Worst-ever election rout: Rahul Gandhi needs to learn these 7 management lessons

The Congress Party faced it worst-ever rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Yet, neither party president Sonia Gandhi nor vice president Rahul Gandhi have shown the willingness to trigger a leadership change beyond mere lip service.

In this era of intense competition and globalisation, what lessons should Rahul Gandhi, the man touted as the next-gen leader, learn so that he is able to emerge a better leader than the sorry figure he has cut within his party and the country?

Dr Rajan Saxena, vice chancellor, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), spells out seven lessons of management for the Gandhi scion.

1) It does not matter if a leader is appointed, elected or selected. What makes a difference is the acceptability of the leader, not through lineage, but by his personal charisma. Charisma arises as a result of a combination of key personal traits that is admired by all.

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Mahatma Gandhi had charisma, Rahul Gandhi does not. So far, he has not proved to be a charismatic leader at all. He needs to inspire his followers, says Saxena.

2) An important aspect of management is the ability of the leader to demonstrate that he/she can bring about a change. The leader should be able to show change is possible. It is not enough to dream big; a true leader must be able to translate that dream to reality.

For instance, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge transformed a company that manufactured gears for Tata Motors into a world class company. He did that by going to the US and equipping himself with the knowledge required. Then, he returned to India and started working on the shop floor. He respected the seniors at the workplace and showed them how to use technology so that the organization was able to improve its performance. Even today, Baba Kalyani is a man who is seen on the shop floor on a daily basis, notes Saxena.

Rahul Gandhi, in contrast, has not been able to guide the Congress party, especially on how he can bring about the badly-needed change.

3) Aleader has to act as a teacher and an educator. He must not only educate his team, but also the stake holders about what he/she wants to achieve and be able to encourage the team to achieve that vision.

For instance, when Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group, talked about the Nano, no one believed in him and thought of it as a dream of the chairman. He charged up his team with the line, “If India can’t do it, then no one can”.

In a country like India, a leader has to empower and educate its people. Rahul Gandhi still has to learn how to do that, according to Saxena.

4) One of the tasks of a leader is to motivate the team to achieve near-impossible targets. There may be huge hurdles but it is up to the leader to manage the team so that they do their best everyday.

Management principles says team members should not be rebuked for not achieving targets. What should be done, instead, is to review the missing link. If, while reviewing the under-performance, the leader involves only the individual while reviewing, chances of the individual becoming motivated to work hard are higher.

“I don’t recall any incident of Rahul Gandhi having done any of this,” says Saxena.

**5)**You could say, “I regret this,’ but if you show no remorse on your face and it does not reflect in your behaviour, there will be no connect with your audience.

Rahul Gandhi’s statement “I am responsible” after the party’s rout at the elections did not convey regret, according to Saxena.

6) Another big management lesson is to know your competition. When you are in a competitive situation, an extensive review of the environment is a must. Rahul Gandhi seemed totally unprepared while going up against the competition, especially someone as politically astute as Narendra Modi.

The Congress knew Modi would be the real challenger nearly two years ago. Yet, it failed to use that information to prepare itself.

7) When an individual, a party or an organisation loses as badly as the Congress did in this election, then it is time to reflect and introspect. Complacency is the worst attitude to adopt at a time like this. When that sets in, an individual lives in denial.

There is no better feedback than when your customer moves on to the competition. Find out what brought about that tectonic shift.Otherwise, you risk becoming obsolete. Just as auto makersFiat and Hindustan Motors lost out when they failed to keep up with rapidly changing competition.

The Congress Party and Rahul also need to understand why the country voted so massively for their competition. They should be willing to take the blame and take steps to improve the image and working of the party. The big question is will Rahul step up?