The Five-Fold Path to Superb Leadership

This article may seem absurd to many, weird to some and perhaps reasonable to just one. But who else has a better reason to tell “school leaders” how efficient and effective their work could become than someone who belongs to the lowest hierarchy of the kingdom of an organization? He who gets affected most has the better reason to suggest. Thus, I lay down my version of the five-fold path to superb leadership.

1. We must become the change we want to see. - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

First and foremost, a leader should walk his talk. If he wants to change the people he leads and make a significant difference in the workplace he must be the first one to undergo cleansing and renewal. Nothing is more absurd than an ‘unclean’ leader who preaches morality and uprightness. But worst is the one who punishes subordinates for wrong acts that he himself has committed. The bottom line is... change to see change.

2. Ah well! I am their leader; I really ought to follow them! - Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (1807-1874)

Following people you lead is the ultimate paradox of leadership. As it is the sum total of all the contradictions of leadership, it is understandably the hardest to follow and consequently the easiest to break. Essentially, this has something to do with listening to people and treating them as human beings and not robots. Ah, but the term 'listening’ itself is often misunderstood and commonly neglected, intentionally or not. Listening to people is ‘really’ listening to them. Not just to please them and make them feel you’re not despotic; but ‘really’ listening to their needs, opinions and feelings. But then again there’s another problem with the term ‘really’ as many people willfully interchange it with the term ‘pretentiously’ and pretend they really listen.

3. Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Theresa (1910-1997)

I won’t delve so much on this issue but all I have to say is this—almost always, cases decided by the Supreme Court in relation to a superior and a subordinate involved verbal and other forms of abuse. If you want to make yourself part of the ‘prestigious’ list… Go ahead. I’m not holding you back!

4. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

This reminds me of The Lord of the Ring. Remember how Frodo tried his best to resist the temptation of the ring but in many times failed as the power of the ring was so much a force for him. Had it not for Smeagle, the beast and the ‘accidental hero’, the worlds of mortals and immortals would have been in the greedy clutches of Dark Lord Sauron. This literature by JRR Tolkien depicts the true-to-life saga of school heads and other leaders. The burden of the task of leading is truly heavy and it will determine the substance of a leader’s character—whether he will become a dreadful ‘power-tripper’ or a prudent guide. The choice is always his or her to make.

5. The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. . . . - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

Effective leadership for the most part is the power to inspire. Good leadership transcends the boundaries of physical presence. A good leader is someone who is capable of planting good seeds in the heart of followers. Good seeds that grow even without the extraneous pressures. Effective leadership brings out miracles and enables an organization to achieve things beyond the ordinary. I have yet to meet someone like this. Honestly.