Today morning read nice article in economics times on leadership qualities.
This article focus on Hitler and Charlie Chaplin leadership qualities.
Charlie Chaplin and Hitler – both these figures are at opposite ends of a scale,thus representing extreme traits of a leader.Experts tell Lynn Lobo that leadership today is all about a fine balance between these two personalities
While one was a master entertainer,the other was a ferocious dictator.Two enormously distinctive men with one peculiarly similar moustache,both Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler are symbolic of two antithetical personalities.While Hitler is iniquitously held as a coldblooded,autocratic leader in the purest sense of the word,Chaplin is regarded as the Godfather of comedy who proposed that you smile,even though your heart is aching.The corporate domain today tastes a similar concoction of leaders with personalities that are either apathetic or sympathetic towards their subordinates sentiments.There is a need for a leadership style that suits everybody.
A leader has to tread the fine line between being an autocratic and an engaging leader and maintain a healthy balance in his/her leadership style.
Today,a leader has to be participative,authoritative,friendly and possess the ability to delegate work as per the strengths of his/her team members, opines Sameer Wadhawan,VP,HR,Coca-Cola India and South West Asia.Passing a parallel judgment,Amulya Sah,deputy GM-HR,Samsung India – Software Engineering Lab explains,When it comes to being an effective leader,no one style suits all;depending on the situation and maturity of the subordinates and team members,one will have to adapt to either being democratic,autocratic or middle of the path (missionary) leader.
So,what can leaders today draw from both these famous personality forces Being passionate and committed to ones beliefs (Hitler) is one positive aspect,but the beliefs need a reality check from time-to-time.Irrespective of ones own moods and feelings,the need to make others feel a part of an organisation and feel positive and energetic is a good leadership trait from the Chaplin model, avers P.Thiruvengadam,sr.director,Deloitte,India.
In addition to this,Wadhawan says,Keeping in mind the two iconic figures that history has given us,we can learn two entirely varied lessons from it.
Hitler was undeniably a good communicator with respect to how he led his army and inspired people with his beliefs and ideas.He possessed the ability to use his managerial skills to his advantage by managing his workforce by getting the work done from them.He was able to change peoples mindsets and effectively motivated them to do what he thought was good for the country.What a manager needs to learn from this is the fact that he/she needs to be skilled to motivate his/her team members to achieve targets and reach goals and most importantly,be a tough implementer to ensure great results.
On the other hand,we have the master of entertainment,Charlie Chaplin who can be regarded as a great example for a leader to understand the importance of laughter,optimism and cheerfulness at work.While getting the work done is important,it is also important to know how the work should be completed.Passing orders always doesnt work.
So,treading on a dodgy ground,what positives can a leader today discover from Hitler and what negatives can be avoided from Chaplins persona Sreekanth K Arimanithaya,VP & chief of HR,Britannia Industries Limited avers that Hitler gained the charismatic leader status because of his political skill and magnetism.As a leader,he had a good command over his people and had a strong characteristic of being persistent,while Wadhawan asserts that though Chaplins approach is good,we have often seen that if a manager becomes too lenient,then his/her team is bound to not take the manager seriously.The workforce will definitely slack away and become unproductive,which will further lead to low and poor results.
Both these historic figures are immortalised by their distinguishing personality traits.As a leader,its best to imbibe the right balance of traits possessed by Hitler and Chaplin.Such flexibility,although tough to put into action,does pay off in performance.After all,like parenthood,leadership will never be an exact science.But neither should it be a complete mystery to those who practice it.
From economics times
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