​What qualities should leaders have – how can leaders inspire others?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Thank you. What are the essential qualities of leaders and how leaders can motivate others in Krishna consciousness? What is the difference between a boss and a leader? Okay, as far as inspiring or influencing others is concerned, we, everybody has free will and the door to individual transformation can be opened only from inside.
The door to individual transformation, it cannot be opened from outside. It can be opened only from inside. As they say that we can take a person, we can take a horse to the water, we cannot force the horse to drink.
So we cannot force anyone to do anything. Krishna at the end of the Bhagavad Gita also says that, that as you desire, so you do. Deliberate, deliberate deeply and then you decide what you want to do.
The first principle in leadership is to recognize that others are independent living beings. We cannot force anyone to do something. To the extent we think that others should obey me, to that extent, we will set ourselves up for frustration.
Now this does not mean that we shouldn’t guide or we shouldn’t lead, but we always need to know that they are independent people and I cannot just create a throw a tantrum if others don’t obey me. They are free, they can do whatever they want. And it is, that is why we cannot demand obedience, we have to, as I say, command respect.
We cannot demand respect. Now, how can we influence others then? We cannot force anyone to do anything, but we can inspire them. The way in general one human being can guide or influence or shape others actions is basically three categories.
Provide knowledge, offer facility, set example. Whether it is a leader in a community, whether it is a parent for children, whether it is a counsellor for a counsellee, these are the three main things we can do for others. First is, provide knowledge.
Now we tell you, this is right, this is wrong. And not just this is right, this is wrong. Not just do this, don’t do this.
We explain why it is right, why it is wrong. Why this is beneficial, why this is wrong. So not just, not just giving a set of fiats, do this, do this, do this, don’t do this.
That sort of leadership doesn’t work at all. There is a, there is a atheist gag on the Bible. Gag means like a cheap joke.
They say in the beginning was the word and the word was no. In the beginning was the word and the first sentence of the Bible, the beginning was the word and the word was God. And they say the word was no.
People have this very negative conception of religion. Religion means, no, don’t do this, don’t do this, don’t do this, don’t do this. It’s not like that.
So as leaders, we shouldn’t just cue, don’t do this, don’t do this. We actually provide systematic knowledge of why something should be done, should not be done. Second is create facilities.
If you just tell people that, okay, suppose somebody says, you know, you should not take anything except prasad. But then there is no prasad available anywhere. Are people to starve then? No, if we say all of you should fast for Ekadashi and the only food available is grains.
What will people do? If you tell people to do something, it is our responsibility to provide facilities for them to do that thing. Now create facilities. So parents, if they want their children to become devotees, now they have to create a forum where there are other children of the same age group, where children can play with other children who are devotees.
This will create facilities for them to learn and release Krishna consciousness in the way that is suitable for them. So just giving knowledge without creating facilities is inadequate. And third is set example.
Krishna consciousness is more caught than taught. I may say do this, don’t do like this. But if I say that, you know, we should very prayerfully offer our respects and worship the deity.
But when the deity darshan happens, I am looking everywhere except at the deities. Then people will catch that much more than what I spoke in the class. So it’s very important that we set example.
So set example means that whatever principles of Krishna consciousness we are talking about, we also try according to our capacity to exemplify that. And actually if you see, this is what Srila Prabhupada did. He provided knowledge.
He wrote books, he gave classes, and he created the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which is basically a facility. And if you hear about Srila Prabhupada’s life, he sets an example, constantly, wherever he would go, he was remembering Krishna. So leadership essentially means providing knowledge, creating facilities, and setting an example.
If you do this, now creating facilities also means if you tell people to serve Krishna, you need to create systematic facilities where people can serve Krishna. So provide them services, provide them facilities to execute those services. And if you do this, then definitely you can inspire many, many people to move closer towards Krishna.
I spoke today. I spoke on this. That’s all.
Thank you. I spoke