Dr. Dinesh Moses

Oct 10, 2026 · @Moses

Every team, company and country eventually gets the leader it chooses, and then lives with the consequences. Titles and speeches tell us little. What matters is how a leader relates to the needs of the people they serve.

After more than two decades in business, I see three broad types. The Proactive leader sees the need before you raise it. The Reactive leader hears the need once you raise it. The Santa leader tells you what you want to hear, whether or not the need is ever met.

Two of these can build something lasting. The third usually leaves a bill that someone else pays.

1. The Proactive Leader: solving it before you ask

The Proactive leader understands a need before it is brought to their attention, and makes sure it is resolved on time. They do not wait for the complaint, the crisis or the escalation.

Think of a good physician. A good doctor does not wait for the heart attack. They read the blood pressure, the family history and the lifestyle, and they act early. Prevention is cheaper, safer and kinder than emergency care.

What it looks like in practice

• A manager notices a top performer is stretched thin and redistributes work before burnout sets in.
• A business owner renews licenses, upgrades systems and trains staff before a regulation changes, not after an audit.
• A city plans water, roads and power for the population it will have in ten years, not the one it had ten years ago.

Consequences

• Problems stay small, so they stay cheap.
• People feel seen without having to fight for attention, which builds deep trust and loyalty.
• The organization runs with fewer fires and more calm, so energy goes into growth.

The risk

The Proactive leader can over-reach. Anticipating a need is not the same as knowing it. Without checking in, they may “fix” things nobody wanted fixed, or wear themselves out carrying everything alone. The best Proactive leaders anticipate, then confirm.

2. The Reactive Leader: listening, then acting by priority

The Reactive leader listens to grievances, understands them, and makes sure each one is taken care of according to priority. They may not see the problem coming, but once it is raised, it does not get ignored.

In medicine, this is the emergency room. The ER does not predict who will walk in tonight. But it triages well: the chest pain goes before the sprained ankle, and every patient is eventually seen.

“Reactive” is often used as an insult. It should not be. A leader who genuinely listens and follows through is far more valuable than one who promises a great deal and does nothing.

What it looks like in practice

• An open-door manager who hears a complaint on Monday and has an answer by Friday.
• A customer service head who ranks issues by impact and closes the loop with every customer.
• A public official who holds regular town halls and visibly acts on what is raised there.

Consequences

• People learn that speaking up works, so problems surface.
• Decisions are grounded in real, voiced needs rather than guesses.
• Fairness improves, because a clear priority order replaces favoritism.

The risk

Reactive leadership is always one step behind. The quiet person, the one who never complains, may never be helped. And some problems, once raised, are already too late to fix cheaply. A purely Reactive organization spends much of its life firefighting.

3. The Santa Leader: telling you what you want to hear

The Santa leader says whatever you want to hear, either to hold a position or to win one. Their skill is not solving problems. Their skill is convincing you.

You find them in offices, but you find them most in politics. Crowds admire their speeches because, for once, they hear exactly what they wished for. Lower prices, higher wages, free everything, and no sacrifice from anyone in the room.

Why call them Santa?

Does Santa deliver what you want? Yes, quite possibly. But look closely at how it works.

• The gifts appear in your house, and someone in your house paid for them.
• Santa never asked what you actually needed. He never sat down and listened.
• He contributed nothing of his own. He only took the credit.

For a child, this is a beautiful story. It teaches wonder and generosity, and the parents who play Santa do it out of love. The trouble starts when adults go looking for a Santa. Then the gift is paid for by the public treasury, by borrowing against our children’s future, or by cuts that arrive quietly after the applause. The disappointment is large, and it usually comes late.

What it looks like in practice

• A manager who promises every team member a promotion, knowing there is budget for one.
• A CEO who tells investors every quarter will be a record, while the fundamentals weaken.
• A candidate who promises benefits without ever explaining who will pay, or how.

Consequences

• Short-term popularity, long-term damage. Promises that cannot be kept erode trust in leadership itself.
• Real problems stay unsolved, because the leader never truly listened to them.
• The cost is shifted onto the very people who cheered: through taxes, debt, inflation, layoffs or lost opportunity.
• People grow cynical and stop believing any leader, including the honest ones.

So which leader do we need, at work and for our country?

The short answer: a Proactive leader who keeps a Reactive ear, and never a Santa.

	Proactive	Reactive	Santa
Sees the need	Before it is raised	Once it is raised	Rarely looks
Listens	Anticipates, then confirms	Yes, and acts by priority	Talks more than listens
Who pays	Shared, planned investment	Shared, as issues arise	You, later, often unknowingly
Trust over time	Grows	Grows steadily	Collapses
Best suited to	Strategy, growth, prevention	Operations, service, fairness	Winning applause, not results

At the workplace, Proactive leadership sets direction: it plans for market shifts, staffing needs and compliance before they bite. But no leader can foresee everything. That is why the best leaders also keep a Reactive channel open, an open door, a feedback process, a weekly check-in, so that what they missed still gets heard and handled. Proactive vision plus Reactive listening is what builds a team people want to stay in.

For a country, the stakes are larger and the timelines longer. Infrastructure, education, healthcare and public finances reward leaders who plan a decade ahead. At the same time, citizens need leaders who listen and respond when a community raises its voice. A government that only plans and never listens becomes arrogant. One that only reacts stays stuck in crisis mode.

The Santa leader has no real place in either. Not because promises are bad, but because promises without listening, planning or honest costing are simply a bill delivered to our own homes.

Does AI has an influence on understanding what the majority people want to hear and gain the attention? the strategy used by this Santa Leaders and is it healthy for the people who believe it?

How to tell them apart before you choose

• Ask how and who pays. A real leader can answer both. A Santa changes the subject.
• Look at their record, not their speech. What did they solve before anyone complained?
• Notice whether they ask you questions, or only give you answers.
• Be wary of any leader whose promises cost you nothing. Nothing is free; someone always pays.

Final thought

Santa belongs to childhood, and that is where he should stay. As adults, we do not need someone to tell us what we want to hear. We need someone who sees what is coming, listens when we speak, and is honest about the cost.

The next time a speech makes you feel wonderful, pause and ask one question: whose house is paying for this gift?

Which type of leader have you worked under, and what did it cost or give you? I would love to hear your experience in the comments.