Title of the talk: ‘Testing Leadership in Turbulent Environment ‘

Date: October 30, 2014

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM & BAR , a retired Indian Army General Officer delivered a high impact lecture on ‘Testing Leadership in Turbulent Environment ‘. The lecture began with credos of martyred soldiers of Indian army who immortalized their name in the pages of history with their indomitable and daunting spirit. The speaker emphatically asserted that in the transition period India needs leaders of substance and with hawk like vision to lead the nation.

Lt Gen Hasnain stressed on the importance of perseverance and shares the view of considering every failure as a stepping stone on the path of success. He shared the five C’s or the five mantras of great leadership- Character, Courage, Competence, Commitment and Compassion. Retention of Faith at the cost of ones life and maintenance of ones reputation should be their driving force. Excellence is attainable, he said, and hence the thirst for excellence should be insatiable for the pursuit for perfection is impossible. Progressive development in leadership from being anonymous to winning laurels in life is possible only through toiling, incessant efforts and a penchant to achieve nothing but the best. Leaders are not born they evolve from testing situations. In his point of view people with emotional intelligence, courage to experiment and possessing essential humanity prove to be great leaders. Leaders are put through a lot of stress and hence can cope with it and failure only with the help of a positive attitude. He invoked the youth of today to emerge as new ‘You’, refrain from cursing and ranting and ascertain their comfort zone. In the current scenario when the media pressure and intrusion is humongous it becomes all the more important to reckon it in positive stride.