Dr Duvvuri Subba Rao, IAS (Retd.), Ex-Governor, RBI addressed the All India Services, Central Civil Services, and Military Engineer Services Officers on October 20th, 2022, who are attending their respective Foundation Courses at Dr MCR HRD Institute. The theme of his presentation was: “Leadership Lessons I Learnt the Hard Way”.
Dr. Subba Rao stated that Civil Servants, at different rungs of the administrative hierarchy, are required to provide effective leadership in order to get the work done by people.
However, in order to become successful leaders, he called upon Civil Servants to earn credibility from their team members, rather than demanding it. “A deliberate attempt on the part of Civil Servants to build strong character and sound personality, to emerge as great leaders, will be a step in the right direction”, he observed.
The former RBI Governor called upon the Officer Trainees to learn whatever jobs that are assigned to them with great passion, irrespective of their likes and dislikes. “Every job is challenging and the Officers should contribute their optimum best, even if they do not like it”, he stated.
Continuing his address, Dr. Subba Rao advised the Trainee Civil Savants to keep their ear close to the ground. “In addition to different stakeholders, Civil Servants should interact with poorer sections of society in order to understand different issues in their true and total frame of reference”, he stated and added that listening to the point of view of politicians, with an open mind, is a good practice and the Officers should learn and perfect this art.
Dr. Subba Rao opined that in public policy, there is no black and white; only shades of grey. “The problems being faced by the Civil Servants in the contemporary society are highly complex in nature and there are no quick fix solutions for them”.
He stated that only those officers who are proactive in understanding the root cause of these problems, finding enduring solutions to them, and willing to learn continuously, will succeed in their careers. He advised the Officer Trainees to manage their time effectively in such a way that they are able to do full justice to all their important functions.
