The Genesis of Modern Indian Leadership

Deepa Chandrashekar

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................... 4
LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM ANCIENT INDIA.................................................................................................. 5
MODERN LEADERSHIP IN INDIA AND LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM INDIA.....................................13
CONCLUSION:..............................................................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................................................24

Abstract
At the core of any successful country or organization is its leader. India has seen brilliant leaders
in her history. In fact, some of the leadership concepts that is being heavily researched and relied
upon today are concepts that were first described in ancient scriptures some 3500 years ago. This
study explores some of these leadership philosophies and pearls of wisdom that have been
communicated through ancient Indian scriptures to modern leaders. The study finds that most
Indian business leaders exhibit several leadership traits that could only have been inherited from
their ancient role models.

Introduction
The global recession that started in 2008 has exposed the lack of executive leadership in
corporations around the world. The downgrading of the worlds largest capital market, the United
States, the riots in the United Kingdom, the crisis in Greece, growing unemployment in other
European countries, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the political instability in the Middle East
can be attributed to corruption at the highest levels. The failure or near failure of giant US
companies like Lehman Bros., AIG, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, General motors, etc., calls into
question the management and leadership at these institutions.

On the flip side, Indias economy over this same period has not only grown but the country has
been able to cope with the global financial crisis in a much better manner. Companies like Tata,
Bharat Forge, Ranbaxy, Infosys, Cipla, Wipro, Reliance, etc., have managed to expand globally by
boosting Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities in UK, US, Europe, etc. We havent heard of any
major Indian company declaring bankruptcy during this phase. In fact, India has become the
dream destination for investors in an increasingly global economy.

In 2013 Indian companies

were involved in M&A activity totalling more than USD 27 billion. (Bharadwaj, 2014) India has
witnessed spectacular growth averaging 9 percent in the past decade, and, despite some hiccups,
current analysis projects continued progress with the formation of new majority Government at
the centre. (Wilson, 2014) It has thus become evident that Indias ability to cope with rapid and
continuous change during such a turbulent period in our history is due to the ability of

management to respond. This is a direct by-product of the transformational leadership, which is

deep rooted in Indian culture.

Leadership lessons from Ancient India

Indias contribution to management wisdom, especially in Leadership, dates back to before 350
BC. Several ancient scriptures refer to leadership and management strategies in some form or the
other. These scriptures have elaborated in depth on leadership traits, style and strategies.

Thirukkural, an acclaimed original Indian work on management, written by a great poet called
Thiruvalluvar anywhere between 2 BC and 8 AD, exemplifies values that are ever relevant and
unchanging. (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND) Thiruvalluvar articulated that leaders are not
necessarily born but can be made through empowerment, mentorship and transfer of knowledge.
(Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND) This theory is consistent with the modern traits theory of
leadership, which states that leaders are made. Vince Lombardi (Anonymous, ND), an American
football coach, once stated that Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard
effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
(Anonymous, ND)

According to Thirukkural, the efficiency of an organization, be it a company at micro level or a

country at a macro level, is primarily determined by the efficiency of the resources such as raw
materials, machines, buildings, capital, etc. In turn, the efficiency of these resources depend on

the efficiency of Human Resources. However, the efficiency of all resources including human
resource is determined by the quality of leadership. (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND)
The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Eastern philosophical literature dating 3000 BC or more, presents
the advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna, two prominent leaders of the epic of Mahabharata. The story
tells the story of a dispute between two warring clans, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Many
great scholars such as Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau have
quoted teachings from the Bhagavad Gita. Peter Senge, a noted management thinker has quoted
the Gita is his Fifth Discipline and Presence in the context of leadership.

There are many

concepts of leadership quoted in the Bhagavad Gita that are similar to contemporary leadership
theories. Some of the leadership traits embedded within Gita is as follows (Das, ND):

Leaders should embrace rather than avoid formidable challenges because they bring out
the leaders greatest strengths;

Leaders should be resilient in their actions and should not be weakened by pain and
pleasure;

Selfish desires and animosity obscure the purpose of leadership;

Leaders achieve lasting power and glory by exercising compassion and selfless service;

Effective leaders do not lead by fear or anger;

Character is core to effective leadership; and,

Leaders need to be aware of the self and the surroundings.

Chapter 2.23 of the Bhagavad Gita describes a leader as someone who weapons cannot claim, fire
cannot burn, water cannot wet and wind cannot dry. (Rarick & Nickerson, 2009)
6

The concept of Emotional intelligence (EI), one of the most researched psychological paradigms of
the 21st century, which was popularized by Goleman (1995), stresses the role of emotions in an
individuals success or failure in workplace and in life. Even this concept is not new to India. This is
a concept that was embedded throughout Bhagavad Gita. There are other ancient scriptures such
as Rig Veda and Yajur Veda, which were written even prior to Bhagavad Gita and contain detailed
descriptions of the functions of the human mind. In fact, the Vedas emphasize the need for
emotional stability, which helps an individual tide over the battles of life. If one conducts a detailed
study of these scriptures, one can notice striking similarities with Mayer and Saloveys ability
model (2004) that identifies four stages through which a person becomes emotionally intelligent
emotional perception, assimilation, understanding and management. (Gayatri & Meenakshi, 2013)
In the Mahabharata, four primary types of leadership roles- strategic, directive, team-building and
effective leadership were elaborated in detail. (Anonymous, 2009)

Ramayana, another major epic of ancient India, written in the 5th to the 4th century BC describes a
leader symbolically as the 4 wheels of a chariot, which are character, courage, ethics and valour. It
further symbolically states, the horses drawing a chariot signify strength, energy and passion.
Reins of the horses symbolize forgiveness, compassion, consistency and equanimity. These are
among the most important of a warriors repertoire and are only completed with weapons of
knowledge, strategy, intelligence, skills, commitment and restraint of ego. Without these bundled
up in the chariot, a warrior cannot win in battle. (Anonymous, 2009)
7

The Vedas, which was referred to earlier are considered the earliest literary record of the IndoAryan civilization, and the most sacred books of India. The Vedas are believed to contain all the
knowledge that are required by mankind. A careful study of this literature has revealed that it has
extensively dealt with leadership qualities. According to the Vedas, a king or head of state should
possess certain physical, and mental qualities and must have knowledge and certain types of
behaviour. Two of the physical qualities emphasized are an august personality and possessor of
prowess whilst also possessing the mental qualities of being virtuous, propitious, lustrous, dutiful,
serviceable, large hearted, friend of all, conduct with justice, imbiber of truth, endowed with
wisdom and enterprise, considerate, nourisher of all, fearless etc. (Chendroyaperumal, ND) In a
nutshell, the Vedas suggests that a leader should have all good qualities, actions and attributes
whilst also repeatedly emphasizing knowledge as an essential requirement of a leader. The
literature also highlights that a leader should have eloquence, pleasing manners, friendly attitude
and humility.

One of the greatest Indian authors on management was Chanakya, who lived in the period 350275 BC. He served as the chief counsellor of the then ruler King Chandragupta (321 BC). He was
considered to be the pioneer of the art of statecraft and was responsible for the defeat of
Alexander, The Great in India. Chanakya gave the world a management system called the Sutra
system which consists of 572 verses of which 200 elaborated on his ideas on how to identify
leaders and groom them to govern a country. He authored the Arthashastra which consists of
15 books that contain 150 chapters and 6000 poems. (Krishnan, ND)

These books as a whole

speak on the subject of Total Management that includes economics, statecraft, warfare,
8

punishment, strategy, etc. In his book, Chanakya lists the duties of a king and states In the
happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare, whatever pleases himself
he shall not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good.
(Barnabas & Clifford, 2007)

Chanakya says, a leader is a captain, who leads an organization. Without him, the organization will
lose direction. He further characterizes leaders as intelligent, high in spirit, humble in nature,
easily approachable, committed, honest, and desirous of learning and providing training.
Separated by time and culture, Jim Collins, a leading modern day author on leadership, shares the
same management philosophies as were articulated by Chanakya in 350-275 B.C. Collins books,
Good to Great and Built to Last speak about how to build great organizations. (Pande, 2008)
They have become best sellers and he is being actively courted by businesses around the world.
Chanakya conceptualized the suggested courses of action contained in Collins books years ago
when he helped the then king build an empire. He put vision, mission and motivation ahead of
everything else and identified the need to focus on leadership requirements, organizational
strategies and human dimensions. Chanakya states that the essence of leadership lies in the
application of justice and ethics in ones position as a leader. As per Collins, there are 5 levels of
leadership through which leaders channel their energies away from their own egos and focus on
the good of the organization.

Chanakya also made references on the importance of the human resource development. He
insisted that a king should surround himself with skilled and talented people with the ability to
concentrate, think, communicate and observe. Today, Collins shares the same view when he
speaks about having the right people on the bus as the top priority for any executive. (Pande,
2008)

Ancient India has seen many great leaders including many women leaders. Arthur Llewellyn
Basham (1967), a noted historian, claims that Indian history emerged from legend and dubious
tradition" in the 6th century BC, and what appeared was a society highly developed materially,
intellectually, and spiritually. It was also characterised by a great sense of fairness in social and
civic relations. In no other early civilization were slaves so few in number, and in no other ancient
law book are their rights so well protected as in the Arthashastra. Basham also noted that the
most striking feature of ancient India's civilization was its humanity. (Chhokar, ND)

King Asoka, a famous ruler of ancient India around 269 B.C. was a tyrant for the first eight years
during which time he was infamous for killing more than 100,000 people. He had a sudden change
of heart that made him convert to a pacifist. He turned into a benevolent king who introduced
humanity in his internal administration and abandoned aggressive warfare in his dealings with
other states. He was one of the pioneers of the practice of non-violence and non-injury to
humans and animals. (Chhokar, ND) He established himself as a transformational leader. His

10

preaching and philosophy was effectively used centuries later by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of
the nation, and Dr. S. Radhakrishanan, President of India in 1962.

Another recently discussed concept of leadership - the servant leadership, although a term coined
and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) in his essay titled The servant as leader,
published in 1970, was practiced and propagated several centuries ago in India. A book written by
Trompenaars and Voerman (2009) called the Servant leadership across cultures, cites several
examples from Indian culture to show that servant leadership was practiced in India for a very
long time. (Barnabas & Clifford, 2007) Even in Arthashastra, Chanakya mentioned, the king is a
paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people. (Krishnan, ND)

The notion of servant leadership as a paradigm has been followed in India from the days of
Chanakya to Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate for literature from India. In one of his
writings, Dr. Tagore stated the following:
I slept and dreamt that life was a joy.
I awoke and saw that life is a service
I acted and behold, service was a joy (Anonymous, 2009)

Mahatma Gandhi was a great proponent of, and practiced servant leadership. Gandhi practiced as
a lawyer in South Africa in the late 1880s, where he helped settle a difficult dispute. When

11

questioned about his success, Gandhi stated, My joy was boundless. I had learnt the true
practice of law. I had learned to find out the better side of human nature and to enter mens
hearts. Gandhis outlook changed after this incident and he considered rendering selfless service
to mankind as more worthwhile than making profit. When he returned to India, he led Indians in
their fight for Independence using the strategy of non-violence. The servant leadership qualities
that he applied in practice forced the British to ultimately grant India independence. Gandhi
symbolized service over power. (Barnabas & Clifford, 2007)

Any discussion of leadership in ancient India would be incomplete without mentioning the impact
of effective leadership demonstrated by the great king Akbar (1555-1606) who was one of the
great emperors to have ruled the region. Akbar understood the complexity of Indian society and
polity given its substantial regional, linguistic and cultural diversity and recognized that tolerance
towards other religions, language and social customs was essential for the long-term survival of
the empire. Hence, he abolished all preferences and discriminations based on religion. He
appointed people to high state offices without regard to their religious beliefs. He was considered
to be an enlightened and pragmatic leader. (Chhokar, ND)

There are several more findings from ancient Indian scriptures that provide ample evidence of the
contributions made by India in the field of leadership and management. Research work from
ancient Indian history talks about leadership in varied context. Some scriptures have defined
leaders as having pre-defined characteristics and unique traits while others talk about a leader as
12

a change agent, one who aligns a group of people towards a common vision. But, the common
themes that surface from the study of the varied scriptures is that the focus is always on
promoting unity and social responsibility, and encouraging respect for all as equals and without
distinction. The concepts that are now being heavily researched upon such as servant leadership,
emotional intelligence, transformational, spiritual and ethical leadership, are concepts that were
conceived of and passed down through generations in India.

Modern Leadership in India and lessons to be learnt from India

Experience is the best teacher and Indian history, as demonstrated above, is pregnant with
numerous examples and experiences in the area of leadership. Ancient Indian ethos has taught
valuable management lessons for the modern day leader.

Core values, mission, vision and

commitment form the very foundation of an organization. The rapid growth of Indias economy in
recent decades is an important event in history. This growth continues today and there is every
reason to anticipate that it will continue to grow. At the core of Indias economic development
are business leaders and entrepreneurs who endure and create great companies. But, can India
really sustain its growth given the global business uncertainty? The answer lies in its Indian ethos
dating back more than 3500 years as against modern management principles that are still in their
infancy. Much of todays leadership is derived from the ancient Indian scriptures as discussed
above. The ancient Indian ethos have stood the test of time and are now helping modern leaders
to create a more sustainable model of management. Modern day Indian managers face a dynamic
business environment requiring them to adapt on the fly. As Stephen Covey said: Management is

13

efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning
against the right wall (Cooper, ND)

The events that led to the economic downturn in Western economies are based on modern
management practices and raises questions regarding the effectiveness of existing models of
leadership in those organizations. The primary reason why organizations have failed over the
course of this economic downturn is due to inappropriate or unethical decisions leading eventually
to shareholders losing trust in management and the executive leadership, in particular. In India,
business leaders have incorporated ethics and integrity in the existing framework of leadership
and management. Mr. Narayana Murthy, Ex-CEO of Infosys, said, The leader has to create hope.
He has to create a plausible story about a better future for the organization; everyone should be
able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it. This requires creating trust in people. And to create
trust, the leader has to subscribe to a value system; a protocol for behaviour that enhances
confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of the people (Bhattacharjee, 2011)

Under his leadership, Infosys survived many a downturn but has consistently been the most
revered in the Indian IT industry. This was mainly because leadership was based on both efficient
management practices and a model that is more transparent, responsible and ethical. These
values have been imbibed from ancient Indian texts and the writings of scholars like Chanakya on
ethical and responsible leadership.
such values in their existing models.
14

Many successful organizations in India have incorporated

Vineet Nayar, the vice chairman and CEO of HCL Technologies, a successful global information
technology services company based in India, says that he sought enough transparency and
empowerment in the company that decisions would be made at the points where the decisions
should be made, that is by employees, where the company meets the client. Nayar believes in
holistic engagement of human capital. Nayar's success has been fuelled by his unconventional
management philosophy of putting his employees first, and customers second. By making
management accountable to the employees, he has driven HCL to greater success. (Cappelli,
Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

In a research conducted by Harvard Business Review, it was noted that prominent modern Indian
leaders from reputable and successful organizations such as Reliance Industries, Tata, Mahindra
and Mahindra, Aventis Pharma and many others, suggested that their success was largely due to
the competitive advantage that lay deep inside their companies, in their people. (Cappelli, Singh,
Singh, & Useem, 2010) This thought process was expounded at great length in Thirukkural which
states that the efficiency of an organization, is primarily determined by the efficiency of human
resources and its leaders. (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND)

Mentorship, as a concept, is also not new to the country. India has seen some large family
businesses run by professional management, where leadership was transferred from one
generation to the next within the same family without affecting the core values of the company.
Tata and Birla group of companies, in spite of initial teething issues, have successfully survived in
15

India with leadership transferred effectively through Mentorship. This is seldom seen in the
Western countries and is something important for them to learn from India because family
businesses tend to show great resilience in countering economic slowdowns. (Bhattacharjee,
2011)

Modern Indian leadership is characterized by four principal practices:

1. Holistic engagement of employees
2. Improvisation and adaptability in execution
3. Creative value proposition for customers
4. Sense of social purpose for business operations

This is very much in contrast to the principles found in other countries, especially the United
States, where business leaders place the interest of shareholders above all. The holistic approach
to management in India focuses on stakeholders and not shareholders where the primary
stakeholders are employees, customers, society and the environment. The survey conducted by
Harvard Business Review revealed that the majority of Indian Chief Executive Officers prioritizes
business strategy, sustained corporate culture, human capital and mentorship over the interests
of shareholders. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

It is interesting to note that most

modern Indian leaders have cited strategy as their top priority. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata
Group of companies for 21 years, built Tata to become a world brand. Tata Group in one of Indias
largest multi-industry and multinational group of companies with operations in over 80 countries.
16

He set new strategies for the group when he took over in 1991. At a time when the Indian
economy was limping and the country was on the verge of bankruptcy, he envisioned to take the
company global. He used various leadership styles such as transformational and transactional
leadership.

He emphasized corporate social responsibility and employee training and

development along with faith and service to the nation. By 2000, the conglomerates 96
companies included some notable names including Tetley Group, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle
Company and the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Today, more than 50% of Tata Groups revenues are
generated overseas. (Dhekale, 2014)

Given Indias enormous challenges, it is not surprising to note that several companies have
stepped forward to invest in community services and infrastructure. The rapid growth of the
Indian market and the inadequate medical and education facilities have forced several companies
in the most recent decade to develop and care for their own talent. For example, Ms. Mallika
Srinivasan who heads Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), has personally put in efforts in
the area of women and childcare development. Her organizations contribution to social
development through the establishment of schools, colleges, orphanages, community centers, and
to a wide variety of causes aimed at better health care of the less privileged, are widely
recognized.

Mr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo hospitals, a leading private health care provider contributes
to a similar mission. According to Mr. Reddy, their responsibility is to their patients first, to their
17

employees next and only then to their lenders and investors. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem,
2010)

B. Muthuraman, the Managing Director of Tata Steel, considers corporate social

responsibility as a reputational asset since it enhances the group brand.

Unlike Western

companies that primarily focus on improving customers lives through purely market driven
strategies with corporate social responsibility being an afterthought, social missions are an
integral part of Indian companies strategy, and often are the route to making profits. To cite
another example, the hospital group Narayana Hrudayalaya, founded by Devi Shetty, set about
with the aim of helping millions of poor Indian children requiring expensive cardiac surgery. The
result is a group that standardized the scale and now performs twice as many cardiac surgeries as
the biggest U.S. hospitals with outcomes that are as good and at one-tenth the cost, and its profit
margins are slightly above its U.S. peers. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

Several other Indian business leaders similarly share social mission as part of their internal
strategy. More so than most Western companies, Indian leaders view having a social mission as a
sense of national purpose because it helps their employees find meaning in their work and
provides them with a satisfying feeling that small tasks link to the bigger goal. HCL companies
motto employee first, customer second was designed to make employees feel more personally
responsible for the companys offerings and give them a voice with upper management. Unlike
American CEOs, Indian leaders tend to focus much more on internal issues on people
management, motivating employees and so forth, says Cappelli. U.S. CEOs spend a lot more of
their time on shareholder issues. (Anonymous, 2007)

18

One of Indias latest achievements was building the cheapest spacecraft launch mission to the
planet Mars. Something that cost the United States USD 671 million dollars was accomplished by
India at a record-breaking cost of only USD 74 million. When the man behind this mission, Dr. K
Radhakrishanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, was interviewed on the
work culture, he said We are a learning organisation, so after success, you won't see great
jubilation - we just gather together and discuss our observations on what to do better next time.
And, after a failure, we discuss what corrections to make and get into action. We learn from
failure and success and institute our corrections. Any space mission is complex, and we work like
surgeons, totally focused on the job. If you think about victory or failure, you will lose your focus.
(Gulab, 2013) Again this brings forth the connection between ancient and modern management
thought processes. The Bhagavad Gita quotes the following verse in chapter 2.4.7:
Karmanye Varhikaraste Ma phaleshu Kadachana
Ma karma Phala Hetur Bhuhu tey Sangostva Akarmani (Bhattacharjee, 2011)

It means, we have only the right to work, right on our actions but not on the consequences or
fruits of that action. So we should not be attached to either fruits of the action or inaction. In
the context of modern management it means that every leader should be focussed on his work
and at the same time be in-sync with the organizations vision and mission because this will
ultimately lead to excellence. In other words, what matters is the journey.

Moving on to employee training, recent statistics suggest that Indian companies invest heavily in
employee development-often more so than their Western counterparts. U.S. companies have
19

largely abandoned investment in employees, especially in developing managers, for fear that the
investment will be lost if employees leave. Statistics indicate that about a quarter of new recruits
in the U.S. did not receive any kind of training in the first couple of years of their employment. In
contrast, Indian companies have taken an aggressive step towards employee training. A recent
Kauffman Foundation study shows that the Indian IT industry provides new hires with about 60
days of formal training. Companies like Tata consultancy services offer a seven-month training
program. Indias second-largest pharmaceutical company, Dr. Reddys laboratories, provides a
one-year training program that includes 10 weeks of assignments abroad. Infosys managers are
assessed on the basis of how many of their groups recent hires achieve targets. Twice as many
Indian companies have also invested in leadership development as compared to American
organizations. Cappelli agrees, and points out that the American model may be the exception.
What we see in Indian leaders is a lot of what we say all CEOs should be doing they are pretty
much following the best practices of management and leadership, he says. In some ways, the
puzzle is actually why we see U.S. CEOs more focused on shareholder concerns. It could have
something to do with the governance system and with the way they are compensated. (Cappelli,
Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010) An interview with Mr. Rajesh Hukku, the founder of i-flex solutions,
a financial service software firm stated that one of the key differences between Indian and U.S.
management is that Indian leaders do not subscribe to the hire and fire policy, which is very
common in the U.S. They look at their employees as long-term assets and fine-tune their
corporate policies accordingly. It is about taking a long-term versus short-term view. (Cappelli,
Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

20

Table 1 below exhibits some of these differences:

Indian Leadership

U.S. Leadership

Relationship oriented

Impersonal

Focus on long-term horizon

Focus on short-term horizon

Efforts oriented

Results oriented

Value strategy, employee and culture over Give priority to shareholders

shareholder
Spend more time on internal issues

Focus on external affaires

The differences stated above between Indian and U.S. leaders are not to show that one style is
superior to the other. There are companies like Southwest Airlines in U.S. that incorporate a
culture like many Indian companies. Leadership styles have also been found to vary from region
to region.

So, what applies to American companies may not necessarily apply to Indian

companies.

The rapid economic development of India requires visionary leadership. A number of Indian
companies have been highly successful due to their unique and innovative leadership style.
According to research from St. Gallen University in Switzerland, Indian leaders are more inclined
towards participative management and building meaningful relationships with subordinates. The
leadership style traditionally employed in India fostered an emotional bond between superiors
and subordinates. (Bershidsky, 2014) In India, there are no executives who are known for their
21

dictatorial management style. Ms. Indira Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo says You need to look at the
employee and say, I value you as a person. I know that you have a life beyond PepsiCo, and Im
going to respect you for your entire life, not just treat you as an employee with a registration
number. (Bershidsky, 2014)

Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, says Indian leaders are more
flexible than those in U.S. They can bring their level of thinking down and meet with him
(employee) at that level. This is why more and more Indian born leaders are heading some of the
most prominent Western companies like Microsoft, Pepsi, Deutsche Bank, MasterCard, Adobe
Systems, Diageo Reckitt Benckiser and Global Foundries.

Conclusion:
Leadership teachings have been passed down through the generations in India. Much of modern
management principles existing today in India have been derived from the body of knowledge
contained in ancient Indian scriptures. Research shows that current leaders have embraced the
importance of the ancient Indian ethos and with the inherited wisdom make the existing modern
management paradigms more sustainable in practice.

As Chattopadhyaya states, there is hardly any country in the world having, social economic,
cultural and lingual diversity as complex as India. (Pal & Kapur, 2011) The background, mental
22

abilities and working capabilities of employees are quite heterogeneous in any organization.
Hence, it is impossible to have a specific style of leadership that can be used to influence such a
diverse profile of employees, members, partners, stakeholders and customers. Ancient Indian
scriptures contain a wealth of leadership wisdom, which have guided modern leaders to
successfully deal with this challenge. India has witnessed multi-leadership styles exhibited by its
leaders at various times in its history. It has seen leaders who have been action oriented,
dynamic, innovative, visionaries, knowledge-based, empowering, participative, charismatic,
spiritual, ethical, service oriented, transactional, and transformational. Amidst all these different
styles, the core values underpinning them are people management and service to the society at
large. Indian leaders prefer to give importance to relationships and the needs of their followers.
(Singh & Krishnan, 205) Indias recently elected Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, has echoed
this same principle. Addressing the country on Indias Independence Day, he said, I can promise
you, if you work 12 hours, I will work for 13. If you work 14 hours, I will work for 15 hours, for I am
not a Prime Minister, but a Prime Servant.

23

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