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Mohandas Gandhi : A Of Gandhi 's Leadership Essay

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Mohandas to Mahatma: A Glimpse of Gandhi’s Leadership Justin Hussey Western Kentucky University Mohandas to Mahatma: A Glimpse of Gandhi’s Leadership Mohandas K. Gandhi was born and raised in Porbandar, India on October 2, 1869 into a family of a privileged caste (Gandhi & Desai, 1927). He was raised by a father who was the Chief Minister of Porbandar and a mother of great devotion to the Hindu religion, and he was given thorough educational opportunity, which led to his attainment of a law degree (HISTORY, 2015). While traveling to begin a new position at an Indian law firm in Natal, South Africa, Gandhi experienced racial bias and color discrimination as he was thrown from a first-class train carriage (despite having a valid ticket) for refusing to move (Gandhi & Fischer, 2002). Witnessed injustices and racial discriminations such as this went on to fuel Gandhi’s activism in a fight against segregation and political oppression for the people of India. As stated by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, we can analyze the effectiveness of Gandhi’s leadership by observing certain practices that he displayed. These practices include: inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, model the way, enable others to act, and encourage the heart (Northouse, 2013). To “inspire a shared vision” means to create and communicate compelling ideas and outcomes to guide people’s behaviors toward those ideas and outcomes (Northouse, 2013). Gandhi’s vision for an independent India

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