Leadership of Gandhi

Cochran ,1

Kathryn Cochran
LEAD 7000
Dr. Wendy Griswold
Fall 2015
Analysis of a Leader

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The Weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strongMahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi is a true rebel in the history of the world. Although, while considering
the word rebel and the usual definition of it and the context its included in, Mahatma gave new
light and a new definition to the term rebel. In fact, Mahatma was a man that chose to rebel
against societal norms, not through fighting and uprisings, but instead through peace, solitude,
and education. He chose to educate his followers, influence them to educate those around
themselves, and expressed in multitudes how being knowledgeable of issues leads to peaceful
protesting as well as knowledgeable protesting, perhaps the most influential of all types of
protests.
Mahatma was born in India in 1869 and was assassinated in India in 1948. Upon his
entrance into the world of Indias reform process, he soon became known, and still is known, as
the father of India. He was raised in a highly religious household, with his father being a chief
minister, and his mother being a highly devout Vishnu follower (A&E, 2010). Mahatma spoke
often of his life in religion leading him to his peaceful style of rebellion, and he often used it in
his teachings; though his teachings and his style of rebellion transcends all religions, race, and
people. Mahatma started his life as a peaceful protestor and leader in 1906, as the government
passed ordinances stating that the Indian population of then-British ruled India to register
themselves with the government. Seeing an act like this pass led Mahatma to a true campaign of
peaceful civil disobedience. This lasted for eight years, and many of those involved were jailed,
executed by the government, and flogged.
Many have asked the question as to how one man could have led a protest to a crowd of
people that were okay with the punishment that they endured from their government. In fact,

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when studying current day protests, as well as protests that have happened in the history of the
world; while there are groups that sacrificed their lives for the protest they were involved in, its
rare to find protesting that lasted the duration of years and years where faithful followers are still
found. To examine the power that must be apparent that allowed the fight to continue throughout
the duration of the years, it is imperative to first examine the leadership styles of Mahatma. With
his style of non-violent civil disobedience, it would be an assumption that he led by example in
order to guide his followers. According to Barnabas and Clifford, Mahatma led by example by
adapting the leadership style of servant leadership (Barnabas, Clifford, 2012).
The servant leader, according to Robert K. Greenleaf, must become a servant first,
showing his followers that he can serve, in order to influence them to follow him and service
others to become a greater leader (Spears, 1996). Mahatma is known historically to have
provided service to those around him, as he is known to have provided tutoring for free to
students, as well as caring for the sick in his life. For his good works, he asked for no pay or not
to be paid back in any way, shape, or form. Mahatma inspired his followers to also provide acts
of service to those that they came in contact with, including those in the opposition to the
movement of his message.
Barnabas and Clifford outline some of the key characteristics to servant leadership that
Mahatma obtained; humility, integrity, accountability, security, and vulnerability. Perhaps the
most important aspect of being a servant leader is the humility that must be held and shown in
the most powerful ways possible. Humility allows one to put others ahead of themselves, despite
the consequences that may come from allowing ourselves to be put into last place. Barnabas
states that when Mahatma created the Indian National Congress, he gave away his position as the
sole leader of the congress to upcoming leaders in order to give them the necessary experience in

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leadership positions (Barnabas & Clinton, 2012). As his movement continued to grow and the
government gained independence, not only did Mahatma not seek to have power in the
government, but he continued to serve without the specific title to boast next to his name.
Mahatma showed integrity, accountability, vulnerability, and security for his followers;
the other aspects to being an authentic leader in the servant leadership style. Perhaps was makes
Mahatma such a powerful servant leader is the fact that he held the characteristics before he was
a well known leader in his community. His actions and writings from when he was a law student
in Great Britain show that he was a servant before being a servant leader; creating a much more
powerful image of him than ever before.
Mahatma explained, in 1917, his path to his style of leadership and what led him to that
particular path. He claimed that there were two paths to take when leading groups of people in
protests: the satyagrahi and the duragraha. A satyagrahi does not abandon his path, even though
at times it seems impenetrable and beset with dissiculties and dangers, even an inveterate enemy
he conquers by the force of the soul, which is love (Dennis via Gandhi, 1917). With the
duragraha, Mahatma explains that the goals can be reached in any way possible and that there is
no barrier large enough to break down, because it can be reached, no matter what it takes.
Mahatma chose to lead using the satyagrahi, which also goes along with the servant leadership
style; as it is done out of love only; and not out of anger, pride, or deceit. As Mahatma led his
followers into risky, sometimes terrorizing situations, such as the salt march, its important to
note that even in these situations, he never relied on brute force or terror for their symbolism or
attitude towards the opposition.
With Mahatma Gandhi being a servant leader and relying on the outward force of love to
guide his rebellion, the focus now turns to his style of leadership on a personal level. Was he

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lovingly demanding with his followers, was he kind, was he particular with his followers? All of
these aspects of a leaders personality characteristics lead him to guiding in a specific manner, and
its vital to understand someones personality when analyzing their leadership qualities. Bligh
and Robinson studied the leadership qualities that Mahatma held, as well as his writings and
speeches, in an attempt to examine whether or not he was that of a charismatic leader, or a laid
back leader that allowed his people to lead the movement at opportune times. A charismatic
leader is one that can encourage their people to stand up against any oppressive enemy, any
organization despite its size, and any specific person. The charisma that the leader creates gets
into the hearts and minds of their followers and encourages them to go further than they
previously felt that they could before the leader came along. Some of the attributes that a
charismatic leader holds is that they are enthusiastic, they take risks, they are self-sacrificial,
compassionate, motivation, and dynamic (Hartog et al., 1999). Its important to note that many
of the worlds most historic leaders were highly charismatic; Adolf Hitler, former Presidents John
F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. But, alas, the question remains: was Mahatma Gandhi, a
historically peaceful man that did all that he could to keep tensions low, a man that chose to lead
civil disobedience in one of the most peaceful ways known in history, a man that chose not to
fight with the sword, but with the heart, and with love; was this man possible of creating a
leadership style and leading by it that could be considered charismatic?
When examining the difference that Mahatma was able to make alongside his followers
in a historically hard time in the nation of Indias history; its hard to imagine that he wasnt
charismatic, until you read his readings and examine his leadership style of allowing others to
lead him when he felt that the time was opportune for them to do so. Stanley Wolpert stated in
2001 that By re-creating himself, through the power of his passion, in the humble, vulnerable

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image of India's poorest starving naked millions, Gandhi could, when moved to do so by his
inner voice, call upon that unarmed ragged army, whose pain he mirrored and magnified in his
own naked body, to follow him barefoot up India's Via Dolorosa to freedom. And countless
millions unhesitatingly did follow him, not as a modern political leader, nor as a medieval native
prince or martial maharaja, but as their own Mahatma, India's Great Soul.
The study produced by Bligh and Robinson concluded that Mahatma was not necessarily
a charismatic leader in the traditional sense of charisma, but that he was a charismatic leader in
the Weberian traditional sense (Bligh & Robinson, 2010). Some of the attributes to Mahatmas
charismatic leadership in the traditional sense reflects back on his humility, his unwavering
dedication to his message, dressing in simple clothing to keep himself humbled, are what led him
to his style of charismatic leading; even if that leading didnt necessarily include high powered,
up tempo speeches that we may imagine when hearing the term charismatic leader. Instead, his
charisma comes from within. Mahatma stated once that even one person can make a difference;
strength comes not from physical capacity but from an indomitable will; given a just cause,
nonviolence and capacity for self-suffering, and fearlessness, victory is certain; leadership by
example is the one most effective. (Anand, 2007).
One of the most important examples of Mahatmas leadership qualities stems back to an
old story of Mahatma, somewhat of a myth that has surrounded his life as an activist. The myth
is that he, alongside his followers, deserve the credit and respect for Indias independence. While
they deserve a large amount of credit, its important to note that the movement for independence
was in motion when he came along on the scene. The difference that Mahatma made, though,
was that he introduced the idea of peaceful civil disobedience. In fact, Gandhi was quoted to say
that he didnt like the end result of the two part independence; and Mahatmas son, Rajmohan

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Gandhi was stated to say the violence would have been ever great, the parts more than two, and
the future unity, pluralism, and democracy of the Indian part far more vulnerable when speaking
of the credit that is owed to his father and why he deserves the credit; yet also how his peaceful
protesting measures help the future of India maintain a bright outlook.
Through the research, readings, and previous research provided, I feel that it can be
safely and surely concluded that Mahatmas leadership style was purely servant leadership. Not
only did Mahatma sacrifice having a normal life with a normal family; he sacrificed
allowing himself to live a life under the radar; a life that goes unnoticed and undaunted, one that
many yearn for. A servant leader must possess these qualities, and Mahatma lived the true life of
a servant, first and foremost, and a leader. Though there has been speculation about what the
differences would have been had Mahatma Gandhi not performed his acts of service in the
manner that he did, its important to not that the historically troubled nation of India could still be
troubled had he not led his followers to, for the first time in history, displaying peaceful civil
disobedience towards the government.

Sources
Bligh, M. C., & Robinson, J. L. (2010). Was Gandhi charismatic? Exploring the rhetorical
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The Leadership Quarterly, 21844-855.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.07.011
Barnabas, A., & Clifford, P. (2012). Mahatma Gandhi- An Indian Model of Servant Leadership.
International Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2), 132-150.

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Dalton, D. (2012). Mahatma Gandhi : Nonviolent Power in Action. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Learning from Gandhi on His Birthday. (2015). Ivey Business Journal, 4-7.
Mohandas Gandhi- Facts and Summary. (2010). Retrieved 2015, from
http://www.history.com/topics/mahatma-gandhi
Anasakti Darshan Vol. 3, No. 2, July-December 2007