Leadership Style Of Mahatma Gandhi

A presentation on Leadership Style of Mahatma Gandhi

By

Kunwar Ajeet Singh Baghel PGDBM III Sem (HR) 3044 Page  1

What is Leadership?  Leadership is a process where by an individual influence a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.  Generaaly people think that the leadership is a characteristics but as we can see in the above Definition its not a charecteristics or a trait that reside within a person while its a process in there are three elements are most importent these are influence, group, and goal attainment.  Now in the next slide we will discuss about the leadership style of Gandhi ji (Bapu).

Page  2

Leadership Style of Mahatma Gandhi  The Father of the Nation is now being held up as the master strategist, an exemplary leader, and someone whose ideas and tactics corporate India can emulate.  Gandhi ji reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing methods had failed.  He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with force. So he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. He unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. Resource constraint did not bother him. He aimed at a common agenda: Poorna Swaraj. That was the motivation

Page  3

Continue……….  Gandhi's leadership style is being termed as 'follower-centric' and one that took into account existing conditions before determining the strategy.  Gandhi ji advocated having leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. But when he came back to India, he thought of khadi and launched non-violent protests on a greater scale,  It shows that Gandhi ji’s leadership style was situational leadership style.

Page  4

Continue………………….  For Arindam Chaudhuri, Gandhi and Lord Krishna have both been big sources of inspiration.  In his book, Count your chickens before they hatch, Chaudhuri has written extensively about Gandhi's style of leadership and how it can be applied to corporate India.  "Mahatma Gandhi's example to me is a perfect case of adopting styles to suit the culture. The country today stands divided on whether what he did was good or bad... I just know one thing: there was never a leader before him nor one after him who could unite us all and bring us out in the streets to demand for what was rightfully ours. To me, he is the greatest leader our land has ever seen. It is 'Theory 'I' management' at its practical best: productively and intelligently utilizing whatever the resource you are endowed with," says Chaudhuri.

Page  5

Continue……………….  look at the Dandi march. If Gandhi had gone there quietly, it would just not have made an impact. He knew he had to create an event to make an impact and so he took his followers on a march that stirred popular imagination of the time. He had a total understanding of the human psychology and used it along with his public relation skills.  In business, empowerment is all about making sure everyone is connected to the organization's goals. Gandhi has a way of doing that: making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal

Page  6

Continue………….  In the last few years, there is a thinking that capitalism is not just about creating wealth, but you have to take care of the shareholders and stakeholders, too. Many years ago, this emphasis on the interests of the stakeholders was labeled socialism. So, Gandhi's ideas and the lessons learnt from him are not totally different from what corporate India would like to do  In the last few years, there is a thinking that capitalism is not just about creating wealth, but you have to take care of the shareholders and stakeholders, too. Many years ago, this emphasis on the interests of the stakeholders was labeled socialism. So, Gandhi's ideas and the lessons learnt from him are not totally different from what corporate India would like to do

Page  7

About Follower-Centric  It is very important that leadership is about the follower not the leaders The leader should make his/her followers feel proud to be part of the team and to make them feel that they are an essential part of the team.  The following is a quote how good leadership ensures this :  Good leaders make people feel that they are at very heart of things , not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization, when that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.

Page  8

Any Question?????

Page  9

Thank you