“Journey of a Mother of Thousands”

A paper on Leadership Analysis Based on Shabnam Ramaswamy’s Life and

Work

Prepared by
By Samia Ibrahim
Id # 1430006

Submitted to
Mr. Qaiyum A. Chowdhury
Course: Leadership & Conflict Management

Chittagong Independent University

9th August, 2014

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 INDEX
Title Page no.
Introduction 3
An Inspiring Story 4-5
Purpose of the study 6
Trait Approach 6-8
Skill Approach 9-14
Style Approach 15-17
Situational Approach 18-20
Contingency Theory 21-23
Path Goal Theory 24-27
Transformational Leadership 28-35
Conclusion 36

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 INTRODUCTION
Good leadership is essentially about being an adept and versatile performer, responding to the
needs and wants of your followers. Leadership is a mix of knowledge, values, skills, and
behaviors. Each of us has beliefs about what characteristics an effective leader should possess.
Different groups will also have different beliefs or values about what "makes" an effective leader
than other groups have. Your group will assess your leadership, and your success may depend on
how well your leadership characteristics match those that they value.

I think that a person needs grand idealized role model; in order to have a really constructive font
of beneficial inspiration in life. Inspiration comes to all of us in many different ways. To me an
inspiration is something or someone you can look up to. An inspiration is someone who is worth
a thousand words. An inspiration is someone who is a great role model for others. An inspiration
is someone who has achieved a great number of goals. My list could go on and on, but what I am
trying to get at is how Shabnam Ramaswamy is my inspiration. To me, she is the ultimate
example of what a true leader is. In my eyes she is special and talented.

“It is good, to see that you can make such a difference

And that people come together like this to help each other
How many people get a chance to serve like this?”
- Shabnam Ramaswamy

Shabnam Ramaswamy has seen many hardships in her life. Her life experiences inspired her to
work for the people selflessly. She is a woman of great influence because of her stability, her
work ethic and her independent spirit. 

In this paper I have tried to analyze Shabnam Ramaswamy’s leadership skills using different
leadership models. I would like to share a bit of her story which will help you to understand why
I have chosen her for this project.

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 An Inspiring Story
Shabnam Ramaswamy is a notable social worker and successful interior designer in India. She is
best known for her NGO Street Survivors India (SSI) situated in the village Katna,
Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. She is an agent of change. She is the lifeline of the thousands
of people living in katna, Murshidabad. She is the symbol of independence, hope, patience, will
power and above all she is a leader who has given people the courage to dream big.

Born 1st July

Katna,Murshidabad
Occupation Director of Street Survivors
India (SSI), Interior Designer
Spouse Late Jugnu Ramaswamy
Children Kaushik Ramaswamy &
Aliya Ramaswamy

Shabnam Ramaswamy's life has been full of twists and turns. She was born in a village but got
an opportunity to study in Kolkata's Elite La Martinere School. She was a dreamer but her
dreams were put on hold as at the age of 16 she was married of to a wealthy 32 years old guy
who would abuse her on a regular basis. One night when she was thrown out of her house with
her son (her daughter wasn’t given to her) at the age of 24 she decided that the street is not going
be her place and she is going to be someone someday. She started living in a shanty at Sealdah
station and despite her lack of education she managed a job and enrolled herself in Night
College. She also started learning to do drafting and gradually she worked her way out of
poverty by setting up a successful construction and interior designing business in kolkata. She
got a divorce and won the custody of her children.

After a decade she realised that this is not her destiny. She wanted to fulfil some of the promises
that she made in her younger days. She wanted to be a mother to those who didn’t have mothers
so she gave up her business and joined the “Salam Balak Trust” in Delhi to help children in
need. She started to work with the children in New Delhi Railway Station. There she met a
senior journalist, Jugnu Ramaswamy, who approached her with the intention of making a film on
her work. He not only made the film, but married her too.

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In 1990, she and her husband started a small self funded NGO named Street Survivors India
(SSI).The vision of SSI was to create equal learning opportunities for working kids on Delhi’s
streets. It involved creating a slum-based school called Jagriti which also served as a kitchen
and night shelter. Sadly after 10 years the school was demolished by the Delhi government, so
they came back to Katna, Murshidabad. As she always dreamt of having an English-medium
school in her village so that the students do not lag behind their city counterparts, they decided
build an English medium institution “Jagriti Public School”. During this journey they were
confronted with so many challenges and people even hired criminals to kill them but nothing
could stop them. Unfortunately, before the schools inauguration her husband Jugnu Ramaswamy
passed away. She was shocked but instead of giving up she continued her journey. Shabnam
Ramaswamy, not only launched the school at Katna in Murshidabad - 280 km from Kolkata -
which is now attended by more than 600 students, she also reformed a band of criminals who had
opposed the school by offering them jobs.

Katna's Kantha, a Street Survivors India project, is a livelihood generation program where
works more than 1,400 women of the area. The profit generated from this program is channeled
into the development of the school.

Streeshakti, a community-based arbitration program seeks to provide women victims of crime

with access to justice. This hugely popular forum now conducts hearings three times a week. The
name of her court is Durga’s Court where, Shabnam Ramaswamy a woman untrained in formal
law is the judge, the Jury and the investigating magistrate.

Jagriti Gramin Libraries, a program that extends the philosophy of Jagriti into the broader
area.SSI runs eleven libraries in villages in katna area. For a minimal fee students can read or
borrow books related to the subjects they are learning in school.

In order to promote tourism in Katna Shabnam Ramaswamy has set up a roadside motel “Tumi
Ashbei Bole” in December 2013.

Although I never met her, I am highly inspired by the life and work of Shabnam Ramaswamy. I
can only aspire to imitate her stability, her work ethic, and her refusal to be silenced by other
people's disapproval. 

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 Purpose of the Study
This study is aimed to establish a relationship between Shabnam Ramaswamy’s leadership skills
and different leadership models described by various researchers. The study will attempt to find
out how Shabnam performs as a leader. I will consider seven leadership models to analyze
Shabnam’s leadership ability. The study will help to understand different leadership approaches
and how these approaches impact Shabnam’s leadership style.

Trait Approach
This style of leadership gives more credence to the qualities a person is born with rather than
what they develop or the relationships they develop with followers. Leadership trait theory is the
idea that people are born with certain character traits.  This is the style that is attributed to a
leader who others see as “a born leader”.  The innate qualities and characteristics possessed by
strong leaders.  These traits, while not totally responsible for an individual's success as a leader,
are influential in the success of the leader.  This theory assumes that if you could identify people
with the correct traits, you will be able to identify leaders. In addition, the research done on trait
leadership has also found that the traits can be learned as well.

With the help of this Trait Approach Theory I have conducted an analysis which will help us to
understand if Shabnam Ramaswamy possesses the traits which are important to become a
successful leader.

Major Leadership Traits:

Successful leaders definitely have interests, abilities, and personality traits that are different from
those of the less effective leaders. Through many researches conducted in the last three decades
of the 20th century, a set of core traits of successful leaders have been identified. These traits are
not responsible solely to identify whether a person will be a successful leader or not, but they are
essentially seen as preconditions that endow people with leadership potential.

1. Intelligence: Developing intelligence is a lifestyle choice. Having strong verbal ability,

perceptual ability and reasoning appears to make on a better leader.  Most people want to follow
someone they feel is "smart", able to solve problems and have strong social skills. 

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Shabnam realized that Women in Katna who were abused by had nowhere to complain other
than to the male dominated local police station. So she did advocacy with the police till they
allowed her to sit in the police station and soon the women started to approach her with their
complaints. Shabnam began to learn the ins and outs of the Indian Penal Code as well as
different aspects of Hindu law and Muslim Sharia. In her rulings she used to refer Muslim
history tales and Hindu mythology to make the illiterate people understand because she knew
that these traditional stories are intertwined with Indian culture.

Intelligence

Self-Confidence

Determination

Integrity

Sociability

Major Leadership Traits

2. Self-confidence: The ability to be certain about one’s competencies and skills. This allows
the leaders to move ahead because they believe that what they are doing is correct and they have
the skills to be successful.

Shabnam always believed in herself and made people believe in her. No matter how many times
life knocks her down, she has a belief that she will always rise again. She believed that she can
make a difference in people’s life. She faced all the challenges fearlessly and with this
confidence she changed the face of a whole community.

3. Determination: The desire to get the job done.  Individuals with determination are willing to
assert themselves, take initiative and be persistent. This could also be shown as dominance.

Shabnam is always determined to get the job done. She is proactive and has the capacity to
persevere in the face of obstacle. She often has to show dominance and also has to direct her
followers in certain situations. When she took the initiative of establishing “Jagriti Public

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School” their (Shabnam & Jugnu) life was at risk. Some people attacked them with firearms and
bombs and they were heavily injured. But nothing could stop her from building the school.

4. Integrity: The quality of honesty and trustworthiness.  The leader with a high level of
integrity will take responsibility for his or her actions.

Shabnam is loyal, dependable and not deceptive. I have already mentioned that she runs a court.
People come to “Durga’s Court” in seek of justice. Whatever decision she takes people honor
that because they have a belief that their Shabnam didi will never deceive them. Shabnam’s
integrity made her believable and worthy of others trust.

5. Sociability: This refers to a leader’s ability to seek out pleasant social relationships.

Shabnam is friendly, outgoing, tactful and diplomatic. She is sensitive to others needs and shows
concern for their well being. She maintains a cooperative relationship with her followers. For
example: She formed a forum “Stree Shakti” which began with 12 women. In this forum the
women of that area could discuss the problems they were facing at home. Shabnam would listen
to their problems. She even provided them counseling and also tried to solve their problems.

Findings: The Trait Approach gives rise to questions: whether leaders are born or made; and
whether leadership is an art or science. However, these are not mutually exclusive alternatives.
Leadership may be something of an art; it still requires the application of special skills and
techniques. Even if there are certain inborn qualities that make one a good leader, these natural
talents need encouragement and development. Shabnam Ramaswamy was not born with self-
confidence. Her self-confidence was developed; honesty and integrity were matter of her
personal choice. Her motivation to lead others came from within her own self. With the passing
of time she acquired the knowledge of business. None of these ingredients were acquired
overnight by Shabnam Ramaswamy. While cognitive ability has its origin partly in genes, it still
needs to be developed.

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 Skill Approach
The skills approach emphasizes on the capabilities of the leader. The advantage of this approach
is anyone can become an effective leader. Similar to the trait approach, the skills approach takes
a leader-centered approach except that it focuses on the skills and abilities instead of the
"Personality" traits which are usually innate.

With the help of this theory I have tried to state how learned knowledge and acquired
skills/abilities played as significant factors in Shabnam Ramaswamy’s practice of effective
leadership.

The Three Skill Approach:

An effective leader using the skills approach must be strong in three skill areas: technical, human
and conceptual. The three-skill approach asserted that, while all skills are important for leaders,
their level of importance varies depending on the organizational level of leaders. As leaders
move through the levels of the organization (from lower to upper), skill importance moves from
technical to human to conceptual.

Using this Three Skill Approach I have conducted an analysis which will show whether
Shabnam Ramaswamy has these skills or not.

The Three Skill Approach

1. Conceptual Skill: Conceptual skill is the ability to work with concepts and ideas. This is the

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visionary side of leadership, thinking about the long term and larger picture. This is central to
creating a vision for the organization that the followers can believe in. This is the most important
for top management.

Shabnam has good imagination and ability to simulate her creativity with the process of
synthesis and analysis. She thought of using people’s skills and making that marketable. She
started a kantha project with 12 women and now it is a full-fledged company of 1,432 women
with an annual turnover of more than a crore and these kantha products are now even exported to
abroad countries.

2. Human Skill: Human skills are people-skills; these are abilities of the leaders to effectively
work with subordinates, peers and bosses. It is the ability to work with and relate to people. It is
equally important in all levels of management.

Shabnam is sensitive to the needs and motivations of others. She takes into account others needs
in her decision making. She is aware of her own perspective in issues and, at the same time she is
aware of the perspective of others.

3. Technical Skills: Means having knowledge and being proficient in a specific type of work or
activity. Technical skills are important at lower levels of management and less important at
higher level. Technical skill is proficiency, based on specific knowledge, in a particular area of
work.

Shabnam learnt technical drawing and drafting and started her own company “Visual Interiors”
which she later gave up. She was competent and knowledgeable with respect to the specific
activities of her company, the organization’s rules and standard operating procedures, and the
organization’s products and services.

A leader must have some of each of these skills, but their place in the organization will
determine how much of each one is needed. In her Kantha company Shabnam does not need to
use any technical skill because her subordinates take care of that. But on the other hand she
needs to utilize her human and conceptual skill in order to run the company and ensure the well
being of her workers.

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Skill Model of Leadership:
The leadership skill model is a way to relate the skills (along with developed traits) to the
outcome or effectiveness of leadership. It also considers factors that influence the outcome, both
experience and external influences. The skills model does NOT focus on "what leaders do", but
on the capabilities.

Skill Model of Leadership

With the help of skill model of leadership I have tried to show how these three factors have
influenced the performance of Shabnam Ramaswamy.

1. Individual Approach:
Individual attributes in the skills approach to leadership deal with intellectual abilities and how
well the leader processes information.

General cognitive ability: It can be thought of as a person’s intelligence. This is the ability to
process information and utilize different thinking capacities. This is more linked to genetics
rather than gained information. It includes perceptual processing, information processing,
general reasoning, creative and divergent thinking capabilities, and memory skills.

Shabnam’s intelligence can be described as having a positive impact on her acquisition of

complex problem solving skills and knowledge. Whatever initiative she takes it honestly makes
the lives of the people of katna run smoother and nobody ever thought to question her decisions.

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Crystallized cognitive ability: It refers to intellectual ability and is learned or acquired over
time. It is composed of the concepts and mental abilities that we learn through experience.

Shabnam has learned mostly through crystallized cognitive ability. The key for Shabnam was she
wanted to learn and as such she gathered the necessary resources to network with as she
progressed throughout her journey. As a result, she developed the skills and knowledge
necessary to lead people.

Motivation: Motivation influences a leaders desire to do, or not to do something.  First, leaders
must be willing to tackle a complex problem. Second, leaders must be willing to express
dominance.  Third, leaders must be committed to the social good of the organization. 

Shabnam was once a homeless mother. But she was determined to tackle every challenge that
life threw on her. She not only worked her way out of poverty but also made thousands of people
self sufficient. Sometimes she has to show dominance while running her court to make people
obey her decision. She is very much committed to the social good of her people. She alone has
changed the socio-economic situation of her village Katna.

Personality:   A wide range of traits that can influence leadership such as Openness, tolerance
for ambiguity, and curiosity. Personality is almost as significant as intelligence when it comes to
our ability to perform tasks efficiently. For leaders, personality plays an even bigger role than for
many other professions.

Shabnam has a high degree of emotional stability. She has the ability to withstand work-related
pressure and stress. She is outgoing, with a high degree of extraversion. She has the ability to
take initiative, be clear and communicative. She has a high degree of openness to new
experiences. She is innovative, curious and has an ambitious vision. She displays a high degree
of sociability. She is supportive, can accommodate and involve her employees. Shabnam is very
methodical. She has the ability to set goals, be thorough and follow up.

2. Competencies:
At the heart of skills leadership there is problem solving skills, social judgment skills and
knowledge. Competencies are the leader’s aptitudes for generating results.

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Problem Solving Skill: It refers to the creative ability to overcome new problems. It’s the
Ability to solve new, unusual, and ill defined problems. It includes gathering problem
information, formulating new understandings, and generating prototypes plans for solutions.

Shabnam is an experienced problem-solver. When trouble hits, she knows from past encounters
how to work with the right people and resources to reach a solution. When there's a problem, she
makes everyone comfortable to express their concerns and opinions freely. She facilitates open
dialogue and work for accountability from the entire team. If someone comes to her with a
problem, she simply begins asking questions and gathers the facts. She is good at asking the right
questions- and at listening. She believes it's usually better to teach someone how to solve their
own problem than do it for them.

Social Judgment Skills: Having social judgment skills is having the capacity to understand
people and social systems. It enables leaders to work with others to solve problems and to
marshal support to implement change within an organization.

Shabnam is sensitive to other people's perspectives and goals. She understands their point of
view on different issues. She has the ability to work with others, to empathize, and to relate. She
can walk in the shoes of one who will be impacted by the decision or action of her. Shabnam is
aware of how she acts toward individuals. She displays behavioral flexibility as she relates to
different members of her NGO.

Knowledge: This is the accumulation of information and the mental structures used to organize
that information (schema). Knowledge results from developing an assortment of complex
schemata for learning and organizing data (knowledge structure).

Shabnam is well-connected throughout her organization and knows how it works. She uses the
information of the past to confront the challenges of the future. Shabnam’s knowledge and
expertise make it possible for her to think about complex issues and identify possible strategies
for appropriate change.

 3. Leadership Outcomes:

These outcomes are strongly influenced by leader's competencies. When leaders exhibit these
competencies, they increase the chance of problem solving and overall performance.

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Effective Problem Solving: This is the keystone in the skills approach. It involves creating
solutions that are logical, effective, and unique.

Shabnam defines the problem and then determines the causes. On the basis of that she generates
ideas and selects the best Solution. And then takes action according to that.

Performance: Refers to how well the leader has done his or her job.

Shabnam has always tried to live up to the expectation of her followers. She made them self
sufficient and also provides quality education to their children.

4. Other factors:
Some other factors which may influence the skills approach:

Career experiences:  Career experiences have an effect on a leader's ability to solve problems.
This can be done by taking on challenging job assignment, mentoring, appropriate training and
hands-on experience with problem solving.

Shabnam’s career experience has positively affected her individual characteristics. The
challenges she faced enhanced her motivation and intellectual ability. She always gets out of her
comfort zone and maximizes her learning curve.

Environmental factors:  These are factors that are outside of the leader’s competencies,
characteristics and experiences. 

Shabnam always faces problems at the time of hiring teachers for her school. She always gets B
grade teachers because nobody wants to come to a remote area like katna and she also has to pay
them higher salary than other institutions. This sometimes affects her performance as a leader.

Findings: The skills approach provides structure for effective leadership. This depends on
where a person is in the organization.  Supervisory leaders need more of one skill than another
and the same with the head of the organization.  This model works by providing a map for how
to reach effective leadership in an organization. Shabnam Ramaswamy possesses all the skills
(technical, human, conceptual, problem solving skills, social judgment skills and knowledge)
needed to become an effective leader.

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 Style Approach
The style approach emphasizes the behavior of the leader. It focuses exclusively on what leaders
do and how they act. This explains how leaders combine two kinds of behaviors (task behaviors
and relationship behaviors) to influence subordinates in efforts to reach a goal. Task behaviors
focus on goal accomplishment. They help group members to achieve their
objectives. Relationship behaviors help subordinates feel comfortable with themselves, with each
other, and with the situation in which they find themselves. The examination of leadership
approach is to determine which mix of the two behaviors will bring out the best in the followers.

With the help of the style leadership approach I have tried to explain how as a leader Shabnam
Ramaswamy blended the two behaviors to enhance her team’s success.

Blake & Mouton’s Leadership Grid:

The leadership grid was designed to explain how leaders help organizations to reach their
purposes through two factors: concern for production and concern for people.  This parallels the
task and process leadership behaviors. Concern for production means how a leader is concerned
with achieving organizational tasks and Concern for people is how a leader attends to the people
with the organization who are trying to achieve its goals.

The Leadership Grid

The leadership grid has four quadrants.  Each of the axes is drawn as a nine-point scale where a
score of 1 represents minimum concern and 9 represents maximum concern. By plotting the

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score for each axes, various leadership styles can be illustrated. It is made up of two axes.
Horizontal is leader's concern for results and vertical is leader's concern for people. It portrays 5
major leadership styles and two additional styles.

By using this Leadership Grid is I have tried to explain how Shabnam Ramaswamy helped her
organization to reach its purposes through concern for people and concern for production.

1. Authority-Compliance (9, 1): The leader shows high concern for results and little or no
concern for people.  They see employees as a mean to produce results, and part of the product.  If
they are not producing results, little or no time is spent with coaching or nurturing. This kind of
Leader tends to be controlling, demanding, and hard-driving.

2. County Club Management (1, 9): The leader has low concern for task accomplishment and
high concern for interpersonal relationships. The leader wants to minimize conflict and tries to
create positive climate by being agreeable, eager to help, confronting, and uncontroversial.

3. Impoverished management (1, 1): The leader has no concern for task, as well as
interpersonal relationships. He/she goes through the motions with lack of involvement. The
leader maybe viewed as indifferent, noncommittal, resigned, and apathetic.

4. Middle of the road Management (5, 5): This describes the leaders who are
compromisers.   The leader is concerned for both results and people. This leader prefers the
middle ground and can get into trouble by trying to please too many people.

5. Team Management (9, 9): The leader Places strong emphasis on both tasks and
interpersonal relationships. He/she promotes participation and teamwork. This leader makes
priorities clear, follows through, and is open-minded.

6. Paternalism/Maternalism: This is the leader that will move from the country club mode to
the authoritarian depending on which style will help create the best results. He/she is the
benevolent dictator.  He/she uses (9, 1) and (1, 9), but does not integrate the two. The leader acts
gracious for the purpose of goal accomplishment only and treats people as though they were
disassociated with the task.

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7. Opportunism:  The opportunistic leader will use any combination of the different styles for
personal advancement.  Research has found that most people in this case have a dominant style
and then a backup they are comfortable to use.  An opportunistic leader can manipulate
subordinates with the appropriate leadership style so that they provide what he/she is seeking.

Findings: By studying Shabnam Ramaswamy’s life and work I have come to this conclusion
that she is a team leader. She enjoys her work. She believes in team work and encourages
everyone to participate. She satisfies the basic needs of her employees to make them involved
and committed towards their work. Shabnam is open-minded, determined, and stimulates
participation.

The style approach reminds leaders that their actions towards others occur on a task level and a
relationship level. This may also help leaders solicit feedback from his or her followers on how
they are doing.  They can ask very different questions about task and process, and see if they are
behaving as they think they are. The style approach can provide a road map for a leader to chart a
course depending on the objective. In some situations Shabnam is more concerned with task, and
in others process.  How she strikes the best balance is what makes her a good or bad leader. 
Timing, understanding of other’s needs, knowledge, etc, are all aspects of Shabnam she has
access to in formulating her leadership behaviors.  The style approach will help her to examine
the objective and then subdivide her behaviors accordingly.

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 Situational Approach
The Situational Leadership Theory states that different situations demand different kinds of
leadership. Adaptation is the key to success in this viewpoint, requiring an individual to adjust to
the stipulations of dissimilar circumstances. Situational leadership stresses that leadership is
composed of both a directive and a supportive dimension, and each has to be applied
appropriately in a given situation.    To assess what type of leadership is needed, a leader must
evaluate the employees and assess how competent and how committed they are to perform a
given task. Because employee’s skills and motivation vary over time, the theory suggests that
leaders should change the degree to which they are directive or supportive to meet those needs.
A leader must match their style to the competence and commitment of the subordinates.

In this section I have tried to find out if Shabnam Ramaswamy has the ability to choose
leadership styles based on different situations by using the Situational Leadership II Model.

Situational Leadership II Model:

The Model of Situational Leadership, shown in Figure, is based on the amount of direction (task
behavior) and amount of socio emotional support (relationship behavior) a leader must provide
given the situation and the level of maturity of the followers.

Situational Leadership II

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1. Directing: This leadership approach is most appropriate when the followers have a low skill
level but are very motivated for the job and confident that they can do it. In this situation the
leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks.
There is little “supported” behavior exhibited by the leader, most interactions are constraint to
achieving the task.

Shabnam had to take a highly directive role when she decided to start different projects in Katna.
Her followers were excited to do the job but did not have the necessary skills. in this situation
she responded by giving lots of direction, such as solving problems, making decisions and
providing specific instructions covering the what, why and how of task completion. She had to
define the roles and tasks of the followers, and supervise them. She focused on goal achievement
communication more than support.

2. Coaching: This leadership approach is most appropriate when the followers have some skills
and competency but lack the commitment. They have begun to learn a job but have lost
motivation. Like Directing, Coaching still requires leaders to define roles and tasks clearly, but
the leader seeks ideas and suggestions from the follower. Decisions remain the leader's
prerogative, but communication is much more two-way.

Shabnam’s employees needed her direction and supervision because they were still relatively
inexperienced. She also supported and praised them to build their self-esteem, and involved them
in decision-making to restore their commitment. While coaching, she spent her time listening,
advising, and helping the employees to gain necessary skills in order to do the task autonomously
next time. She provided both direction and support.

3. Supporting: This leadership approach is most appropriate when the followers have moderate
to high competence but may lack commitment. The followers do not need much direction,
because their skills are at a higher level, but they do need support and encouragement. So, the
leader maintains a high level of supportive behavior by quickly giving recognitions and provides
necessary social support.

Shabnam responded by sharing responsibility for problem resolution and decision-making with
her employees. While it was easier for her to make the decisions, instead she facilitated and

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supported her employees’ efforts towards task accomplishment. She gave less direction but a lot
of support. She tried to make her employees more independent in achieving their task and let
them take routine decisions while still tried to facilitate high level problem solving.

4. Delegating: This leadership approach is most appropriate when the followers have high
willingness and high ability. In this style, the leader lessens his/her involvement in the activities
of the followers since the followers have attained necessary skills to carry out the assigned tasks
independently. Once the details of the tasks and goals are agreed upon, the leader gives complete
freedom to the followers on how they want to accomplish and deliver the task.

Today Shabnam has a high amount of trust that her employees will do well, and they require
little supervision or support. She understands the true meaning of empowerment. She gave her
employees the permission to act and make decisions aligned to goals and within clear boundaries
.She is still involved in the decisions and problem-solving, but execution is mostly in the hands
of her employees. For example, some of the women working in her kantha project have
developed leadership qualities and now they help in the administration, and function as SSI staff.

Findings: The Situational Leadership Model suggests that there is no “one size fits all”
approach to leadership. Depending on the situation, varying levels of “leadership” and
“management” are necessary. However, leaders must first identify their most important tasks or
priorities. Second, leaders must consider the readiness level of their followers by analyzing the
group’s ability and willingness. Depending on the level of these variables, leaders must apply the
most appropriate leadership style to fit the given situation. One of the key characteristics of
Shabnam is that she can assess the situation correctly, select and apply the appropriate style, and
continuously reviews her choice. She has the ability to choose the appropriate behaviors, either
directive or supportive, given the goals and the development/abilities of the group.

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 Contingency Theory
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that
might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to
this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a number of
variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the followers and aspects of the situation.
Contingency theory is concerned with styles and situations and effectively matching the leader
and the situation. In contingency theory of leadership, the success of the leader is a function of
various contingencies in the form of subordinate, task, and/or group variables. The effectiveness
of a given pattern of leader behavior is contingent upon the demands imposed by the situation.
Within the contingency theory, leadership styles can be either task-motivated or relationship
motivated.  Task leaders are primarily concerned with attaining a goal, whereas relationship
leaders are concerned with developing close interpersonal relations.

This theory will help us to understand how effectively Shabnam Ramaswamy examines a
situation and then applies the right type of leadership.

Fiedler's Contingency Model:

The model states that there is no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader's effectiveness is
based on the situation. This is the result of two factors – "leadership style" and "situational
favorableness" (later called "situational control").

Contingency Model

Least preferred co-worker (LPC): The LPC refers to Least Preferred Co-worker
measurement.  The LPC assessment is done by the leader to measure their leadership style

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preference.  Fiedler identified the Least Preferred Co-Worker scoring for leaders by asking them
first to think of a person with which they worked that they would like least to work with again,
and then to score the person on a range of scales between positive factors (friendly, helpful,
cheerful, etc.) and negative factors (unfriendly, unhelpful, gloomy, etc.). A high LPC leader
generally scores the other person as positive and a low LPC leader scores them as negative. High
LPC leaders tend to have close and positive relationships and act in a supportive way, even
prioritizing the relationship before the task. Low LPC leaders put the task first and will turn to
relationships only when they are satisfied with how the work is going.

Situational favorableness: According to Fiedler, there is no ideal leadership behavior. Both

task-oriented and relationship-oriented leaders can be effective if their orientation (favorability)
fits the situation. Situational favorableness can be determined by three factors:

1. Leader-member relations - Degree to which a leader is accepted and supported by

the group members.
2. Task structure - Extent to which the task is structured and defined, with clear goals
and procedures.
3. Position power - The ability of a leader to control subordinates through reward and
punishment.

When there is a good leader-member relation, a highly structured task, and high leader position
power, the situation is considered a "favorable situation” and low levels of these factors are the
“least favorable situation”. Fiedler found that low-LPC leaders are more effective in extremely
favorable or unfavorable situations, whereas high-LPC leaders perform best in situations with
intermediate favorability. Relationship-motivated leaders are most effective in moderately
favorable situations. Fiedler suggests that it may be easier for leaders to change their situation to
achieve effectiveness, rather than change their leadership style.

Findings: Fiedler's contingency theory is one of the contingency theories that states that
effective leadership depends not only on the style of leading but on the control over a situation.
There needs to be good leader-member relations, task with clear goals and procedures, and the
ability for the leader to meet out rewards and punishments. Lacking these three in the right
combination and context will result in leadership failure.

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Task-oriented leadership would be advisable in natural disaster, like a flood or fire. Every few
years, flood strikes katna. At that time Shabnam Ramaswamy responds as a task oriented leader.
For example, when she heard that the waters of nearby Tilpara Dam were to be released the next
day. She immediately called a crisis meeting and got on her mobile phone. By the next morning,
she organized 25 people and formed a disaster management team, and also convinced the giant
Tata Company to provide Rs100, 000. In that situation the leader-member relations were poor,
the task was unstructured, and the position power was weak but Shabnam worked as a task-
oriented leader and proved to be the most successful.

Shabnam’s employees know exactly what they are supposed to do. Therefore, their work
environment is usually highly structured. Shabnam’s position power is strong because she clearly
stated the requirements of the tasks to her employees, she gave few alternatives towards the path
of accomplishing the tasks, she made sure that the completion of the tasks can be clearly
demonstrated and there is limited number of corrective solutions. Under these situations she
prefers the task-oriented style of leadership over the (considerate) relationship-oriented style.
Even though Shabnam may not be relationship-oriented, her relationship with the members is
extremely strong because she works to make their lives better.

The considerate (relationship-oriented) style of leadership can be appropriate in an environment

where the situation is moderately favorable or certain and when (1) leader-member relations are
good, (2) the task is unstructured, and (3) position power is weak. When Shabnam prepares a
new project or proposal she does not like her subordinates to structure the task for her. She
prefers to follow her own creative leads in order to solve problems. In a situation like this she
prefers a considerate style of leadership over the task-oriented style.

It is important to point out that contingency theory stresses that leaders will not be effective in all
situations. Shabnam thought of helping people by joining politics. She stood for the panchayat
elections in 2008 and won. But a year later, she had to resign because the scale of corruption was
so huge and she understood it was impossible for her to work independently.

So, If Shabnam’s style is a good match for the situation she will be good at the job but if her
style does not match the situation she will fail.

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 Path Goal Theory
The Path-Goal theory is based on specifying a leader's style or behavior that best fits the
employee and work environment in order to achieve goals. The goal is to increase an employee's
motivation, empowerment, and satisfaction so that they become productive members of the
organization. It can be thought of as a process in which leaders select specific behaviors that are
best suited to the employees' needs and the working environment so that they may best guide the
employees through their path in the obtainment of their daily work activities.

The Basic Idea behind Path-Goal Theory

The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership was developed to describe the way that leaders encourage
and support their followers in achieving the goals they have set by making the path that they
should take clear and easy. Leaders can take a strong or limited approach in these. In clarifying
the path, they may be directive or give vague hints. In removing roadblocks, they may scour the
path or help the follower move the bigger blocks. In increasing rewards, they may give
occasional encouragement or pave the way with gold.

This variation in approach will depend on the situation, including the follower's capability and
motivation, as well as the difficulty of the job and other contextual factors.

This theory will help us to determine if Shabnam Ramaswamy has the ability to select the
leadership style (directive, supportive, participative, or achievement oriented) appropriate to the
situation (subordinate and environment) to maximize both, performance and job satisfaction.

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Major Components:
The different components of path goal theory are leadership behaviors, subordinate
characteristics, task characteristics and motivation. This theory s suggests that each type of
leadership behavior has a different kind of impact on subordinate’s motivation. Whether or not a
particular leader behavior is motivating to subordinates is contingent on the subordinates’
characteristics and the characteristics of the task.

Major Components of Path-Goal Theory

Leadership Styles:
There are four roles the leader can play within this theory. These subsets of leadership style in
the path goal theory are adaptable to different situations and not mutually exclusive, so leader’s
can adjust to fit their needs.

1. Directive Leadership: This style of leadership involves giving specific advice or directives,
clarifying expectations and assigning tasks to individuals or a group. This may be used when the
task is unstructured and complex and the follower are inexperienced. This increases the
follower's sense of security and control and hence is appropriate to the situation.

Shabnam Ramaswamy has recently set up a roadside motel “Tumi Ashbei Bole” in order to
promote tourism in katna. When she started working on the project she told her employees
what’s needed to be done and gave appropriate guidance along the way. She gave them
schedules of specific work to be done at specific times. She was mainly engaged in clarifying

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expectations, deadlines and outcome standards. Shabnam gave guidance and directions to her
subordinates for better performance.

2. Supportive Leadership: In path-goal theory, the primary concern of the supportive leader
behavior is to support a subordinate's psychological well being. Stress reduction and frustration
mitigation are of central importance in these workplace environments. This might be effective
leadership behavior in jobs where the positions are physically or psychological demanding.

Shabnam is friendly and approachable. She considers the needs of the followers and creates a
friendly working environment. She tries to increase her follower's self-esteem and make the job
more interesting. Shabnam also shows concern for her employees’ psychological well being; she
makes her team members more comfortable to pursue their own goals.

3. Participative Leadership: The participative leader behavior involves leaders consulting

with employees regarding preferences in performing job requirements. Here, subordinates are
directly involved in the decision-making process. One of the purported effects of the
participative leader behavior is that increased subordinate autonomy in the decision-making
process leads to an employee exerting greater efforts to achieve selected goals.

Shabnam sometimes consults with her followers and takes their suggestions into account when
making decisions and taking particular actions. She also invites her subordinates to share their
ideas.

4. Achievement Oriented Leadership: The leader sets challenging goals for his followers,
expects them to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this
expectation. It is most effective in professional work environments.

Shabnam often sets challenging goals, both in work and in self-improvement (and often
together).She establishes a higher standard of excellence and seeks continuous improvement. 
She shows a high degree of confidence that her employees are capable of accomplishing the
work.

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The theory states that each of these styles will be effective in some situations but not in others. It
further states that the relationship between a leader’s style and effectiveness is dependent on the
following variables:

5. Subordinate characteristics: These include factors such as employees’ needs, locus of

control, experience, perceived ability, satisfaction, willingness to leave the organization, and
anxiety. It deals with accessing how a subordinate will perceive a particular leadership style; will
he find it satisfying and motivating or stressful and unsatisfying? For example: An employee
might perceive his own abilities as high and thus views the coaching and directing behavior as
irritating and de-motivating. Some subordinates might like to demand more authority on their
work while other might expect better support.

6. Task Characteristics: These include factors such as task structure and team dynamics that
are outside the control of the employee. It deals with analyzing the task and reformulating its
structure in clear way and removing any road blocks in the task, increasing the confidence or
willingness of the employees. For example, for employees performing simple and routine tasks, a
supportive style is much effective than a directive one. Similarly, the participative style works
much better for non-routine tasks than routine ones.

Findings: Path goal leadership theory encourages a strong communication about goals and
direction, with a strong relationship between the leader and the group. With a clear set of
requirements and providing the tools to complete them, the leader can build a string of successes
toward the end target. This theory stresses that if the subordinates find the leadership style to be
satisfying and it meets their expectations, they will be motivated towards the goal of leadership.
On the other hand, when the role of subordinate and the task structure are ambiguous, i.e. it’s not
clear what is expected of one and how he will be evaluated, the subordinate feel extremely
stressed and dissatisfying, and will disapprove of leader’s style. Shabnam Ramaswamy does
what she can to clear a path for group members to act. She does it by delineating clearly what is
to be done, removing obstacles, and rewarding those who perform well. The levels in intensity
Shabnam may do these things vary according to the circumstances. The follower may be more
motivated or capable, or the work to be done could be easy or difficult. Shabnam’s leadership
styles can vary from being dictatorial to the leader being a participant. These styles include
support, directive, participative, and achievement-orientation.

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 Transformational Leadership
Transformation leadership is a style of leadership in which the leader identifies the needed
change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with
the commitment of the members of the group. It’s an approach that causes change in individuals
and social systems. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, long term goals, and
includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs and treating them as full human
beings.

In this section I have tried to evaluate if Shabnam Ramaswamy can stimulate and inspire
followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own
leadership capacity.

Transformational Leadership & Charisma:

Charismatic leadership is when a person assumes or is given the role of leader based on his or
her charisma. The employees, followers, or subordinates follow the directions and instructions of
this leader based almost solely on that charisma. Sometimes it is hard to exactly define charisma
but it can be said that it is similar to charm. The values of the Charismatic Leader are highly
significant. If they are well-intentioned towards others, they can elevate and transform an entire
company. If they are selfish and Machiavellian, they can harm the followers.

Despite their charm and apparent concern, the Charismatic Leader may well be somewhat more
concerned with themselves than anyone else. A typical experience with them is that whilst you
are talking with them, it is like being bathed in a warm and pleasant glow, in which they are very
convincing. Yet afterwards, ask the sunbeam of their attention is moved elsewhere, you may
begin to question what they said (or even whether they said anything of significance at all).

The Charismatic Leader and the Transformational Leader can have many similarities, in that the
Transformational Leader may well be charismatic. Their main difference is in their basic focus.
Whereas the Transformational Leader has a basic focus of transforming the organization and,
quite possibly, their followers, the Charismatic Leader may not want to change anything. Based
on this it would seem that overall transformational leadership is better than charismatic.

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Shabnam Ramaswamy has a charismatic personality. She is connected to the people, popular,
and those who work for or follow her will hang on her every word but she is not a charismatic
leader. She always acts in the best interest of her organization and does not use her power to
enhance her own image within the company. She knows how to separate her personal interests
from the organization’s interests. Shabnam is able to excite and encourage her followers, and
people prefer to work under her, because she keeps them motivated.

Leadership Continuum and Factors:

Transformational leadership accomplishes this by challenging and transforming individuals'

emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals through the process of charismatic and
visionary leadership. This differs from transactional managers who make adjustments to the
organizational mission, structure, and human resources. Laissez-faire leadership, also known as
delegative leadership, is a type of leadership style in which leaders are hands-off and allow group
members to make the decisions. Researchers have found that this is generally the leadership style
that leads to the lowest productivity among group members.

In 1985, Bass expanded on the transformational and transactional models by noting they were
more of a continuum, rather than two separate entities. In addition, the concept of Laissez-Fraire
or delegating was also on the continuum.

Leadership Continuum and Factors

Since this is a continuum, the degree of separation between transformational and transactional
leadership often falls in the gray, in addition, leaders will at times operate out of all three modes
(transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) rather than sticking with one.

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1. Transformational Leadership Factors: There are four components of transformational
leadership, which are:

Charisma or idealized influence: This is the degree to which the leader behaves in admirable
ways that cause followers to identify with the leader. Charismatic leaders display convictions,
take stands and appeal to followers on an emotional level. This is about the leader having a clear
set of values and demonstrating them in every action, providing a role model for their followers.
Genuine trust must be built between leaders and followers.

Shabnam is a charismatic role model who builds confidence and trust in others. She “walks the
talk," and is admired for this. Trust between Shabnam and her follower is built on a solid moral
and ethical foundation. She is deeply respected by others and provided her followers with a
vision and a sense of mission. She displays conviction; emphasizes trust; takes stands on
different issues; presents her most important values; emphasizes the importance of purpose,
commitment and ethical consequences of decision making. Her charismatic qualities and the
people’s response to them transformed an entire backward area.

Inspirational motivation: The degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing
and inspiring to followers. Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high
standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand.
The followers also need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act.

Shabnam tends to be an inspirational individual as well. She provides meaningful work and sets
high standards. This describes how she passionately communicates a future idealistic goal or
situation that is a much better alternative to the status quo and can be shared. She employs
visionary explanations to depict what the workgroup can accomplish. Shabnam is able to use
expressive language that is emotionally appealing and communicate a clear vision that is related
to the need and values of the followers.

Intellectual stimulation: The degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks
and solicits followers' ideas. Leaders with this trait stimulate and encourage creativity in their
followers. The leader’s vision provides the framework for followers to see how they connect to
the leader, the organization, each other, and the goal. Once they have this big picture view and

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are allowed freedom from convention they can creatively overcome any obstacles in the way of
the mission.

Shabnam is creative and has out-of-the-box thinking style. She helps followers in developing
new and different solutions to common problems and conducting work in new ways. By
stimulating novel employee thinking patterns, she inspires followers to question their own beliefs
and learn to solve problems creatively by themselves. She involves others in the discussion and
stimulates new ways of thinking.

Individualized consideration or individualized attention: The degree to which the leader

attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the
follower's concerns and needs. This also encompasses the need to respect and celebrate the
individual contribution that each follower can make to the team (it is the diversity of the team
that gives it its true strength). Leaders pay close attention to the needs of followers – coaching
them through situations and issues and developing followers along the way. It also naturally
propels followers to further achievement and growth.

Shabnam serves as a mentor to followers. She treats each employee in a caring and unique way.
She not only educates the next generation of leaders, but also treats followers as individuals and
uses a developmental orientation that responds to their needs and concerns for self-actualization,
self-fulfillment, and self-worth. Shabnam listens, learns and develops not only her own ways of
thinking but those around her.

2. Transactional Leadership Factors: transactional leadership can encompass the following

types of behavior:

Contingent Reward: Transactional leaders link the goal to rewards, clarify expectations,
provide necessary resources, set mutually agreed upon goals, and provide various kinds of
rewards for successful performance. They set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic,
and timely) goals for their subordinates.

In some situations Shabnam sometimes views the relationship between her and subordinates as
an exchange - you give me something for something in return. She contracts exchange of

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rewards for effort, promises rewards for good performance and recognizes accomplishments.
When her subordinates perform well, they receive some type of reward.

Passive Management by Exception: Is a form of leadership which watches and searches for
deviations from the rules and standards and takes corrective action when followers are not acting
correctly.

To influence behavior, Shabnam uses correction or punishment as a response to unacceptable

performance or deviation from the accepted standards.

Active Management by Exception: Is a form of leadership in which the leader intervenes

only if standards are not met and only take action after rules have been broken or mistakes are
brought to their attention.

To influence behavior, Shabnam actively monitors the work performed and uses corrective
methods to ensure the work is completed to meet accepted standards.

3. Laissez-Faire Leadership Factors

Laissez-faire leaders avoid attempting to influence their subordinates and shirk supervisory
duties. They bury themselves in paperwork and avoid situations that preclude any possibility of
confrontation. They leave too much responsibility with subordinates, set no clear goals, and do
not help their group to make decisions. They tend to let things drift, since their main aim is stay
on good terms with everyone.

Shabnam never ignores responsibilities or avoids making decisions. She is always present when
needed, successfully follows up requests for assistance, and never resist expressing their views
on important issues. So the laissez faire leadership style is not appropriate for analyzing her
leadership skills.

Shabnam Ramaswamy has all the high marks of these characteristics (except Laissez-Faire).
Although she sits on one part of the continuum as a transformational leader who shows the above
qualities of a transformational leader, sometimes she acts as a transactional leader, such as she
severely criticizes when an employee does not meet her expectations or acts in an unethical way.

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The Additive Effect of Transformational Leadership:

Transformational leadership produces greater effects than transactional leadership. While

transactional leadership results in expected outcomes, transformational leadership results in
performance that goes well beyond what is expected.

The Additive Effect of Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership lays emphasis on intrinsic motivation of followers. Leadership as a

transformational process lays emphasis on the subordinates to change for their betterment, as
well as, the improvement of the organization. Thus, transformational leadership creates with its
additive effect performance beyond expectations.

Shabnam moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them. She
became motivated to transcend her own self-interests for the betterment of the people.

Other Transformational Perspectives:

In addition to Bass’s research work, two other lines of research have contributed in unique ways
to our understanding of the nature of transformational leadership. They are the research of
Bennis and Nanus and the work of Tichy and DeVanna.

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Bennis and Nanus:
In Leaders, Bennis and Nanus identify four common areas. These form the core of their ideas
about leadership. I have tried to analyze how Shabnam Ramaswamy uses these four strategies in
transforming her organization.

 Attention through vision – Shabnam has an agenda, an intense vision and

commitment which drew others in. She also gives much attention to other people.

 Meaning through communication – Shabnam has an ability to communicate her

vision and bring it to life for others, sometimes using drawings or models as well as
metaphor and analogy.

 Trust through positioning – Shabnam established trust through establishing the

position with a set of actions to implement the vision, and staying the course.

 The deployment of self through positive self-regard - Shabnam knows her

strengths and weaknesses and emphasizes on her strengths. She nurtures skills with
discipline, has a capacity to develop and improve and is a self-evolver.

Tichy and DeVanna:

Tichy and DeVanna were interested in how organizations change- how they are transformed.
Their research will help us to understand how Shabnam Ramaswamy carried out the change
process.

 Recognizing the need for change- Shabnam has the ability to recognise the need for
change and revitalisation to escape lethargy in followers and greatly reduced efficiency.

 Creation of a vision: Shabnam created an ethical vision and communicated it

convincingly to followers.Her serves as a conceptual road map for where the organization
is headed in the future and what it will look like.

 Institutionalizing changes: Shabnam demolished the old structures and established

new ones to facilitate the institutionalizing of change.She institutionalised change as part
of the habitual running of the organisation to maintain the drive and energy of followers.

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Findings: Researchers have found that this style of leadership can have a positive effect on the
group. Research evidence clearly shows that groups led by transformational leaders have higher
levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders. The reason is
transformational leaders believe that their followers can do their best and lead members of the
group to feel inspired and empowered. Research evidence clearly shows that groups led by
leaders like Shabnam have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other
types of leaders. Why? Because Shabnam holds positive expectations for followers, believes that
they can do their best. She inspires, empowers, and stimulates followers to exceed normal levels
of performance and focuses on and care about followers and their personal needs and
development. Shabnam has promoted a nourishing workplace that supports the individuals
within it to work virtuously and with excellence.

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 CONCLUSION
"The person who exhibits leadership is ... someone that makes things happen that would not
happen otherwise."
- (A.D. Edwards and D. Jones)

There is no secret recipe or magical formula to become an effective leader overnight. It is a

process of trial and error, successes and failures. It’s a never stop learning process, and with
practice anyone can increase his/her success in leadership. And Shabnam Ramaswamy is the
perfect example of this.

To me Shabnam Ramaswamy is a living legend. She is a true leader who deserves to be adorned.
The greatest thing about her is that she is a human to the core and has a loving heart for the poor
and the homeless. There are so many lessons that can be learned from her life. Shabnam has
welded her dream and ambition into something that goes beyond bricks and mortar. She searched
for new opportunities when there seemed none.

Shabnam accepts others as they are. She treats others, even familiar contacts, with courteous
attention. She is a model of integrity and fairness. She encourages others and provides support
and recognition. She Stirs the emotions of people and gets people to look beyond their self-
interest. She inspires them to reach for the improbable.

What Shabnam did for the people of katna is very extraordinary. She made them a part of her.
She taught them skills to earn livelihood. She made people believe that she is just another
ordinary people like them who want to change the socio-economical system of that area, and that
she can never do it alone without their help.

“I held life by its collar, pushed it to the wall and said you live according to me and not me
according to you!”
- (Shabnam Ramaswamy)

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Shabnam Ramaswamy never gives up easily. She proved that no one is perfect, giving others and
her own self a second chance for a better future. She fights against inequality. She dreams on.
And that's what brought her so far in life.

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