Build Yourself For Leadership 

Glossary

 

 Merely        Just

 Aptitude      Natural ability to do something

 Potential     Latent qualities or abilities which may lead to future success

 Dominance     Power over others

 Depart        To leave or deviate from

 Concur        Agree or be of the same opinion

 Ridicule      Mock

 Timidity      Lack of courage

 Appalling     Awful or horrific

 Blunders      Stupid mistakes

 Statesman     Skilled political figure

 Consequence  Result usually an unpleasant one

 Distressing  Upsetting

 Lamentable    Unfortunate

 Devastating  Highly destructive

 Famine        Scarcity of food; in the essay ‘shortage’

 Realm         Kingdom or domain

 Tycoon        Wealthy and powerful business figure

 Close quarters  In close contact

 Contentment     State of satisfaction

 Integration     Action of unification

 

Short Question

 

 What are the two kinds of people in the world?

According to the author the two kind of people in the world are; those who lead and those who follow.

 

 What qualities are required for leadership?

The first quality required for leadership is the ability and courage to speak one’s mind even if it is not acceptable to others. Others qualities include the ability to take immediate decisions, to stand by those decisions, to have a lot of energy to work and to pay attention to the details.

 

 What is meant by the statement; ‘The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone’?

It needs guts and courage to speak your mind when it is not acceptable to others. The given statement highlights this very aspect of character. Only a courageous person can stand aloof in the society with his or her view which he or she considers right. A great moral strength is needed to maintain such a stand.

 

 What makes us commit blunders?

Lack of courage or timidity makes us commit blunders. When we lack courage to accept our ignorance, and try to prove ourselves in matters which are alien to us, we commit great blunders.

 

 Narrate briefly the incident between the young woman and Winston Churchill?

Once in a party an attractive young woman found herself seated next to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She wanted to impress the prime minister not only with her looks but also with her intellect. So she started a conversation with him regarding books. Churchill saw through her veil of pseudo knowledge. He asked her if she had read Scott’s The Talisman and Ivanhoe. She said that they are wonderful books. Then Churchill asked her if she had read Scott’s Emulsion. Again she replied that it is a great book. Actually there is no such book by Sir Walter Scott and this way the woman made a fool of herself.

 

 What are the reasons for the lack of leadership in India?

According to the author, there is a fear to take decisions and this has resulted in the lack of leadership in India.

 

 What makes a tycoon function successfully?

The three things that make a tycoon function successfully are; ability to make quick decisions, have great energy level to work and ability to pay attention to detail.

 

 What should you to say when your advice is asked?

When our advice is asked, we should never say anything which we consider is wrong but is popular among others. We should only say what we think is right and we are sure about it.

 

 Briefly narrate the success story of Mr. V.P. Menon.

Mr. V.P. Menon joined as a Division III clerk in the Imperial Secretariat in New Delhi but later through hard work and determination rose on to become Secretary of the Ministry of States under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He was the person who worked out all details pertaining to the integration of the princely states to the Indian Union. Later he became Governor of Kerala.

 

Long Question

 

Sum up, in your own words the qualities that make a successful leader.

The essay ‘Build Yourself for Leadership’ by Charles Newton is both educative and inspirational. The author tells us the qualities which differentiate a leader from others. Most of the people want to be leaders in their respective fields but fail to achieve their desire as they lack the qualities that are required of a successful leader. The author has enumerated some qualities of a successful leader which he has tried to explain with the help of examples.

 

 The first and foremost quality of a leader is that he or she has guts and courage to speak their mind. Such people do not speak what may please others but speak what they think is right, even it brings them unpopularity or unpleasantness. They have strength to stand alone and say or do the right thing. Timidity is certainly not a part of their character. Neither do they try to impress others with pseudo appearances.

 

 Secondly they have the ability to make quick decisions and then stand by them. They do not blame others for any failures resulting from their decisions. They also have a high level of energy to work.

 It is an inspirational essay by Charles Newton. The author tells the qualities of a leader in whichever field he or she may be from. He also tells what differentiates a leader from a follower. He goes to say that most of us do not want to invite any sort of unpleasantness and therefore say or do what is acceptable by all or the majority. Some people try to exhibit their knowledge and be a part of the popular group even when they are ignorant about the topic and as a result sometimes make a fool of themselves.

 All leaders have some common traits; they take immediate decisions, stand by them, don’t blame others for failures resulting from their decisions, have great energy level, and pay attention to details.

 The author feels that there is a lack of good leadership in India because people fear to take decisions. But then he gives some examples of people who rose from humble jobs to being the heads of their respective organizations.

 

Explanation

 

The author starts the essay by saying that there are two kinds of people in the world; the followers and the leaders. Now it depends upon us which category we would like to be in.

There are chances that everyone would like to be a leader but it is not only a matter of our liking. It also depends upon our abilities. Everyone cannot become a great leader. It will depend much on our abilities. The term ‘leadership’ is not only related to political leadership. It is a very wide and comprehensive term and includes every aspect of everyday life. In simpler words we can say that leaders are required in every sphere of life. Though everyone cannot rise to greatness at national level, most of us can rise to be leaders in our professions.

 

 The problem with being a leader is that one has to stand apart from the crowd. But most of us do not dare to do so. We simply follow the crowd or as the author says be a part of the herd. Many a times we do not express our views or what we think is right just because we fear that it would invite unpleasantness or we fear being ridiculed. Leaders have this quality of speaking out their mind. Lack of courage can lead us to commit great mistakes. Sometimes to be part of a group, we prefer not to not show our ignorance about a particular topic and end up proving ourselves as fools.

 

 The author gives a beautiful example of a attractive young woman who wanted to impress Winston Churchill with her intelligence. She started a discussion on books. Churchill immediately understood that the woman was trying to impress him with her pseudo knowledge. He asked her about Scott’s The Talisman and Ivanhoe. She said that the works were wonderful. Then he asked her about Scott’s Emulsion (actually there is no such book by Scott). To this also the woman replied that the work is indeed great and in this way made a fool of her own self.

 

 The author says that such tendency is common in the world in general and in India in particular. As a result we have a lack of good leadership. What India needs is managerial and executive talent or in simpler words we can say that India needs good leaders. The author is of the view that this lack of leaders in India finds its roots in presence of fear to take decisions. The ability to take immediate decisions differentiates a leader from a clerk or in other words a follower.

 

 Quoting from an article in ‘Weekly Scotsman’ the author enumerates the qualities of big tycoons. They all have ability to make decisions, stand by those decisions and they do not blame others for failures resulting from their decisions. All these tycoons have amazing energy level, have ability to take immediate decisions and they pay attention to every detail. Once again the author says that whenever our advice is sought, we should not say what is acceptable but should say what is right in our minds. It may attract some unpleasantness for a short time but in long time it is bound to bring us respect.

 

 When we take up any profession, we should try to excel in it and reach the top. There are people who joined at a junior post and then rose to be the heads of their organizations. Giving the example of Mr. V.P.Menon, the author says that he joined the job as a Division III clerk and then went on to become the Secretary of the Ministry of States under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He worked out every detail during the integration of princely states in India and then later became Governor of Kerala.