What's your Karma as a leader?

Karma. Need I say more? A word that comes from ancient Indian religions that has spread very widely, to the extent of becoming common usage in the West. In this everyday lexicon, karma is simply interpreted as ‘cause and effect’, or ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’ (the latter attributed to the Bible as well). But if you really try and comprehend Karma and how it was interpreted in various Indian traditions, you will find an ocean of literature with scores of absolutely brilliant insights. And to apply the principles of Karma Yoga to human life is truly like squeezing water from a stone.

But nevertheless, it is important for every individual to understand this term. And more so for leaders, for one simple reason. A leader is in a position of influence, due to which he/she plays the role in shaping someone else’s values and destiny. In that sense, most of us are leaders in some form or the other – as a parent, elder sibling, teacher, senior in school/college or boss in an organization (no matter what the size). If karma has consequences, imagine how many consequences you are responsible for in all these roles over your lifetime, through the influence you may have had on others!

If you would think that karma is just about ‘cause and effect’, the very first and major upgradation comes from the most popular shloka of the Bhagavad Gita itself:

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Chapter 2, Verse 47

In this iconic shloka, Lord Krishna presents an invaluable lesson` for mankind – that in this human birth, you should never be concerned with a fruits of action, as you only have the right to the action (karma) itself, not to its fruits.

As human beings, however, we always have motives. Another popular verse in Sanskrit says:

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Even a stupid person does not do anything unless there is a motive! This is the dilemma that I discussed in another blog of mine on “Karma vs Dopamine”, which illustrated how human beings are wired to rewards in all their actions. That blog was open-ended though as I created a binary between Karma and Dopamine there.

As conventional ‘people’, we may question the idea of ‘Nishkaam karma’ (selfless action) as advised by Lord Krishna, as many people do. Without human greed/aspiration/ambition, would we have ever progressed? Without the motivation for money, fame, worldly possessions, people would only become lazy and laidback, right?

I remember a past boss joking that as people become more senior and secure in his company, they work less and less. But then, he may not have been joking after all. It could a message for some people, who had apparently lost the ‘fire in their belly’ to either win a carrot or avoid a stick. Monetary rewards are the most common way in which organisations feel they can motivate good employees to stay and perform, right? Employees, on the other hand, are especially keen on package jumps, which they know existing organisations rarely provide.

I have read quite a few posts on LinkedIn about the strange irony that companies are willing to offer good jumps to new employees and not their existing ones. And therefore, even well settled workers are unable to resist good increments outside, even if the new opportunity does not seem to suit their profile as much as the current one (it is an ‘if’, please; the opportunity can be genuinely better too). Or else, they are locked in an intense competition for who contributes more, gets noticed, or gets in line for the next promotion first. None of this is a part of vision and mission statements, but it unfortunately is a living reality for many.

As another example of motives, I have come across people who newly acquire wealth, be it from any source. They cannot wait to flaunt it! To the question, “How are you doing?”, their common response will be “Richer of course! I am now earning as much as my salary from my side hustle!” Or, “I made a killing in the stock market!” People still don’t realise that “How are you doing?” is a social greeting, not a question! And flaunting your wealth, in the hope/mistaken assumption that it provides you some kind of higher stature, is a very sorry way of ‘making yourself happy’. Search harder inside and introspect, because it only points to some deeper psychological issues. Moreover, it makes for a person with highly unpleasant conversational skills!

The motive to flaunt or enjoy a ‘premium’ experience is like a pot of gold for the advertising industry. Economy vs Business Class on your next flight? LX, VX or ZX for your new car? Regular Frappuccino or Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino (apparently the costliest Starbucks Coffee)? Uber Go or Uber XL? 3-star or 5-star hotels? The key here is product positioning and not price. Marketers just make the premium options look so much more attractive. Otherwise, some pumpkin here and some spices there do not make a much difference to the per unit cost of a product.?

A leader needs to ascend

So what is my ‘motive’ on sharing the above motives, some of which seem ridiculously petty? The essential message is that motives do drive our life. But the other essential truth of human existence is evolution – moving from lower to higher order motives (or from lower to higher forms of fulfilment).

In the Mahabharata, Arjun felt his thirst for revenge vanish when he realized he was preparing to kill his uncles and cousins. But he fought the war anyway, when Lord Krishna made him realise that it was a ‘Dharmayudh’, since the Kauravas represented evil and injustice. This was a motive, but of a much higher standard. Throughout the ages, people who really changed the course of history positively, like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King, had motives as well. But their motives were much grander than any personal interests. In fact their life struggles took a great toll on them personally.

The same goes for some of the iconic leaders who we respect in the corporate world. There are those you look at with awe for the money they have made. But you keep the truly selfless and conscientious ones close to your heart.

A common example is Narayana Murthy, Co-founder and former CEO of Infosys, who was a frontrunner in taking several initiatives for his employees early on, like flexible work options, investments in training & development, wellness programmes and stock option plans. He is most famous for his down-to-earth nature, and the manner in which he treats everyone he meets with the utmost respect. In fact, when I met him for the first time (as a journalist), I was totally struck by the humility with which he greeted me, and listened carefully to what I had to propose. This does not come easily to a man of that stature.

When you are a corporate leader, you are not just responsible to your employees. Instead, you have an entire ecosystem of stakeholders to cater to – shareholders, suppliers, government, regulators, social groups – and it does get overwhelming. I would go as far as to say that at times, leadership may feel like a thankless job.

The one thing you must remember from the theory of Karmayoga is that leadership, and the responsibility that comes from it, is tailor made for only the truly selfless people. Leadership brings position, power and money, but the level of accountability it brings with it is enormous. If you cannot evolve your motives, your leadership is flawed and cannot be long lasting. Either you will lose your followers or they will lose you!

True leaders are those who are able to evolve their motives, work for the betterment of the people they lead and stakeholders they serve. Your fulfillment cannot and will not come from your personal interests, and therefore, you lose the right to be petty. To that I would only say, "Good riddance!"

But to be truly successful, they also have to ensure that accountability is taken seriously at every level of the organization they lead. Otherwise, even the most charismatic of leaders can fail to take an organization far. More on this in the next edition!