IT Leader Interview: Compassionate Authoritarian Leadership

Introduction

The person I interviewed is an IT consultant with 20 years of industry experience who now heads his own company and provides leadership for other organizations that need expert advice on their networks and infrastructure. He is the founder and CEO of his firm and has 15 full-time employees. The reason I selected him is that he is originally from the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He came to America on his own in his late twenties and faced many obstacles — both personal and social — to survive and establish himself in this country. He is an inspiration to me as a leader, and I wanted to interview him to understand his leadership approach more deeply.

Interview

1. How did you get to where you are today?

I got where I am today through hard work. I never gave up, like so many other people I see today. It is so hard to find good help, and I don't understand it — there are so many opportunities, yet so many people do not want to lift a finger. If I could just find five hard-working men or women, I could take over this industry completely. I absolutely, firmly believe that. But aside from that, I cannot take total credit for everything. Yes, I worked hard, studied, and never allowed myself any distraction — but there but for the grace of God go I. Without God's help, none of this would be possible, so I thank God every day for His assistance and I always ask God to guide me in everything, without fail. Every day — it is so important to pray. I cannot stress that enough.

2. How would you describe your leadership style (e.g., servant, transformational, democratic, etc.)?

I am a very stern leader — my team would probably say that — but I am never unfair or tyrannical, because such leaders never last long. Sooner or later their team will abandon them. Leaders have to be compassionate and empathetic. They are leaders after all, so if you are not connecting with your followers, then ipso facto you are not their leader. You have to be understanding and sympathetic. They have to like you and you have to like them. It is part of the territory.

So my leadership style — I would say it is compassionate authoritarian, because at the end of the day I am making the decisions and I expect those decisions to be executed. But that does not mean I don't want feedback or input from my people. I do want that, and a lot of times they have good ideas. I listen, and they play a part in the decision-making process that way. But I am not formally democratic, servant, or transformational. I am very much authoritarian, but compassionately so — which is what makes me a good leader, I think.

3. What do you find most admirable in people, and why are those things important to you?

What I most admire in people is honesty and intelligence. Honesty without intelligence is acceptable, but only for a moment — because once you realize the person knows nothing, you realize the person is not worth listening to no matter how honest he or she is. Honesty and intelligence are important to me because those are the qualities that allow good things to happen. I don't care if you are socially awkward or if you vote Left or Right — if you are honest with me and know how to critically analyze a problem, you are the person I want.

4. Who is your favorite leader and why?

My favorite leader of all time is Jesus Christ. He is God — how can He not be my favorite leader? There is no one like Him. Aside from Him, I would say my favorite leader is a boss I had early in my career in New York with Deutsche Bank. He is the one who freed me from a headhunter who was essentially taking advantage of me, and I didn't know it. This boss took the time to listen to me and understand why I was struggling financially, and he did something about it because he saw I was a good worker and he wanted to keep me around. I appreciated that very much and I have never forgotten it.

5. What are the top principles you have learned?

My principles are: never take anything for granted, never assume anything, and always make a record for future reference. In my line of work it always happens — there is a problem, it gets solved, but no one makes a record of how it was done, and then two months later the same problem arises and no one remembers how it was solved, causing delays. So always make a record. It is so helpful, and it teaches so many things: responsibility, accountability, prudence, and why taking a little extra time now to do something right can save a great deal of time later. I am not a cruel taskmaster, but I insist on record keeping.

6. How would you complete the sentence, "People should…"?

People should pray more. I am serious. Why do people think they do not need to pray? I do not care if they do not believe in anything — they need to pray to God, because God hears everything and He wants you thinking about Him. Think about it: if you created a world and the people in it, and you kept that world and all those people in existence, wouldn't you want them to think about you and give you some time out of their day to give thanks? We are so selfish and self-entitled — it is unbelievable. I wish my employees would pray more, just because I think it would give them a little more humility and put them in the right frame of mind for working with others — just being more conscientious.

7. What is the purpose of your life?

Oh, that is easy — the purpose is to get to Heaven. To know, love, and serve God so you can be happy with Him in the next world. That is our basic catechism lesson. I know, you might think it is to make a lot of money and buy a lot of things — but it is not that at all. Look, I make a lot of money, but so what — it is not coming with me. If I make money my god, I will be in serious trouble. It is that simple. The purpose of life is to do good to your fellow man and to love God. Life is meaningless if you are not doing those two things.

8. What is the best way to get others to do what you want them to do?

Simple: ask them. If they hesitate, tell them why you are asking. Be reasonable. If they do not listen to reason, let them go. Why waste time with people who do not want to listen to reason?

9. What are the two most important events in your life, and what did you learn from them?

Going to the seminary and getting married. The seminary taught me to love God. Getting married taught me to love others. You have to do these two things. Learning IT gave me a chance to have a life in the United States, but so what — I could have easily had a life in India as well. If I am not in love with God and doing good things for others, I have no real life. That is the point. That is what I learned from these two events.

Conclusion

This interview project has shown that what is most admirable about the subject and his leadership is his ability to rise above daily obstacles and the feelings that can wear one down. He learned compassion along the way, partly because he once had a boss who showed him compassion at a critical moment in his career. That kind of experience can leave a lasting impression, and it is clear how deeply it shaped him. Even hearing the story secondhand was striking, so I can only imagine how much it impacted him directly.

From everything I have learned about his leadership approach, he clearly understands that employees are human beings with needs that must be acknowledged if a leader wants them to stay committed and engaged. This insight — that meeting people's needs is not a soft luxury but a practical leadership necessity — is one of the most important aspects of his style and the most valuable lesson I took from this interview.

References

Conger, J. A. (1989). Leadership: The art of empowering others. Academy of Management Executive, 3(1), 17–25.

Maxwell, J. (1998). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Sage Publications.

Stogdill, R. M. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature. Journal of Psychology, 25, 35–71.