Imagine a runner who has done well in the hundred metres. He has completed cross country races. He has survived marathons. He has trained for years. But when he arrives at the starting line of the four hundred metres, somebody stops him and says, "Sorry, you have never run this event before. You are disqualified from representing your country."
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
Yet that is exactly the argument many people use when discussing Rahul Gandhi.
"Has he ever been Prime Minister before?" they ask.
Well, neither had Narendra Modi before he became Prime Minister.
Neither had Jawaharlal Nehru.
Neither had Indira Gandhi.
Neither had Rajiv Gandhi.
The strange demand we often make of leaders is this: Prove you can do the job before we allow you to do the job.
Life does not work that way.
When Rahul Gandhi was younger, I will admit, he often appeared like a reluctant prince who had wandered into politics because the family business happened to be democracy. His speeches were awkward. His timing was poor. His opponents mocked him mercilessly.
Many wrote him off.
But something interesting happened.
Adversity began doing what adversity always does. It began building muscle.
The long padyatras across the country were not conducted from air conditioned studios. They were not managed from behind computer screens. They involved walking for thousands of kilometres, meeting ordinary people, listening to their fears, their frustrations and their hopes.
Whether you agree with his politics or not, few can deny that those journeys transformed him.
Leadership is often revealed not in comfort but in struggle.
When everything is going your way, it is difficult to judge character. But when you are ridiculed daily, attacked constantly and still continue moving forward, people begin to notice.
Over the last few years Rahul Gandhi has become a far more effective speaker, a sharper politician and a more resilient leader. He has stood against one of the most formidable political machines India has ever seen. He has absorbed blows that would have sent many others quietly into retirement.
History shows us that leaders are rarely fully formed when they arrive. They grow into the role.
The tragedy is that voters are often dazzled by performance rather than perseverance.
We can well see this as sometimes we choose good actors instead of good leaders. We have seen this happen before in politics, and it it is happening right now in Tamilnadu.
Real leadership is not built on a stage.
It is built on difficult roads.
It is not built through silly hugs and Melody sweets, it is built through being called, “Pappu’ and grinning through it.
Because adversity has a habit of doing what gyms do.
It builds muscle.
And sometimes the person struggling uphill today may be far better prepared for leadership tomorrow than the person already posing, yes posing, at the summit…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
