Siddharta and the Four Ingredients of Leadership
World over there seems to be a sentiment brewing; one of despondency over events that have shamed humankind and scams that have outraged communities across the globe
This feeling is largely resonant in events occurring the world over: protests like 'Occupy Wall Street', the Arab Spring, rebellion in European countries like Greece and Italy, etc. It's as if an entire chorus of willful and fearless politicians, or book-keeping guardians of the Wall Street and authoritarian despots are singing, 'It's so hard to be good!' – something the common man is finding it more and more difficult to digest with every passing day.
Thus, there is a larger issue behind this clamouring for change and a desire to be heard. The question is: Where are the leaders we could look up to?
In the academic world, many theories prevail about the nature and attributes of leadership, as a science and an art. But, most of these attribute them to traits, behaviours and situations, thus limiting themselves to a physical, sensory or cognitive function, in other words, superficial, when hard-core decisions and communities are at stake. That's management, not leadership.
Personally, I have found inspiration in literature; with its awe-inspiring stories and lessons on value and morality, beautiful and skillful use of language and power of conviction in timeless words of wisdom. It is nothing but a steady stream of human consciousness, experience and imagination distilled into wisely chosen words. For many of us, this started from our grandma's pillow. These stories are still all there, we just need to reach out to them.
My understanding of leadership is that it is the ability to transform vision into reality, putting our ideas, beliefs and values into action. It is about having a vision backed by your conviction. For all these reasons, literature has to be seen beyond the scope of words. It can take us to a place where we can reflect on the ideas it conveys and the choices we should make to realize our personal and common goals in keeping with our values and those of our community. As a wise saying goes, the stories are always the same. Only characters and situations change.
For instance Siddhartha (name of the story's protagonist) by Herman Hesse offers a mesmerizing interplay of four key concepts: passion, compassion, beliefs and values, each of which is a key ingredient to leadership. Sidhhartha's leadership qualities rest within the realm of an expert stewardship of his own body, mind, desires, goals, passions, values and relationships.
Perhaps, one of the most powerful lessons comes from Siddhartha's response to a businessman, Kamaswami, when asked what he has learnt and was capable of doing, "I can think. I can wait. I can fast", replies Siddhartha. The ability to think gives one the power of passion, of reflective listening, of reason, of analysis, and of considered judgment. The ability to wait gives one the power of patience, of persistence, and of comprehension. Finally, the ability to fast gives one the power of compassion, of equanimity, of looking at pleasure and pain as transitory, and of detachment.
The current leadership styles fail to tap into the philosophical underpinnings of this rich body of work, since short-sightedness with regard to the future and a desire for quick returns makes us blind to our 'role'.
Connecting back to current situation, we find an almost unprecedented phenomenon: how democratization of information is leading people to question decisions, policies, customs and even traditions. It can perhaps be seen as recognition of the link between power and responsibility. People's power to express themselves, which affects itself as the power to influence others and finally, bring about a change, obviates to some extent the need to see power as the hold of the select few.
This is as true of politics as of traditional power structures and hierarchy in workplaces and organizations. This means, unlocking the leadership potential residing in all of us, individually. The focus is now on how we 'lead' our lives, how we can align our ambition with our values and conviction. I cannot but quote a line from one of Shakespeare's plays: "Ambition should be made of sterner stuff" (Julius Caesar). I can safely say he's talking about vision, passion, ethics, determination; all those things that form the core of human achievement, even when packaged in material splendour.