13th July 2012
The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill
I was addressing a group of union leaders who are going to take charge of their constituency shortly. I explained to them that working is different from leading. When you work, you focus on the process and the result you produce. The focus is restricted to you and to your role. When you take up the responsibility of leading, the focus shifts to others. You become responsible for the thoughts, mindset, attitude, values and actions of others. You also become responsible for the work and process of others and ultimately the outcome others produce.
This is a major transformation.
You cannot say `I told them and they did not listen'. You are expected to tell them in such a way that they listen. If you cannot alter the mindset of others, then there is no need for your existence as a leader.
It is a law of nature that anything which does not produce result will be removed. If a plant does not produce fruits and flowers, it will be replaced by another plant. So is leadership. The moment we become leaders, we have to understand this big responsibility and equip ourselves.
We have to transform like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. This is the transformation of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an individual and Mahatma Gandhi was a leader!
N C Sridharan
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