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A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi
Though Gandhi is one of the most written-about figures of the twentieth century, this is the first book to apply lessons from his life to the practical tasks faced by contemporary leaders-from corporate managers and executives to government administrators, nonprofit professionals, educators, and others.
In times shaped by colonialism, dictatorships, and two World Wars, Gandhi demonstrated that an idealist could also be a practical and effective leader. In our times of increasing cynicism about the quality of leadership we can expect and aspire to, Keshavan Nair reminds us that, "We are all engaged in leadership, in practicing it and selecting those who will lead." In A Higher Standard of Leadership, he offers a pragmatic guide based on the concepts Gandhi
o leadership is service, not a path to power and privilege;
o effective goals, decisions, and strategies can be guided by moral principles;
o a single standard of conduct, based on absolute values, should be maintained in both public and private life.
A lifelong student of Gandhi's teachings and a businessman with more than 25 years of experience in corporate and governmental leadership development, Nair is uniquely positioned to bridge the two worlds. Using illustrative examples from Gandhi's life and writings, he identifies commitments-to conscience, openness, service, values, and reduced attachments-and describes the courage and determination necessary to work and lead by them. In simple and direct language, he explores the process of making decisions, setting goals, and implementing actions guided by the spirit of service and commitment to values that is essential to the realization of a higher standard of leadership in our workplaces and communities.
In times shaped by colonialism, dictatorships, and two World Wars, Gandhi demonstrated that an idealist could also be a practical and effective leader. In our times of increasing cynicism about the quality of leadership we can expect and aspire to, Keshavan Nair reminds us that, "We are all engaged in leadership, in practicing it and selecting those who will lead." In A Higher Standard of Leadership, he offers a pragmatic guide based on the concepts Gandhi
o leadership is service, not a path to power and privilege;
o effective goals, decisions, and strategies can be guided by moral principles;
o a single standard of conduct, based on absolute values, should be maintained in both public and private life.
A lifelong student of Gandhi's teachings and a businessman with more than 25 years of experience in corporate and governmental leadership development, Nair is uniquely positioned to bridge the two worlds. Using illustrative examples from Gandhi's life and writings, he identifies commitments-to conscience, openness, service, values, and reduced attachments-and describes the courage and determination necessary to work and lead by them. In simple and direct language, he explores the process of making decisions, setting goals, and implementing actions guided by the spirit of service and commitment to values that is essential to the realization of a higher standard of leadership in our workplaces and communities.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 1, 2018
Excellent book on leadership that becomes more relevant by the day. The discussion covers committing your life to truth, nonviolence, and following the universal code of conduct (treating others as yourself), while giving a guide to a higher standard of leadership that includes following a single standard of conduct, committing to the spirit of service, and making decisions and actions bounded by moral principles. This was a very inspirational read that I am sure I will come back to a few times for moral motivation or advice in any leadership position.
June 21, 2007
What an amazing man.
September 17, 2010
Excellent!
Read
April 18, 2020Truly inspiring book on Gandhi's leadership principles. a MUST!!
September 25, 2021
Required reading for a leadership class, however I will read this one over and over again throughout my leadership career.
March 19, 2017
I have to caveat that I haven't read a lot about Gandhi but I have gained a lot from the ideas espoused in this book. The book reads like a quick summary of the way Gandhi lived his life and stood firm in his beliefs. The narrative draws you in right away and keeps you moving through the book at a rapid pace. I first read it during my MBA program in the late '90s and felt that the ideas (and ideals) were extremely useful in keeping me grounded as a business leader. In the light of the current political environment, I feel like this book is extremely relevant. I'd love to send a copy to every member of Congress and to the President as I feel like they are nowhere near standards of truth and non-violence. In fact they are moving this country as far and as fast as they can away from these ideals and it's frightening.
November 15, 2019
I read this book a month ago. This is my next book about Gandhian principles after Gandhiji's autobiography. It was recommended by my teacher who teaches about Transformational leadership from the context of Upanishads. From him, I learnt that leadership is a relationship with the followers, where the leader enables the followers to raise their self-efficacy and self-esteem.
I had found the book caters to an audience of business leaders for whom Gandhian principle might seem more of an idealist than practicality. The author tries to bring a framework which aligns to Gandhian principles for business leadership. He is candid about what could be concerns of business leaders. I started with the question if it is really applicable to today's complex interconnected world. As I read the book and made my notes, I realized we can easily take the route of impracticality and idealistic to dismiss some of what is mentioned here. My views changed when I went about reading. For instance, the corporate world's perspective of motivation and productivity is questioned here. "In Business, the highest level of motivation occurs when all employees are driven by a sense of personal responsibility to do their work to the best of their ability. When this occurs, there is less need for supervision and there are more efficiency and great productivity."
One more insight I gained was on how leaders need to consider power. The author elaborates how to reconcile power with service.
Today we have new age coaches who take us through leadership training, who talk about Charisma, executive presence, where Linkedin has new articles on leadership every day in some form, where winning is considered the ultimate goal of leadership. The message from a simple man, who was barely clothed but caught the world's imagination through his moral principles of Ahimsa and Truth is worth looking at.
I had found the book caters to an audience of business leaders for whom Gandhian principle might seem more of an idealist than practicality. The author tries to bring a framework which aligns to Gandhian principles for business leadership. He is candid about what could be concerns of business leaders. I started with the question if it is really applicable to today's complex interconnected world. As I read the book and made my notes, I realized we can easily take the route of impracticality and idealistic to dismiss some of what is mentioned here. My views changed when I went about reading. For instance, the corporate world's perspective of motivation and productivity is questioned here. "In Business, the highest level of motivation occurs when all employees are driven by a sense of personal responsibility to do their work to the best of their ability. When this occurs, there is less need for supervision and there are more efficiency and great productivity."
One more insight I gained was on how leaders need to consider power. The author elaborates how to reconcile power with service.
Today we have new age coaches who take us through leadership training, who talk about Charisma, executive presence, where Linkedin has new articles on leadership every day in some form, where winning is considered the ultimate goal of leadership. The message from a simple man, who was barely clothed but caught the world's imagination through his moral principles of Ahimsa and Truth is worth looking at.
January 3, 2014
I read this book as a part of my requirements for my Masters of Educational Leadership and Administration.
I really appreciated the depth and consistency of Nair's message throughout this book. I believe he very clearly points to the ideals and absolute values that Gandhi held as true and suggests very practical and strong ways that leaders can use his ideals and values to make changes in real life. In terms of academia, I was disappointed that Nair did not do a better job of ensuring that he ascribed quotes and thinking to their sources. I know Gandhi was Hindu, but several ideas presented in the book find their root in the life and words of Jesus, especially those about truth and about treating others as you wish to be treated.
Solid read. It will be interesting to see how it becomes a part of my leadership in the coming years.
I really appreciated the depth and consistency of Nair's message throughout this book. I believe he very clearly points to the ideals and absolute values that Gandhi held as true and suggests very practical and strong ways that leaders can use his ideals and values to make changes in real life. In terms of academia, I was disappointed that Nair did not do a better job of ensuring that he ascribed quotes and thinking to their sources. I know Gandhi was Hindu, but several ideas presented in the book find their root in the life and words of Jesus, especially those about truth and about treating others as you wish to be treated.
Solid read. It will be interesting to see how it becomes a part of my leadership in the coming years.
April 10, 2011
Nair wrote a book about leadership. He wanted to teach readers how to become the best leaders they can, through examples from the life of Gandhi. I was impressed with how Nair fluently intertwined his thoughts and beliefs with the Gandhi's experiences. He was able to use Gandhi's life to further prove that his leadership styles work. Nair's piece instills the beliefs, goals and priorities all leaders should have in it's readers.
December 22, 2022
Inspiring ideas and full of vision of Indian culture.
November 19, 2008
A simple read, inspiring, and educational. Not to mention required reading for school. Much better than my other leadership book I am reading.
December 27, 2014
a wonderful idea, exploring leadership insights through the lens of Gandhi's work and thought
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews