on leadership

Last night I was at a New Year party on the terrace of our apartment building in Trivandrum, Kerala. There were two young singers -Anand and Latha - supported by Anand's laptop to add spice and spirit to the party. You know, Keralaites have a way of enjoying parties which is very different from that of Punjabis. We talk and talk while our Punjabi friends dance and dance.

Anand had a tough time making us join the chorus and also sway to his tunes. But in the end, he did it. Everyone, the grandparents and grandchildren included, danced to the beats of the latest Hindi songs and the hit Malayalam songs.

How did Anand manage to raise our party spirit? By sheer persistence. And of course talent. But I think it was persistence that did it. He didn't give up when his calls to chorus fell on deaf ears. He continued to sing, and little by little he conquered our hearts. You know, Anand can make a Malayalee dance.

I am just thinking about the title of the book by Louis Gerstner: 'Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? ...' I really don't know what Gerstner did or didn't do to turn around IBM, or whether at all IBM can be compared to an elephant or whether dancing must be taught to those huge pachyderms. But one thing I know: human beings have dance hidden in them. They would be natural dancers, if it weren't for the culture that criticizes and tries to educate them into serious adults.

Anand made loose-lipped, stiff-necked, tight-hipped Malayalees dance. And he didn't do it by force; he didn't impose it on us. He persisted and made sure that we did what we always wanted to do, if it weren't for our self-conscious self-criticism. He made us do what we enjoyed doing. That is leadership in action from the young man, Anand.