Ajay Krishnan is a 2025 McCain Global Leader from India. He is a former Navy fighter pilot who has excelled in the Aerospace and Defense industry, working with multinational American and European companies like Lockheed Martin and Theon Sensors.
In 2008, while I was just entering my 20s, the world was literally falling apart.
There was a global financial crisis that rivalled even the haunted episode of 1929, and the world’s trust in institutions – both political and financial – were at an all-time low. I had the privilege of stepping into my military career during this point, which thankfully was one domain that escaped the budget cuts and gloom. In the United States, a country that India had recently signed a landmark nuclear agreement with, there was an eponymous transfer of power taking place.
For the first time in U.S. history, a person of colour was on the cusp of assuming the Office of the President, the most powerful executive position on the planet. This heralded a new era of hope for my part of the world – as we were all people of colour one way or the other – and inspired many a young mind just like me. Amidst all the hoopla, Senator Barack Obama’s opponent was getting barely the amount of limelight that he deserved. A tall statesman, who had his comeuppance through a history of national service, tragedy, disability and finally, redemption.
I have always maintained that Senator John McCain’s defeat was only because he happened to stand against a presidential candidate that was redefining and redeeming America’s storied past – right from the Declaration of Independence, slavery, civil war, segregation, world war victories, civil disobedience movements (very similar to my country, India) and culminating in a people’s vindication of being equal in all respects. Barack Obama was a once-in-a-generation leader who was not only competent but was substantial to bring together all races of Americans as one. Even a war hero could not stand in his way.
My first learning about Senator John McCain came when he worked tirelessly to conclude a historic nuclear deal between India and the United States in 2005. Though President George W. Bush was the face of that deal, the newspapers regularly hailed Senator McCain as the real negotiator – an epithet he has deserved since his landmark bipartisan negotiating efforts for normalisation of U.S. – Vietnam relations. As I learned more about him in later years, I was fascinated by some similarities of his life with my own; he was a third-generation military officer just like me, and to top it all, he was also a Naval Aviator. Of course, it would have been childish to somehow think I was in the same league, but as a young man this did make a significant impression on me.
Though it was his military exploits that inspired me more during that time, and how he endured systematic torture as a PoW, I would discover later about his political acumen and character-driven leadership too. I was extremely impressed to learn that he refused to be repatriated out of line as a prisoner, just because he was the son of an admiral who was commanding the theatre he was in. This is an extraordinary display of character. Imagine being put through torment and abuse for years, and you finally get a God-given opportunity at freedom. Any lesser man would have taken it at once – but not Senator McCain. This also gave him unmatched credibility about his personality later on in his career, which undoubtedly, he was able to put to good use. This was my biggest takeaway from his life.
In our recent leadership experience, we listened intently to Senator McCain’s contemporaries – starting with the United States Naval Academy’s Deputy Director of the Stockdale Center for Ethical leadership Brad BradSnyder, Mark Salter who was his biographer, Senator Mark Kelly who now represents the Arizona senate seat that he vacated, and finally his son Jack McCain. If there was one common theme that they all stressed upon, it was the strength of Senator McCain’s character. It was this unique and impactful leadership trait that enabled him to achieve the political victories that he embarked upon, often in the face of insurmountable odds.
In my humble opinion, people from different ends of a spectrum – political or otherwise – come together only in the presence of someone they trust beyond any doubt. You cannot expect to bring bipartisan support without having an honourable image that inspires confidence – even if the other half believes in concepts that are totally against you. This was probably my biggest takeaway from the leadership experience – yes, you can be tactful or resourceful, but to get things done you need to be of unquestionable character.
This was also elaborately discussed during internal interactions with my fellow McCain Global Leaders (MGLs), and the breakout rooms provided excellent fora for the same. Though I consider myself to adhere to high standards of integrity and character, I learned quickly that they were not enough. While they are the basic tenets on which leadership is built upon, the MGL Leadership Experience further taught me that empathy, active listening and consensus-building are crucial to becoming a well-rounded leader. These are areas where I shall be consciously putting in greater effort, so as to hone my leadership skills even further. Another useful takeaway was how to measure disappointment in the people you lead – we must aim to incrementally lower their disappointment levels instead of trying to be perfect all at once. This reverse psychological process empowers a leader better, especially when leading a diverse group of individuals.
In summary, I can confidently state that my expectations of the Leadership Experience were easily surpassed and helped me understand myself better. With Senator McCain’s life and destiny as leading lights in this journey, the MGL program holds great promise, not just to me and my cohort, but to the next generation of leaders who are currently being inspired by stories of war heroes and once-in-a-generation leaders alike.