An Extraordinary Standard Of Leadership

Gandhi: An Extraordinary Standard of Leadership

Lots of great leaders who commanded their armies wisely and led them to the glory appeared on the stage of history, but the ones who won the battles and beat the giants without using armies with weapons were very rare. As one of the most inspiring leaders in history, Mahatma Gandhi achieved this by ending the British rule in India by means of non-violence as well as his effective leadership. A better understanding of his extraordinary standard of leadership can be achieved through an analysis of leadership theories and their connection with Gandhi. Vision, as one of the leadership theories that is discussed in the article “What is leadership?” of Fred Manske, is a prerequisite for a leader as it gives purpose and responsibility to both leaders and followers. S.A. Kirkpatrick and E.A. Locke point out the special traits leaders need to have in “Leadership: Do Traits Matter?”: persistence to follow through with the program and integrity to gain the trust of their followers. Moreover, Hughes, Ginnet and Curphy believe that values influence the choices made by leaders significantly, and in “Leadership and Values”, they observe that values of leaders also affect their relationship with their followers. Self-sacrifice is one of the important aspects of leadership, as explained in "Leader Self-Sacrifice And Leadership Effectiveness: The Moderating Role Of Leader Prototypicality." by Barbara and Daan van Knippenberg. Sydney Hook, in “The Eventful Man and the Event-Making Man”, points out that a great leader has the capacity to change history. Gandhi demonstrated all of these attributes. In “Ears and Mouth Open”, Louis Fischer explains that Gandhi’s vision was a new, free India. Nevertheless,...

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