Me-Leader versus We-Leader: Bhagavad Gita Perspectives on  Transformational Leadership

Sunaina  Kuknor; Shailesh  Rastogi; Satyendra Pratap  Singh

Sunaina Kuknor Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India
Shailesh Rastogi Professor, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India
Satyendra Pratap Singh Professor, Alliance School of Business, Alliance University, Bengaluru

Keywords: Leadership; Spirituality; Bhagavad Gita; Duty; Ignorance; Ego

Abstract

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the world's oldest known holy scriptures, dating back over 5,000 years. The scripture, which Hindus believe was inspired by God, contains unique perspectives and prescriptions for today's leaders. The Gita advises managers to seek a higher level of consciousness. It makes them influence people and lead compassionately and inclusively. The Bhagavad Gita advocates a consciousness approach to transformational leadership based on eternal values and moral principles. Many researchers and practitioners in business leaders identify the Bhagavad Gita as one of the most famous and quoted works in Indian literature. The paper attempts to assist business leaders with insights into Indian scriptures and how they can benefit from the ancient writings of spiritual gurus. Therefore, the authors pursue extracting and elaborating the Bhagavad Gita's concepts into business leadership. Specifically, the study indicates how lessons from Gita can help transform a transactional leader, 'me-leader',into a transformational 'we-leader'.