Leadership Lessons for CEO's from Hanuman
Abstract
With the entry of LPG in India, the business environment has brought cut-throat competition in the 21st century prompting the organization to look for a CEO and other management professionals who are not only able to execute the direction of Chairman/Board of Directors and manage the organization but also can project their organization different from others. The entry of several CEOs and top management people who graduated from modern B schools learnt the western principle of management and focused their attention towards the western philosophy of survival of the fittest and promoted the short term strategy of dog eat dog in the organization to prove their worth. Blind persuasion of the modern management principles borrowed from the western philosophy that measures success in terms of the materialistic accomplishment and not on spiritual values promoted the culture of rat race among employees who focused their working for getting increments and salary hike without realizing the fact that even if one wins the rat race, one remains the rat. As a short term strategy, such CEOs and top management professionals might get success in the ballooning of the bottom line of the balance sheet and managing a few awards too but soon the brand starts losing its credibility. Contrary to the above philosophy, traditional principles of the management based upon dharma, values, ethics and truth hidden in epics like Ramayan and Bhagwad Gita advocate the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbkum' that measure the success of a person on role effectiveness, social contribution and spiritual upliftment. Several organizations believing in these roots have not only been able to maintain their existence but have been able to prove their supremacy by following the principles of Indian management that promotes the theory of the growth of the all the people, by all the people and for all the people. Various characters of Ramayana epic are a perennial source of leadership. Hanuman is one such leader whose personality continues to inspire all the CEOs and management professionals of the modern organization. Hanuman who despite being a normal soldier of the army of Sugreev (who was hiding in hills of Rishymuk due to fear of Bali) successfully led the army of Ram whose soldier were poorly equipped and less skilled in
comparison to the army of Ravan but were highly motivated because of their leader. Hanuman a close aide of Ram led its army with his huge capability (shakti), credibility (bhakti) and commitment toward Ram-Kaz (larger cause of the society) and acquired the stature of the Lord Hanuman. No organization could get success unless its employees are faithful, dedicated and committed toward the organizational goal which can't be expected unless it's CEO and the top management professionals follow the path of spiritual values and larger interest of the society like Lord Hanuman who is the ideal model of dasya bhakti, nishkam karm and unflinching faith in Ram-Kaz. This is a conceptual paper dealing with numerous leadership qualities of
Lord Hanuman and correlating them with the various management strategies equally useful for a Chief Executive Officer of the modern organization who dreams of making his organization as the best organization.
