Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

“Gandhi’s Exemplary Leadership Model”

The word exemplary implies perfection. Mahatma Gandhi, the subject of this essay,

believed in perfection only to the point that it meant each individual had the ability to find their

own truth. Gandhi understood that each individual perspective was part of the Satyagraha, or

broader viewpoint of a situation that led to truth and love. To this end, Gandhi worked to find

resolutions to conflicts that allowed all viewpoints to be honored. This was, and still is, a

revolutionary way to approach conflict, and Gandhi employed the most highly regarded of all

leadership practices to get there.

Every leader must find a way to connect to their followers in a way that leads them to

accomplish extraordinary things. In an effort to help identify those patterns that led to

successful leadership initiatives, James Kouzes and Barry Posner came up with the following

most commonly effective leadership competencies:

Modeling the Way

Inspiring a Shared Vision

Challenging the Process

Enabling Others to Act

Encouraging the Heart (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 14)

Gandhi exemplified each of these concepts throughout his life and applied them in ways that are

almost beyond ordinary comprehension in their simple, yet sophisticated intricacy. Through his

leadership, Gandhi was able to bring about change in extraordinary ways.

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

Exemplary leaders know that if they want to gain commitment and achieve the highest

standards, they must be models of the behavior they expect of others (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p.

15). In speaking about the concept of Satyagraha Gandhi stated “the vindication of truth not by

infliction of suffering on the opponent but on one’s self.” (Fischer, 1950, p. 5). There were

several ways in which Gandhi modeled the kind of life he felt was honorable, from his modest

dress and lifestyle to the care and attention he gave to young, the sick and the elderly. Perhaps

no place did Gandhi have a larger impact through modeling than his commitment to non-violent

civil action.

Gandhi believed in non-violence as a dedication to a higher purpose, which calls

individuals to overcome their own self-interests in order to allow for enlightenment and growth.

Gandhi’s target was “to be strong not with the strength of the brute but with the strength of the

spark of God” (Fischer, 1950, p. 5). As the concept of Satyagraha is one of peace, Gandhi

believed that by modeling purity, humility and honesty, he would be able to show his followers

that non-violence was the way to victory.

The higher purpose that Gandhi subscribed to and modeled also assumes that all forms of

life are unified, or interdependent to each other. This interdependence was the foundation that

Satyagraha is built upon, yet there was also an individualist component to Gandhi’s teachings.

In order to be truly useful in bringing about change for an entire society, an individual has to be

able to function in isolation. This personal liberation that Gandhi spoke of and lived by is

considered a pact between an individual and God. The faith that Gandhi held was so strong that

he asserted “that so long as there is even a handful of men true to their pledge, there can be only

one end to the struggle – and that it victory.” (Ficsher, 1950, p. 5). Gandhi was able to model

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

his belief in the effectiveness of non-violent opposition by successfully demonstrating how it

allowed the truth of situations to be revealed.

The foundation of leadership is the establishment of a vision that stands for a preferred

future and inspires the discovery of what we really want to accomplish (Hartwick Classic

Leadership Cases, p. 6). Truth and love are the concepts that Gandhi used to inspire a shared

vision, the next exemplary leadership competency at which Gandhi excelled. Leaders who are

able to inspire a shared vision are confident in their ability to make extraordinary things happen.

Getting the support of their followers means having a personal knowledge of their hopes,

dreams, aspirations, visions and values (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 17). Gandhi was very

intentional about emphasizing people’s commonalities, rather than differences in order to gain

shared perspective into a vision for new social and political systems in India.

Gandhi was guided by his heartfelt love of his people and his desire to empower them

(Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases, p. 7). As a result, Gandhi was very intentional about the

way that he went about establishing a common vision. As an advocate for non-violent protest

and resistance, he understood how effectively he could use his understanding of the Hindu

spiritual teachings to appeal to all of his followers, no matter what their religion or station in life.

He knew the hopes and dreams that the Indian people had for themselves, the aspirations that the

parents had for their children, how their values and belief systems shaped their behavior and how

to establish himself as their equal. Gandhi was masterful at identifying what motivated people to

seek change and finding resolutions that were morally, personally and ethically satisfying.

Challenging the process involves a leader stepping out into the unknown by searching for

opportunities to innovate, grow and improve (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 18). Being willing to

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

challenge the process was a key ingredient to Gandhi’s success as it allowed the practices and

policies of early 1900’s India to be revealed as unfair and without honor. Gandhi staged

challenges to the prevailing culture both in action and in thought. By approaching conflict

without violence, insults or threats, Gandhi established a new way of bringing about social

change.

Gandhi also challenged the prevailing concepts of power and reconciliation. Gandhi

believed that force only diminished the dignity of individuals and therefore challenged the

people of India and the government to collaborate as a means to a mutually beneficial end. To

him, true power came from within and if an individual was ethically and morally committed to a

position, no amount of force could win true victory over them. In regards to reconciliation,

Gandhi challenged those who had been hurt or oppressed by another to learn more about their

adversary’s culture as the road to forgiveness. This is why, when counseling a man who’d lost

his child at that hands of Mulsims, Gandhi encourages the man to raise and love an orphaned

child as his own, but in the Muslim faith.

Exemplary leaders enable others to act by building strong and trusting relationships.

Leaders who are able to exude confidence allow their followers to feel strong and capable – as if

they can do more than they ever thought possible (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 18). Through

effective and caring communication, a leader can show their commitment to joint success and

well-being. This requires a warm, trusting and encouraging personality to get people involved

(Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases, p. 7). In this respect, Gandhi followed the Theory Y model

of leadership that encourages integration and cooperation to create a situation in which followers

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

can best achieve their own goals by linking their best efforts with the objectives of the enterprise

(Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases, p. 8).

Gandhi was intentional about integrating symbolism into his leadership as a means to

reinforce mutual goals and empower the Indian people to embrace that which made them unique.

This also played a part in enabling his people to act in ways that were honest and authentic.

Although largely thought of as a woman’s tool, Gandhi’s daily use of his spinning wheel could

have been a symbol of many things such as our interconnectedness and man’s ability to create

new things. Yet, essentially I think he was demonstrating that those things that give you comfort

and joy are the things you should pursue, regardless of gender or ability. His march to the sea in

order to protest the Salt Laws was also symbolic of his belief in purity and perseverance.

The fifth and final exemplary leadership quality that Gandhi also personified is the

ability to encourage the heart. Effective leaders point us in unique ways in the direction that

allows us to achieve what we deeply believe, value, need or desire for our joint purposes

(Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases, p. 6). Through his own sense of righteous conviction,

Gandhi encouraged his followers that good outweighed evil and that acting on faith would

eliminate fear. Gandhi was a great leader because he knew and lived these ideas through a

genuine respect for everyone; he truly encouraged the heart (Hartwick Classic Leadership Cases,

p. 6).

Using the five exemplary leadership practices, Gandhi established a leadership model for the

world that has lasted for over six decades and inspired countless leaders. As Kouzes and

Posner’s research demonstrates, the principals that Gandhi employed are still very much a part

of today’s approach to effective leadership. Gandhi recognized his fallibility and limitations, but

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

by teaching and strengthening others, he advanced his own growth as a leader (Hartwick Classic

Leadership Cases, p. 6).

Effective leaders are successful because they know how to use the skills of communication,

motivation, participation and empowerment to mobilize organizational resources to achieve

worthy cultural values and productive business relationships (Hartwick Classic Leadership

Cases, p. 10). As a leader in my own organization, I can apply the same type of techniques in

establishing common ground and implementing change through modeling the kind of behavior

that serves my organization and society well, by communicating my beliefs so that others can

share in my vision, to challenge the process where change is needed, through empowering others

to find their voice and act on their convictions and to encourage my heart and the hearts of my

followers to pursuer that which we’re passionate about.

References:

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Yolanda Boyd – LEAD510 Week 4 Essay

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z., (2007) The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

The Hartwick Humanities in Management Institute, (2001), Mahatma Gandhi (Fischer, L.), Oneonta, NY.

The Hartwick Humanities in Management Institute, Hartwick’s Classic Leadership Cases - Mahatma Gandhi, Oneonta, NY.

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