by David Robinson
Voluntary organisations need moral certainty but flexibility in involving as many people as possible in achieving their ends
On 4 February 1922 a peaceful march reached Chauri Chaura. The people were calling for self-rule in India and were part of the civil disobedience movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Police blocked their path. The marchers lost their patience. They chased the officers back to the police station, set fire to it and killed 22 people.
Gandhi was appalled and pulled back, suspending the non co-operation movement and saying that the country was not yet ready. For Gandhi the end did not justify the means. The two were inseparable. His position exasperated his allies but now, with the benefit of hindsight, historians can see that Gandhi's moral certainty was the movement's greatest strength - the source of its influence. He realised that, like any voluntary association, the movement would have been pointless without an unremitting commitment to fundamental values. They are the abiding moral core of any successful enterprise, constant and enduring.
Organisational objectives, in contrast, are not fixed forever but continuously updated, constantly stimulating, challenging and inspiring. Think for a moment about famous organisations currently in the public eye. How many seem to operate in the opposite mode, apparently unable to risk significant change in their day-to-day work but seemingly more flexible on the underpinning ethics?
Leadership circle
A values-driven leader can progress an idea not by dragging it forward from a distant edge but by working with others, pushing and pulling together. This doesn't mean that the leader isn't in charge. The leader's role is pivotal but their success is dependent on the commitment of the team, not the subjugation of subordinates.
Leadership is a circle. The leader is at the centre, the focal point, passionately immersed in the work, experiencing the aspirations of the team and of their public. They will establish their authority by sharing ownership and responsibility within a clear and reciprocal contract, micro-managing little but influencing all. They will be at the heart of the enterprise, pumping moral certainty - the life-blood of any movement.
Lao Tsu, wrote about it first in the fifth century BC: "Go with the people, live with them, learn from them, start with what they know, build with what they have. But with the best leaders when the work is done, the task accomplished, people will say 'we have done this for ourselves'."
David Robinson is the author of Unconditional Leadership, co-founder of Community Links, and is now its senior adviser. In July 2007 he was appointed to lead the Prime Minister's new Council on Social Action
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