LEADERS AND BUNGALOWS

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There is a huge bungalow visible prominently in a locality. The bungalow has more than one gate, one for the car, and one for visitors, a wicket gate for the servants and support staff to use and may be one more for the family. The huge gate opens many times to intake people who choose to travel in cars covered with sun film and even the security may not get to have a glimpse of the visitor. The bungalow also has many plants some of which grow to trees and have seen generations, while some plants grow, flourish briefly bearing fruits/flowers and vanish thereafter.

Leaders are comparable to such bungalows. Just like the trees leaders have people around them who are loyal to them thro the generation. They also get loyal people who come and go like the smaller plants that come and vanish. People visiting a leader also come thro a variety of gates. Some walk in, others prefer visit in cognito, while others like the support staff manage to sneak thro a gate not visible to visitors, some others meet him for personal reasons and favor and go thro the ordeal of security questioning. In the bungalow, the VIP visitor may not know the visitors entering thro the others gates and vice versa and also all at home do not necessarily meet all visitors even if he is a VIP visitor. The leader follows a similar law, whereby none knows all the visitors to him and the visitors also do not know all those present at home and the support staff. Leadership essentially is just controlling the information flow on people purely on ‘need to know’ basis.

Notwithstanding the compound wall, there will be enough openings for insects, rats, bandicoots, and even snakes to enter the bungalow. They normally stay put in their hideouts rarely disturbing others openly yet taking care of their interests like burrowing and tunneling. Behaviorally a leader is exhibiting similar pattern. Many people take shelter under his leadership umbrella. They may not be necessarily useful to him, rather may be of nuisance value and yet they get sheltered.  Yet another classic leadership trait is ensuring that the family and support staff (called his people due to their proximity) is in dark about the ‘sheltered’ just the way the visitors to the bungalow are about the existence of rats and bandicoots inside the compound where they too survive without disturbing others.

Leadership has many facets one such in essence is being multifarious. 
 



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