So is Modi emerging as India's new visionary leader, bestriding the country for years as Nehru and Indira did, or will he flatter only to deceive? Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, in his seminal book, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, postulates that leaders relate stories integral to a society's understanding of its life and mission. Gardner argues that a successful narrative depends on "whether the leader's own actions and way of life reinforce the themes of a story that he or she relates". He then goes on to enumerate the five qualities that are key to a leader's success: the ability to construct and convincingly communicate a story; the capacity to embody the story in one's own life; an acute understanding of one's audience; the energy required to build and maintain a supportive organisation; and the skill to harness increasingly technical expertise.
MODI HAS ALL these qualities and more.In the 2014 elections, he successfully constructed a narrative that portrayed himself as one who could deliver the country from the economic morass it was in. His handling of Gujarat as a four-time chief minister was cited as a model of development. His own life was an example of humble beginnings as a chai-wallah and then personal sacrifices that saw him shun family ties and devote himself to organisational work in the RSS. Right through, he demonstrated tremendous energy and zeal to get work done using technology as an enabling factor( he did this even in his election rallies, remember the 3-D holograms of himself).
Gardner then talks of three kinds of leaders where such qualities are a constant: visionary, innovative and the ordinary. Ordinary leaders are those who seldom challenge the status quo and are content in empowering members so that the forward movement continues. He describes innovative leaders as those that take a latent narrative and give it a fresh twist to renew and transform society. In contrast, visionary leaders are rare. Gardner defines a visionary leader as one "who is not content to relate a current story or to reactivate a story done from a recent or remote past. This individual actually creates a new story, one that is not known to most individuals before, and achieves at least a measure of success in conveying this story effectively".
#NarendraModi #Howard Gardner #IndiaToday #ScientistBaba03
MODI HAS ALL these qualities and more.In the 2014 elections, he successfully constructed a narrative that portrayed himself as one who could deliver the country from the economic morass it was in. His handling of Gujarat as a four-time chief minister was cited as a model of development. His own life was an example of humble beginnings as a chai-wallah and then personal sacrifices that saw him shun family ties and devote himself to organisational work in the RSS. Right through, he demonstrated tremendous energy and zeal to get work done using technology as an enabling factor( he did this even in his election rallies, remember the 3-D holograms of himself).
Gardner then talks of three kinds of leaders where such qualities are a constant: visionary, innovative and the ordinary. Ordinary leaders are those who seldom challenge the status quo and are content in empowering members so that the forward movement continues. He describes innovative leaders as those that take a latent narrative and give it a fresh twist to renew and transform society. In contrast, visionary leaders are rare. Gardner defines a visionary leader as one "who is not content to relate a current story or to reactivate a story done from a recent or remote past. This individual actually creates a new story, one that is not known to most individuals before, and achieves at least a measure of success in conveying this story effectively".
#NarendraModi #Howard Gardner #IndiaToday #ScientistBaba03
