Control is an elusive phenomenon. Leadership is more than just barking out orders ; it takes subtlety. Often, the harder you tug at people, the less control you have on them. The problem in leading any group is that people inevitably have their own agendas. If you are too authoritarian, they will resent you and rebel in silent ways. If you are too easy-going, they will revert to their natural selfishness and you will lose control. You have to create a chain of command in which people do not feel constrained by your influence yet follow your lead. Put the right people in place-people who will enact the spirit of your ideas without being authomatons. Make your commands clear and inspiring, focusing attention on the team, not the leader. Create a sense of participation, but do not fall into Groupthink-the irrationality of collective decision making. Make yourself look like a paragon of fairness, but never relinquish unity of command.

Image : The reins. A horse with no bridle is useless, but equally bad is the horse whose reins you pull at every turn, in a vain effort at control. Control comes from almost letting go, holding the reins so lightly that the horse feels no tug but senses the slightest change in tension and responds as you desire. Not everyone can master such an art.