Leaders (managers) are expected to be seen with their followers (workers). This is a given in human resource management. Presence among the rank and file is itself a great motivating factor. However, the leader must ensure this presence is not taken for granted. The leader’s value must not diminish through demeanour or conversation. No liberties should be offered, yet one must not appear uptight. Openness combined with a degree of aloofness is a desirable trait — the distance must remain graceful.

Leadership is a fascinating phenomenon. It calls for physical presence, yet demands restraint to ensure that commands are respected and executed in the right spirit. In Urdu, there is an apt saying: “Allow holding of a finger, they will take an arm.” Leadership must guard itself from such tendencies among followers.

Every living being, in parapsychology, is said to have a “halo” — an invisible circle surrounding the personality, marked by a magnetic pull. Followers are drawn to leaders like iron filings to a magnet. Charisma, though inborn, can be polished and strengthened through training and the practice of certain behaviours.

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