The Leadership Style of Anna Hazare

Most of us watching world news might know Anna Hazare. He is a 74 year old man, who is fighting against corruption and most people in India are supporting him. He is a former soldier who served in Indian Army for 15 years and enlisted after the 1962 Indo-China war when the Indian government exhorted young men to join the Army. Now he is back to the battle field to fight against corruption in a peaceful way.

Before discussing Anna Harare’s leadership style, let us look at the popular leadership styles. There are many types of leadership, but the below five types are most prevalent.

Autocratic Leadership - In this leadership style the leader has absolute power and authority over their subordinates. The subordinates receive orders from the leader and they carry them out as instructed and the leaders do not trust anyone.

Participative Leadership – In this leadership style the leader listen to their subordinates, consult with them and make appropriate decisions. They trust their subordinates.

Laissez Faire or Free  Rein Leadership – In this leadership style, the leaders provides maximum freedom to their subordinates, by leaving the group entirely to itself and does not lead them every step of the way but rather motivates them by trusting the individuals to do things themselves.

Transactional leadership – In this leadership, the leaders use a “carrot-and-stick” approach in which team members are rewarded when they carry out an action that benefits the team's performance, and they are punished when they take an action which is detrimental to the team's performance

Transformational leadership – In this leadership, the leader articulates the vision and motivates their followers by inspiration and persuasion rather than the “carrot-and-stick” approach to achieve their goals.

Now let us discuss his leadership style. I’m sure after reading these five styles you can easily figure out his leadership style which is Transformation leadership. When he started his hunger strike in Delhi, the Indian capital, he had a vision. The vision was to implement Jan Lokpal Bill; the anti-corruption bill he thinks can help to eradicate corruption from India. He possesses high confidence and belief in his abilities to make this happen. He inspires and energizes most of the Indian people, especially youngsters to help them to understand it is worthy and meaningful war to fight in a peaceful way. From day 1 he was continuously communicating his vision. As part of doctoral dissertation leadership research, Howard Edward Haller, a well known entrepreneur interviewed sixteen prominent doctoral dissertation leadership researches and found the following traits associated with Transformational leadership:

1. Honesty or integrity
2. A high level of people skills
3. Initiative, assertiveness, drive, or determination
4. Excellent communication skills or willingness to speak up, take a position, or take charge
5. Vision (being forward-looking)
6. Desire or passion to lead and inspire
7. Positive attitude and self-confidence; charisma
8. Knowledge of the business and/or group task at hand; competence
9. The ability to overcome adversity or obstacles

If we look at Anna’s social activities since 1995, one can easily connect the above qualities to him. Hence, I think his leadership style is Transformational. Any comments, please share with us.