Remembering A.P.J. Abdul Kalam:
Leadership Lessons from a ‘People’s President’
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was
a space scientist. He was a key driver of India’s space and missile programs.
After he retired, Kalam tried to bridge the gap between rocket science and
politics. A popular president (2002-2007), he accepted the proposal to run for
a second term. He laid down one condition, however; the choice had to be
unanimous. Some political parties didn’t agree. Politics (and politicians) did
not win; the country lost. A popular president had to go after only one term.
In the U.S., the
president has executive powers. In India, though every bill is sent to the
president for his approval before its conversion into an act, he merely has a
red-flag role. If parliament sends the same bill to him again, he has no
recourse but to sign off on it.
Indians tend to see
Kalam as a father figure, but not as one in authority. He was not just a father
figure. An outsider in politics and free of political affiliations, he
redefined and demystified Indian presidency. From India’s Missile Man, he
became the People’s President.
In a 2008 interview
with Knowledge@Wharton, Kalam explained his view of leadership. He
emphasized that leaders should have a vision and not be afraid to go down
unfamiliar paths. Most importantly, Kalam said, they should know how to manage
failure (see video).
A teacher till the
very end, on July 27, Kalam, 83, collapsed while delivering a lecture at the
Indian Institute of Management Shillong. Below, some Wharton professors
and Indian business leaders explain what they admired about the late president:
“President Kalam was
an inspiration to all of us,” says Jagmohan Raju, Wharton professor of
marketing and vice dean of Wharton Executive Education. “A man of science,
equally adept at designing ballistic missiles and coronary stents, nuclear
devices and tablet computers, writing computer code or poetry. When it came to
leadership, [he] relied more on faith, humility and integrity. We all fondly
recall his visit to Wharton where he charmed one and all equally with his wit and
wisdom. [He was] a teacher who cared about students and young Indians all his
life up to the very end. All of us who teach at Wharton, and all over the
world, salute you Dr. Kalam. You will continue to inspire us all.”
Saikat Chaudhuri,Wharton adjunct professor of management and executive director
of Wharton’s Mack
Institute for Innovation Management, says he is deeply saddened by Kalam’s death not only because
he was a “fine human being with multiple talents,” but because “his departure
is a huge loss” for India. “The country needs many more inspiring visionaries
like him to realize [its] full potential on the world stage,” says Chaudhuri.
“Dr. Kalam was a ‘People’s President,’ and ignited those he met with a passion
not only to contribute to India’s growth, but to aim for world-class standards
in their pursuits and be the best on a global platform. He was a true
nationalist, who was motivated purely by a desire to contribute to a better
India and world, upholding the utmost integrity. For India to reach her
potential as an economic, political, and sociocultural superpower, we need many
more leaders to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Kalam. He pushed the country to
reach new heights and to aspire to lead the way in its global rise, rather than
aim to merely catch up with the developed nations.”
Jitendra V. Singh, dean and professor of business at The Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology, and emeritus professor of management at
Wharton recalls: “I was privileged to meet President Abdul Kalam
not once, but several times…. In the time I spent with him, I was struck most
of all by his simplicity, and almost childlike curiosity. He was extremely
alert, and a great conversationalist. As I sat near him through the ceremony
[when Kalam was awarded an honorary doctorate at the Nanyang Technological
University in Singapore], I remember thinking to myself, “What a remarkable
life story; what a remarkable Indian.” We have lost a remarkable Indian. While
born a Muslim, he truly embraced the spirit of being Indian, quoting, as he
would from time to time, from Hindu scriptures. He will be missed, but his
ideas will live on, even as India takes its rightful place in the world. This
is the India he dreamed about.”
Manish
Sabharwal, co-founder
and chairman of TeamLease Services, India’s leading staffing company, believes
that Kalam did for Indian science and politics what the IT industry did for
Indian business. “He raised aspirations by catalyzing a demonstration effect.
By showing that it was possible to think big and look far, he did what the best
leaders always do: recalibrate what people think is possible. He was also one
of the first in public life to reaffirm that you don’t have to be Western to be
modern, but that India must work hard to come up with our [own] definition of
modernity, which must include science, technology, innovation and equality of
opportunity for all.”
Allwin
Agnel, founder of education
network PaGaLGuY, says Kalam taught leadership to people the way it
always should be done: humbly. “By humbly, leading. To touch lives by
doing what is right, by never saying no to any good deed and by simply stepping
up and being more. A million people followed him because
his words and actions always reflected his passion and willingness to help the
world be a better place.”
Rajat
Kumar, vice
president of SnapDeal, says: “My grandparents used to tell me
stories about Dr. Rajendra Prasad (India’s first president) and Lal Bahadur
Shastri (India’s second prime minister), and the faith they inspired. I was
looking for that inspiration from our [current] leaders, but was not really
sure whether I would ever find it — until Dr. Kalam became our president. He
was a great scientist, an epitome of hard work, but most importantly, a human
being who was untarnished by the trappings of power. My fondest memory of him
is of a speech when he was addressing some children. When a child asked
something, he sat on the steps to hear what the question was, and answered it
sitting right there — on the steps of the stage with the child. This was a
President of India who commanded respect for the human being that he was, and
not because of his title.”
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/remembering-a-p-j-abdul-kalam-leadership-lessons-from-a-peoples-president/?utm_source=kw_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2015-07-29
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