Some Story Never Ends……My learning from the Epic Ramayna

I had a very faint memory of watching the serial Ramayna when I was a small kid. But the #Covid Times gave me an opportunity to see this serial again. I was so very happy and excited. Yesterday night, was the last episode of the serial…..But some stories are not stories…they are EPIC in every sense.

What is intriguing about Ramayna is the fact that it has life lessons. For me this time, it was not a story, but more about understanding life from the realm of mythology. It was about taking the right decision against all odds and it was about dharma (duty). What also fascinated me was the fact that it has management lessons too.

This piece is a summary of lessons from the Epic Ramayna & drawing parallel analogy to my world of work.

Trusting Relationship

Rama’s son Luv & Kush appeared before the King Rama to tell a fable. In the process they revealed that they are his son. A natural inclination for any father would be to go and hug his son. Rama’s mother was upset and she asks him, ‘you are very arrogant and rude. How can you not love your own sons? You did not show any affection to them. Your own son looked very miserable in front of everybody because of you.’.

Rama smiled and said to her mother the role of a King is to have a trusting relation with his people. The people of Ayodhya have not accepted Sita yet. Hence it is his Raj Dharma to act in a way that people should not have an iota of doubt on him. Personal Conduct is very important for a king. Raj Dharma is supreme.

Drawing parallel analogy, it is so very important for management to build trusting relationship with his/her employees. This goes for all forms of other relationships as well...Between Manager & a Subordinate, between colleagues, between vendors and so on and so forth. Great Place to Work incorporation defines one of the tenets of a great place as having trust with people you work with.

Now the question arises how does organisations build trusting relationships…..the way Rama did. Regardless of the industry, the number of people in the company, high trust culture has to be the defining characteristic of any organization.

And we know we are there when employees believe that their leaders are credible (i.e competent, communicative & honest).

Believe in the ability of subordinates and encourage them to do so

Rama was Lord Rama…An incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He was self sufficient to challenge Ravana and bring Sita back. But like a normal human being, he took a step back. He created an army of aboriginal tribes, made them believe that they can challenge Ravana who otherwise had a very sophisticated army. He instilled confidence and faith in his team to achieve the undoable…& rest is history.

I remember my Performance Management class which started by defining performance;

Performance = Ability * Motivation +- Chance Factors

If your team is motivated & has trust in your leadership it can always achieve more.

It is the responsibility of the team leader to instill confidence in their team members. It starts by letting them do more, independently. Believing in them that they have an ability is another tenet. A leader’s trust in his team is paramount.

Diversity

Ramayna has been presented by keeping the male protagonist at the center stage. Ramayna has a patriarchal storyline where women have been victim of injustice. Rama fought a war with Ravana to save Sita or to protect his honor as a man? War in any way is merciful to men, if they win..they are heroes….if they lose their life in the process….He was still brave and fought valiantly….Leaving behind their wives widowed. It is the women who has to face the consequence.

Lets rewrite the story keeping Sita at the centerstage, Sita who was a constant learner…took independent decisions.

Another short story in the epic is very powerful. Surpanaka teaches Sita that joy does not depends on a man but herself. This implies that meaning of success does not lie in her relationship with a man but herself. Women have a world other than her husband.

Why was only Sita questioned on her fidelity? Why can’t this question be raised to Rama…Who was all alone in the forest too.

Liberation of Sita celebrates womanhood and the power of women to make her independent choice. Sita could have easily taken an oath and stayed with Rama happily ever after. She chose a difficult path…..She does not want to serve someone, nor she is merely a prize in man’s conquest.She is independent.She is free to create a world of her own.

I have read somewhere, ‘One is not born a women, but becomes one’.

I am strong supporter of narrating the story of Ramayana & Mahabharta. However, we can transform them into a ‘gender equal epic’. Drawing a parallel analogy to the corporate world, it is so very important to see through the things from the prism of gender diversity…Not only in name sake but with the real essence….& let the women interpret this time; if it is gender neutral or otherwise.

Unconventional leadership –Creating opportunity even in adversity

Rama was an unconventional leader considering those times. He was not dictorial. When Vibhishana arrived from Lanka, Rama asked the monkeys what he should do?If he would have gone by the popular decision, he could have sent Vibhishana back. A good leader does what is right and gives a proper rationale to his team. Rama knew the art of resolving differences and carrying everyone along.

Much is being said on unconventional leadership during covid times…leaders arise during unprecedented times, Leadership style during crisis and so on and so forth. Rama had an ability to go through the extreme situations with grace and dignity. It was bad enough that he was exiled to forest. Worse still his wife; ‘ Sita’ was kidnapped. He handled the situation really well, did what was needed to rectify and fix is quite a feat.

Personally, for me, Rama is within each one of us. We all have the power to ignite the ‘Maryada Purushotam’ (gender neutral) within us. Let us repose the faith that the good times would be back again…However, when we are back to the normal we need to value our relationships more than before, love and kindness needs to be the center of whatever we do & have faith in God the way ‘ Shabri’ had.

And as we look forward to flatten the covid curve, let us see if we can flatten the bell curve ??......Ramayna teaches empathy too