At the helm of affairs before World War II, an Indian leader called Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose decided to meet Hitler and seek support to free India from the clutches of British rule.
Hitler was known to use body doubles, who would conduct meetings on his behalf and the other party would not have a clue about it. Those doubles were trained to do exactly what Hitler would do in a similar situation. They were groomed so well, that nobody other than Hitler could be able to tell the difference.
When Bose arrived at the waiting area for the meeting, one of the doubles came and greeted Bose with a handshake “How may I help you Mr. Bose?”
Bose immediately smiled and answered, “I would like to meet Mr. Hitler. So if he is around, could you please let me see him” Puzzled, the body double returned and reported the incident to Hitler.
The second body double came and he too was returned back in the same manner by Bose. The same incident happened with the third and the fourth body double.
Furious and flabbergasted, Hitler hurriedly made his way to the waiting room and said “Tell me Mr. Bose. What brings you here to German Nazi Camp?”
Bose responded instantly by saying “Hitler. You are welcome. Now we can talk”. Dumbfounded Hitler asked, “We are meeting for the first time, Mr. Bose. In all these years, no one has ever been able to identify correctly between me and my body double. How could you do that so accurately?”
Bose said, “All your doubles were great and were groomed to the finest levels of mannerisms that you possess. However, they made a simple mistake. They offered a handshake to me while asking, how they can help me. You asked me the same question, but you never offered me your hand first for a handshake.”
Bose further expounded, “As a leader, even I would do the same, when I met someone for the first time. I would expect the person who has come to meet me offer a handshake and in reciprocation, I would offer my hand.”
Leadership Lessons
- Knowledge can be transferred but authority is difficult to replicate by people, not in actual power.
- Pride comes inherent with power.
- With great power comes great responsibility. You need to discharge these responsibilities if you need to stay in power.
- Observation is a fine art. People mastering this art can go places.