This elegant quote comes from Sheryl Sandberg.

Most people consider Sandberg a transformational leader because she sets high expectations, encourages people to reach those goals, and praises them for doing good work.

She's an expert at recognizing a person's good traits and pushing them to improve.

At its core, leadership is about helping others. Those who give themselves over to the sincere desire to support the development, accomplishments, and well-being of others are ultimately the ones who find success in their own leadership, and who position themselves for expanded influence.

Dilip Mukerjea writes in his book. Megha-LIONS, which is dedicated to politics, leadership, statesmanship in the Indian State of  Meghalaya:

INITIAL GLIMPSES INTO LEADERSHIP WISDOM

DIOGENES ON BEING UNBEATABLE: 

The Cynic philosopher Diogenes was once criticised by a passerby for not taking care of himself in his old age, for being too active when he should have been taking it easy and resting. As per usual, Diogenes had the perfect rejoinder: “What, if I were running in the stadium, ought I to slacken my pace when approaching the goal?” 

His point was that we should never stop getting better, never stop the work that philosophy demands of us. Right up until the end Diogenes was questioning convention, reducing his wants, challenging power, and insisting on truth. 

MAYA ANGELOU ON PERSEVERANCE AND DEFEAT:

“There is, I hope, a thesis in my work: we may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. That sounds goody-twoshoes, I know, but I believe that a diamond is the result of extreme pressure and time. Less time is crystal. Less than that is coal. Less than that is fossilised leaves. Less than that it’s just plain dirt. In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics, the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats—maybe it’s imperative that we encounter the defeats—but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be.” Source: Maya Angelou, The Art of Fiction No. 119 

NAPOLEON HILL ON ACHIEVEMENT 

“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat. Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along. When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve. Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

 A QUOTE TO PONDER:

To me, the job of a leader is to build leaders at all levels in any organisation or institution or even nation, and together, build bridges of hope, ideas and opportunities - that help move from they are to where they need to be.

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL CEO?

Here's the answer:

"... People always ask me, “What’s the secret to being a successful CEO?”

Sadly, there is no secret, but if there is one skill that stands out, it’s the ability to focus and make the best move when there are no good moves... "

~ Ben Horowitz, British-born American businessman, investor, blogger, and also, author of 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers';

THE LAW OF NAVIGATION

Remembering an interesting insight from leadership expert and author John C Maxwell:

The Law of Navigation: 'The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership'

"Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course."

GENERAL COLIN POWELL'S 13 RULES OF LEADERSHIP

In his book "It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership," the four-star general and former secretary of state shares the 13 rules he lives by and how he learned them. From staying optimistic to checking your ego, the tips and stories are useful and thought-provoking for anyone, veterans and civilians alike.

1. "It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning."

2. "Get mad, then get over it."

3. "Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it."

4. "It can be done." 

5. "Be careful what you choose: You may get it." 

6. "Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision." 

7. "You can't make someone else's decisions. You shouldn't let someone else make yours."

8. "Check small things."

9. "Share credit."

10. "Remain calm. Be kind." 

11. "Have a vision. Be demanding."

12. "Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers."

13. "Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."

The full text can be found at this link:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/65663/colin-powell-s-13-life-rules-for-any-future-leader

WHAT'S THE SECRET TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL CEO?

I like what I am reading:

"... People always ask me, “What’s the secret to being a successful CEO?”

Sadly, there is no secret, but if there is one skill that stands out, it’s the ability to focus and make the best move when there are no good moves... "

~ Ben Horowitz, British-born American businessman, investor, blogger, and author; also, author of 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers';

GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF'S 14 RULES OF LEADERSHIP

Here are General Norman Schwarzkopf (1934-2012)'s 14 rules of leadership given at a business conference in 2010, which I have kept in my personal library files, under "Strategic Leadership":

[He topped an illustrious military career by commanding the US-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991.]

1. Think of yourself as a leader. Leaders lead people, not systems, processes.

2. Character. Requires sense of duty, ethics, morality – it is not a measure of competence. In times of crisis, people pick character to follow. Have strength of character – a prerequisite to having the courage to do the right thing.

3. Leadership must be respected, even though not loved. Make it happen and take responsibility. You can delegate authority, and still take responsibility. It is more important to be respected than to be loved. Leaders do not seek to be pleasing first.

4. The true rewards of leadership come from leadership itself – not the next promotion or tangible reward. Do not seek rewards; leadership is its own reward.

5. No organization will get better until leadership admits that something is broken. The prevalent can do attitude must be willing to accept you can’t do before you know something has to change.

6. The climate must allow people to speak up.

7. Leaders establish goals for an organization. They must be understood and know their role in reaching the goal. FOCUS is the number #1 goal in the military. The greater the number of goals, the more confusion you get. Creating focus is the number #1 priority for a leader. Excellent leaders instill focus by creating shared goals that are clear and understood; everyone understands their roles in achieving the shared goals.

8. Leaders set high standards; they don’t accept low standards. They set expectations. People go to work to succeed, not to fail.

9. Leaders set high standards and clarify their expectations. They then expect that people will go to work on achieving these standards.

10. Recognize and reward success – it is infectious. Failure is contagious. Leaders recognize and reward success. They understand deeply that both successes as well as failure are contagious.

11. Accept a few mistakes. Provide the latitude to learn. Leaders accept a few mistakes but also, create the latitude and atmosphere to learn.

12. Don’t tell them how to do the job – simply allocate resources, set standards and the results will exceed your expectations. Leaders do not deal with how to get the job done; they surround themselves with talent and then allocate resources and remove roadblocks to enable the talent to excel. Love the troops. Leaders love their troops and let them know in many ways.

13. When placed in command, take charge. Even if the decision is bad, you have set change in motion. It is better than being stagnant. When placed in command, take charge.

14. Do what is right. It is a sign of character. Have strength of character – a prerequisite to having the courage to do the right thing. Do the right thing – have the moral courage to do the right thing.

LEADERSHIP IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Here's the link to two insightful and incisive articles from Forbes.com, which read as if one is attending a crash course in "Leadership in the 21st Century'. 

Laden with great examples to illustrate strategic leadership as well as systems thinking in action in our globally interconnected business landscape, they have numerous links to more great ideas. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/24/every-leader-must-be-a-change-agent-or-face-extinction/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marymeehan/2014/03/24/flux-the-new-rules-for-innovation-and-growth/

RAPID RECAP: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP, from Marshall Goldsmith

In his wonderful book, “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful”, executive coach to the corporate elite, Marshall Goldsmith, provides excellent insights into twenty habits leaders need to stop doing.

In his research and working with executives, Goldsmith has discovered the 20 habits that hold you back from the top.

Here are the 20 habits we as leaders need to do less of:

1. Winning too much: the need to win at all costs and in all situations, when it matters, when it doesn’t matter and when it’s totally beside the point

2. Adding too much value: the overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion, idea or situation. Have you ever found yourself saying “That’s a great idea, but it would work better if you…”

3. Passing Judgment: the need to rate others and impose our standards on them and project our values on to others or the situation. Have you rated ideas by reinforcing with “that’s a great idea”, then the next person with a suggestion doesn’t get a “that’s great”. Whether intended or not, judgment has been passed.

4. Making destructive comments: the needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.

5. Starting with No, But, However: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone “I’m right, you’re wrong.”

6. Telling the world how smart we are: the need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.

7. Speaking when angry: using emotional volatility as a management tool.

8. Negativity, or “let me explain why that won’t work.” The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked.

9. Withholding information: the conscious or unconscious refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.

10. Failing to give proper recognition: the inability to praise and reward. Don’t wait, thank people right away!

11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: the most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.

12. Making excuses: the need to reposition our annoying behaviour as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it. “I’m impatient, I’m always putting things off..”

13. Clinging to the past: blaming our upbringing, or people or events in the past.

14. Playing favorites: failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.

15. Refusing to express regret: the inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong or recognize how our actions affect others. “I’m sorry” goes a long way!

16. Not listening: Yeah, yeah, I know that already, give me the summary! We are losing the fundamental need that each person wants to be seen, heard and understood. Are you truly listening?

17. Failing to express gratitude: How hard is it to say ‘thank you’ in a timely manner that is meaningful to the other person?

18. Punishing the messenger: This can be big or little responses we make throughout the day whenever we are inconvenienced or disappointed. It’s the momentary snort of disgust you exhale when you are told the boss is too busy to see you.

19. Passing the buck: blame everyone else, not yourself! A person who thinks he can do no wrong usually can’t admit that he’s wrong. Where are you when a project runs into trouble or an idea flops?

20. An excessive need to be “me”: exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are. Are you the type of person who is poor at returning phone calls or emails because you are so busy and overcommitted, or do you have a need to express your opinion, no matter how damaging it might be – just because you are exercising that right to be ‘me.’ “Hey, that’s me. Deal with it.”

By the way, did you recognize any of these habits for yourself?

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP TRAITS

Consider the difference in styles for these leaders:

LEADER STYLE

Mahatma Gandhi: Frail and softspoken;

Abraham Lincoln: ;Melancholy and thoughtful;

Winston Churchill: Fierce, and an indomitable bulldog;

Margaret Thatcher: Stern and tenacious, tthe “Iron Lady”;

Martin Luther King: Imapassioned and eloquent;

“The key to a leader’s impact is his sincerity. Before he can inspire with emotion he must be swayed by it himself. Before he can move their tears, his own must flow. To convince them he must himself believe.“

~ Sir Winston Churchill

Allowing for Drucker’s perspectives on leadership style, other authors on the subject, such as John Maxwell, Warren Bennis, Warren Blank, Burt Nanus, John Kotter, and numerous others have considered this topic and offer characteristics that cut across all styles; they include:

* authenticity
* decisiveness
* focus
* forward momentum
* personal touch
* people skills
* communicability
* integrity
* perpetual learning
* unflappability

Whilst the style of leadership is unique to every individual, the function must be to catalyse a clear, shared vision for the organisation. This should be inspiring enough to galvanise followers into vigorous commitment and pursuit of that vision.

WOODEN ON LEADERSHIP: 12 LESSONS

DRUCKER ON LEADERSHIP TRAITS

Peter Drucker, the sage of Business Wisdom, rejected the possibility of finding even a few fundamental traits that could be seen as being typical of leaders.

According to him, the whole discussion of characteristics and traits is a waste of time:

“Leadership personality,” “leadership style,” and “leadership traits” do not exist. Among the most effective leaders I have encountered and worked with in a half century, some locked themselves into their office and others were ultragregarious.

Some (though not many) were “nice guys” and others were stern disciplinarians.

Some were quick and impulsive; others studied and studied again and then took forever to come to a decision.

Some were warm and instantly “simpatico”; others remained aloof.

Some spoke of their family; others never mentioned anything apart from the task in hand.

Some leaders were excruciatingly vain ~ and it did not affect their performance...Some were self-effacing to a fault... and again it did not affect their performance as leaders...Some were as austere in their private llives as a hermit in the desert; others were ostentatious and pleasure loving and whooped it up at every opportunity.

Some were good listeners, but among the most effective I have worked with were also a few loners who listened only to their inner voice.

The one and only personality trait the effective ones I have encountered did have in common was something they did not have: they had little or no “charisma” and little use either for the term or for what it signifies.”

[Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manual. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]

LEADERSHIP & VISIONING THE FUTURE: Immortal Vision Statements from Matchless Leaders

[continued from the Last Post.]

“I will build a motor car for the great multitude... It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces...When I am through, everybody will be able to afford one, and everyone will have one.

The horse will have disappeared from our highways, the automobile will be taken for granted [and we will] give a large number of men employement at good wages.”

~ HENRY FORD

“I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day the nation will rise up and live life out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the State of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering in the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today...”

~ MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

“Hitler knows he will have to break us on this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free, and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.

But if we fail, the whole world, including the United States, including all we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age, made more sinister and perhaps more protracted by the lights of perverted science.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the Bristish Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”

~ SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

“The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children to spend pleasant times in one another’s company; a place for teachers and pupils to discover great ways of understanding and education.

Here the older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savour the challenge of the future.

Here will be the wonders of Nature and Man for all to see and understand.

Disneyland will be based upon and dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and hard facts that have created America. And it will be uniquely equipped to dramatise these dreams and facts and send them forth as a source of courage and inspiration to all theworld.

Disneyland will be something of a fair, an exhibition, a playground, a community center, a museum of living facts, and a showplace of beauty and magic. It will be filled with the accomplishments, the joys and hopes of the world we live in. And it will remind us and show us how to make those wonders part of our lives.”

~ WALT DISNEY

[Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manual. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]

DEFINING LEADERSHIP

Prof Preston Bottger, who teaches Organisational Behaviour at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, has coined a simple definition that conveys the full dimension of leadership:

"Leaders do or cause to be done all that must be done & is now not being done to achieve what we say is important! They provide a sense of purpose, direction & focus. They build alignment & get commitment."

That's to say, leaders are action-oriented change agents; they don't just think & talk. They 'do or cause to be done...'

Leaders provide:

1) Sense of Purpose:

- why are we doing it?

- what are the benefits of a change in innovation?

- what are the penalties if we don't do it?

2) Sense of Direction:

- which way shall we go?

- what innovation model should we adopt?

3) Sense of Focus:

- what are our priorities?

- what should we concentrate our efforts?

[Source: 'Innovation Leaders: How Senior Executives Stimulate, Steer & Sustain Innovation', by Jean Philippe-Deschamps;]

LEADERSHIP & VISIONING THE FUTURE

It is impossible to agree on one definition of leadership, but all perspectives on the subject involve an element of vision.

A vision is a concept, expressed as a statement, about what you or your organization aspire to become. If it is for an organisation, the words should resonate with all its members so that they feel proud, excited, and inspired in being a part of something much bigger than themselves.

By stretching the organization’s capabilities, the vision gives shape, dimension, and direction for the organisation to transcend itself. Visions range in length from a couple of words to several pages.

Short vision statements work best: people remember their contents and act in alignment with the values, purpose, and mission embedded within them.

A leader (or group of leaders) must have a vision of the future, perhaps influenced by those of the past or of the present, and must succeed in communicating such a vision to followers.

The language of a Vision Statement might include narratives, metaphors, symbolism, cases of leading by example, and incentives.

In order to be effective, such a vision, should:

• be simple, yet vibrant

• act as a bridge between the current reality and a future desired state

• inspire, in order to energize followers

Leaders must not just see the vision themselves, they must be capable of getting others to see it too.

Today, vision statements are in danger of rapid decay brought on by the disease of cliches proliferating within the marketspace.

Copycat crafting of vision statements create comatose contingents of ‘followers’. The Third Millennium leader must not be embarrassed to show love, be a servant, and inspire a vision for the greater good of life of our planet.

Today’s leader has transitioned from being a strategist to a visionary, from commander to storyteller, and from systems architect to serving as an agent of transformation. Such an entity must be able to craft a vision statement that is imbued with an element of noble purpose and sublime values.

In 'Leadership and the New Science', Margaret Wheatley likens a vision to an intentional force field that permeates the organisation like a wave of energy.

Vision staments can range from just a few words to several paragraphs. Generally, in order to absorb the full power of a compelling vision, the words have to emerge from a deep understanding of the leader’s values, needs, expectations, hopes, and dreams.

The vision statement must start with the leader. Warren Bennis comments that “just as no great painting has ever been created by a committee, no great vision has ever emerged from the herd.”

Impelled by the energy within an impassioned force field, leaders must transcend themselves, from being strategists, to visionaries: traditional strategists define and confine, demand and command, predict and control; visionary leaders enthuse, excite, and entice; they embrace, ennoble, and elevate...through the symphony of their spirits.

Leaders who can communicate their visions are masters of the tools of rhetoric: they are able to cut through the cacophony of commerce and convey their messages via anecdotes, metaphors, and speech patterns that incorporate rhyme, rhythm, and reason, with balance and panache, to ignite emotions and catalyse passions.

On the next two pages, there are some examples of immortal Vision Statements; may they inspire you to become legendary leaders!

[To be continued in the Next Post. Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manual. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]

LEADERSHIP

"Leaders articulate their goals and incarnate the behaviour through symbolic conduct to get people to follow. When Cicero spoke, people marveled; when Caesar spoke, people marched. Getting people to march behind your ideas takes courage."

— Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, USC

"Ultimately, what separates a winner from a loser at the grandmaster level is the willingness to do the unthinkable. A brilliant strategy is, certainly, a matter of intelligence, but intelligence without audaciousness is not enough."

— Garry Kasparov, World Chess Champion since 1985

Leadership and the Apes

Chimpanzees are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom; 98.6% of our genes are identical to that of chimpanzees.

Richard Wrangham and Dale Peterson, in 'Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence' present empirical evidence that only humans and chimpanzees share a similar tendency for violence, territoriality, and competition, and for uniting behind the one chief male of the land.

By comparison, bonobos, our second-closest species-relative, do not unite behind the chief male of the land. The bonobos show deference to an alpha or top-ranking female that, with the support of her coalition of other females, is as strong as the strongest male in the land.

If leadership amounts to acquiring the greatest number of followers, then among the bonobos, a female almost always exerts the strongest and most effective leadership.

Some have argued that, since the bonobo pattern inverts the dominant pattern among chimpanzees and men with regard to whether a female can get more followers than a male, humans and chimpanzees both likely inherited gender-bias against women from the ancestors of the chimpanzees; gender-bias features as a genetic condition of men.

And the bias against women having leadership as a position of authority crosses all world cultures.But bias or no bias, women leaders are coming into their own, and there’s no turning back the clock.

A Leadership Metaphor

An effective leader resembles an orchestra conductor in some ways. He or she has to get a group of diverse, talented people — many of whom have strong personalities — to work in harmony.

Can the conductor harness and blend all the gifts the players possess? Will the players accept the range of creative expression on offer? Will the audience enjoy their sound?

The conductor should have a determining influence on all these elements.

Jesse Jackson commented that “leaders do not choose sides but rather bring sides together.”

In the field of interaction, leadership is largely about the dynamic relationship between leaders and followers.

Warren Blank describes this phenomenon as “an undivided wholeness that resembles a dance... the interacting ebb and flow between leader and follower.”

[Excerpted from the 'Lifescaping' seminar participant's manul. The 'Lifescaping' seminar is conducted by Dilip Mukerjea about four times a year under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.]

LEADERSHIP & ACTION

Most evaluations of reality depend upon a synergy of two or more senses. Leadership calls for a three-step approach to translate wishful thinking into willfull doing:

(1) Awareness, where a situation is sensed and accorded attention

(2) Assessment, where analysis of the situation creates clarity, and

(3) Action, where intention becomes reality. This is inevitable, because we have within us more resources of energy than have ever been tapped, more talent than has ever been exploited, more strength than has ever been tested, and more to give than we have ever given.

Leaders impel the three-step approach into action via three questions:

- What’s the matter?

- How come?

- So what do we do?

[Excerpted from 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

LEADERSHIP & LOVE

The awakened spirit exhibits leadership by looking within. Wisdom is nothing but a drop in the ocean of consciousness; enlightenment is the ocean. The soul of a leader is nothing but the essence of her followers. They are her depth; she is their surface. They are her periphery; she is their centre.

Is a leader made, or discovered? Perhaps uncovered, brought to light.

Morihei Ueshiba, the revered founder of Aikido, once stated: “The true martial art is love.” But love often remains shut up inside us; it need only be released. The question is not how to produce it, but how to uncover it. What have we covered ourselves with? What is it that
will not allow love to surface? How can leadership emerge?

Love is the sacred soil for leadership. When one is without love, the ego steps in, darkness descends, consciousness gets clouded. Love and ego cannot coexist: love begets leadership, the ego leads nowhere.

There is an unbridgeable distance between the ego and leadership.

The ego strives to bridge itself with the horizon, with a projected desire. But the horizon does not exist. So how can one make a bridge to it? We can only dream about the bridge. We cannot be joined with the nonexistential. Leadership is the absence of desire, of ego; it is an impulse to move in the present, towards spiritual fulfillment.

Life should not be about dread and defeat, but about achievement and exaltation; it can only happen through leading from love.

[Excerpted from the 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Servant-Leadership is an expression coined by Robert Greenleaf. In his words:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.

Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions. For such it will be a later choice to serve – after leadership is established.

The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types.

Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

Source: 'The Servant As Leader' published by Robert Greenleaf (1904-1990) in 1970.

Greenleaf goes on to ask whether those served grow as persons and if they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?

Furthermore, he expresses concern towards the least privileged in society, whether they will benefit, or, at least, that they not be further deprived. The concept of traditional autocratic and hierarchical modes of leadership are being phased out.

Focus has shifted to the arena of workers and the enhancement of their personal growth. Through teamwork and community, institutions can become paragons of societal excellence; with uncompromising high standards of ethics, care and compassion, the servant as leader becomes an example of a spiritual guide on the river of life.

[Excerpted from the 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]