I want to talk a little about leadership today and who the buck really lies with, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, however. Having worked for an official organisation and many other companies there is a common theme which runs through these which is also the problem with our Sikh organisations. Having the right people in the right places is vital to an effective output. One of the things I notice is that corporations and public organisations recruit and promote individuals who lack stimulatory communication skills, its just people who do the job, there is always a balance of people in leadership who can either have hard conversations or keep their heads down. Almost all issues are tied into this problem.
Take racism in the workplace, this is no longer a workplace or country specific issue it occurs through partnerships of equals across organisations and international tie ups . It cannot be tackled through in-house initiatives any more , it has created a behind the scenes cloak within 3rd party interactions.
Our Sikh organisations are the same, diversity of opinion is not welcomed, we should encourage the voice of people who have different views even if we don't personally agree with them, instead rigid boundaries are created across international networks to sideline perceived opposition. Then this creates bitterness and divisive policy. That policy grows with time to produce an irreconcilable situation with people on both sides of the fence asking "what do we do now?".
Staff/sewadar intentions is what suffers due to not having the right people in the right places. Look at how many individuals are either fired or resign in the Trump administration, this administration is an excellent case study for revealing the massive underestimated significance of colleague intention. One side thinks they have discarded and replaced the problem, the other side thinks they have escaped and moved on to better things. In almost all cases no-one says we've lost a good employee or that I lost a good job, why is that? Because the intentions were never for the success of the business, this is what having the wrong person in the wrong jobs does. People come in, go through the motions, realise there is no environment, take flight.
I've used the word environment because that is what a workspace should be, a vibrant and stimulating place where people can innovative and produce the new and next thing. However when you don't have the right people in the right places any exchange of ideas is stolen to further the ambitions of dull and empty parasites who occupy a position for that very same intention. The majority of inventions and advances in organisations are made by people who are stuck behind a person who should never have been in the position they hold. They are exploited and by the time they realise that the credit has been taken by the wrong person they leave with no recognition. This is what really happens.
Our Sikh organisations have a problem with recognising people more often than not posthumously, or not recognising them at all. Think about how many scholars, singers, ragis, artists etc there have been which we have learnt from, we have enjoyed over the past, we know they had exceptional talent, vision and a huge record of output but they were never acknowledged where it mattered most to us, our central Sikh body. There is also something to be said about such stellar individuals in our panth, they never expected anything from us for their massive contributions, they never waited to be involved in any form of participation that would showcase their talents, they continued to produce and deliver like tidal waves their skills in the face of poverty, despotism, insurgency and all the other plights of Indian society.
Freedom of speech is the only tool left for political engagement, elections don't make a difference, civil disobedience does not make a difference, terrorism does not work. On the other side sanctions, discrediting, war, operations don't work. Etc etc. Freedom of speech needs more protection today than it ever has before. Humans are being diminished to the level of algorithms. Narratives are increasingly shaped by corporations, we are even made to look at human intentions as something that needs to be exposed as opposed to understood. In that aim one can stand tall and say "I have a leader which wasn't my fault". This I believe captures the sentiment of the masses who abide within all structures with the culture I have described.
