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LDRSHIP AND BASIC THEORIES
1. Introduction. Leadership is the ability to influence people by providing
purpose, direction and motivation in order to accomplish the assigned mission. It cannot be
applied by just acquiring certain traits or adopting a specific mode because individuals and
environment are dynamic and leader’s connection with individuals, team and mission is
always unique. A leader is a selfless person, who always thinks of collective good over self-
interest. He is the one who remains composed in failure, keeps his team united and has
empathy towards under command. A leader maximizes the efforts of others towards the
achievement of goal not with his authority or power but with the ability to influence and
motivate. Military leaders have three major responsibilities. First, leaders are responsible for
accomplishing all assigned missions. Second, they are responsible for subordinates’ health,
welfare, morale, and discipline. Third, they are responsible for management, maintenance
and employment of resources at their disposal. Few of the attributes mentioned below help
leaders to fulfill their responsibilities.
2. Leadership Attributes
a. Character. Character is an essential trait for leadership as it builds trust,
credibility and promotes loyalty. A leader is an epitome of character and
committed to his mission and objectives. Leaders are characterized by an
unflinching faith in ALLAH and devotion to both the spirit and practice of
religion. With high self-esteem and pride in profession, a leader is truthful,
honest and sincere; ready to shoulder responsibility and take initiative. Free
from contradiction in words and actions, they possess sound integrity and
sense of discipline. Leaders are impeccable in conduct and appearance; they
are dignified and possess uncompromising self-respect. Stable in
temperament and pleasant in personality, they are characterized by hope,
optimism, maturity, determination, gratitude and tolerance in pursuit of
objectives.
b. Courage. Courage is the quality that enables a leader to face difficulty,
danger and stress, etc., without fear. Courageous leaders lead with principles
that guide them when pressure mounts. They don’t avoid bold actions
because they fear failure, neither need external adulation and nor do they
shrink from facing criticism. A leader is courageous and resilient, willing to
take risks and lead from the front. He displays exemplary moral and physical
courage to face danger; sets personal example and always places duty,
mission and his men before self. Endured with correct sense of judgment and
proportion, a good leader is decisive and determined. He always makes
appropriate recommendations grounded in the principles of righteousness and
selflessness. Daring, valiant and fearless, a good leader has the ability to
cope with stress in difficult situations and do what is necessary and right.
c. Competence. Competence is defined as the quality of being adequately or
well qualified intellectually and physically. Professional competence enables a
leader to perform par excellence and at the same time inspire under command
to follow with complete faith and confidence. A successful military leader
requires to be tactically and technically sound, knowledgeable and ever willing
to execute orders without supervision. Eloquent, firm, logical and discerning, a
good leader should be flexible, resolute and able to look and plan forward.

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d. Comradeship. Comradeship is the feeling of ownness between people who
live or work together, especially in a difficult situation. A leader is a reliable
comrade who establishes enduring relationships with his under command and
is always prepared to sacrifice. He is cooperative, trustworthy and concerned
for the well-being of his subordinates. Converting comradeship into a coherent
and unified team, offering best chance of achieving a mission, is one of the
essential responsibilities of a leader. He exemplifies trust, spirit de corps, pride
in profession, military discipline, culture, motivation and faith during team
development and execution to achieve assigned mission. Leaders are
accountable for their decisions and for the actions, accomplishments, and
failures of their subordinates.
e. Communication Skills. Communication is a vital aspect of leadership as it is
the most effective source of connection with followers. Good leaders typically
have remarkable self-confidence and communication style to motivate
subordinates and gain their willing obedience, respect, and loyal cooperation.
They are tactful, patient and have an effective expression making them
impeccable in persuasion and assertiveness. Leaders are expected to create
a motivational environment which enables the team to develop and bring out
the best from every team member. Communication skills also help and enable
leaders in resolving conflict and create greater team effectiveness with clear
and unambiguous orders.
f. Management Skills. A leader should also possess good administrative and
management skills to accomplish the assigned tasks or mission. This requires
leaders to ensure individual development of his subordinates and gelling them
together as a team. Leaders have authority to direct and take necessary
actions to ensure success. They delegate authority to allow subordinates to
carry out their duties, and when necessary, decide and act on behalf of their
commander. While leaders can delegate authority, they cannot delegate
responsibility for the outcome of their subordinates’ actions. Subordinates are
accountable to their leaders for how they use given authority. Leaders
responsibility includes looking after soldier’s physical needs (food, health,
hygiene, sleep etc), military needs (physical training, firing skills, battle craft &
minor tactics, battle fatigue management etc) and psychological needs to
inculcate trust in leadership, spirit de corps and military discipline.
Accomplishment of mission requires creating an effective leadership
environment by focusing on management, motivation and decision making.
3. Few historical battle accounts displaying highest standards of leadership traits and
attributes are attached as Annexure A for reference.
4. Understanding Human Needs and Values. Maslow (American Psychologist)
proposed that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy (Figure - 1). This hierarchy
ranges from more concrete needs such as food and water (Deficiency Needs) to abstract
concepts such as self-actualization (Growth Needs). According to Maslow, when a lower
need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes our focus of attention. Following are
the five categories of needs according to Maslow: -

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a. Physiological. These refer to basic physiological needs for human survival,
e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. Maslow considered
physiological needs to be
the most essential of our
needs.
b. Safety. Once people’s
physiological
requirements are met,
the next need that arises
is a safe environment.
Our safety needs are
apparent even early in
childhood, as children
have a need for a safe
and predictable
environment and typically Figure -1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
react with fear or anxiety
when these are not met.
c. Love and belonging. According to Maslow, the next need in the hierarchy
involves feeling loved and accepted. This needs both romantic relationships
as well as ties to friends and family members. It also includes our need to feel
that we belong to a social group.
d. Esteem. Our esteem needs involve the desire to feel good about ourselves.
According to Maslow, esteem needs include two components. The first
involves feeling self-confident and good about oneself. The second
component involves feeling valued by others; a feeling that our achievements
and contributions have been recognized by others.
e. Self-Actualization. Self-actualization refers to feeling fulfilled or feeling that
we are living up to our potential. One unique feature of self-actualization is
that it looks different for everyone. For one person, self-actualization might
involve helping others; for another person, it might involve achievements in an
artistic or creative field. Essentially, self-actualization means feeling that we
are doing what we believe we are meant to do.

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