A Leader Story

A Leader Story
You may be a brilliant individual performer. But you may turn out to be a big flop as a leader. Instances are so many in our life. Who is a good leader? Well, a good leader is one who creates the right ambience for his team members to co-exist, perform and improve individually and collectively. More often than not, we find the so-called team leaders take on autocractic route to rule supreme. Often times, they are surrounded by `yes men/women'. And, they relish all the attention showered on them. Even as these leaders dip deep into a make-believe mutual admiration world comprising people who are in deep love with their own faces and voices, they unconsciously move farther away from the world of reality. They live in a disconnected world. Disconnected yes indeed are they from facts, figures and the real world at large. Guided by an assumed sense of self-importance, these leaders walk the deceptive route. Often times, they convince themselves that others exist only because of their kindness and genorisity. Ipso facto, they expect eveybody to follow their dictates unquestioningly. Rarely they hear the voice of dissent. If at all there is any dissent, it is quiety pushed to oblivion thanks to `yes men' down the line.
Being an hardcore newsman, this question crosses my mind very often these days? Is there a freedom of speech in the Fourth Estate? After very many summers into this profession, I can confidently assure you that there is nothing like a freedom of speech in this world of Fourth Estate. It exists only on paper. The expression `freedom of the press' is used differently by different people across the industry. The fact of the matter is that each interest group in the layer is out to protect its back and keep the interests of the others subsevient to its own. With the result, you see `suppression' at all levels across the entire canvass. That is why we see the preachings and practices don't converge often. Several years ago as I was leaving a job in Bangalore, a collegue of mine told me not to get attached to people and places. I knew not why he had said this to me then. Looking back, I am convinced that he was indeed right. This advice has sort of helped me to focus only on the job I do. It has also helped me to approach work in a dispassionate way. Well, the moral of the story is clear: Keep doing. Keeping moving. And, the goalpost will approach you fast.