Secrets from the Barracks

Some secrets are meant to be stored in underground vaults: others are meant to be shared for the larger good of humanity. When a two-star Fauji veteran decides to share the most important learnings from his life spent in one of the finest fighting forces of the world — the outcome is not only eminently readable, but also replicable, for it is embellished with real life examples.

Welcome to the world of General Balraj Mehta, and we start with the most precious secret — the one which sets the ball in motion — there are no born leaders. Leadership is a skill that can be developed by identifying and working on certain traits. Equally important is the fact that leadership is not synonymous with the pole position in an organisation, for leadership is required at all levels and in all situations. Rather, as the author points out, organisations which fail to develop a culture where leadership is nurtured consciously often fail to keep pace with their competitors — whether it be a corporate group or an academic institution or a political party or a uniformed force.

The Traits of Leadership

Nineteen of the 20 chapters in this book take up a specific trait; the nine basic ones are sincerity, enthusiasm, loyalty, unselfishness, courage, knowledge, integrity, endurance and bearing. Then there are advanced leadership skills like justice, judgement, dependability, initiative, decisiveness, tact, strategic foresight, emotional intelligence, agility and empowerment, all of which lead to visionary leadership.

The best part about the book is that all the chapters are honest conversations with the reader. For example, in the very first chapter on Sincerity, we learn that ‘leadership is not about titles and corner offices, but about inspiring and influencing others’. It is also about letting your team members know that you will only preach what you profess, and not cut corners, even if no one is watching. He gives the example of not accepting support from his Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) during his para commando training. He did it as a matter of conviction, but probably it was a test to check his sincerity. Then we have Enthusiasm, an important leadership trait which Chanakya had identified as Utsah Shakti, exemplified by the Commandant of the IMA when the author was a cadet, way back in 1982. Loyalty, an oft misused term, is not loyalty to an individual but to the larger cause — the nation, the regiment, the paltan and your comrades-in-arms, exemplified by Captain Mehtab Singh who took on a dreaded terrorist to avenge the life of his jawan. The example of Captain MN Mulla, MahaVir Chakra of the Indian navy who in the finest tradition of the navy went down with his ship rather than escape on a raft, has been given to exemplify the trait of Unselfishness. Absence of fear is not courage, but knowing the real dangers, and still deciding to go ahead is actual courage. As Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw said, ‘if someone tells you he is not afraid, he is telling a lie, or he is a Gorkha’. With regard to knowledge, it is the willingness to learn and unlearn which is more important than retaining the stock of knowledge with which one joined an organisation, for the joy and journey of learning is an endless process. But of what use is knowledge if one fails to match actions with words, and this ‘Endurance’ has to become intrinsic to our conduct. As the graffiti on the SOWETO read during the apartheid regime, ‘Tough Times don’t last, Tough People do’. Tough people maintain their composure and confidence, and lead by example, like Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw.

With regard to Advanced Leadership skills, the first entry is Justice, and true justice involves equity – a concept which has a wider amplitude than equality. Unless facts are placed in a context, the letter of the law may override the spirit. Thus, leaders have to base their judgements not just on facts, but also on perspective and gut instinct. As you rise higher in the hierarchy, your colleagues must feel that they can depend on you – for advice, counsel and challenging assignments. Another leadership trait is about anticipating what lies ahead of the curve: in other words, adopt a proactive problem-solving approach to any possible roadblock, and learn from successes, as much as from failures.

The only thing worse than a wrong decision is indecision. The author warns the reader of the peril of ‘analysis paralysis’, and a good leader must take a decision based on the inputs currently available with them. But once a Decision is made, it has to be communicated with tact; diplomacy and sensitivity in communication is sometimes even more important than the key message itself. The Positive framing of a statement does not mean that one brushes facts under the carpet, but offers advice, hope, resources and examples of how the challenge has to be addressed in the next round.

Inbuilt into the etymology of the term Leadership is the ability to have foresight and anticipating the road ahead, and taking decisive actions to overcome the obstacles, like Lt Gen. Sagat Singh did when he undertook an airborne operation to capture Dhaka during the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh. But along with bravery, tactic and manoeuvre, a good leader also connects with his colleagues at an emotional level. Organisations are now laying great stress on the Emotional Quotient (EQ) as an important leadership trait.

The last two traits are Agility and Empowerment. The former is gaining salience as organisations have to operate in changing landscapes, and the ecosystem – be it of technology, or institutional arrangements or policy regimes – is changing at an unprecedented pace. This calls for a culture of empowerment in which those at the helm must encourage a culture of ownership, the sharing of why, celebrating initiatives and rewarding resourcefulness and freedom to think out of the box.

In fine, Leadership is about understanding that every big picture is made by connecting the dots, by aligning the Vision of all individuals who are part of the organisation with the larger goal, with a clear insight that if the ecosystem creates new goal posts, the team has to be ever ready to align the strategy to the new reality.

Disclosure: The columnist contributed to the Foreword of this book.

The writer, a former Director of LBS National Academy of Administration, is currently a historian, policy analyst and columnist, and serves as the Festival Director of Valley of Words — a festival of arts and literature