Communicating a holistic perspective to the world: Kautilya on leadership

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to cull out leadership lessons from one of India's oldest books on statecraft and economics - The Arthashastra by Kautilya - and present an Indian model of leadership which may be used by scholars and practitioners for leadership development in modern global context.rnDesign/methodology/approach - An analysis of Kautilya's teachings is done based on English translation of his original works by two eminent scholars. A model of leadership is derived on the basis of Kautilya's writings.rnFindings - Kautilya presents a holistic perspective as he synthesizes the Eastern and Western approaches on leadership. His skill-based and strategic approach gets support and direction from his value-based, ethical considerations. Also, an in depth study of his writings shows that he was a precursor to a few leadership theories developed in the Western world in modern times. Originality/value - Scholars have studied The Arthashastra as a treatise on economics, politics, diplomacy and statecraft. Lessons have also been drawn on a few aspects of management and leadership. There is no comprehensive commentary available on his views on leadership. In this paper, an attempt is made to develop a leadership model which integrates the Eastern and the Western approaches on leadership and can be used for leadership development in modern times.