Chanakya
I have been deeply influenced by the work of Dr.Stephen Covey and Dr.Scott Peck. There is one common theme that both of them refer to about leadership and that is the philosophy and model of a Servant Leader. The philosophy of Servant Leader is timeless going all the way to the early writings of Chanakya in 4th Century BC in his book Arthashastra:
“the king [leader] shall consider as good, not what pleases himself but what pleases his subjects [followers]” “the king [leader] is a paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people.”
I try very hard everyday to live by this model. I believe life is short and we should not waste it being self centred. We need to find a vision, mission and team that we should serve. I had written about how I had made it my mission to help Entrepreneurs and Startup Founders. Becoming a servant to the Mission, the Team and the cause is hard work. The individual is required to subordinate the personal ego needs to put the mission and cause before it is easier said than done. How do we inspire ourselves to graciously step up to the need of the hour? What makes one step above and beyond their personal needs to do what is right? I think we all need to ponder that. I believe aligning oneself to leadership philosophies like Servant Leadership is the right way to approach being a leader of a team or a cause. By no means I have mastered or even close to understanding this, it is never a goal it is the journey and the experiences during that journey that matters. I believe everyone can be a Servant Leader, but the choice to be one has to come from the inside. I have written again about how Leadership is a choice and not a position. No one appointed Mahatma Gandhi as the leader of India Freedom Movement or Martin Luther King as the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement or every other leader that I have written about. No-one else is in Control You are…
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