Here is a short piece on leadership which may be of interest to goanetters from the standpoint of Goa's future. It is from the Economic & Political Weekly (epw.org.in). I do feel the author may be taking the ineffectual option though he places the halo of "Gandhianism" over it while referring to its alternative as Machiavellian. Maybe a mix of both options is required depending on the situation. -------- EPW Letters to Editor January 8, 2005
Leaders for Tomorrow Samuel Paul and Vivekananda's (SPV) analysis of the background of Indian MPs, based on affidavits filed when they contested elections to the last Lok Sabha elections (May 2004), is quite revealing (November 6, 2004). There is nothing worthy to note about the quality of Lok Sabha members elected to serve this term and it is sad that the country continues to be ruled by such corrupt and incompetent leaders. What is to be done? Unfortunately, SPV have just analysed the background of such MPs and that is the easier thing to do! How to reform the corrupt MPs, help make their behaviour conducive to nation-building and accountable to voters who elect them, and how to improve their competence levels and sense of ethics, remains the more difficult part and this has not been attempted by SPV. Bad leadership is always dangerous but voters are also to blame for electing them in the first place. Barbara Keller, director of research of the Centre for Public Leadership in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in her book, Bad Leadership - What It Is, How It Happens and Why It Matters (Harvard Business School Press, 2004), identifies seven qualities of bad leaders in any situation/country. Such bad leaders are incompetent, rigid, intemperate, callous, corrupt, insular and evil. This applies to most of our MPs and MLAs. For our voters, there are thus only two options, (i) defeat them when they contest again and dispense with them absolutely and (ii) expose their misdeeds, reform them and make them atone for their corrupt and criminal activities. The latter option is more Gandhian and the former, more Machiavellian. Keller says, "bad followers (in India's instance, the voters) are as integral to bad leadership as is bad leaders and both are interdependent. Without oxygen, fire dies out." This applies to corporate leaders as well, where the board and shareholders tolerate incompetent, corrupt CEOs till they irretrievably damage the organisation. How is good leadership to be fostered and promoted in India? Unfortunately, the better-equipped higher institutions of learning such as the IIMs or the IITs and other prestigious institutions of learning have [not?] bothered to develop leadership development programmes that also have an Indian ethos. Sir Ratan Tata Trust sponsored a small experiment in Karnataka on 'India: Leaders for Tomorrow'. This was organised by the Institute of Social Sciences in New Delhi. Twenty-seven young men and women in the age group 30-40 who had distinguished themselves by their work in the public domain (education, health, environment protection, rural and urban governance) were trained and groomed for leadership roles in the years to come. The programme had received more than 150 applications, who aspired to become latter-day MPs and MLAs. But more importantly, leaders are required across the country, from panchayats to the highest domain of political power, the parliament. How we first identify and promote such leadership remains a moot question. Manu Kulkarni Bangalore --------- Ribandar
