The topic of Junior leadership vs senior leadership is an interesting one and also cause of much debate in the service circles that I ferquent. I some how am a sounding board for many youngesters to express their views about the quality of senior leadership. The view most often expressed is that the cadre officers are much worse than 'Your Lordships the IPS officers". I disagree with this view, without disagreeing with the views of juniors on the quality of leadership provided by some of our own officers. Why do thy forget the famous case of an IPS officer in a CPo who made everyone buy the framed photographs made by him for the regimental institutions and also for display in personal homes? And has every one forgotten the manner in which he used to treat the officers under his command, the uncouth language used , mental harrasment etc ? Have people forgotten about another IPS officer who is on deputation to the same organisation for the 2nd time and how many ACrs he is supposed to have spoiled? The list can be endless. The IPS officers are equally bad or good as the cadre officers. The only thing is that they do not have knowledge of the profession and the ethos of the organisation so they catch hold of one or two officers who very eagerly lap up the opportunity and become their blue eyed boys. More so these IPS officers are not in direct command so they only come into picture to intervene when things go beyond control and they spread this canard that the cadre officers are bad and they are good.
Another question that troubles my mind is that these very senior officers to use the words of sierra were some times junior officers saying the same things about their seniors that the juniors tell about them. Then why do the forget their own days and do not try to rectify things. Some officers whom I found very vocal when they were ACs or DCs are now Commandants and they are doing the same things to their juniors that they supposedly sufferred. Why? I am also sure that many of the juniors of today who are vocal or are sufferring today will do the same things tomorrow when they are those senior positions. I hope we could think and act with empathy when we become seniors and do not perpuate the same tortures on our juniors that we sufferred.
Another thing that both seniors and juniors need to do is to think things through from each other's perspective.
Last but not the least. I have asked many of the juniors to take a survey and discuss the quality of leadership in the units of any one formation . To their own surprise, when they took the names and described their qualities, they rated atleast 80% of them in very good or above category. Let us not go by rumours. The facts are sometimes differrent and spread with ulterior motives. The bad stories spread faster. The good ones have to be spread with effort.
This to my mind is mainly a canard being propagated by the IPS people to continue their hegemony. Have I opened a pandoras box?
