The primary, the cardinal attribute of leadership is professional knowledge and professional competence. And you will agree with me... that you cannot be born with professional knowledge and professional competence. Not even if you are the son of the Prime Minister, an industrialist, or a Field Marshal. Professional knowledge has to be acquired the hard way. It is continuous study and you never acquire it in today's fast-moving technological world that you are living in. You have to keep up with your profession whatever you are in.

His lecture on leadership quoted in "Field Marshal KM Kariappa Memorial Lectures, 1995-2000", page=26