Career lessons from Diwali- Anecdotes from Ramayana
For the un-initiated, Diwali is the celebration of the homecoming of lord Ram and his wife, Sita after spending 14 years in exile. And while there are plenty of characters and anecdotes that teach valuable life lessons in the Ramayana- the great Sanskrit epic that describes Lord Ram’s journey , it was only recently I realized that there are some gems of career advice hidden in this great saga. Here goes:
Anecdote #1
King Dashratha ordering Ram to go into exile was no doubt an unpopular decision and one that made little sense to the people of Ayodhaya and despite having all the might in the World to veto it, Ram was devastated but honored the decision and carried it through. Bharat, Ram’s half brother and extremely loyal to him was vocal about his displeasure with his father’s decision, but reluctantly ruled on his behalf by symbolically placing Ram’s slippers on the throne. Each of them, including Dashratha was limited by the circumstances leading to this decision, but, they also realized it was their ‘Dharma’ to accept and act.
Lesson: So often at work there are situations and decisions that may be misaligned to your thought process and at worst, may even seem adversarial. It’s important to engage in crucial conversations to understand and as much as possible, align on the end objective but only until a decision hasn’t been made, beyond that Disagree and Commit.
Anecdote #2
When Ram decided to attack Ravan and his army to get Sita back, he couldn’t do it alone and needed the help from the mighty monkey army commanded by Sugriva. But, before he could get Sugriva’s support Ram had to help him defeat his elder brother, Bali; who owing to misunderstanding between the brothers, had forcefully taken Sugriva’s kingdom and his wife.
Lesson: At work you will need allies to help you meet your goals and objectives, but, before that can happen you need to Be the ally first and support others around you.
Anecdote #3
To get his army across the sea into the Ravan’s kingdom, Ram prayed to the sea-god for three days and nights to give them a passage, when his prayers went unanswered he was enraged at his misfortune and this most unfair obstacle that stood in his way so he lifted his mighty bow and started shooting celestial arrows to dry the sea. The creatures of the sea began to die, and the waters began to evaporate. Seeing the plight of sea creatures and terrified with the display of the force, the sea-god finally appeared and told Ram that Nala, the son of Vishwakarma — the architect of the gods, is amongst his army. He suggested that Ram construct a bridge across the sea to Lanka, under the supervision of Nala.
Lesson: When faced with complex and seemingly impossible problems, brute force approach is not the only option. There’s always a simpler and more elegant solution.
Anecdote #4
When Ram entered Lanka and in the prelude to the battle and even during it, he had to rely on the experts in his army to carry out the important tasks that were pivotal to the story of Ramayana- Hanuman on the reconnaissance mission, Angad as his peace emissary, Nala as the architect for logistics and Neel was the commander-in-chief of the army. Despite being the incarnation of the lord Vishnu himself, Ram leaned on his allies and supporters and leveraged their strengths to make rapid progress in his effort to rescue Sita.
Lesson: As a leader, you can not perform all the key functions on your own; you must understand and consider the skills and strength of your team to be able to Delegate effectively in order to achieve key business objectives.
Anecdote #5
After fatally wounding Ravan on the battlefield, Ram asked his brother, Laxman, to go and seek wisdom and learn from Ravan, who despite being a brute was also a great scholar of vedas and supremely learned. Once Laxman paid him the due respect, Ravan imparted lessons in diplomacy, philosophy and duties of a king.
Lessons: If you approach learning with an open mind, every situation and person has something to offer; even if they are an adversary.
