Walk Alone

Leadership is not for the fainthearted! Personal pain is the handmaiden of those who lead. And those who lead walk alone. They stumble and bruise, flounder and bleed from a thousand wounds in the dark loneliness of despair, setbacks, pressure and problems. No one can truly understand and empathize with their personal suffering.

Leaders must bear the cross of holding confidences, delivering on expectations and being the custodians of other people's motivation. Every word and action is scrutinized without pity and the judgment is as swift as it is merciless. Even when they make decisions in good faith their motives and fairness are questioned. They are not allowed the luxury of feelings and emotion; they are denied love and tenderness in their weakest moments. Leaders are condemned as insincere even when they've given their all.

When accolades and approbation abound, praise and sycophancy obscure the pain that lies in wait. Like a cobra coiled to strike, the trauma of being misunderstood is just a heart beat away. When injury occurs the venom quickly paralyses. It takes large doses of determination, courage and generosity of heart for the leader to recover without the twin scars of bitterness and cynicism. But a scarred leader is no leader at all; so its mandatory for the leader to build the capacity to absorb and overcome pain without  being "negativized"by the experience.

Staying on the right side means doing the right thing even when it hurts. That means not lashing out under provocation; forgiving when taunted and sprayed with sarcasm; giving even when the receiver is spewing hate; rolling with the punches; grace under pressure. Loving while dying inside is living; in healing the other lies the healing of the healer.

So, get to work right away on the inside and build these capabilities. Take out each weakness and put it on the table; look at it; examine it and then remake or remove. Learn to be calm by meditating every day; let hurt and dirt fall away like threadbare clothes. Then you can walk alone with poise and perfection and claim your leadership destiny. In that lonely walk lies your own personal growth!

Inside Work

Unless we work deep within ourselves we can't create a credible exterior persona. Since leadership can't be outsourced to anyone else, we have no choice but to examine our internal resources. Its a formidable endowment! Like descending into the bowels of the earth is necessary to mine coal and diamonds, its mandatory to descend into the depths of our own beings to re-possess the treasures within. Introspection is the key to good leadership.

Am I patient ? Do I appreciate other people enough? Am I prepared to view mistakes as way-stations en route to success? Can I let go power and pursue results instead? Can I make the mental switch from "people are important resources" to "people are THE resource".

What does it take to answer these questions in the affirmative ? A difficult, painful internal transformation no doubt! Dropping long-held belief systems, altering mindsets and re-tooling attitudes. How do I do all this painful stuff ?

One way is to enrol in a personal growth lab. The other and more sustainable, substantive way is to embark upon a spiritual journey. The first step is to adopt a mantra and begin the practice of meditation. Now, doesnt this sound rather wacky ? Connecting leadership and spirituality ? Surely this is some mumbo jumbo that is best reserved for the evening of one's life!

Actually, a true and complete leader is one who is in full control of himself at all levels including mastery of the senses. In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 verse 48 Krishna says that all action is to be done in a state of yoga in which no attachment exists to results; further, such a state of equipoise is in turn the meaning of yoga.  The funny thing is that non-attachment to results increases concentration in delivery or performance which in itself increases the probability of achieving the results!

A state of equipoise is exactly what a leader needs! Balance is needed if courage and decision making are to blossom. And that is precisely what mantra chanting and meditation prepare us for!

Making the transition within is a precondition for achieving results without. Unless we can master the internal turbulence we cant navigate external storms. And unless we can lead ourselves we can't lead others!

Leadership Can't Be Outsourced

Leadership is that elusive element that is necessary for results to flow in any setting. No matter what other resource you have, the crucial ingredient that needs to be present in copious quantities is leadership; only then can teams and organizations produce results consistently. Consistent results are a precondition for survival. You always have a choice : to accept a leadership position or not. Having accepted the position you have to embrace it with enthusiasm and sincerity. You can't speak with a forked tongue; neither can you act in wimpy or wishy-washy ways. Clarity of thought and results, an unwavering commitment to do what is right, courage to make decisions, readiness to accept responsibility for failures, a continuous commitment to learning, acceptance of feedback and empowerment are all the foundation stones of leadership. Every one of these fundamental aspects is the sole responsibility of the leader. He and he alone has to ensure that these foundations are strong and ever-protected. This is his full time job and key focus area. He can't palm it off to anyone else. He'll simply have to do it himself. That's because leadership cant be outsourced!