The three pillars of the Indian democracy — government, judiciary and bureaucracy together are responsible for running the country, governing it and working towards a better tomorrow while taking care of the present needs and limitations.
Bureaucracy plays an important role in policy making, executing the policies which take into consideration the requirements of an all-inclusive sustainable development.
Bureaucrats are the ones who act as the interface between the government and public and hence often seen as torch bearers for bringing up changes in society for a better country.
For this kind of a prestigious but heroic task, a bureaucrat needs to have following qualities:
- Leadership
A bureaucrat acts as government representative, hence needs to show good leadership skills and guide his team towards the goal of development and betterment of people of India.
- Administration
One of the key responsibilities, is to look after the day to day administrative affairs of their jurisdiction. To be able to fulfil this responsibility potently by building a general consensus amongst his team, seniors and subordinates, the IAS officer needs to be an able administrator.
- Quick and able Decision making
A bureaucrat can at times land in a tricky situation that needs to be resolved quickly. To handle such circumstances, the officer needs to be a quick thinker and evaluate all available alternatives and possible consequences of each of them. On basis of this, decision needs to be taken and implemented to solve the problem in a given frame of time.
- Knowledgeable
Knowledge being the biggest treasure for the bureaucrat, it is very important for he/she to be knowledgeable in all areas of operations that they handle. Being knowledgeable helps them not only to draft & implement the governmental policies diligently, but also helps them to understand any administrative problems
- Hard Working & Committed
If you find the preparation for UPSC a cumbersome task, then what awaits you ahead is even more challenging. A bureaucrat has responsibilities from different domains like law enforcement, developmental programmes, administrative work and funds management. To manage and excel in all these, the officer needs to hardworking and committed to the work.
- Good Communication Skills
As an able administrator, a bureaucrat needs to possess good communication skills in verbal as well as written format. This will help the officer convey clear orders to the team, subordinates as well as the seniors in order to avoid any confusion that may lead to administrative problems. In his due course of work, a bureaucrat would meet high dignitaries and effective communications skills will come in handy here as well. Furthermore, winning the confidence of public for tricky situations and being able to manage the double edged sword of strict rules and public interests, a bureaucrat has to have good communication skills.
- Creative Thinking
The biggest challenge in being part of governmental machinery in a diverse country like India is that the problems in each area and field differ vastly and one solution may not work to solve them. Moreover, a drafted solution might not be feasible and hence the officer needs to have backup options ready in his kitty all the time. In such situation, creative thinking will help the bureaucrat devise solutions that are tailored to meet the specific problem in an efficient manner.
- Work Ethics
A bureaucrat needs to have his ethics game strong, be it something as small as reaching office on time or avoiding misuse of governmental machinery for personal gain. Work ethics not only help the officer perform their duties more effectively, but also sets a precedent for juniors and other associated parties to follow. Being ethically and morally elevated helps a bureaucrat to achieve his utmost vision of being the torch bearer of the change in country.
- Emotional Intelligence
During the course of job, there would be times of demotivation, conflicting goals, and ethical dilemmas. It is necessary to have self-understanding to overcome them hence it is extremely important for a bureaucrat to be aware of his/her own emotions. Furthermore, a bureaucrat needs to be able to know the emotions of others: this relates to having empathy with the poor, to having understanding of malice and avarice in the corrupt, the lethargy in the lazy etc. A good public servant is one is pragmatic in dealing with others and emotional intelligence plays a vital role in this.
- Patriotism
The most important task that bureaucrats are entrusted with is to build an India for tomorrow; and being a patriot will guide all the actions of a person in a way that benefits the country. Keeping the Nation before one’s personal interest may sound idealistic, but when implemented will have a monumental impact.
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