The leader plays a vital role in any organization by steering it in the right direction and maintaining momentum. As the person at the top with the best view of what lies ahead, the leader must look to the future and guide the organization to safely reach its destination while avoiding obstacles. For an organization to thrive long-term, there must be unity of purpose and mutual respect between the leader and members. When members are truly dedicated to the organization's goals, it can withstand external pressures and accomplish great things through the harmonious efforts of its team.
The leader plays a vital role in any organization by steering it in the right direction and maintaining momentum. As the person at the top with the best view of what lies ahead, the leader must look to the future and guide the organization to safely reach its destination while avoiding obstacles. For an organization to thrive long-term, there must be unity of purpose and mutual respect between the leader and members. When members are truly dedicated to the organization's goals, it can withstand external pressures and accomplish great things through the harmonious efforts of its team.
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The leader plays a vital role in any organization by steering it in the right direction and maintaining momentum. As the person at the top with the best view of what lies ahead, the leader must look to the future and guide the organization to safely reach its destination while avoiding obstacles. For an organization to thrive long-term, there must be unity of purpose and mutual respect between the leader and members. When members are truly dedicated to the organization's goals, it can withstand external pressures and accomplish great things through the harmonious efforts of its team.
Copyright:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
In every organization, political, industrial or commercial, secular
or sacred, in every institution, the real fire in them is supplied and maintained by its leader. He is the Captain and he is the one in the top cabin, steering the ship and has, due to his position, a better vision of what lays a head than those who sweat and labor in the belly of the ship in its machine-room.
The leader must look ahead and steer the ship clear of obstacles, put the sails up when the winds or most advantageous and safely take the ship to its destination.
A true leader should give his serious attention continuously to
foster a spirit of team work. Selfishness in members breaks the collectivity and their soon arises personal groups, based on caste, creed or native place. These interested groups bring into the organization continuous conflicts.
When we look around with scientific detachment, we can clearly
see three main types of organizations: An institution based entirely upon power, strength or the wealth of executives; they dictate terms and often such institutions do grow and quickly expand – these are autocratic institutions. The top soon gets into a crazy sense of “self importance”, and their arrogant attitudes and dictatorial efforts are felt by the others below as insufferable tyranny. The institution crumbles!
The other type of the organization is what is very popular with
people of our times – often heard but rarely seen – democratic institutions. Here the organization is fabricated to fulfill certain demands and desires of its members, and so long as the members are satisfied, they limp on, making lot of noise but rarely accomplish anything great, except, of course, satisfying the demands of the members. The moment a fair section of the members are dissatisfied the enemies within scream and destroy it.
All long surviving institutions are organized on the basis of mutual
love and respect for the leader, essence of reverence for the very programme for which the institution works. Here the organization is based upon harmony and this sense of harmony and cohesiveness can arise only when the members are truly inspired with the goal of the institutions and work in a dedicated manner to achieve it. Such organizations alone can stand firm against all external pressures, because within we have a team of hardy members holding together and functioning as many hands but one head-and-heart.
The members and office bearers, as executed, work in such an
organization in a common spirit of joyous excitement, from which unity of purpose, tireless enthusiasm, cheerful pursuit and such other virtues arise. This is called Karma yoga in the Geeta- functioning in yagna spirit. It is the ego and its selfish desires in our hearts that compel us to break the homogenous harmony and the joyful rhythm in the day to day working of the institution. Unless the dedication of the members to the idea for which the institution strives is firm and faithful, the best in them cannot stream forth to enrich the total achievement of the institution.
What we have so far discussed gives us a clue to know what causes
the continuous progress of a flourishing institution, under taking stupendous tasks and in the end spreading great blessing all around for the members and for the community. A mere volume of rules or the spectacular performance of an individual (or individuals) in an organization cannot by themselves help the organization to give a long lease of service to the community. And when that organization is serving and managing only for the profits, large and quick, the institution never survives for a considerable length of time; like weeds they spread and flourish, and are gone with the seasonal rains. There must be a unison of objectives and ideas. Each must know what he is striving to achieve, and in that scheme of achievement, which exactly is the part each is responsible for.
If an individuals objective or ideal is not harmoniously in unison
with the organization, he will be unhappy and if he is not eased out of the organization he may wreck the melody of the work within the institution. His idea may be great; he should be allowed to go out and work it out to its entire fulfillment outside the organization. In case the objectives and ideas of the members are harmonious with the aims and the objectives of the institution, the place becomes the temple of joyous work and the end result will be perceptible glowing blessings upon all. In many institutions discard starts mainly due to lack of proper and effective communication. It is indeed a delicate art. Secretive manipulations spread fears and discontentment, but to open a system of communication is also dangerous for the growth of an organization.
The panchatantra beautifully expresses this art of communication.
It says: Some things a man must say to his wife. Some to his friends, some to his sons. All these are trusted people- but he should never tell everything to everyone!
We must use our discrimination at all times, in communicating
information. The leader has to be alert and aware of all these communication channels and set the trend with positive and healthy communication.