Competence, Character and a Desire to Excel

For a while now, my mind has been occupied by thoughts on the nature of leadership we need in society. Perhaps it has to do with my workplace which has given me an opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Or my profession, which in essence is about helping unlock the inherent potential of people. Or, as is likely, it may be a deeper, latent desire to contribute to development of people in a setting in a broader sense than I have been able to do thus far. Whatever be the reason, I often find myself contemplating on this subject. And in an attempt to progress from thought to action, I have decided to put pen to paper and see where that leads me.

So here goes…

Leadership conjures up many different images, and there are literally millions of views out there about what it means and how it can be developed. There are theories which on the one end of the spectrum derive lessons from history and ancient scriptures, and on the other end offer instant ‘leader-in-a-minute’ solutions. I don’t intend to enter into any debate on the meaning or definition of leadership, nor propound new theories. In my simplistic mind, I think about leadership in a pretty wide ranging sense…from the political arena to the creative and the professional. My thoughts are about leadership that benefits the society and humanity…hence it encompasses a vast array of fields including government, politics, academics, science and technology, arts, sports, business, philanthropy and entrepreneurship.

The question that has been twirling around in my brain is – what traits should our next generation of leaders embody?

There are three that resonate most with me – Competence, Character and a Desire to Excel. Here is what I mean by each of these…

Competence is the culmination of skills, knowledge and aptitude. We commonly focus on helping people acquire skills and knowledge which are considered essential for them to be employable and productive. However, I feel this focus addresses only one dimension of the equation. By providing skills and knowledge to millions of people, we can create a society where individuals can be self-sufficient. And also self-serving. Skills and knowledge can be effectively imparted through education and experience. The other part of the equation is aptitude, i.e. the innate abilities that each human being on this planet possesses. If we are able to provide skills and knowledge to people in line with their aptitude, we get competence. As a society, we can create a generation of competent leaders if we are able to identify the aptitude of people early, and then power it with the right set of skills and knowledge.

Character is all about doing the right thing. And to do the right thing, one needs to know what is right, and also who it is right for. Contemporary institutions of learning (certainly several that I am familiar with) teach people to do the right thing for themselves. This is further reinforced when people enter the professional arena and learn the harsh realities of the real world, which incentivises and recognizes material individual success over all else. As to those less fortunate who do not have access even to basic education, such lofty questions don’t arise as they fight with fellow human beings every step of the way and for every morsel of food. However, building character in leaders is important for societies that want to progress. Character is about knowing and doing what is right for oneself, one’s immediate surroundings (family, friends, organization, etc.), as well as the community in which we grow up, live and work. Character is about knowing one’s obligations and discharging those obligations. Character has to do with achieving alignment between one’s beliefs, intentions and actions.

A Desire to Excel is a desire to continuously push the boundary of creativity and innovation. It is an innate need to surpass one’s own limitations and those set by others. It is borne out of an unrelenting focus and the application of one’s craft, and dedicating oneself to the creation of wonderful products and solutions. Inculcating in people the desire to excel is to get them to reject mediocrity and lethargy. For those that choose the pursuit of excellence, it means learning to accept challenges, roadblocks and rejection as a necessary and welcome part of the path to progress. Finally, a desire to excel can be stoked only once people learn to value the virtues of industriousness and perseverance, and the knowledge that that there is no quick and clear destination…but that the journey itself is significant and joyous.

Why do we need to have leaders with Competence, Character, and a Desire to Excel?

I have grown up in India, a country of over a billion people. A country which now prides itself as an emerging global power and is regularly making headlines around the world…as the world’s largest thriving democracy, for having a uniquely talented workforce with skills that are globally relevant, and now also as the home to some of the world’s richest and most powerful people. Yet, it is also a country of rampant corruption, a society lacking in basic civic sense, a land of extreme poverty and vast polarization between the rich and the poor.

There are many reasons for why India is the way it is, but one piece of the puzzle lies in how we educate people, the values we instill in them and how we define, recognize and reward achievement.

Over the past fifty years, we have made tremendous strides in emerging from subjugation into a global power. Today, India can produce two and a half million graduates every year and over ten million people enter the labour pool annually. We have clearly demonstrated the ability to produce a vast number of capable individuals…engineers, lawyers, technicians, academics, doctors, scientists, actors and sportspersons. We are blessed with having the youngest workers in the world at a time when most countries are dealing with issues of an ageing workforce. But as a society we have failed to be progressive. Our education system can produce masses of talented individuals, the values we inculcate in our children are about pursuing material individual gain, and what we recognize and reward are individual success stories. But we neither teach, nor value the role of individuals to act as a collective…thereby requiring the forthcoming generation to understand and discharge obligations as members of a society. We have been able to provide skills to our people and give them a livelihood, but we have not created vibrant and ethical citizens who can collectively propel a nation forward.

I believe it is possible to change this. It is possible for us to create the next generation of leaders who are talented and committed to a broader purpose and in a manner that is beneficial to the society and the country. And that this can be done in every arena – politics, government, judiciary, business, sciences, liberal arts, creative fields, as well as in sports.

I don’t have all the answers on how we can achieve this. I also don’t know whether this can be achieved at scale, or is a utopian concept which can only take root within a cocooned environment. But I do have some ideas which are slowly taking shape in my brain. These ideas have to do with helping build a new generation of leaders who will be Competent, have Character and a Desire to Excel.

I know there are people out there with similar intentions, and who may have taken many more strides in acting upon such ideas. I hope to find them so I can lend a helping hand. As I hope to progress my thinking into action…