Number of words: 138

During his frequent visits to Thumba, Professor Sarabhai would often review the progress of work with the entire team. He never gave directions. Rather, through a free exchange of views, he led us forward into a new terrain, which often revealed an unforeseen solution. Perhaps he was aware that though a particular goal might be clear to himself and he could give adequate directions for its accomplishment, his team members might have resisted working towards a goal that made no sense to them. He considered the collective understanding of the problem the main attribute of effective leadership. He once told me, ‘Look my job is to make decisions, but it is equally important to see to it that these decisions are accepted by my team members.’

Excerpted from page 44 of ‘Wings of Fire’ by APJ Abdul Kalam