Leadership Lessons From Indian Army’s First Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
I had been curious to know more about Sam Manekshaw for quite some time now. He was Indian Army’s very first Field Marshal¹, the highest attainable rank in the army and the hero² of the 1971 India-Pakistan war resulting in the liberation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh. Recently, I got the chance to watch a leadership lecture by him, and following is the distill of what I absorbed from it. I think this topic is especially pertinent today, as the word “leader” seems to be rapidly getting devalued due to over-use, just like the word “innovation” has been de-meaned in the past. To be a “leader”, you ought to know what it takes to be a “leader” and who better to talk about it than a bona fide leader like Sam Manekshaw.
1. Professional Knowledge And Competence
It’s interesting to see that Sam Manekshaw cites professional knowledge and competence as the very first and most basic trait of a leader. But on second thoughts, it’s not as surprising, as to lead, one does indeed need a reservoir of knowledge to stand upon. It’s the basic building block which allows one to absorb and interpret new information, find patterns, correlate and infer, to take the right decisions in real-time. Having field experience in the pits and demonstrated competence also helps with one’s credibility because ultimately, at the end of the day, nobody wants to follow someone who does not know better than him or her.
And achieving this level of knowledge and competence is not a one-time job, but a life-long project. This is especially true in rapidly evolving fields such as software engineering where it’s easy to lose touch and lag behind if a deliberate effort isn’t made. It’s even harder for the leaders because of the multiple demands on their time. But then nobody ever said that leading was easy!
2. Fast Decision Making
“If you are going to be a bloody fool, be one quickly!”
This quote from Sam aptly captures his sentiments on decision making. In his view, omission is a much bigger sin than commission. He regards decision paralysis as having a much larger cost than taking a wrong step. Being wrong at least permits course correction. Not taking a decision only maintains status quo at best. In fact, more often, it results in a decline in the state of affairs.
The importance of fast decision making has been belaboured elsewhere, especially in the context of making decisions when information is incomplete. For example, the 40–70 rule by Colin Powell states that one should not have less than 40% of the information, nor more than 70% of the information required to make a decision³. Jeff Bezos takes a slightly more nuanced view. While, fast decision making is reserved for relatively low impact, reversible decisions (two-way doors), highly consequential, irreversible decisions (one-way doors) must be deliberated upon from multiple angles at the cost of speed.
3. Commitment to Absolute Justice and Impartiality
Ideas like justice and impartiality can often be one of the first casualties in the name of practicality. However, Manekshaw insists on a steadfast commitment to absolute justice and impartiality, come what may. According to him, a leader may sometimes need to penalize people and while nobody likes to be punished, they will accept punishment if they know for sure that the same treatment will be meted out to anyone who commits the act. Similarly, while people don’t like to be superseded, they will tend to accept supersession if they know that they are going to be superseded by someone objectively better than themselves.
Well, whether you want to be a leader or not, I think justice and impartiality are noble goals unto themselves.
4. Moral Courage
Moral courage, in the words of Manekshaw, is the ability to tell right from wrong and the courage to stand up for the right. Manekshaw, in his speech, recounts how in April 1971, due to millions of refugees pouring in eastern India, from what was then, East Pakistan, he was asked by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi to intervene militarily. However, in Manekshaw’s assessment, that was not an opportune moment for such a move. The monsoons were around the corner and that part of the country would soon turn into a swamp hampering any military movement. The snow-passes were about to melt in the Himalayas allowing the Chinese to intervene, if they chose to do so. The harvest season was looming as well and preoccupation of railways and roads to meet the military requirements could result in an unintended famine. Manekshaw told Indira Gandhi in no uncertain terms that his job was to fight to win, not to fight to lose and if they made a military move then, he could guarantee 100% defeat. He even offered to tender his resignation if the Prime Minister disagreed with his assessment. As Manekshaw jokingly puts it — “There is a very thin line between becoming a Field Marshal and early retirement”.
Moral courage is hard because it’s so hard to act upon. Most of us would rather keep mum rather than put our jobs on the line for sake of morality. However, it’s probably the mark of a true leader, who can not only boast of such self conviction but also follow through on it with complete commitment.
5. Sense of Humour
Having a sense of humour is probably not one of the items you expect to see in a list of desirable traits of a leader. However, Manekshaw observes that we are all burdened with our own set of struggles in our lives and it’s easy to become despondent and depressed. Therefore, it’s important for a leader to be able to sense these signs and administer the dose of humour every now and then to keep up the spirits.
To be honest, I am not sure if it’s possible to cultivate a sense of humour if you are not born with it. However, it does appear doable to not be serious at all times and take things in a lighter vein every so often. It’s a change in mind-set though, so infinitely easier said than done.
6. Discipline
According to Manekshaw, a disciplined life is a pre-requisite for a leader to be able to discharge his or her duties well. It’s a foundational stone and an indisciplined lifestyle leads to a shoddy and haphazard existence. Indiscipline is an open invitation to disrespect, ridicule and incompetency, hardly the traits that a leader would want to be associated with.
So, that’s it. Competence, Fast decisions, Just and Impartial, Moral courage, Humor and Discipline — traits of a true leader according to Sam Manekshaw. As we navigate an increasingly complex and dynamic world, these leadership traits can serve as a timeless guide for those aspiring to lead with distinction and integrity.
Postscript
Sam Manekshaw is a very engaging speaker with his speeches and interviews interspersed with good doses of humour. Watch the full speech here, or this interview for a more leisurely talk. If you are not up to listening to hour long conversations, here is a shorter and sharper interview in the inimitable style of Karan Thapar.
Footnotes
- In fact, General Cariappa is the only other recipient of the honour till date.
- The choice of the word “hero” isn’t entirely appropriate here. It trivializes war as if it’s a theatrical play, which I don’t intend to, but allow me to use it as I think he is genuinely considered a “hero” in the popular culture.
- While great on paper, I think it’s difficult to define what 100% of information looks like. Therefore, it’s hard to know when you are in the 40–70 % range. The spirit of the rule is understandable though: wait for minimum viable amount of information but don’t wait so long that the opportunity passes.
