Discipline was the biggest concern for Mahatma Gandhi during his days of Satyagraha (nonviolence). He while observer extreme form of self-discipline, he also insisted that his followers observe the same. He learnt the greatest lesson in 1919 Satyagraha. He put forward his idea of Satyagraha on 30th March 1919. [What the Indian people needed most and lacked most, was faith in themselves. Gandhi gave it to them - Luis Fisher]. The Satyagraha turned violent costing several lives including few British. He called off the movement on 18th April 1919. Gandhi later termed the entire episode as “A HIMALAYAN MISCALCULATION”. His miscalculation was in overlooking the fact that a person must be trained in civil obedience before civil disobedience....

Leadership coaching unleashes a great hidden power that each human being poses. The power once unleashed becomes so overwhelming that it becomes almost impossible to control the urge to misuse it. Therefore, the coaching of freedom and discipline goes hand in hand. A self-restrained coach does not empower his student unless he is sure that the student is self-restraint in using the newfound power.

Leadership coaching has two aspect of it. The first is freeing the student from the invisible limits of his or her own. The second aspect is strict personal discipline. The leadership coaching destroys the invisible wall of each individual. It also removes all limiting thoughts in a student unleashing extraordinary power within. The freedom and power enables any human being to achieve any unimaginable goal. With the power also comes an urge to satisfy own personal ambition and desires. The power in the hand of an undisciplined person becomes destructive for his fellow human being.

I have taken part in many motorcycle ride experiment to observe the combination of power and discipline. Groups of people were to ride powerful motorcycle for a distance of 100 kilometer in an open road in a disciplined fashion making a formation. Participants were briefed about the rules before the ride starts. The rules were to ensure experiencing the power of motorcycles, without causing inconvenience to other road users and strictly following the state laws. I have never achieved a 100% success in yet in those experiments. Every time there will be 5% of the people who invariably break the rules. To my satisfaction, I always find 10% of the people observing strict discipline. I could not find any obvious common factors in the disciplined or the indiscipline lot. After a careful interview with each I found that, it is only lays in the level of personal discipline and empathy of fellow human beings.

If we consider the motorcycle as an analogy, we can compare the same with, power of wealth, political, knowledge/technology and bureaucratic power. There are abundance of example in the society today of the misuse of the power. In these circumstances, a leadership/life coach observes extreme self-restraint while unleashing the power in a human being. Many coaches insist on an extreme level of self-discipline practices by the disciples before empowering them.

Discipline in personal and social life is an essential part of any leaders’ character. Personal disciplines are observed in the privacy of the person himself. It involves in the discipline of the thought, senses, impulse, habits and emotion. Social disciplines are in relation with the social environment that we live in. It involves our social interaction, discipline of speech and action with respect to others. It involves our social behavior in accordance to the social rules. Some time need arises for a leader to disobeying some specific social rules for social reform. However, at that time it becomes more important for a leader to stay firmly grounded on the other social rules.

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