Mahatma Gandhi and His Leadership Style

Introduction: “A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” by John C. Maxwell (C.Maxwell). Every leader has followers so that he can lead and show them the right direction to achieve the goals. Leadership is a common term that is easy to describe but can be difficult to implement. Leaders can be found everywhere including our families, among friends and within the community but to be a good leader, one need to possess certain characteristics.

Thesis statement: There is a very famous Indian leader who was not born as great but he made himself great through his hard works and struggles, and his name is Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi and in India he is famously known as “Bapu” or “Rastrapita”. Background: He was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India.

He was great freedom fighter who led India as a leader of the nationalism against British rule. His whole life story is a great inspiration for me. Some of the best qualities of Mahatma Gandhjii are he was a simple and peace-loving soul, inspiring, showing by doing and had faith in himself.

Topic sentence: Mahatma Gandhiji led a simple life. Evidence & citing: He helped people in need without expecting anything in return. He played an important role in fighting against the British rule and making India an independent nation. He encourages the people of India to fight for freedom and bring peace and harmony to the nation. Commentary: He himself was a peace loving human being and avoided any kind of violence. He did not believe in wars and conflicts as solutions. It is this quality that made Gandhiji successful.

Topic sentence: Gandhiji never told people to follow him or regard himself as a leader. He never intended to lead but he chose to follow. He followed the truth and what brought happiness to his people. His simplicity, self-confidence, truthfulness and empathetic nature made people admire him. Evidence & citing: The main reason why people are inspired by Gandhiji is his philosophy of non-violence. He used non-violence to free India from British. His manner of dressing shows his unwillingness to use foreign products. He always told the people to do their work on their own without depending on others. He tried to eradicate the evil existing at that time without touching them.

Topic sentence: Mahatma Gandhi’s life itself is a textbook. Evidence & citing: He never asked anyone to do anything, but showed everyone how to do it. He is also a true role model for the new generation since he was himself an ideal example for everything he spoke and taught. He inspires because his life still shows the most beautiful picture of love, peace, honesty and truth.

Topic sentence: Mohandas Gandhi was not a great orator and he didn’t have a very attractive physical looks, he lived a simple life but still he is considered as one of the greatest persons to have ever walked on earth. Evidence & citing: The reason is he always believed in himself. He believed that he has a great responsibility to free his country and he had complete faith in himself. He knew that he would play an important role in the freedom of India and so he did. Commentary: His faith in himself triggered the faith of millions of Indians in him.

From all leadership skill, I think having faith in himself was most important thing for his success. Even though he was thrown in to jail, beaten on roads and many people tried to kill him, he didn’t gave up, he kept on fighting, struggling and working hard, because he had faith in himself that one day he will free India from the rule of British and he succeeded in doing this. Conclusion paragraph: As seen from the essay, Mahatma Gandhi was a transformational leader because many times in throughout his life he had to unite people to do the things they stood for. He was a leader who leads by example and empowers his followers to make them feel better. Behavioral leadership theory best suit Mahatma Gandhi because he proved that leaders are made not born since by profession he was lawyer and later only he became a leader.

I follow democratic leadership style since to make a particular decision I discuss with my parents and friends. I also try to influence and encourage my friends and family to do what they love. While doing any group work like assignment or presentation I divide the work equally to each individual. So by following this style, it had helped me and my team members to perform better.

References

1. C.Maxwell, J. (n.d.). 10 Leadership Quotes. Retrieved May 8, 2019, from www.success.com: https://www.success.com/10-powerful-quotes-on-leadership/
2. History.com.Editors. (2010, July 30). Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved May 8, 2019, from HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/india/mahatma-gandhi
3. Mishra, P. (2017, September 22). Gandhi Jayanti.Retrieved May 8, 2019, from www.mapsofindia.com: https://www-mapsofindia-com.cdn.ampproject.com
4. Winning essays of the Mahatma Gandhi competition. (2010, January 11). Retrieved May 8, 2019, from spectator.sme.sk: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20034950/winning-essays-of-the-mahatma-gandhi-competition.html