Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most influential leaders in all of human history. Through his dedicated efforts, he not only succeeded where many other Indian leaders failed in convincing the British to leave, but he also managed to end all fighting between Muslims and Hindus. he achieved this without resorting to violence. During his life, Gandhi practiced a transformational leadership style with great success, he worked to inspire others to stand up and take action believing that even the common man could make a difference (Gupta, A.) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hamilton describes those who adopt the transformational leadership style as “leaders who have transformed society with their visions; that is, charismatic leaders who have the ability to inspire and motivate people to do more than they normally would, despite obstacles and personal sacrifices.” (Hamilton, C.) Looking at the life of Gandhi, we see a man who devoted his entire life to the welfare of his country and the people who lived there. When trying to evaluate Gandhi's success as a leader, it becomes important to examine his way of thinking and his problem-solving abilities. The best example of this came early on in the way he approached the question of the liberation of India from British control. Hundreds of other national leaders before him had tried, unsuccessfully, to expel the British from India, meaning that a conventional approach to the issue would not work. Gandhi realized this early on in his campaign, and it led Gandhi to view the issue differently from others before him. He wanted to know what was the reason why the British maintained their presence in India, even though they had long ago seized all the treasure and wealth they could. The answer he came up with was that it was India's new dependence on European goods that kept the British interested in India. This was a crucial discovery because the existence of an economic reason behind Britain's continued existence in India provided the most effective method of stopping British non-violent actions. India would not gain its freedom through war and violence, and in realizing this, Gandhi was able to establish his goal as a leader who would liberate India. With a specific goal in mind, he developed a plan to "break the economic objective of colonialism" through non-violent means that he could easily spread to the masses. Through his words, Gandhi was able to align himself with the common man, gaining his trust and motivating the entire population to take action against Britain in non-violent protest by practicing self-reliance and non-cooperation. These two things are what he based his leadership on, and through his teachings he convinced everyone to join him to the point that even those who truly believed they had nothing to offer and really couldn't do anything about it. to the British Empire joined him. and followed his teachings. This was largely because his teachings were simplistic enough that anyone could follow them, but also impactful enough that those who followed them felt like they were truly part of something much bigger than themselves. themselves, the fight for freedom. (Gupta, A.) A closer look at Gandhi as a person sheds more light on his success as a leader. By addressing this issue, Gandhi had already acquired agood dose of credibility with the Indian people thanks to his success in South Africa where he defended his non-violent methods, proving their effectiveness to all those who paid attention. This is largely due to people's willingness to follow him, but that is not the only thing that attracted people to Gandhi, nor what made him such a beloved figure among Muslims and Hindus. Looking at Gandhi's daily life is like looking at the life of one of his disciples, he practiced his preaching to the letter, even spinning his own wool for his clothes, he led a simple life as a poor man .did it, and in doing so he established a connection with his followers. Coupled with his numerous speeches delivered to audiences across India, establishing himself as an easily approachable person, Gandhi became such a great leader that the common man could connect to him simply by seeing him. (Gupta, A.) The qualities he possessed were related to his lifestyle, ten of which prove to be the most important to his success as a leader. Faith in oneself, this quality gave Gandhi a long-term vision which, coupled with his strong principles of righteousness, made him one of the great transformational leaders of history. Resistance and persistence; Although some might have believed this was due to his stubbornness, it was actually a key part of what allowed him to continue his nonviolent actions despite opponents who claimed that violence was the only way to accomplish anything. Forgiveness, the ability to learn from mistakes, strength of character, love but never hate, truthfulness, living in the present, taking the first step and doing it anyway, and non-violence. (Sharma, A.) Each of these qualities combined gave Gandhi the ability to not only inspire and motivate those around him to do more than they normally would, but also served to make him so approachable as a neighbor, or even a friend to all those who followed him. Gandhi's goal of freeing India from British colonial rule was ultimately realized, but the victory was short-lived as a civil war brewed between India's Muslims and Hindus, threatening to destroy India from within and potentially even provide an opportunity for another European nation to regain control of India, returning the country to where it started. This news led Gandhi to continue his role as a nonviolent leader, traveling across India to promote peace and try to end the fighting and riots that were occurring. Ultimately, Gandhi was against a divided India and wanted to see Muslims and Hindus living together. at peace, but alas, he was shot and killed by a Hindu fanatic during one of his prayer meetings. Despite this, the great grief of Muslims and Hindus after his death calmed the fighting and is probably the only reason why India was not torn apart from within by a massive civil war. (Biography: Gandhi Returned to India) Finally, looking at his leadership style, Professor MS Rao, a self-proclaimed "leadership guru", termed his leadership style as "soft leadership", a new direction of leadership that he invented. In his article Mahatma Gandhi – Soft Leadership, he defines “soft leadership” as “the process of setting objectives; influencing people through persuasion; build strong teams; negotiate them in a win-win attitude; respect their failures; hold their hands; constantly motivate them; align their energies and efforts; recognize and appreciate their contribution to achieving organizational goals with emphasis on soft skills. It is based on a state of mind, skills.