DOES EDUCATION DESTROY LEADERSHIP QUALITIES ?
Musings for Monday Morning
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Life is funny.
Life is full of contradictions.
For example, in the 1970s, when I joined the Navy, I realized that your career prospects are inversely proportional to your education.
Yes, believe it or not, it was strange but true:
The higher your qualifications, the lower your status in the hierarchy.
When I joined the navy, I found that at the bottom of the heap were the most highly qualified Post Graduates who land up as Education Officers - landlubbers who end up teaching the basics of algebra and geometry to sailors.
In the middle rung we had the Technical Officers, who were Engineering Graduates.
And lording over everyone were the matric-pass (or interscience-pass) Executive Officers who were the prima donnas and had superior status vis-à-vis their more educated counterparts.
It was the same situation in the army too, where the lesser qualified infantrymen, cavalrymen and gunners enjoyed much better career prospects than their more highly qualified technical counterparts.
In fact, you will be amazed to learn what a grand old Admiral, a distinguished veteran who had served with distinction both in war and peace, used to always say to us.
He actually felt that too much education destroyed natural leadership qualities.
His view was that too much education hampered the inculcation and development of Officer Like Qualities (OLQ) which was the sine qua non of military leadership.
This paradox exists in the civilian world too.
Everywhere in administration, generalists prevail over specialists.
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are at the helm of affairs in all types of organizations ranging from Airlines to Electricity Boards to Public Sector Units to Port Trusts to Financial Institutions.
Yes, you will see generalists lord over specialists and head technical and operational entities even if they have no expertise.
Some IAS officers are even appointed Vice Chancellors of Universities.
Yes, it seems that IAS Officers are truly the “jack of all trades” - you name any type of government organization and you will find an IAS Officer heading it.
In many places where anti-intellectualism prevails, like in the military and civil services, if you are highly educated, you are considered a boffin, an egghead, a geek or a nerd who is unfit for leadership roles.
Do you agree with what the grand old Admiral used to say?
Does Education really destroy natural Leadership Qualities ?
Dear Reader: Do comment and let us know your views.
Have a Happy Monday and great week ahead.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Did you like this yarn?
I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAILTo order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-81910
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-ka
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I Write and I Blog because I want to say something.
I also want to hear what you have to say, especially about what I have written.
Please Comment.
I would love to hear your views.
I will greatly appreciate and welcome to your Feedback.