Abraham Zaleznik of Harvard Business School argues that managers tend to

adopt impersonal, if not passive, attitude towards goals, whereas leaders take a
personal and active attitude towards goal. While, John Kotter, a colleague of
Zaleznik at Harvard, also argues that management is about coping with
complexity. Leadership, in contrast, is about coping with change. No wonder that
leadership literature is voluminous and much of it is confusing and contradictory.
One of the important approaches to leadership has tried to find Universal
Personal Traits, the second tried to explore the leadership in terms of behavior,
the third looked to contingency model; and now researchers are trying to
identifying the set of traits that people implicitly refer to when they characterize
someone as a leader.
The researchers' effort at isolating these traits resulted in a number of dead
ends. For instance, a review of twenty different studies identified nearly eighty
leadership traits, but only five of these traits were common to four or more of the
investigations.
The inability to strike 'gold' in the trait mines led researchers to look at the
behavior that specific leaders exhibited. Two most popular studies were Ohio
State Group studies and University of Michigan Group studies. There were other
studies also, but all of them faced the same problem, they had very little success
in identifying consistent relationships between patterns of leadership behavior
and group's performance. General statements could not be made because
results varied over different range of circumstances. What were missing were the
situational factors that influence success or failure.
The failure to obtain consistent results led to a focus on situational influences. It
was one thing to say that leadership effectiveness was dependent on the
situation and another to be able to isolate those situational conditions. Some of
the models were: Fiedler Model and Hersey and Balanchard's situational theory.
The first contingency model was Fiedler model which proposed that effective
group performance depends upon the proper match between the leader's style of
interacting with his or her subordinates and the degree to which the situation
gives control and influence to the leader. He argues that leadership style is
innate to a person you can't change your style to fit changing situations. Field
studies fell short of providing full support to this model.
Hersey and Balanchard's situational theory focused on the followers. They
concluded successful leadership is achieved by selecting the right leadership
style and which is contingent on the level of the follower's maturity. Some
researchers provided partial support for this theory while others found no
support for these assumptions.
The topic of leadership does not lack for theories. But the theories of these traits
to predict leadership success are just not that strong.
Some of the more recent approaches to leadership have been:

Attribution theory of leadership: Leadership is merely an attribution that

people make about other individuals,

Charismatic leadership: Followers make attributions of heroic or

extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors

Transactional versus Transformational leadership:

Transactional leaders guide or motivate their followers in the direction of

establishing goals by clarifying role and task requirements.

Transformational leaders provide individualized consideration and intellectual

stimulations and who possess charisma. All these theories deemphasize
theoretical complexity and look at leadership more the way the average 'person
on the street' views the subject.
As we see in West, there has been a transition in approaches to the study of
leadership from the simple trait orientation to the increasingly complex and
sophisticated transactional models. A major breakthrough in the understanding
of leadership came when the need to include situational factor was recognized.
Now the study of leadership has expanded to include more heroic and visionary
approaches to leadership. As West learns more about the personal characteristic
that followers attribute to charismatic and transformational leaders and about
the conditions that facilitate their emergence, West will be better equipped to
predict better when followers will exhibit extraordinary commitment and loyalty
to their leaders and to those leaders goals.
Now, West is, slowly, realizing that leadership can be put into a matrix as it is a
far more complex subject and parameters involved are too many. The subject of
leadership needs to be looked very differently. There is an Indian definition of
leadership called "Krishna", which can solve the leadership definition problem.
Morden philosopher and spiritualist Osho has said: "There are thousand
statements about who Krishna is and Krishna belies all the statements. How does
one understand a man with so many sides to him? No statement however severe
and astute can wholly encompass Krishna's wholeness lies in the fact that he has
no personality of his own, that he is not a person, an individual he is existence
itself. You can say that he is like a mirror; he just mirrors everything that comes
before himand when you see yourself mirrored in him, you think Krishna is like
you. But the moment you move away from him, he is empty again. That's
leadership. One wants to see in Krishna what one wants to see in him. Nothing
more nothing less." That's why says Osho, "there are a thousand commentaries
on the Bhagavad Gita. Every one of the commentators saw himself reflected in
the Bhagavad Gita. There are hardly any commentaries on other religious
personalities." This is because Krishna is not definite, conclusive. He does not
have a system, a structure, a form, an outline. Krishna is formless, incorporeal.
Now the real test of leadership - does Krishna lead any one after Mahabharata?
Yes, he did. The Independence movement produced maximum leaders in India.
So, it is an ideal testing pad for looking at Krishna as a leader would be checking

out his influence on these leaders in terms of their action and influence on
masses. From the beginning of Independence movement to India's
independence, leaders cutting across their school of thoughts had followed the
teachings of Krishna and Bhagavad Gita.
Let us start with the tallest leader of Independence movement Lokmanya Bal
Gangadhar Tilak. To Tilak, Bhagavad Gita was not a mere subject for academic
interpretations but it was a perennial source if inspiration for him. His lifelong
struggle for the country's freedom was firmly based on knowledge acquired
through the Bhagavad Gita which enabled him to strive for his goal, without any
certainty of seeing its fulfillment. Impact of Bhagavad Gita is best evident in his
letter to Gandhi, where he wrote, "Politics is a game of worldly people and not of
sadhu's and instead of the maxim 'Anger should be won over with love' as
preached by Buddha, I prefer to rely on the maxim of Shri Krishna who said, 'I
treat humans equally when they seek refuge in me'. That explains the entire
difference and also the meaning of the phrase 'responsiveness co-operation'.
Both methods are equally honest and righteous, but one is more suited to this
world than the other. Any further explanation can be found in my GeetaRahasya."
This is a perfect case of Transformational leadership and what follows now is the
ideal example of Transactional leadership from Tilak and Bose.
Tilak saw in the Bhagavad Gita his reflection of the Karmayoga, as practiced by
him throughout his life. Tilak supported Shankaracharya's view on metaphysics
but differed from him as far as the ethics were concerned. Shankaracharya
considered ethics from the point of view of individual emancipation and therefore
advocated Sanyasa, while Tilak viewed ethics in the context of social action and
therefore advocated Karmayoga. His association with Bhagavad Gita was from
the age of 16 and his understanding came out in two forms, one academic i.e.
Geeta-Rahasya and, second professionally in the form of freedom fight. Tilak's
philosophy of life had it's root in the Bhagavad Gita and he received inspiration
to carry out his fight against a mighty opponent. He believed that once the
people accepted his interpretation that action without reward was the message
of the Bhagavad Gita they would be prepared to fight against injustice. Tilak thus
addressed the people through the Geeta-Rahasya and appealed to them to free
themselves from the bond of slavery. Thus, making Bhagavad Gita and Krishna
the leader instead of himself.
Bose was also heavily influenced by Krishna, in one of his letter to Dilip Ray he
wrote, "I am tornbetween my love for Shiva, Kali and Krishna. Though they are
fundamentally one." But this inspiration must have given him the courage to
say, "It will be a fatal mistake for you to wish to live and see India free simply
because victory is now within reach. No one here should have the desire to live
to enjoy freedom. A long fight is still in front of us. We should have but one desire
today - the desire to die so that India may live - the desire to face a martyr's
death, so that the path to freedom may be paved with the martyr's blood.
Friend's, my comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing,
above all. I demand of you blood. It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that

the enemy has spilt. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me
blood and I Promise you freedom."
Looking at the support and followership that both Tilak and Bose got from
common masses as well as other leaders it is clear that they met the leadership
criteria of Fiedler Model and Hersey and Balanchard's situational theory.
There was a common behavior that freedom fighters, leaders exhibited.
Damodar Chaphekar, Khudiram Bose and thousands more went to gallows,
calmly holding Bhagavad Gita their his hand.
These leaders had seen death like Sudarshan Chakra of Krishna. Sudarshan, a
Sanskrit word, means that which is good looking. It is amazing that a weapon of
death and destruction can be beautiful. But Krishna does the miracle; he turns
death into a blessings. As Osho says, "Even death is beautiful if it is in the hands
of Krishna." These fighters had seen dying for country as a beauty and that's why
they were not scared of death but in the process scared the Britishers.
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari who also translated Bhagavad Gita into English and
he used to say : "The Bhagavad Gita, is like a railway bridge. You should travel
with its help, not just commit it to memory". By saying this Rajaji had settled the
dispute between leadership and manager.
(To be continued as part 2)
The author of this column Sandeep Singh is a graduate from Rourkela Ispat
College, Rourkela and post Graduate in Rural development from XISS, Ranchi. He
later pursued an Executive General Management from IIM Banglore. After
working in corporate sector for over a decade, he is now pursuing research and
writing in the area of Indian Management Thinking and Practice. Published in
March 2008, his first book 'Business of Freedom' explored management lessons
from India's freedom struggle. It was published in 2008. His next book 'Indian
School of Management in Practice' aims to explore the 'elements' of business
as practiced by Indian entrepreneurs spread across industry in India and put
them in points, grids, matrix, charts etc

The impact of Bhagavad Gita was clear when he said "I think it's better to fight
and fail than not to fight at all; but in this industrial movement I believe we are
destined to fight and to conquer. I have no patience with my country men throw
up their hand in despair, and declare all is lost". He had demonstrated
transactional leadership.
The modern Western management concepts of vision, leadership, motivation,
excellence in work, goal achievement, meaningful work, decision making and
planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita. However, while Western
management too often deals with problems at the material, external and
peripheral levels, the Bhagavad Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level
of human thinking. Once the basic thinking of humans is improved, it will
automatically enhance the quality of their actions.

Before I am accused of being conservative, unscientific in approach let me share

with you that in a recent article in New York based Business Week magazine said
that Bhagavad Gita is the favored text in US for ideas about leadership.
Sessions on corporate learning's from Bhagavad Gita have been conducted for
members of the Young Presidents' Organization, at the Wharton School, hedge
fund managers and venture capitalists in Rye, at Lehman Brothers Inc.
By applying a list of common traits of leadership in one's life one cannot become
leaders. To become leaders young people need opportunities to reflect deeply on
the context in which they must lead and ignite the spark within themselves.
Bhagavad Gita provides lessons for living in harmony with the world and with
one's conscience too. Bhagavad Gita gives the courage to take the first, difficult
steps the wisdom that Krishna gave to Arjun. Krishna is the best leader. He has
no interests, no position, no power. He stands for certain values of life and wants
to destroy all those who make other suffer.
Our freedom fighters understood this and acted accordingly and became
outstanding leaders. Not only freedom fighters but also business leaders of that
time looked upto Bhagavad Gita. G D Birla began his day with a recitation of
verses from the Bhagavad Gita. It was this understanding which made Birla,
encourage other Indian businessmen to enter the jute business along with him.
Walchand bailed out small Indian shippers wherever and whenever he could.
Lalbhai helped other mill owners in Ahmedabad improve the quality of their
cotton mills. Here these leaders demonstrated Transformational leadership.
Swaraj Paul has taken great learning from Bhagavad Gita. Sanjay Lalbhai's
comment on his learning's from Bhagavad Gita while persuading 23 international
banks to restructure over Rs 2,000 crore is well documented. He says "I was in
an impossible situation and at that point, the ideas of nishkam karma really
helped me fight the stress and find peace," he says. "Good and bad fortune are a
matter of time, the Bhagavad Gita tells us, and you need to stay driven while
detaching yourself from the outcome. It's a philosophy that has guided my
work."
It is important to know that Krishna did not alter the situation. He did not order
the situation to change. Krishna did not bring new allies or forces for Arjuna. He
merely talked to Arjuna, thereby lifting him out of his mental confusion. When
Arjuna was mentally upset, he wanted to run away from the situation. He
became pessimistic, with no hope of success. He wanted to run away in a panic.
But once the mind became quiet and calm, though the situation remained the
same, Arjuna found a new courage and confidence within himself. He
rediscovered the efficiency and declared to Krishna, "Certainly I will face this
problem".
Videocon Group Chairman, Venugopal Dhoot spends two hours everyday reading
the Bhagavad Gita,". He says "The Bhagavad Gita has taught me the importance
of work and how not to get attached to it. It has also helped me to relax and
reduce stress levels."

"Bhagavad Gita a is the only book which talked about how to work and how to
live life." says Swati Piramal.
No wonder, corporate calendars brought out by some of India's leading
companies Reliance, the AV Birla group often come laced with Sanskrit
quotations from Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita makes a penetrating analysis of
the qualities of a leader and of leadership role. Bhagavad Gita provides us with
ideal concepts of leadership.
In his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership John Maxwell presented the idea that
Leadership can be described as a set of principles that can be learned and
applied. When practices align with these principles, leadership is effective. In his
book Principle-centered Leadership Stephen Covey takes this a step further. Not
only are the practices, or the "how" of leadership governed by principles, but the
actual direction and goal of leadership, or the "what" and "where", are also
subject to universal principles.
Bhagavad Gita describes these fundamental universal principles the underlying
framework of the universe that reflects the purpose of the universal architect.
Leaders who align their practices with these principles will be effective leaders.
Leaders who align their goals and the goals of the organizations they steward
with these principles will be authentic leaders leaders who are empowered to
create a better world. Leadership is absolutely crucial. As the oft-repeated saying
has it: "everything rises or falls on leadership". Failures or lack of leadership can
be found at the root of most of the problems. At this present moment in time,
with so many social and environmental indices tottering toward the red line, the
world is crying out not just for effective leadership, but for authentic leadership.
Bhagavad Gita contains the timeless principles that will empower leaders to be
effective and authentic leaders. The greatest need at this point in time is for
those people who have been called to lead to step forward and take up the
Service of Leadership.
Bhagavad Gita speaks on many levels about many different things. This is the
nature of scripture it is purnam, or complete. Viewed from different angles it
reveals itself in different ways. The University of Oklahama in the United States
has included a research work on managerial aspects drawn from the
Mahabharata in the syllabus. A manager at Sprint Nextel Corp. has penned the
inevitable how-to guide: Bhagavad Gita on Effective Leadership.
Leadership is not merely a set of tools and techniques but it transcends much
beyond into the vale system, beliefs, attitudes and cultural patterns of
individuals, groups and organization. Bhagavad Gita provides ways and means of
leading people.
The author of this column Sandeep Singh is a graduate from Rourkela Ispat
College, Rourkela and post Graduate in Rural development from XISS, Ranchi. He
later pursued an Executive General Management from IIM Banglore. After
working in corporate sector for over a decade, he is now pursuing research and
writing in the area of Indian Management Thinking and Practice. Published in
March 2008, his first book Business of Freedom explored management lessons

from Indias freedom struggle. It was published in 2008. His next book Indian
School of Management in Practice aims to explore the elements of business
as practiced by Indian entrepreneurs spread across industry in India and put
them in points, grids, matrix, charts etc.