Connecting The Horizon To Ground Reality Is Quality Of A Great Leader: Pritam Singh

In times of crisis, people turn to leaders as towards a guiding lamp, which helps them find a path to navigate through when darkness overcomes the world, said Pritam Singh, former Director, IIM Lucknow. He said, it was imperative that leaders have an eye on good judgment and a knack for looking beyond the present scenario. 

In a beautiful analogy, Singh explained how life is a race. Juxtaposing the jungle to our world, he said, “the lion learns to run fast or it will die (of hunger) and the deer will have to learn to run fast (so as not to be killed by the lion) to survive”. Either way, both know that in order to survive, the pace of life needs to quicken. He then connected this to how the economy needs to grow at a much faster rate than at present. He talked of how the presence of India in terms of its “competitiveness” and “innovation” needs to be felt more. 

Quoting Swami Vivekanda, Singh said, “thought without action has no meaning, and action without thought is futile.” He emphasised the importance of well thought out action points, executed in a proper manner. 

He also pointed out how at this point, we all need to question our own “purpose of life” and make sense of our value system. Singh repeatedly reiterated the role and importance of “credibility” in this world. “Leaders write an exam every day, and more the credibility of the leaders, more the followers,” he said. 

He also talked of the relationship between concepts like ‘attitude’, ‘behaviour’ and ‘philosophy’ and how one small change can have a largescale impact. Changing how one reacts to situations is an important aspect of every great leader, he said, as every person looks out for a person leading with the heart rather than the brain. That trait shows how the person is genuine and authentic.