Service before self makes a difference
OUR Prime Minister, who is easily the most popular individual in the country even after the setback his party suffered in the Lok Sabha elections, often advocates a positive approach to men and matters. In this article, I shall attempt to do just that.
Before the elections were announced, a serving member of the IPS, Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur, sent me the manuscript of his book. He wanted me to read it and send my comments, part of which he intended to use in the blurb of the yet-to-be-published book, titled Wired for Success. But the book is not about his experiences in the police but about his three-year stint as the Chairman and Managing Director of two Haryana power distribution companies, a job traditionally handled by IAS officers.
There are numerous lessons in the book for those in high offices in the administration and the police. I dare say that the corporate world would also benefit since management principles were fully in play during Shatrujeet’s tenure.
He is a product of the IIT, like many IAS and IPS officers in the past few decades. He was identified by a discerning Chief Minister as a man of integrity, competence and dedication to the job at hand. There are many such men and women in the IAS and the IPS, but politicians whose only goal is power often overlook them for more ‘committed’ officers who are willing to help them further their political careers, something that Sardar Patel had warned against.
Officers with a conscience should not lose heart when they are overlooked for crucial appointments and preference is given to ‘committed’ officers. A time comes when sycophancy does not work. Those in power then go looking for the honest and the competent to sort out the mess. Then those whose commitment is not to their political masters but to the people at large are in demand.
I was delighted to learn from Shatrujeet’s book that then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had put the people’s interests above his own. PM Narendra Modi has included him in the Union Cabinet. This is a wise choice.
Both power distribution companies had been reporting massive financial losses year after year. The debts incurred by them had hit the roof, forcing the state Finance Minister to “tear out his hair” and the people to bear larger tariff costs, irregular electric supply and frequent breakdowns.
The IAS fraternity was not happy when the job was entrusted to an IPS colleague. They demonstrated their displeasure in myriad ways, which are listed in the book, but the CM stood firm. Rivalry and jealousy are normal human failings. Wise officers should shun such feelings and tendencies. Politicians take advantage of officers’ rivalries to perpetuate their hold on power. The people, for whose betterment both politicians and government officials are supposed to work, do not care to know who is senior to whom. They are interested in work being done. They instinctively know which officer is working for their welfare and who is working to satisfy his own ego or, more often, for his financial prosperity.
When he took over the reins of the discoms, Shatrujeet met his entire staff, including workers on the ground, during his tours. He clearly spelt out his priorities and methods to achieve goals to each of them. He listened to those who offered sage advice, their ranks notwithstanding. He took over the entire gamut of promotions and transfers, the main cause of dissatisfaction in all government services. Those who performed and met goals were rewarded with cutting-edge postings that mattered. A whole army of favoured ones revelling in political or other patronage, who managed their postings as a matter of entitlement, were left out in the cold.
The principles of participative management and just and impartial treatment in the matter of rewards and punishments got every employee, big or small, on board. They began working as a team, a goal which all good leaders strive for.
It was clear to me that the two discoms were turned round from loss-making to profit-making companies because of the quality of leadership introduced into managing them by Shatrujeet. I felt a surge of pride that a serving member of my tribe had succeeded where the marginally more brainy lot had failed. Personal integrity and a solid value system proved crucial for success.
The job of heading these discoms was given back to the government’s senior service after Shatrujeet’s promotion and appointment as the DGP. There is no reason for his successors to fail where he had succeeded. They have only to keep in mind that their job is to provide services to the people, that they are servants of the people and not their masters. It is sad to find today many more officers claiming entitlement!
The principal requirement for a successful leader is that he or she should lead by example. If the leader preaches honesty and integrity to his juniors but does exactly the opposite himself, that is his first fatal flaw. Juniors will never follow him, however much he tries to bully or cajole them. Shatrujeet led by example. His book will tell you more about how he went about his work. It will benefit those who joined the services to work for the country and its people.
Finally, do read what RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had to say about the BJP’s descent to 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. Consign egos to the fire, he said. Though these were not his exact words, this is obviously what he meant.
I kept to my promise of positivity when talking of Shatrujeet. It should help to encourage the straightforward. I am sorry about introducing negativity at the very last stage. But negativity can also help at times.
