Bharat Bhavan: KCR’s ‘out of the box thinking big’

BRS President and Chief Minister Telangana K Chandrashekhar Rao has meaningfully revealed his mind of ‘out of the box thinking big’ with an exceptional, novel, and unique proposition, the first of its kind, which no politician ever thought, that, imparting systematic training to political persons in ‘Effective Leadership’ is an imperative ingredient for sustenance of vibrant democracy. For this purpose, the institution which he named as ‘Bharat Bhavan’, would ultimately develop political leadership that helps to offer ‘Good Governance with a Difference’ to the people.

KCR’s thought process appears to be that training in political, social, economic, cultural, and ideological fields is essential to create ‘Effective Leadership’ for a better understanding of people’s aspirations. He emphasizes that political parties are pillars of elected democratic governments.

KCR was laying foundation for the international standard study, research and HRD center, ‘Bharat Bhavan’ at Kokapet in Hyderabad on June 5, 2023. In precise, concise but comprehensive golden words, he drew attention of everybody to the need of such center for a democratic polity, particularly in the context of Parliamentary Secular Democratic Indian Republic. It will shape as a ‘Capacity and Capability Building Centre in Leadership’ of its kind.

KCR’s concept and pragmatic style of creating ‘Effective Leadership’ among politicians speaks volumes. Usage of the very word ‘Effective’ precisely and not ‘Efficient’ alternately, though both are referred inadvertently as synonyms often, also shows KCR’s extraordinary knowledge of training and development terminology.

Experts make a subtle distinction between being ‘efficient’ and being ‘effective’ correspondingly referring to ‘management’ or ‘leadership’. The word effective presupposes one who is adequate to accomplish purpose and produces the intended or expected result. The term efficient implies performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort, unmindful of effectiveness.

According to management legend Peter Drucker, ‘efficiency’ is doing things right, whereas, ‘effectiveness’ is doing the right things. Effective leaders differ widely in their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs and they get the right things done. No matter the style of the leader, the effective ones also treat people with respect. An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause. He or she has a dream and a vision for bettering society in their own sphere of influence.

For Drucker success in anything begins with effectiveness. Jim Collins, author of book on leadership, ‘Good to Great,’ deals extensively with the qualities and success of level five leadership comparing with other levels who at the best are competent managers, also makes a subtle distinction between effective and efficient and gives explicit edge to former over latter.

The intention of CM KCR is to make ‘Bharat Bhavan’ on its completion, a world-class Centre for Excellence, a Knowledge Tower, a Center for Research and Human Resource Development for imparting Systematic Training to persons in politics. The spacious fifteen storied building with state-of-the-art technology is spread across eleven acres of area. It would likely to accommodate adequate training classrooms, mini halls with projectors, meeting halls, advanced technology digital library, books, and other printed materials authored by world class intellectuals, newspapers, magazines, and journals from India and abroad, rooms for participants’ and visiting faculty to stay during training, center to disseminate information to local, domestic, and international media channels etc.

Renowned political scientists, economists, sociologists, writers, professors, bureaucrats, former civil servants, former Presidents, former Prime Ministers and Union Ministers, former RBI Governors etc. who are known for their contribution for the society and development of India in different fields are likely to be invited as visiting faculty emeritus, to share their expertise and knowledge with the participant trainees. Cream of intellectuals, noble laureates, eminent Apex Court and High Courts’ former Judges and Legal luminaries are also likely to be in the list of visiting faculty emeritus, to impart training to the participants in the context of ever changing political, social, and economic concerns. In addition to this galaxy of intelligentsia, the ‘Bharat Bhavan’ would probably be equipped with inhouse faculty expertise.

Though the ‘Bharat Bhavan’ is being built and developed under the auspices of Bharat Rashtra Samithi with its Chief CM KCR’s intellect, vision, and statesmanship behind it, and totally funded by donations of BRS, nowhere it is mentioned that it would cater to only BRS. And hence it goes without saying that, the scope and scaling of ‘Bharat Bhavan’ facility is dynamic for those prepared to learn. A platform to study development taking place around the world, in the social, economic, political and cultural fields is also likely to be created there.

BRS President and CM KCR’s initiative towards declaring training in ‘Effective Leadership’ as an identified priority area for focus in politics, through ‘Bharat Bhavan’ will go a long way in developing many leaders to take care of the nation in future. The complex would undoubtedly be a place for ‘Capacity’ and ‘Capability’ building in leadership to large numbers. Against this context, it is suggested that, the broad structure and framework for capacity building as well as implementation of training should envisage among others that each interested individual, to the extent possible, should have an opportunity to attend at least one training program in a year, exposing to social, political, economic, contemporary developments and rapid changes.

The entire ‘Capacity’ and ‘Capability’ building or training methodology envisaged, should focus not only on the building up of the knowledge-skill base of the individuals, but, more importantly, develop the right attitude in them to make them capable of serving the public, efficiently and effectively. Sensitizing the participants to the issues of ethics and values, which are fading away, may perhaps be incorporated in each of the segments of learning units. The entire activity may be watched over, guided, and reviewed by an ‘Expert Body’ drawn from the fields of training management, subjects’ professionals and steered by CM KCR himself.

Training one person effectively is a worthwhile achievement, but not necessarily efficient. Training a large number may be efficient, but it also has to be effective. Here in the case of training in ‘Effective Leadership’ where the number of people is likely to be very large, appropriate grouping with the ideal size of the group for effectiveness is crucial. A Systematic Trainer Development Program in advance, comprising Trainer Skills, Training Design, and Training Management, adopting to cascading process would be the best scientific approach.

(The writer is Chief Public Relations Officer to Chief Minister Telangana and

former Additional Director cum Senior Faculty,

Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana, Hyderabad)