Leadership Success: The Indian Way – Part 1
- What does Chanakya’s Arthashaastra have to teach us about Leadership and Prosperity?
- What does Yog teach us about Personal and Professional Development?
Lots! But we need to first un-condition our minds – and change the notion that Management are those practices which come to us from the hallowed universities of America and the Corporate powerhouses of Europe and US. There are tomes available in Indian wisdom, waiting to be tapped. Let’s consider a scenario:
To be successful as a manager, one needs to be viewed and experienced by team members as an effective leader. Leadership is portrayed as the more ‘human’ side of the coin – establishing a direction, aligning people, inspiring them to be greater than they know themselves to be. The magic behind a successful organization is fine leadership. Hence leadership and management must go hand-in-hand. Leadership and Management are not the same, but are linked and complementary. These differences are very clear in the Masterpiece of Leadership and Governance, called Arthshaastra, authored by Kaultilya in 300 BC. Kautilya is also commonly known as Chanakya.
It is possible for a person in a Managerial role to learn and practise the necessary skills to become a leader, drawing upon key concepts from Arthashaastra:
The goals and roles of a leader
Managing team to build the organization
Competencies needed to transition from manager to become a leader
In Indian Management, there are no “trends’ but everlasting principles. One of the key concepts required or sustainable excellence, whether in the role of a Manager or a Leader – is self – mastery! What is that you ask? How can one get it? The answer is Yog…..
Rajesh Kamath is Founder – Chanakya Consulting Insights and Co Founder – Chiranjeev Gurukul. His purpose and work focuses on the application of the eternal wisdom of Bhaarat to modern challenges of organizations. He can be reached on rajeshvkamath@gmail.com