the campaign, but when Grant pursued his own strategy successfully, ignoring the President’s view point, Lincoln frankly admitted in the letter that he was wrong and Grant was right.
For writing this article I was inspired by a story narrated by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. In 1979, he was the project director of SLV-3 and he was given the task to put India’s ‘Rohini’ satellite into orbit. The mission failed and the satellite instead of going into the orbit went into Bay of Bengal. Prof. Satish Dhawan, the chairman of ISRO took Dr. Kalam to the press meet and made him sit aside. He calmly stepped into the sea of cameras and microphones and took responsibility for the failure and said “We failed! But I have a very good trust in my team. Next time we will be succeeding for sure” and made everyone to believe in the team. Next year they tried again and it was a big success. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Satish Dhawan congratulated Dr. Kalam and his team and asked Dr. Kalam to conduct the press conference that day. When failure occurs, a leader should humbly own and acknowledge it. When success comes, the leader should again have the humility to give credit to all the people who worked for it.
Leadership attributes in present day leaders are highly threatened. Almost all the world leaders have either hubristic traits or are infected with sycophancy. UNO has become a fiefdom of few powerful nations. Geo-political scenario of the world is so intertwined that perhaps none of the world’s leaders is in a position to stand upright and speak with courage and conscience. For perpetuity of their power they are skilled to deceive their people by illusions and trickeries. Colonial mind set, religious, ethnic and even lingual intolerance, are no longer abominable to them but are proudly used as effective tools to stick to power.
In order to make this earth a better place to live on UN in 2015 adopted seventeen SDGs but most of the member countries have not achieved desirable results. Globally, 1.1 billion people (18% of the total population) live in acute multidimensional poverty across 110 countries, and in India more than 230 million people fall in this category (UNDP, MPI 2023). Global warming continues unabated. Summer of 2023 was earth’s hottest summer on record, 0.23oC warmer than any other summer. Arctic is very likely to become ice free by the end of 2050 if current projections hold (NASA record). Carbon dioxide emissions have continued to grow rapidly due to unabated use of fossil fuels; we, at global level, now emit over 35 billion tonnes a year as compared to 26 billion tonnes in 2001 (Global carbon budget 2023).
The healthcare system across the world could not stand the test of covid-19 pandemic which killed more than 15 million people (UN, DESA). The 2023 Global hunger index score for the world was 18.3, considered moderate and slightly below the world’s 2015 GHI score of 19.1, showing that after many years of advancement up to 2015, progress against hunger worldwide has remained at a standstill. The genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, breeching international law, through heavy and unrelenting bombing on cities, towns and villages including schools and hospitals, in the name of curbing Hamas, by Israeli occupation forces is continuing remorselessly with pride and pomp and almost the entire global leadership is either unconcerned due to vested interests or they lack the courage to raise their voice in support of Palestinians.
A Leader must be upright, unwavering and an epitome of exalted character and courage, but what we perceive on ground, is entirely a different picture. Our leaders act as moderators, not agents of change, never trying to fly above the clouds or against the direction of wind. Martin Luther King Jr. was moved by just a couple of incidents of racism in US in 1955, mandated by Jim Crow laws in Montgomery, Alabama, came forward and led Montgomery bus Boycott movement; ultimately forced the authorities to repeal such laws.
The Prime Minister Netanyahu was, at least, castigated by one individual, his opposition leader Yair Lapid, for being soulless and not using the power for the country but for staying in power (Times of Israel, 24 August, 2024). The moral standards of leadership have deteriorated in absence of checks and balances. In Asian countries a good proportion of the political leaders have criminal cases registered against them. In India, as many as 170 (31%) members of the current 18th Lok Sabha are facing serious criminal cases including rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women (ADR report, 2024). In J&K, 19% of the candidates in fray for 1st and 2nd phase of the ongoing assembly elections have criminal cases registered against them (ADR report).
Great leaders are not only known for starting a movement, inspiring and mobilizing the masses, but they are known to control the people under their command, create an ecosystem of non-violence and finally culminate the movement peacefully as and when results achieved. The horror of India –Pakistan partition in 1947 has left an indelible mark on our soul besides putting a question mark on the integrity and competence of the leaders who could not control the masses. Some British soldiers and journalists who had witnessed the Nazi death camps claimed Partition’s brutalities as worse. Across the Indian subcontinent, communities that had coexisted for almost a millennium attacked each other in a terrifying outbreak of sectarian violence, with Hindus and Sikhs on one side and Muslims on the other – a mutual genocide claiming the lives of more than two million people. Innumerable incidents of arson, loot, forced conversion, mass abduction and savage sexual violence were beyond description and a blot on the entire freedom struggle (The Great Divide by William Dalrymple 2015).
In Islamic history the true leadership quality was exercised by Prophet Mohammad (SAW) in Bait-e-Rizwan (628 AD) when most of his companions opposed the truce with infidels of Mecca but the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) took the bold step and went ahead to sign the agreement. The benefits of this truce, which were envisioned by the Prophet, were reaped by the believers within a period of less than two years in 629-630 AD in the shape of conquest of Mecca by Islamic forces under the command of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) in a bloodless fight. The Islamic troops were directed by Prophet Mohammad (SAW) to enter the city reciting verses of Quran (17:81), “And say, truth has arrived, and falsehood perished; for falsehood is bound to perish” and not to commit even a smaller mistake of plunder, tyranny, immodesty etc. which had always been the hallmark of invaders. It was a day of mercy and forgiveness. Going through the life history of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) and his companions, George Bernard Shaw, an Irish political activist and a Nobel Prize winner (1925) in literature, had no hesitation to say, “I believe that if a man like Mohammad (SAW) were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness”.
Mahatma Gandhi had a profound admiration for the refined character of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) as a man of faith and action. Gandhi Ji has said, “I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions….I became more than ever convinced it was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his selflessness, his absolute trust in God and his own mission. These surmounted every obstacle. Mohammad was a great Prophet. He was brave and feared no one but God. He was never found to say one thing and do another. He could have commanded wealth if he had so desired. I shed tears when I read of the privations, he, and his family and companions suffered voluntarily” (Gandhi’s inspiration from the Prophet Mohammad @ gandhimemorialcenter.org).
Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela have proved themselves great and unwavering. While M. L. King organized and led marches for blacks’ rights to vote, desegregation, labour rights and other basic civil rights in US and succeeded in getting most of these rights successfully enacted into laws, Nelson Mandela, the renowned anti-apartheid activist and South Africa’s first black President offered valuable lessons for leaders today through his exemplary leadership style embodying integrity, transparency, accountability in action and decision, reconciliation, inclusiveness, equality, humility, empathy, perseverance, resilience and collaboration.
In business sector, world has produced some great leaders like Henry Ford, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and many more, who, through their vision, innovative skill, hard work, strategic thinking, unwavering belief in their goals and outstanding leadership qualities, have contributed significantly and inspired many. In India, although, Reliance Industries, along with TATA group and SII have been recognized as some of the world’s most influential companies by TIME magazine 2024, all due to their effective leadership, we remained static at rank 40 without improvement in Global Innovation Index 2023.
To me and many others, leadership crisis never means scarcity of leaders but it refers to scarcity of leadership qualities in leaders. The world is facing a serious crisis of true and genuine leadership. There is no model code of conduct and/or other moral/educational/technical criteria for being a leader which is unaffordable and unsustainable for a nation to become prosperous. Ironically, those who are untainted and committed, and possess all the essential leadership traits fail to carve out their niche in the political ecosystem.
(The Author is Principal (Rtd.) J&K Higher Education Department. Email: [email protected])
