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Generations to come will scarcely believe
that such a one as this ever
in flesh and blood
walked upon this earth.
Albert Einstein on Mohandas Gandhi
Human beings who achieve a mature integration of action,
decision and contemplation are rare. Mohandas Gandhi was
one of these beings.
He was also the leader of 400 millions souls for more than
30 years and the father of the nation which is today the
largest democracy in the world.
Considered by Time Magazine as one of the three key figures
who best exemplifies the 20th century, with Albert Einstein
and F.D. Roosevelt, Gandhi’s integral leadership is
enlighting for our current search for prosperity, meaning,
ethics and peace.
The leadergraphy on Gandhi will not be another biography
idealizing him. One does not have even to agree with his
ascetic life nor his metaphysics for being inspired by his
example. The book will extract from Gandhi’s life
and historical context the lessons to be learned for today’s
leaders and their associates. This includes the skills of
management of self and of the moulding of culture, as well
as the competencies for inspiring behaviors and creating
efficient tools and institutions.
But beyond a mere check list of deeds to imitate, this
book will provide an example that can inspire leaders and
non leaders to live individually and collectively a more
integrated life at work, home and society.
History generally remembers Gandhi as the leader who ended
India’s colonisation. We believe that this is misleading.
While he certainly played a central role in that liberation,
he remained faithful to the British rule for about two thirds
of his life and he did not rejoice when his country achieved
independence in 1947. Gandhi wished much more than India’s
liberation from the British Empire: he wished the psychological,
economical, political and spiritual liberation of all men
and women in India, indeed in the whole world.
For many people, most of the knowledge they have of Gandhi
has been derived from the film directed by Richard Attenborough,
Ghandi, featuring Ben Kingsley. While this movie is indeed
superb in many respects, having won 9 academy awards in
1982, including one for best picture, it also reinforced
the view of Gandhi as the “political liberator”.
This is, as we shall show in the leadergraphy, a view that
does not resonate with Gandhi’s life message.
If readers let go their preconceived notions on Gandhi,
we are convinced that they will encounter in this leadergraphy
a great soul and a great leader who walked upon this earth,
in flesh and blood, with all the fragilities of a human
being.
Indeed, Mohandas Gandhi was not born the Mahatma, “the
great soul”. Like all of us, he had to grow into maturity
through many experiences in life. A great many studies in
leadership do indicate that leaders are not born as such:
they undergo a developmental process. And yet, a good number
of people still believe today that leaders carry special
gifts in their genes. At the extreme, these people then
divide the world between a few all-powerful leaders and
the masses, composed of passive followers. Contrary to this
belief, Gandhi’s life demonstrates that an ordinary
human being can become an international leader, indeed an
integral one.
Gandhi’s personal story is a testimony that all of
us can act from the “better angels of one’s
nature”, as Abraham Lincoln nicely put it. This will
be the central evidence this leadergraphy will document.
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CHOSEN LEADERS AND THEIR RESEARCHERS
