Case Study 3 (2)

Are women competent leaders ?

The Age old Controversy

A presentation by Keerthi, PreethikaAkash and Akshita.

Kiran Bedi

EARLY LIFE OF KIRAN BEDI

•Kiran Bedi was born on 9th June 1949 in Amritsar, as the second of the four daughters to her parents, Prakash Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria. •She was raised in a family with strong nationalist feelings.•Her role models were her parents who made sacrifices to get her the best possible education and training in sports , and had high expectations from her.• As a child born in a well to do family, Kiran was aware of how special her life was compared to the majority of Indian children. Her parents sacrificed a great deal, so that their daughters could go to the best schools, learn sports, and be exceptional in the male dominated country.•Therefore she set high goals for herself and yearned to embrace government service to bring honor to her parents and prove worthy of their sacrifices.

•Kiran Bedi completed her schooling and graduation in Arts from her native place itself.• She earned a master's degree the following year in Political science from Punjab University.•The ardent learner with active service in the Indian Police also acquired a law degree (LLB) from Delhi University.• She was also awarded a Ph.D. in 1993 in Social Sciences by the Department of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

EDUCATION

• Kiran Bedi began her career as a lecturer in Political Science (1970 -72).

• She left the post soon after she got selected for the Indian Police Service and therefore she joined the elite Indian Police Service in 1972 creating history by becoming the first Indian female police officer.

• In the police service she served in a number of different and challenging assignments that range from Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi

Deputy Inspector General of Police in insurgency prone Mizoram

Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau In the United Nations as the Police Advisor to the Secretary

General the Department of Peace Keeping Operations and Inspector General of Prison of Tihar Jail.

When asked in an interview why did she choose career in Police she promptly replied, " For me policing is not punitive. It always stood for social welfare. But tough welfare. Where I could command welfare, I could demand welfare, and I could produce welfare."

CAREER - a tough lady in a male bastion

PERSONAL LIFE

•Kiran Bedi was determined to choose her own life partner at an early age.•Kiran Bedi's first serious relationship did not work for long mainly because firstly she was strongly career oriented, while he wanted her career to be secondary to his; and secondly he demanded a dowry. The brave hearted lady was not willing to give in to sucha pressure.• She then married Brij Bedi in 1972.•Her husband stood by her choice to pursue her career .• In 1972 , she joined the police service , had a daughter in 1975 and won the National Tennis Championship in 1976 which clearly potrays her commitment despite the added responsibilities.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Ms.Kiran Bedi ,the fifth most admired Indian of the world has won numerous awards at the international level raising the tricolour high like

•President's Gallantry Award (1979)•Women of the Year Award (1980)•Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control (1991)•Magsaysay Award (1994) for Government Service (also called the Asian Nobel Prize)•Mahila Shiromani Award (1995)•Father Machismo Humanitarian Award (1995)•Lion of the Year (1995)•Pride of India (1999)•Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice (2005)

•She has also won the Swiss – German Joseph Beuys Award for Holistic and Innovative Management.•She has also received Police Medal for Gallantry as well as Asia Region Award for work in Prevention of Drug Abuse.•She was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Law  in recognition of her “humanitarian approach to prison reforms and policing”•Several books have been written on her which include: 1.Kiran Bedi — The Kindly Baton, by Dr Meenakshi Saksena, 2.Government@net - Sandeep Srivastava and Parminder Jeet Singh.3. I Dare! – Kiran Bedi A Biography by Paramesh Dangwal

•A non fiction feature film on Dr Kiran bedi's life entitled Yes, Madam Sir has been produced by an Australian film maker, which has made a clean sweep of awards.

HUMANIZING THE WALLS OF HELL HOLE

•Located in India’s capital, New Delhi, Tihar is one of the largest prisons in the world. •The superlative numbers associated with the Tihar Jail in Delhi are not what a self-respecting Indian would want to boast about. It's the largest prison complex in Asia spread over 180 acres.•Tihar was a limping, languishing institution rife with corruption, where prisoners were denied basic human rights and lived in fear of prison officials, Tihar’s unofficial title of “hellhole” was well deserved.•Dr Kiran Bedi was appointed Inspector General of Tihar Prison in 1993. •She brought about fundamental changes, giving a human face to the administrative structure and creating an exemplary system covering every possible aspect of prison management.  

•The whole objective was to collectively and individually manage the transition from a moribund system to a responsive and sensitive administration. •She encouraged the prisoners toward one common goal – Correction through a collective approach.•She had developed new perspectives on policing and life.•The following reforms were brought about by her: There was no communication between the Inspector General and the prisoners and therefore one of her first official acts was to maintain a complaint box. Prisoners could lodge complaints about treatment or express concerns on paper. They would then place the paper into a box that was locked until Bedi unlocked it.As a result trust began to sprout. Sanitation problems were corrected and proper nutrition was provided. Bedi also introduced drug treatment programs and created an atmosphere that encouraged prayer and meditation.

The prisoners were introduced to vipasana , a rigorous , ancient self purification technique.All these efforts brought about positive changes in the inmates behaviour who started looking at the dark side of their life differently.Literacy programs were instituted wherein educated prisoners put their skills to good use teaching their fellow prisoners. Legal advocacy by inmates who were lawyers was also encouraged.

NO MORE WHIPS

•Kiran Bedi in transforming herself has transformed a whole mindset. It didn't take her long. The results began to show by 1994.

•Tihar may not be paradise but today, it's not an evil den either.

•Prisoners participate in the governance of the prison, conduct Lok Adalats or courts of enquiry . Celebrity visits are regular. There are 10 graduate courses available on campus today. The library is growing and is heavily used.

•Inmates connect to the internet and have email access. Tihar runs a web site which brings transparency to the fore.

•Law students of the Delhi University visit to advise the prisoners of their rights.

•Finally, to set a seal on all these positive moves, a new Prison Act and a revised Jail Manual are in place today. These provide for active participation by volunteer organisations in the affairs of India's prisons. The Tihar experiment is now poised to spread.

An analysis of Kiran Bedi’s leadership

skills  Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.leadership is a compound of at least four major ingredients: 1.the ability to use power effectively and responsibly ; 2. the ability of fundamental understanding of people ;3. the ability to inspire ; and4. the ability to develop a motivating work environment.

Kiran Bedi has most efficiently fulfilled all the required essentials of effective leadership. 1.Kiran Bedi used her power to bring about a mammoth change in the management of the the Tihar Jail. As a responsible leader, she never misused her power – fair means.2.Kiran Bedi’s idea to introduce the complaint box illustrates her initiative to understand the the mind set of the people in order to do the needful.

LEADERSHIP SKILLSLeadership style refers to a leader's behaviour. It is the result of the philosophy, personality and experience of the leader.Kurt Lewin and colleagues identified different styles of leadership:1. AUTOCRATIC – Such a leader commands and expects compliance and is also dogmatic and positive.

2.PARTICIPATIVE / DEMOCRATIC – He is a leader who consults with sub ordinates on proposed actions and decisions and encourages participation from them.

3.LAISSEZ-FAIRE / FREE REIGN – He uses very less of his power and gives a high degree of independence in their operations .

Kiran bedi has followed Participative style of L:eadership which included supporting the inmates in accomplishing their duties and helping them to recover and lead a productive life.

Leadership skills

Discovery – interaction with the inmates

Assessment – checked out the feasibility

Application – brought about the reforms

Development – one lead to another

LEADERSHIP TRAITSThe five leadership traits/leadership qualities are:

Honesty - People want to follow an honest leader. Kiran Bedi never lead the inmates to a false hope and was straight forward in dealing with the drug abuse.Forward-Looking - The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go from where you are now.Competent - People want to follow someone who is competent. This doesn’t mean a leader needs to be the foremost expert on every area of the entire organization, but they need to be able to demonstrate competency. A person like Ms. Bedi who right from a childhood was taught to care for the downtrodden was more than competent in managing the affairs at Tihar Jail.Inspiring – The determination and strong will power of Kiran Bedi inspired the inmates to work together .Intelligent - To develop intelligence one should commit to continual learning–both formally and informally and Bedi’s academic records display her intelligence – commitment after marriage

Questions to be Discussed:

1.Are women only suited for stereotyped roles and they should not venture into uncommon fields?

2. Do men and women require same or different competencies to be leaders in their profession?

Are women only suited for stereotyped roles and they should not venture into

uncommon fields?•NO women are not suited only for stereotyped roles like that of a homemaker , nurse, personal secretary , doctor etc , but in contrast a women can successfully accomplish both the soft professions as well as the rough and tough jobs like that of a police officer.•Such gender biases do not work in today’s broadminded world where a woman is fully competent and capable of handling and dealing with the so called ‘male chauvinistic jobs’ .•Infact women prove to be better leaders because If men have thethree Ms – money, mobility and muscle, then women have three Hs – humanity, healing touch and heart which are essential in order to bring about a human touch to the otherwise mechanistic organisation structure.

•Corporate houses today talk about soft skills and social responsibility as qualities essential in their efficient employees but these qualities are inherent in a woman. Their compassion and ability to nurture are today being promoted as ‘must have’ skills for managers in companies.Now women are “climbing the corporate ladder” which used to be dominated by the men.

Do men and women require same or diferent competencies to be leaders in their profession?

•Women as managers may use different leadership style than men. •Women see leadership as changing the self-interest of the followers into concern for the whole enterprise by using interpersonal skills and personal traits to motivate subordinates. •This interactive leadership style involves sharing information and power, inspiring participation and letting people know that they are important. •Men, in contrast, are more likely to see leadership as a sequence of transactions with their subordinates. •Moreover, they more often use control of resources and the authority of their position to motivate their people.•Women look upon their task as not only consulting with followers and carefully considering their opinions but also doing all they can to support subordinates in accomplishing their duties effectively . They are willing to hear and consider subordinates’ ideas and concerns and include their suggestions in the decision making process.

Thank you