Leadership the Way to Do Is to Be

WEAPONS AND other combat gear are obviously necessary tools for war fighting.

- Air Marshal AK Trikha (Retd)

Their quality and numbers are important indices to gauge relative strength of adversaries. However, success in combat depends as much (if not more) on quality of leadership as on any other factor. History is replete with examples wherein great military leaders have inspired their men to victory under seemingly impossible circumstances.

No set of rules or prescriptions can fully describe attributes that a leader must possess to inspire his subordinates to make the ultimate sacrifice. Professional competence and skill is of course essential. Without them no leadership function is possible. But, inspiring leadership which compels subordinates to follow the leader into unchartered perils demands more than just proficiency in the craft. Subordinates follow a leader out of loyalty which is engendered by a conviction that the leader is worthy of trust. Subordinates’ trust is the most precious possession that a leader can have and it is offered readily to only those who are perceived to be persons of unimpeachable integrity. Since fidelity to duty is a part of moral ethic, a morally upright person would automatically hold duty in high esteem. It is worth a thought whether there is sufficient recognition of these crucial essentials of leadership in our emerging milieu.