Many of us would have seen the reports recently (January 2026) of the famous Davos meeting - and the kind of impression that was made by world leaders like Donald Trump, president of the US, on the one hand, and the prime minister of Canada, on the other hand.
This brings up the question of what makes people follow a particular leader. There has never been much of a mystery about this. People want to be guided by those who have a clear sense of direction. It would seem that people looked for this quality, even in the ancient times of Moses, a leader of his people, who led them to the promised land. The requirements have not changed today, and are unlikely to change in the future.
A well-known executive research firm polled 1,500 senior executives about the personal traits and management styles that would be most important for chief executives in the year 2000. The respondents said that they wanted leaders who were, above all, “ethical” and who “convey a strong vision of the future”. They should be “credible leaders” who are worthy of being followed!
How is credibility developed and identified? The Kamat Corporation was among the largest manufacturers of biscuits in South India. They were a regional player, and No2 in market share in most southern states. They had grown from a small-scale industry to a multi-crore company in just 12 years. Mr Kamat, the founder and the owner, was then made an offer by an FMCG multinational company to buy him out. They had wanted an entry into the biscuit market that would complement their own range of products. Buying out Kamat was the easiest and the fastest way to do it. They offered Kamat a price he could not refuse. There was no need to negotiate.
Kamat took a month to think it over. Then he went back to the FMCG company. He would agree to sell provided the new owners retained the existing sales staff and stockists for three years from the date of the sale. The new buyers would not agree to this proposition. They already had their own field force and their distribution system. Why should they carry this deadwood?
Kamat was adamant. He could not clear out himself, and let his people down, just because he was getting a big sum of money. They had trusted him. They had helped him to build the business. They had shown loyalty to him - and he wanted to reciprocate. The FMCG company would not relent. There was a deadlock. Finally, the negotiations broke down.
Over the next few months, the news gradually leaked out that Mr Kamat did not sell the company, although he had come very close to doing so. The stockists and salesmen were so touched. Each one resolved to work hard to show their gratitude to Mr Kamat, who had sacrificed large personal gain, on their account. The result - the sales of the Kamat biscuit company doubled in three years without any increase in the product range. ‘One good turn deserves another’.
Ravi was a trainee sales engineer in a large engineering company. He was in Nagpur for just one year and was getting on well in the job. However, Ravi began developing lumps on his chest. He went to the company doctor who put him on antibiotics. When the treatment was discontinued, the lumps increased. Ravi was very depressed and decided to resign and return home to Madras.
The president of the company called Ravi and asked him why he had resigned. The company was very happy with his performance. When Ravi explained the problem to the president - the latter said he would not let Ravi go on this account. He would like to help Ravi.
Ravi was given a complete medical checkup, and the treatment started. It was later found that Ravi had tuberculosis and had to be operated on. The total cost of treatment was nearly ₹3 lakh. The company paid without demurring – although, as a trainee for only one year, Ravi was not really eligible for this facility.
Ravi is now back in Nagpur, loyal to the company and making good progress. The other trainees are motivated by this incident and with the president’s attitude and action. The overall morale got to an all-time high.
Shekhar was the CEO of a company in Pune that was part of a large family-controlled conglomerate. He had been in the company for 35 years and had risen from junior engineer to CEO in just 18 years. When he got a call from Bombay that he must come urgently the next day and meet the chairman, he wondered what the agenda was. He took whatever papers he thought he would need and presented himself at the appointed time.
After a few preliminaries, the chairman asked about Shekhar‘s family and particularly Shekhar’s daughter, Poonam. “I know a nice boy from the ABN bank,” the chairman said, “I met him twice at meetings we had there. He belongs to the same community as you, is young, well-qualified and single. I was wondering whether we could arrange a match for Poonam.”
He arranged a few social meetings at his home. He pushed through all the other arrangements and got some of his staff to help with the wedding preparations. The project was a success! Shekhar did not know how to thank the chairman for his interest and his graciousness. He continued to contribute as much as he could till he retired!
A consignment of computer parts was held up at customs. The authorities insisted that the company pay customs duty on these parts. The company was sure that the parts were exempt from duty. Everybody knew that some ‘facilitation’ would nudge the process and the consignment could be cleared. But CEO Rao said nothing doing.
There was demurrage to be paid. The amount increased every day. But the company fought on, and finally won. They could now clear the goods. In the meantime, the company lost production and sales for ten days. It worked out to a sizeable amount of money.
But Mr Rao had sent out a signal. It was a message of integrity and seriousness of purpose. Mr Rao personified credibility to the junior-most employee in this large organisation. And after seeing CEO Rao, they knew what to do when faced with a similar situation or dilemma.
Who is a leader? Napoleon, still buttoning his coat, was running behind the platoon, but having lost sight of it in the labyrinth of lanes in Austria, asked locals standing at the windows in their homes. “Did you see the platoon march past? Which way did they turn?” Someone shouted an answer and asked, “What happened to you? Did you miss the formation? Got up late?” “Yes,” Napoleon is reported to have replied, “I did. I am their leader!”
So whether you lead from the front or from the rear, it does not matter. You can still be the leader if you have ”credibility”. And credibility is exposed and identified in small matters and incidents. Heroes don’t always emerge from the ashes of great wars!
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries, in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
