In this article, the author explains the essence of leadership, drawing lessons from ancient Indian and Chinese philosophy.

Leadership may very simply be defined as the ability to influence people. A leader uses his influence to direct his followers towards the achievement of organizational goals. The foundation of leadership lies in the fact that leaders develop an urge in people to achieve high goals and objectives. Thus, we can say that power of leaders stems from willingness of the followers.

Good leadership arises not so much from having extraordinary technical skills or a brilliant mind, rather it arises from self-realization and understanding. Western theories of leadership have evolved from the Trait Theory to the present day Transformational Theory of leadership. The belief that leaders are born has been replaced by the belief that leadership traits can be acquired.

Though all the above factors are essential for being a good leader, the most important aspect of leadership is self-awareness. The person who knows his self, knows the world. All our ancient scriptures talk about self-realization as the main ingredient for successful leadership.

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