While we like variety, the human mind still enjoys its comfort zones. Change is uncomfortable and often feels unwelcome. At first you miss the warm fuzziness that comes from familiarity, and it’s not until you’ve had some time to settle in, that you feel comfortable again. Change is hard, and therefore requires a catalyst to envision it and bring it into reality. As Steve Jobs famously quoted the ice-hockey player Wayne Gretzky, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been”. That line reveals a lot about the type of leader it takes to have a vision of the future and the tenacity it takes to make those changes real on the path to achieving that vision.
Leadership is a rare skill, a combination of being incentivised by the greater common good, the patience to see people fail and the coaching mindset to help them find their own way and stand on their own feet, without doing it for them. Whilst it's relatively easy to find good managers, it’s quite rare to find good leaders, but when they do appear on the scene, they can have a tremendous impact on the future of a company or even the country and the world.
Sri Krishna demonstrated some key characteristics, which can serve as a guiding light to today’s leaders. As God in human incarnation, there were so many occasions when it was easier for him to just do things himself in service of dharma, but he chose instead to coach and empower warriors like Arjuna, who despite showing signs of weakness initially, then went on to become one of the greatest heroes in the annals of Bharatvarsha.
In order that he was able to coach Arjuna in the flow of battle, Sri Krishna even embraced the opportunity of becoming his charioteer, driving him into battle. He assumed the position of the servant-leader here, because that best served the situation, and gave him a unique vantage point from where he was able to counsel Arjuna. Sri Krishna also helped him put things in perspective, and separate his duty as a kshatriya, an upholder of dharma, from the emotional entrapment of having to battle his grand uncles and even his own guru.
Humility and a sense of equity are key to good leadership, and giving directions from an ivory tower rarely works. The best generals lead their own armies into battle, filling them with the confidence that they win or lose together. Small wonder then that the people become very attached to good leaders, and there is often resistance and even a public outcry when they see a cherished leader being deposed, as recently witnessed in a very popular cricketing franchise !
So if you harbour ambitions to become a good leader, it would be a good start to learn to put the comfort and good of the many before your own and develop a sense of empathy to identify with those around you. A sense of objectivity, duty and an ability to be able to glean the future, whilst being able to share your vision with those who lean on you are also equally important. And there are few examples as complete as Sri Krishna, who demonstrated not just the key characteristics of leadership through his life, but also codified them through his teachings in the Bhagavad Gita.
