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Cross the Thin Line—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

 

 “It's a thin line between insanity and genius" - Oscar Levant.

In my recent leadership training program, one of the participants asked me about the styles of leadership and which leadership style would be the best. I replied that there is no specific leadership style that works permanently, as leaders have to mould themselves as per the people, tasks, and the prevailing situation. Above all, they must stick to their convictions and adopt the style that is demanded as per the situation. I said that there were a number of leadership styles, including autocratic, democratic, delegative, transformational, transactional, and situational. He further probed what type of leadership style both Alexander the Great and Adolf Hitler adopted. I replied to him that both were autocratic leaders. He further probed why Hitler earned a bad name while Alexander earned a good name. Then I clarified his question as follows:

Although both Alexander and Adolf Hitler were autocratic leaders, Alexander didn't go against any community. He wanted to conquer the world, and with tons of difficulties and challenges, he conquered it, and he was considered to be the Great. In contrast, Hitler went against Jews and put them in concentration camps and bringing them misery. It is often the thin line that separates good and bad leadership. So is the case of Alexander and Hitler, as the former crossed the thin line while the latter failed to cross it and failed miserably.

There is always a thin line that separates success and failure. Although Steve Jobs was an autocratic leader, he succeeded as a leader and proved as a better business leader than Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, as the former crossed the line. It is the thin line that separates a good person and bad person. In the Hindu epic, Ramayan, although Ravan was a demon king, he was a great ruler. In the epic, Mahabharat, although Duryodhan was a villain to the Pandavas, he was a great ruler and a great friend to Karna. They failed as leaders by failing to cross the thin line.

It is the thin line that separates professionalism and unprofessionalism. It is the thin line that separates ethics and fraud. When you look at Ramalinga Raju of former Satyam Computers, he failed and came below the line. When you look at Rajat Gupta, former director of Goldman Sachs, he failed and came below the line. He was sentenced to 2 2-year jail terms and a fine of $5 million for leaking confidential board-room information. Hence, leaders must be careful of this judgment and learn lessons to avoid such things because people have lots of expectations of leaders at the top level. Leaders must remember that if they lose money, they lose nothing, but if they lose their character and trust, they lose everything that they have made during their lifetimes. Publilius Syrus rightly quoted, "What is left when honor is lost?"

B.C. Forbes remarked, "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." As a leader, if you do ten things, and of which, nine are good things while one is bad, people remember one bad thing rather than the nine good things you have done. Although people are not perfect, they expect their leaders to be perfect and role models. Hence, as a leader, you have a huge responsibility to set an example to others to have an everlasting impact on your followers. Don't get tempted by short-term results. In contrast, look for long-term impact, although it takes a very long time. Learn to understand what the thin line is, and strive to cross the thin line to achieve all-round success and to leave a mark behind for others to follow.

Remember that no person is entirely good and no person is entirely bad. Every bad person has a great virtue, and every good person has a bad quality. Life is a game! The people who know the rules of the game and follow the rules meticulously become successful, and those who fail become unsuccessful. Identify the thin line, cross it, and grow accordingly. Remember the sage words of Benjamin Disraeli, "Life is too short to be little." It is your life! There is only one life. Hence, do what you feel good about, and for the prosperity of the people around you to excel as a great leader. All the best!

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So, what the hell, leap." -- Cynthia Heimel

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html

Note: I had a brain hemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralyzed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathizing with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below. I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Copyright©2025 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This nonprofit blog will share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog; redistribute them by email or post them on the web. The use of this material is free provided the copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. Without permission, this material may not be sold, published, or used to provide business services to a third party.

How Far Are Indian Celebrities Effective in Transforming Society?—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

 

"Little kids today don't want to be doctors or lawyers. They want to be famous." —Reef Karim, US psychiatrist.

Many celebrities in India who are eager to hit the headlines. They often end up sending the wrong messages and getting trolled on social media. They compete with their colleagues to build their brands. They explore innovative opportunities to outsmart their professional rivals to stand out in the rat race. They don't add any value to society except by building their brands on social media. Is it not ridiculous?

Unfortunately, the celebrities start nonprofit foundations to promote their brands rather than promote the interests of the people and transform society. They rarely remember that they earn huge money from people. Worse, some celebrities hit social media for 30 seconds of fame by leveling false allegations and making controversial statements. They apologize at the end by gauging the mood of the people. Most celebrities are fence-sitters who wait until the last moment to see the public mood to come out with their stands on controversial issues. Do they lack a spine? Do they lack clarity on issues? Do they care more about their brands than for the interests of the people?

These celebrities must remember that negative publicity is worse than nil publicity. Some of the film stars and cricketers milk PR. They meet top politicians and other successful celebrities to get more visibility. Why don’t they take up social issues and challenges encountered by the people to build a better society?

A Take-Home Message

“As a young man, I prayed for success. Now I just pray to be worthy of it." —Brendan Fraser

These attention-seeking celebrities do no good to society except build their brands. The followers must understand the selfish motives of their celebrities and stay away from them. The followers must remember that they are wasting their precious time promoting these celebrities who don't add any value to society.

Understand the fact that fame is like a drug, recognition is like a tonic, and reward is like a motivation. To conclude, celebrities must be accountable to society. They must come forward to express their opinions against the wrongdoings and bad practices to build a strong society. They must walk their talk and lead from the front to build a peaceful and prosperous society.

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” —Andy Warhol, 1968

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html

Note: I had a brain hemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralyzed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathizing with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Copyright©2025 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog; redistribute them by email or post them on the web. The use of this material is free provided the copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. This material may not be sold, published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Consideration is Key to Soft Leadership—Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

 

 “Your greatness is measured by your kindness; your education and intellect by your modesty; your ignorance is betrayed by your suspicions and prejudices, and your real caliber is measured by the consideration and tolerance you have for others." - William J. H. Boetcker.

Consideration is one of the major characteristics of soft leaders, as soft leaders care for their people. They respect their followers. Consideration includes recognizing the good work done by others and appreciating them promptly and liberally. This is the trait of the leaders with people orientation rather than task orientation. The transactional leaders are fundamentally task-oriented, while transformational and soft leaders are people-oriented with a big heart to care and promote others. Let us know briefly what it's all about.

What is Consideration?

Consideration means how much and how far the leaders are sensitive towards their people. It means how much they empathize with them and how far they can go to extend their hands. Consideration includes caring for and respecting others with an empathetic attitude. It deals with stepping into the shoes of others and looking at things from others' perspectives. It makes people gain confidence in others as it helps connect with others quickly. Confucius rightly remarked, "Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society."

Consideration is directly linked with interpersonal relations. Leadership deals with handling people and handling people's needs, interpersonal skills. Leadership involves emotional intelligence, where they need to be aware of their emotions, feelings, and egos. Secondly, they must be able to manage them effectively. Thirdly, they must be able to know the egos, emotions, and feelings of others. Fourthly, they must be able to motivate them towards organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, emotional intelligence is a fourfold process and is easier said than done. Research reveals that 90 per cent of leadership effectiveness depends on emotional intelligence. Therefore, consideration plays a crucial role in soft leadership.

Apart from the character, charisma, conscience, conviction, courage, communication, compassion, commitment, consistency, consideration, and contribution, the soft leaders must also possess other characteristics such as coordination, cheerfulness, comprehension, cooperation, and connection to connect with others to become successful soft leaders.

Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, "Though force can protect in an emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration, and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace." The 21^st century demands a new leadership style as the old styles are gradually becoming irrelevant in the present scenario. Besides, what worked in the past might not work in the future as times and technologies are changing rapidly. Hence, emphasize consideration as it paves the way for soft leadership, which is the need of the hour.

Share if you care!

“Things You Don’t Know about Professor M. S. Rao” http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html

Note: I had a brain hemorrhage. I was in bed for five months. My right hand has been numb and paralyzed. I am recovering. Thanks for empathizing with me. With gratitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJrSRLHPUk&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao

Life is great!

Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.

Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants, India

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM

Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao

Substack: https://professormsrao.substack.com

X: http://twitter.com/professormsrao

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorMSRao

Meta: https://www.facebook.com/Professor-MS-Rao-451516514937414

See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132

Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below. I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.

Copyright©2025 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This nonprofit blog will share Professor M.S. Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog; redistribute them by email or post them on the web. The use of this material is free provided the copyright is acknowledged and a reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. This material may not be sold, published in any form, or used to provide business services to a third party without permission.

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