Strong

While in leadership, one must have resilience. Often we will try our best, but it won’t be good enough. A devotee once complained to Srila Prabhupada – “If the management was perfect then nobody would leave.” Prabhupada responded: “But we all left the spiritual world!” Leaders must have strength – the willingness to make bold decisions, maintain clarity under pressure, show courage in daunting situations and lead from the front. In India, ksatriya kings are still called singh, which means ‘lion.’

We should note that strong doesn’t mean insensitive. Lord Rama, for example, employed spies who would tour the country to gauge how people felt about him. Based on the feedback He would introspect and try to improve His rule. Nowadays, modern leaders have spies to protect their position, power and prestige. Strength needs to be tempered with morality – knowing the difference between right and wrong, being sensitive to human feelings and showing maturity and consideration of the ramifications of each decision.