This post was originally penned for the SocialCops blog here
A couple of months ago some friends and I were
debating over what distinguishes a ‘manager’ from a ‘leader’. Were the two
could be synonymous? If yes, then under what circumstances. Needless to say, no
conclusion was ever arrived at.
Cut the chase to January 2015 when I was in Bihar
meeting NGOs as a Himsagar fellow. Now the sole purpose of me being in a state
that is allegedly infamous1 was to take ‘Collect’ - a data
management softwar developed by SocialCops - to the grassroots. As I met with
close to 50 NGOs over 5 weeks, I realised that right there was a crash course
on Leadership – a 101 module - for me. And here’s what I learnt:
#1. A leader is guided by a bigger vision
I have struggled a little trying to explain to
well-wishers around me why I chose to quit my job and the security that came
along with it, to swap places with Mumbai and live out of nothing but a
backpack and a suitcase (all of which is also known as the Himsagar
Fellowship). This in spite of the fact that in my head (and heart) I know it’s
the right thing for me. Period. So in a chance conversation on choices, I was
first curious and then impressed with how some times its best to let actions
speak for themselves.
“We are not a
big NGO by any standard. Some time ago a funding NGO had sent its
representative to our office. He went through our reports and remarked that it
looked good on paper. We invited him to our project centres and he was stumped
– everything was just as he had read about it. We run our programs on a small
scale and do not make an attempt to gloss it over.” This is what the founder Mr.
Naresh Chandra Verma of Bureau of Obligate and Accompanier for Rural Development (BOARD), an NGO that works on the outskirts of Patna had to say. Prior to
setting up this non-profit, Mr. Verma used to be an auditor for over 50
companies and had only recently downsized them to a negligible number because
he wanted to make a difference.
#2. A leader is comfortable taking tough decisions
I realised that quite often the environment within
Bihar wasn’t one enabled for technology. Be it uninterrupted electricity or 3G
connectivity (and the lack thereof quite often), I found myself constantly
struggling to find a way to be productive. This challenge got further magnified
outside of Patna. I kid you not when I say that at times I did have to lean out
of a balcony just so that my 3G dongle would let me connect!
That got me thinking about what the stimulus for an organization
like Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS) would be to have both, its
head office and program office in Madhubani district, about one hour’s drive
away from the Nepal border in spite of the odds. It isn’t unusual for NGOs to
have their head office in a city that has better connectivity – of transport
and technology – while their programs are in areas where interventions are
required.
“It’s a conscious decision to have our office within
the community we work with. It’s challenging, no doubt, as we struggle without
electricity and uninterrupted access to the internet to be able to keep pace
ourselves with what’s happening elsewhere in Bihar and even across India. But
there’s fulfilment in being accessible to the community. For instance, I could
go and attend a meeting of SHGs today even though I have other things to tend to
because of the proximity. If we had our office in Patna, I’d have to separately
plan such trips out”, was what Mr. Ramesh Kumar, GPSVS’s chief functionary had
to say.
#3. A leader is solution-oriented
From atrocities against members belonging to either a
certain caste or even gender to children being trafficked from within
vulnerable communities to devastation caused by floods, the NGOs I met with
worked on a myriad of issues. Needless to say, the issues are complex and the
scale immense. Against such a backdrop, it is one thing to constantly be driven
yourself and it’s another thing to constantly drive and motivate those around
you. And quite the Herculean task at it. It’s refreshing then when you meet a
leader with a perspective that claims to have no rocket-science behind figuring
it out.
“Through our work we’ve seen that too much energy is
expended in finding fault and blaming the government for what’s not working. It’s
true that not everything is perfect but if you’re going to approach it from a
‘nothing-is-working’ perspective, it will not help anyone achieve anything” was
what Mr. Rakesh Kumar Sinha from Bureau of Rural Economical and Agriculture
Development (BREAD) had to say. Elaborating further he said, “We work in
communities to educate and inform people about the different schemes that are
already available and how they should be accessing them. Once people are aware
of what they can and should be availing, they are able to approach issues in a
more constructive manner. After all sustainable change can be achieved through
dialogue.”
#4. A leader understands that you must empower yourself
to empower the community
As with anything
new, there will always be early adopters as will there be the
not-so-early-adopters. Some of the NGOs I’d met with expressed their concerns
in terms of being able to make that transition at an organization wide level.
After all behaviour change takes time.
In the same vein
though, I learnt that technology does have the potential of being an equaliser
in many ways. While sharing his thoughts, Mr Uday Kumar from Dalit Association for
Social and Human Rights Awareness (DASHRA) said, “We (as
an NGO) have for long remained recipients of services that have been doled out.
Just like the communities we work with. It’s about time that we step up and
bring ourselves up to speed on what’s happening around us. Who knows this may
change the way we work with the community and in turn the way they are
empowered!”
#5. A leader leverages
the power of the network
We live in a day and age where some of us struggle to
recall our own 10 digit mobile numbers; that we rely on our mobile phones for
everyone else’s is hardly news. But that meant nothing to Mr. Y K Gautam of Jan
Jagran Sansthan who could recollect contact numbers with such ease that I was
almost embarrassed to be sitting in front of him. But it was more than good
memory. My ability to reach out to a maximum number of NGOs in Bihar was simply
possible because many recommended I reach out to their peers and networks.
“Relationships are pivotal within families and even
outside of them. They need to be nurtured throughout their lifespan. We (as
individuals and organizations) operate in silos and can achieve very little if
we work by ourselves. It is through our network of partners that we deliver
impact on the ground. It is through these relationships that we have sustained
the network.”
Demonstrating what it means to be a true leader,
however, does not always mean saying it in so many words. Leaders are
charismatic because of their simple gestures such as sitting on the floor with the
team or sharing a meal together with them. Needless to say, these too can be an
equally humbling for someone observing from afar.
A city-bred myself, I realise that in our chase to
meet deadlines and achieve targets we’ve not only forgotten the little things
but have turned into sceptics too. And then I’m reminded of Margaret Mead who
said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can
change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.
1 P.S.: Bihar
deserves much more credit than it’s been ascribed.
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