In chapter 3 verse 21 Krishna says to Arjun:
Yadyadacarati Sresthastattadevetaro Janah,
Sa Yatparmanam kurute lokastadanuvartate.
‘Whatever a great Man (Man of excellence) does, other men follow Whatever he sets up as a standard, the world (rest of the people/his troupe) follows’

What does it mean in today’s corporate world, especially for a leader?

If you are in a leadership position in your company (As of now I am alluding to the position or designation, however, mere designation does not make one a leader, you need to prove yourself, people should accept you as a leader, until then, designations hold only a business card snob value, I am coming to it). You are looked up to in your company. People follow leaders, they want to be like you.

The preacher must have worked and shown demonstrable results for the rest of the team members to accept him as their leader. A preacher with no results to show on the ground along with the effort to achieve them does not hold much esteem in front of the team.

Vision follows top-down, this has been an established norm in the corporate world, one disadvantage of this is the speed and agility with which any idea percolates downwards (especially in large and/or matrixed organizations), and if the larger organization base does not idolize the Top (YataPramanam).. you are done with! Forget about the adoption of vision. It’s no surprise that hierarchies are crumbling (and rightly so) in today’s corporate world, leadership and idea diffusion is happening in all three directions: in the direction of one’s seniors (those above in hierarchy), among peers and towards juniors. Task groups are being formed, squad culture emerging in some organizations. It is also very important to break this hierarchy barrier in your organization if you want to breed good leaders.

Leadership is a journey, one learns along the way. Corporate and social situations are complex setups, many colliding egos, perspectives, priorities, vested interests, politics. A leader needs to know how to navigate through this, prove him/herself, the team should acknowledge this and accepts him/her as a leader, and then actually lead the team with all the things happening simultaneously to ‘Collective Success’. That’s why being a good leader is so tough in today’s organizations and this is one the biggest reasons why most of the so-called leaders (with designations) fail.

Leaders also need to keep at it, keep proving time and again. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle keeps continuing. A leader needs to keep the ‘lead by example’ running continuously. Many a times, leaders lose touch on the ground, leaving all the nut and bolts to the team and get too immersed in excel sheets, presentations and meetings (I am not suggesting micromanagement here, I am saying you need to be riding alongside your troupe on the battlefield, not just sit in the office shooting directions). The team realizes this and un-accepts them eventually, once a leader of the pack falls flat, ultimately forgets to lead… In the very next 2 verses Krishna says even if he (God) does not have to do anything (he is beyond karma and fruits of karma) he still acts, he still works because if he wouldn’t, this world (people) will fall prey to inaction and will come crumbling down.

Here are the quick takeaways from this:

• You don’t have to be a leader by designation, you need to be a leader by action.
• Prove yourself on the ground.
• Keep at it, you can’t let your guards down.
• Leadership is a journey and a responsible one.
• Litmus test of a leader is to set successful examples within the yin and yang of all the other forces that exist in the ecosystem (like politics, egos, vested interests, etc.)
• Remember, people, will follow you when they see what you have done, how you have done, what you are doing right now and how you carry yourself while at it.

Gita is a treasure trove of timeless wisdom, its teachings are as relevant today as they were 5000 years ago when it was assumedly written. I’ll try to bring in more of its nuggets in the future. Till then, may God speed be with you in all your genuinely good endeavours.

PS: At Taggd we understand the science of success under strong leadership and we help organizations to identify and hire right Executive/Leadership talent. If interested to know more, you can reach out to us at marketing@taggd.in.