Building a nation of heroes

For most of us democracy means nothing more than the franchise of voting. We forget that democracy is also participatory, which requires working together within our communities to make a difference to our own lives and the lives of those around us.

The irony is that we often require painful incidents, like the ones we are going through, to remind us about this and to shake us out of the quagmire of problems that we are left to deal with.

According to John Kotter, an authority on leadership from the Harvard Business School, “Without enough leadership

from enough people in existing arenas, they become too sluggish and uncreative to flourish in a world of change and flux. Without enough leadership to create and nurture new initiatives, an economy like India can’t keep a democracy stable. Leadership is not the only necessity for stability and progress, but without enough, democratic institutions remain fragile - always vulnerable to internal tyranny and external threats.”

In fact, we all have been limiting our and our nation’s potential thinking that true leaders are different . We have been indifferent to nation building thinking that exemplary leaders are extraordinary. But it stands to reason that at some point of time all great leaders, whether Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela or George Washington, were all ordinary individuals .

They took a decision to wriggle out of their comfort zones. They took a decision to challenge themselves and the world around. They took a decision to look beyond themselves , to get involved, to make a difference to the lives of millions of people around. And that is exactly what is required from each one of us right now.

As we traverse through this twilight zone, we cannot afford to restrict leadership to a few individuals . It is time for us to come out of our cosy homes, cocoons and comfort zones to tackle and solve our nation’s problems. It is time for us to remind each other that it is not up to ‘them’ , but up to us. It is up to us to build India as a nation of leaders — where everyone is a leader, where every one is a hero.

Probably our real tryst with destiny is just round the corner. Let us embrace it boldly.

Sangeeth Varghese is a leadership thinker from the LSE and the author of the best seller Decide to Lead .

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Corporate_Dossier/Building_a_nation_of_heroes/articleshow/3825979.cms