By Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,News18,Nitya Thirumalai

Copyright news18

Leadership springs from deep love, compassion, or an unwavering commitment to principles. In that sense, some degree of leadership is dormant in every person. The real test lies in bringing it out and letting it grow.
Every leader—be it in politics, religion, or social life—faces trials. The ability to express one’s commitment differs from person to person, and often gets clouded by personal likes and dislikes. Yet, a leader has to view everyone with the same outlook, appraise everyone with the same yardstick.
They must have the wisdom to act with discrimination and the maturity to respond at the right time. No society is homogeneous; no group is without differences, and it is not possible to please everybody. Yet, a leader must carry people together and do justice to his role. They need the strength to endure criticism without being swayed by emotions.
The greatness of a leader lies in openness to engage with critics and the patience to hear them out. They accept failures with the same calmness with which they receive success.
One of the most desired quality of a true leader is the courage to stretch their hands towards critics and have patience to listen to them. A true leader remains open to learning, never complains, and never explains unnecessarily. The ability to acknowledge mistakes and make space for those with completely different viewpoints gives a leader universality. A leader should not pass the buck.
A real leader walks the fine line between idealism and pragmatism, balancing long-term vision with immediate needs. Only ideology, without practical wisdom, does not sustain leadership. Equally, dry practicality without values cannot inspire people.
They cannot be confined only to broad vision of the group, nor can they be reduced to only paying attention to individuals. Leadership is about blending both: the universal vision with personal attention.
The courage to admit weakness is also a strength. They should understand that people are magnanimous. People would appreciate the straightforwardness and accept their shortcomings.
Some leaders are too diplomatic and others are too blunt in their approach. And neither extreme works. People distrust excessive diplomacy, and they turn away from rudeness disguised as straightforwardness. Like tuning a guitar leadership needs balance. If the strings are too tight or too loose, there can be no music.
While people often want to stay away from overtly self-righteous, those who take credit for every good action are equally distanced. A leader should acknowledge others’ contributions and at the same time see that it doesn’t get to their head.
A leader can create a mob, but they should know that a mob is short lived. A short-sighted leader, creates a mob; a leader with wisdom creates a movement.
All this may sound utopian, but in reality, if you look keenly into the lives of the most successful leaders, you will find all these qualities naturally manifest at some time or the other. You don’t have to do much to inculcate these qualities, just an awareness is good enough to make a good leader.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.