Introduction

Sant Singh Chatwal is an Indian-American businessman and political activist involved in various
ventures across industries.He is the founder of Dream Hotels. Chatwal has a diverse background,
including roles as a hotelier, restaurateur, and political influencer.

Inspiration
According to me, we can learn many things from his life. He possesses most of the leadership skills
discussed in the course. To know his entire life story, one can search on the internet or watch his
documentary videos on YouTube. I came to know about him while reading an article on the Indian
Nuclear program history, discovering his role in signing a nuclear deal between India and the USA,
ultimately helping reestablish Indo-US relations after 23 years.

Story
Mr. Sant Singh Chatwal was born on 3rd May, 1946, in Punjab, India, After that he immigrated to
ethopia and finally the United States. Hailing from a Sikh family, Chatwal's relatives were refugees
who fled Western Punjab in British India during the Partition of India in 1947.He was just one year old
when his family, consisting of his four brothers and three sisters, left their home. They eventually
settled in Faridkot, Punjab, India, His father was running a F&B Canteen in a college.Joining the Indian
Armed Forces at the age of 18, Chatwal claimed to have served as a fighter pilot on the country's
inaugural and sole aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.

Chatwal went to Ethiopia, to work for the working in an airline .When he got there, they told him to
take off his turban, cut his hair, and shave his beard.He said no because of his Sikh heritage.Then he
married to his wife. Then he started teaching in a local school. He became friends with the owner of a
restaurant who asked him to work there for a few months when he got sick.He improved the business
and later became a partner, eventually buying out the other owner. Over time, he became the owner of
two restaurants serving Indian food.

Then again he migrated to Canada. In 1975,opened a restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The

restaurant buisness went very well but he had fire to achieve more! While in Canada, Chatwal also
started in the hotel business, buying his first hotel in 1976.In 1979, he opened Bombay Palace, the first
fancy Indian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. Chatwal expanded Bombay Palace to many other
places. Right now he had the 11 Hotels with one of the best rooftop restaurant hotel in New York. Later
it got acquired by Hyatt group

Chatwal was good friends with former US President Bill Clinton and his family. He gave a lot of
money to Clinton's election campaigns and also supported other causes and campaigns of the
Democratic Party. He even traveled with the Clintons to India.Chatwal's connections in political and
business circles showcase the power of networking. Leaders can learn the value of building strong
relationships, both within their industry and with influential figures in the broader community. He
played a Vital role in breaking IND-US Nuclear deal.

Sant Singh Chatwal has been involved in philanthropic activities, contributing to various causes and
organizations. His philanthropy spans areas such as education, healthcare, and community
development.Chatwal's engagement in philanthropy highlights the importance of giving back to
society. Leaders can learn about the positive impact of corporate social responsibility and how
contributing to the community can enhance a company's reputation.
Emotional Intelligence
Mr. Chatwal is a very emotionally intelligent person, evident in his personality. Though he left a great
job as a pilot in the early days of his career due to his turban and beard, he never felt ashamed and
moved on in his life. He overcame his fear, worked hard, and achieved heights in his career. Due to his
learning mindset, he kept on learning, and when an opportunity to run a restaurant came his way, he
accepted it and started running it. He was optimistic, characterized by his positive outlook, a belief in
the possibility of favorable outcomes, and resilience in the face of challenges. He communicated goals
and challenges, and his leadership style reflected a positive and encouraging tone. Mr. Chatwal
responded to setbacks or difficulties in his business or personal life, demonstrating resilience and a
belief in overcoming obstacles.

Leadership Skills, TREAT, Orientation

His leadership style is impeccable. The way he himself started the restaurant Bombay Palace, worked
in it, and showed his staff how work is done is a great example of task orientation. Reaching on time
and grooming are other ways he leads his team by example. He has shown a great example of relation
orientation as well. He truly believes in cuts, incentives, promotion, and even partnership with his
managers and chefs to reward them. He believes that making them partners or rewarding them will
create good motivation in the team, leading to better performance. One of his employees said, "My
father gave me birth, but he gave me life," while another employee said, "If someone fires bullets at
him, it will hit my chest first." He empowers his employees by giving them autonomy in their
decisions, promoting them, and incentivizing them. That's why he has been able to retain his employees
for more than 20 years. This is how he is building a strong but loyal team. This has shown how
empowering lives are associated with him, efficiently managing to reward high performers and getting
them into top management. He is not only empowering the lives of the people in his organization but is
also giving back to society by opening schools and hospitals. This is how he succeeded in opening the
best rooftop restaurant in Manhattan and New York City.

POWER
Talking about the types of power, he excelled in every way! From being a pilot, teacher, hotelier, and
restaurateur, with the help of his personal skills, he excelled in every profession. His communication
and analytical skills powered him to reach these heights, owning such a large business, showing great
positional power. His influence extended through leadership roles in the hospitality industry and his
political connections. Additionally, his philanthropic activities contributed to his social influence,
amplifying his positional power. Despite legal challenges, his continued presence in business and
political circles reflected a sustained level of positional authority. His political connections with the
president of the USA showed great relational power. He is a key player in breaking the Nuclear deal
between India and the USA. After his intervention, the US started to build relations with India again.
He played the role of a structural hole in establishing a network between India and the USA, showing
his centrality in the entire process. He funded the Republicans (Clintons' party) and, in return, asked for
the favor of redeveloping relations with his native country. This shows how he emphasized common
goals and interests. As a funder, he played the role of a critical actor in US elections and reciprocated
the benefits to the people who supported him. He had relations with people in his country, company
politicians of different countries, celebrities, etc., showing the diversification of his network breadth,
strength, and density-wise.

Leading Upwards
As we can see, he started his career in the hospitality industry by helping his friend in a restaurant,
forging a good relationship with him and getting him profits, which shows a great example of leading
upwards. He understood his expectations, his new boss, and his strengths and limitations, leading to
success in his first step. He also helped the US president, which also showed a great example of leading
upwards.

Ethics and Morals

When he funded the US election, he took a pragmatic approach and did things that are pragmatically
correct. But when he was dragged to court for influencing the elections, he accepted everything and
said if I am ethically wrong, I am fine to accept the punishment. In April 2014, he admitted to making
unlawful campaign contributions to three federal candidates, including Clinton, spanning from 2007 to
2011.As a result, he received a $500,000 fine and was sentenced to probation and community service.
This shows how ethically he went right and high on moral values. Mr. Chatwal has been involved in
philanthropic activities, contributing to causes related to education, healthcare, and community
development. Philanthropy often aligns with ethical values of giving back to society. While engaging in
politics, he supported various political campaigns and causes. Political involvement, when driven by a
commitment to positive change, can be seen as an expression of moral values. In facing legal
challenges, Chatwal's cooperation with authorities and acceptance of responsibility could be interpreted
as an adherence to ethical standards. His engagement in cultural and community events, especially
those promoting Indo-American ties, suggests a commitment to fostering positive relationships and
understanding between communities.

In the end, one can read the biography of Mr. Chatwal and learn great Leadership lessons from him.
One can also refer to a series, "Those Who Made It," on Youtube.

One can refer to many biographies in him on Internet