One of the joys of working at the University of Salford is the opportunity to go to a variety of interesting lectures. Today, the Business School welcomed Dr R Balasubramaniam to share his theories on Enlightened Leadership. It was a fascinating talk on how self-awareness and self-enquiry creates mindful leadership, based on understanding what drives us and what drives others.
This is a synopsis of his theories.
“Human progress and development affects people from all walks of life and success in any field now demands a multidimensional and comprehensive perspective. Governments and other Social Institutions are increasingly faced with preparing Leaders to operate in the social sector. As they acquire competencies and knowledge about different subjects, many find themselves inadequately prepared for taking on leadership positions in this sector. They are challenged by the complexity and diversity that a rapidly changing world presents them with.
Today’s problems such as education, health, global warming, health care, human rights & gender issues are complex and demand new skills in tackling them. No single institution, be it a governmental one, a corporation or a non-profit one can solve these in isolation. A new kind of leadership, a more collaborative and self-aware model is needed. More than ever, leaders must integrate knowledge and talent from multiple individuals, units and organizations in the business, non-profit and government sectors to advance the common good.
Leadership should be driven by higher values and be at once adaptive, pragmatic and culturally well informed. It should not only take organizations, communities and society forward in times of increased interconnectedness and rapid change but also serve as a means of personal self-transformation.
Enlightened leadership is a journey of self-transformation
Practising leadership in this setting involves engaging the heart, the head and the hands: combining Motivation, Strategy and Action. Leadership is a journey of self-transformation where one accepts the responsibility to engage others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty. The call to leadership may be especially complex in the context of a fragmented world and increasingly multicultural societies. ‘Exercising Enlightened Leadership’ is learning to lead across sectoral, cultural and national boundaries to advance the common good of humanity at large. It operates from the understanding and appreciation of interdependence and reciprocity.
To be successful, we must understand the definition and nature of Leadership where people appreciate themselves and what motivates them and where they self-manage the inevitable stresses and dangers of leadership. The successful leader has the capacity to lead with and without authority, across boundaries, and from any political or organizational position. In a world in which most organizations, communities, and societies face enormous adaptive pressures, the practice of leadership is critical – the practice of mobilizing systems of people to thrive in changing and challenging times. By applying theory to practice, clarifying the relationship among key concepts – leadership, management, authority, power, influence, followership, citizenship – we can provide a practical, coherent, and clear theoretical framework.
The enlightened leader draws from different disciplines and a range of skill sets. Philosophy and biology provide the concepts of paradigmatic change and adaptation. Political science and business management provide perspectives on the functions of authority. History and literature provide a rich caseload from which to explore the nature of adaptive success and failure. Social psychology provides insight into the dynamics of social systems and an approach to diagnosing their productivity and dysfunctions. Cultural anthropology provides the background and understanding of culture and how cultural values influences our exercise of leadership.
Leadership is relational and demands that leaders have a better understanding of themselves, of others around them and the actions that bind themselves to others.”
For information about Business Management courses at Salford Business School, visit University of Salford Business School/business-management-courses
Dr. R. Balasubramaniam
MBBS, MPA, M. Phil, was the Frank H T Rhodes Professor at Cornell University and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Iowa. He is a development activist, social innovator, writer and a leadership trainer. He is a Tata Scholar, a Mason Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School and was a Mid-Career Fellow of the Hauser Center for Non-profits of the Harvard University.
He has served as a consultant to various organizations in the fields of Health, Education, Economic development and Governance in India and the US. Apart from being a Consultant and Reviewer for the World Bank, he also sits on various State, National & International Committees. He conducts leadership workshops for leaders in the non-profit, corporate, government and educational sectors in India and in the US. The courses that he teaches are ‘Leadership for Global Citizenship’, ‘Leading in Multicultural Environments’ and ‘Service Leadership’. He is currently writing a book on Leadership.
Fascinating lecture today from Dr Balasubramaniam on Enlightened Leadershiphttp://ow.ly/4mWLjz pic.twitter.com/U2RoEy5oV1
— Salford Business School (@salfordbizsch) April 21, 2016