Stephen Hawking on empathy

Stephen Hawking; back under the international spotlight after the spectacular success of the "Theory of everything" and Eddie Redmanye's Oscar win, recently stated that if he could correct one human flaw, it would be aggression. He suggested that greater empathy could counter the ill-effects of aggression on our race. While empathy, as a component of emotional intelligence, has been part of organizational studies for quite some now, the recent rise of senseless violence across the world has brought it into the forefront of discussion in the media. Nicholas Kristoff's recent NYT article being a case in point. Empathetic leadership is the need of the hour, especially in the context of the soaring inequality worldwide.

Which is all the more reason to make a case for the importance of a liberal arts education  for successful leaders. A fascinating study by two New School professors indicates that reading literary fiction improves our empathy because the characters in them are multi-faceted, and their plots are often ambiguous giving us no black and white solutions. A good leadership education must therefore involve reading beyond the contemporary best selling business books often written by authors with no business credentials. Barbara Kellerman's remarkable book Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence, based on her successful course in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, is a good place to start for those looking to become leadership literate (literally).

  

  

Nurture through the six tastes prescribed in Ayruveda

India's ancient medicine system, which more of a way of living like yoga, prescribes six tastes which must be part of every meal. Eating the foods associated with each taste, in moderation, ensures the right amount of nourishment for the body, and promotes well-being. A closer look at these six tastes shows the remarkable similarity to food groups promoted today as part of the food plate.

The six tastes are sweet, sour salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent.

Sweet: Includes carbohydrates, sugars, fats, milk dates, pumpkin. Foods in this category are important for sustenance, and nourishment.

Sour: Important to cleanse the tissues and improve absorption of minerals. Fermented foods like yogurt, pickles  are part of this taste. So are certain fruits like lemons, berries, grapefruit, tamarind etc.

Salty: Improves taste, lubricates tissues, improves digestion. Salt, and watery vegetables like zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes are saline.

Bitter: Detoxifies the organs, cleanses the liver, tones organs. Turmeric, dark leafy vegetables, lettuce, beets, aloe vera are foods in this category.

Pungent: Stimulates appetite,  maintains metabolism and balance for the body. Garlic, ginger, asafoetida, peppers, spices (cardamom, fennel, black pepper)  are part of this taste.

Astringent: Absorbds water, and heals by drying out the tissues. Some foods in this category are  teas, legumes, green grapes, pomegranate are some foods in this category.    

Making a case for nurture

A recent NYT article reports the rising focus of elite schools in arts through museums, performance spaces and  increasing offerings of multi- disciplinary courses. As indicated in the article, this is a renewed effort by elite schools to reassert the importance of arts in a well rounded education. Princeton's President  Christopher Eisgruber, caught between the opposing sides about Princeton moving its commuter station to one that will house a museum of sorts, maintains that college campuses must allow the "human spirit to soar". It's heartening to note that despite the obvious financial motives of these cultural centers (Yale saw its visitors rise with the opening of its arts museum) - the demand has actually come from the students. Public schools, without the deep pockets of benefactors will undoubtedly have an  uphill task following suit. Even so, it is still a promising sign for education. After all, elite schools, whether we like it or not, pave the way for our views on education. Their leadership is crucial in light of the single minded focus on STEM education, and the growing influx of international students to these schools. These students, as future leaders of  their countries could serve to carry this definition of a well rounded education, beyond the borders of the United States.

Karl Paulnack, in his welcome address at the Boston conservatory, makes a compelling argument for the value and importance of the arts in our lives, Citing the example of  the famed "Quartet for the end of time" , of French composer Messiaen from a Nazi concentration camp, Paulnack argues that art is our way of telling ourselves and the world that we are alive. Connoisseur or not, being in the presence of sublime creations of fellow human beings, can be both healing and uplifting. Art is evidence of the unplumbed strengths and capabilities of the human spirit, though some fellowmen, even in this 21^st century, may think otherwise. The ISIS has banned any form of art except Islamic calligraphy in the schools in Mosul, Iraq. The ban extends to the use of colors and colored pens. These instances serve only to strengthen our resolve - as the hapless Iraqis already  reveal to the discerning- to cherish and nurture the creative outpourings of the human spirit

MP Anilkumar: A tribute

I recently read that M P Anilkumar, inspirational, quadriplegic former air force pilot, passed away earlier this year to cancer. He was fifty. I had vaguely heard of his brave struggle many years ago, but read his story only now, after his death. I was furious at feeling sympathetic as I read about his life, because it tarnished the brave spirit this great man embodied in his almost two decades as a quadriplegic.

Anilkumar, a promising air force pilot - a topper in the prestigious National Defense Academy in India- was  paralyzed neck down in a freak accident. He was then moved to the Indian Armed Forces' rehabilitation center where he lived for the rest of his life. After an intense period of depression, knowing that he would never walk again, and even worse be forever dependent on others for his basic needs - the fighter pilot in him took over. Anilkumar, or MP as he was fondly called, soon began writing with his lips - beautiful letters which brought out the exceptional writer in him, and enabled him to connect again with the world. He details his accident and the struggle that followed in his remarkable "Airborne to Chairborne" which ends with the line " greater the struggle, sweeter the victory". His inspirational essay eventually found its way to the English textbooks of tenth graders in the state of Maharashtra.  


I was moved by the numerous comments on various websites announcing his death - by people who had the opportunity to meet him. Surprisingly, many were along the lines of how a meeting with MP offered them solace, and the courage to face their troubles.  This was not through a sense of seeing someone without feet to appreciate your shoes, but more along the lines of being in the presence of a wise man. Many remarked about the ever growing pile of books in his hospital room, including computer programming books, and the wide range of topics he was conversant in.

While MP's life is a clear testimony of his grit, I could not but help think of Carol Dweck's argument that those with a growth mindset can overcome adversity better. MP never stopped growing mentally - at an exponential rate-  all these years. His legacy will be of a man who accepted that destiny had larger plans for him - to be an instrument of hope to those who met him during his lifetime, and to scores  like me who continue to discover him after his death. Rest in peace.

P.S This website includes a clip from a film on MP.
   

The tale of two Presidents: whose leadership will endure?

Leon Botstein, President of Bard College

The recent New Yorker piece about charismatic Bard College President Leon Botstein, asks whether Botstein, who transformed Bard College during his almost four decade long tenure as President, can insure that the institution outlasts him? It appears that Botstein - a genuine idealist who believes in the value of an affordable liberal arts education - has taken Bard College to where it is now primarily on the strength of his personal charisma. As the time for his retirement looms, the future of Bard College is uncertain because of its poor financial health. In the past most donors supported the College because of their personal affiliation with Botstein, rather than to the college.

Contrast Botstein to another charismatic president in the area, John Sexton at NYU. Sexton, with his strong Jesuit values, wants to create global citizens, and has over the last decade expanded NYU at a breathless pace not just in its neighboring NYC area, but also in Abu Dhabi and China. Except that he lost the confidence of his faculty in the process, and will step down in 2016 when his current contract expires. Sexton already has in place his post retirement plans - he will work for education for the needy. NYU has climbed up in rankings since he came in, has a solid reputation globally with its Abu Dhabi and China campus up and running. There seems to be no reason at this point to worry about its continuing rise in the rankings.

John Sexton, President of NYU

How will we judge these two men as leaders? In some ways comparing the two is akin to comparing apples and oranges - Bard has 2000 students, while NYU has over 50,00. Yet as individuals these men share remarkable similarities - both have strong values about the importance of  a liberal arts education, freedom of speech, are charismatic and larger than life, caring in their personal relationships (Sexton is a big hugger), great speakers almost in love with their own voices. Why has their appeal on their followers then been so different? Kouzes and Posner in their book on leadership rightly talk about credibility as the foundation of leadership. It appears that Sexton, was in part brought down by not walking the talk. Blinded by his desire to attract world class faculty to New York, murmurs are rampant about the outlandish pay and low interest loans to select faculty, while tuitions have skyrocketed resulting in an alarming rate of student drop outs. NYU faculty also accuse Sexton of non- transparency, and for establishing campuses in countries with dictatorial regimes- Sexton argues that he is respecting local traditions.While Sexton claims to not have any possessions other than his pension, the New Yorker article featuring Sexton, notes his perks, including a first among equal status with Emirates Airlines.

Another important difference between the two lies in their ability to make their followers buy into their vision, by letting them observe the fruits of their labor. Despite the grumblings of Bard college faculty about the abrasive style of Botstein, they see the difference they are making. One glowing example is the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) which runs "college in prisons" programs in nine states, and offers the same course content to prisoners as the regular students receive, and has an admirable ratio of graduation to enrollment. The guiding philosophy for this initiative is that critical readers learn to be better self critics, which in turn reduces recidivism. NYU faculty on the other hand do not see the immediate purpose of their seemingly meaningless expansion except in rising student tuitions and drop out rates. 

This is a story of two leaders whose legacies are in question for different reasons - Botstein's because of the uncertain future of the organization he leaves behind, Sexton's because of his personal leadership style. Aristotle rightly points out that we cannot judge a man's life until they are dead, or in some cases even after they are dead. Thus it is too early to pass judgment on Bonstein or Sexton. But Bonstein seems more likely to prevail because his personal values have not yet come under the scanner. Sexton seems to have lost his credibility along the way, and the NYU faculty will try everything in their control to erase his legacy when he is gone, and perhaps even undo his vision. Sexton, like may other charismatic leaders seems to have overlooked his most important constituency - his faculty. Perhaps he will learn from this experience and redeem himself in his future projects. Watch this space for updates.      

Friendship as an important virtue

Aristotle in his Nicomachean ethics considers friendship as the most necessary in our life. Friendship could even hold cities together, because the desire for harmony would trump all other motives. Further, he wisely suggests that friends don't need justice since it's an inherent part of their relationship, but the just need friends, and - justice that is most just is friendship. Aristotle defines friendship as reciprocated goodwill, and states that the most complete friendship occurs between two good people similar in virtue, because they are good people in themselves and also good for their friend. Somewhat controversially, although he could be forgiven for expressing the views of his times, Aristotle suggests that one cannot have true friendship with a slave because the relationship would be that between a master and a - tool with a soul. But even here the master can have as much friendship with a slave as much as he is human.  Justice, as reciprocated goodwill,  is therefore the foundation of Aristotle's definition of friendship.

Aristotle's ideas of friendship could not be more relevant today. Newspaper headlines are replete with unimaginable instances of mass cruelty where even the status of others as- human beings- is not respected. Human traffickers intentionally drowning scores of Hamas refugees, the mass flight of Kurds from Syria to Turkey fearing the IS, the atrocities of the Boko Haram in Nigeria are but a few examples of the sad state of our race. It is easy and even perhaps partially correct to blame the root of this evil on poverty.

But even the wealthy seem to be have lost touch with the joys of friendship, at the risk of adeverse social consequences, as evidenced by David Brook's op-ed about the dwindling friendships among adults. The world seems to be incessantly focused on the one aspect of love - romantic love, which while splendid is also limiting. One cannot survive on love and air, as many couples quickly realize,- but friendships can.

The benefits of nurturing our lives with meaningful friendships are clear. But we need to aim for the highest form of friendship, as suggested by Aristotle. When a group of terrorists wreak havoc on the innocent, they fail both tests of Aristotle. They are neither good people, nor are they good for their friends!      

Picture credit http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/19/opinion/david-brooks-there-are-social-and-political-benefits-to-having-friends.html?action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

Are introspective leaders narcissistic?

David Brooks' recent op-ed in the New York Times, asking whether introspection is just narcissism in sheep's clothing, unsurprisingly drew some harsh criticism - including some personal jabs. Although it's easy to poke holes in Brooks' arguments, it is important to poke these holes.

Brooks suggests that the dangers of self-examination are rumination and over-simplifying. Rumination is a solitary process which can lead to the ruminator spiraling into greater depression, or unnecessary self aggrandizement- depending upon their initial state of mind. Over- simplifying is similar to rationalization, and used to justify -to ourselves-, our obviously poor choices. Brooks offers some examples from research in psychology to illustrate how one can move away from a self-immersive form of reflection to a more detached, critical form -which is likely to result in a more accurate and therefore healthy self-perspective. Finally, Brooks suggests quite ambiguously that rather than focusing on our strengths and weaknesses, we must gain perspective by focusing on a broader empathetic view of the world.       

First, it is important to not go overboard in criticizing Brooks- it's after all just an op-ed and not a research paper. Plus, what better way to strengthen our convictions than to counter the arguments against them?  The first flaw in Brooks' reasoning is that self reflection through self-immersion and from afar are mutually exclusive. Instead they are two sides of a coin. Even research in organizational behavior recognizes the importance of 360 degree feedback (or evaluations from multiple sources) for a more accurate final picture. Another major concept in organizational behavior - emotional intelligence- is a combination of self-awareness and "other" awareness, with empathy being an important component of other awareness.

The gaping hole in Brooks' op-ed is right in the title. Narcissism is actually the absence of introspection, and refers to self- absorption with a blinding desire to be admired. Self-introspection on the other hand is a concerted effort to understand oneself, and to better fit in with society. For example, self-reflection and self regulation in emotional intelligence refer to an attempt to understand one's emotions to better manage them in the larger social context, like not losing one's temper. How is that narcissism?

The fundamental problem in the op-ed is the compartmentalization of the various forms of self-reflection. For example, understanding one's strengths and weaknesses is crucial in pursuing the right career; a decision which has a significant effect on our well-being. Surely Brooks'  good understanding of his strengths as a writer landed him his prestigious Times job. The problem lies when self-reflection and self-acceptance do not go together. I overheard a conversation between two perfectly fine looking women vehemently agreeing with each other that they hated what they saw in the gym mirror. Introspection should come from a deep desire to know and accept, and not be confused with mere self-evaluation.

So, are introspective leaders narcissistic? No, narcissistic leaders are not introspective!