Lord Rama’s executive presence & influence
In the epic Ramayana, the great sage Valmiki (the compiler of the epic itself) is curious to know if there has been a person who is the answer to the several powerful questions he asks the great sage Narada.
The questions (in Sanskrit followed by their approximate English translation) are :
को न्वस्मिन् साम्प्रतं लोके गुणवान् कश्च वीर्यवान्। धर्मज्ञशश्च कृतज्ञशश्च सत्यवाक्यो दृढव्रतः |
Who is virtuous, mighty, righteous, benevolent, truthful and firm in this world at this time?
चारित्रेण च को युक्तः सर्वभूतेषु को हितः। विद्वान् कः कः समर्थश्च कशश्चैकप्रियदर्शनः |
Who has great character, is a well-wisher of all beings, learned, powerful and the only beloved man?
आत्मवान् को जितक्रोधो द्युतिमान् कोऽनसूयकः। कस्य बिभ्यति देवाश्च जातरोषस्य संयुगे |
Who is the one who has authority over the mind, who has conquered anger, who is radiant and who does not condemn anyone? And who is it from whom even Gods are afraid of in battle, when he is angry?
The sage Narada answers that such a person is Lord Rama, the main character in epic Ramayana. His character exemplifies the qualities of a virtuous, benevolent, and powerful leader, who inspires trust and loyalty in his followers. By studying his approach to leadership and communication, we can learn valuable lessons that can help us become more effective leaders ourselves. Lets try to put Rama’s qualities into current context, specifically his executive presence & influence.
My Wharton EPI course had laid out the core of EPI course as 4 different areas :
Leading with Persuasive Communication : Identify vital principles for the exercise of leadership and use your presence and poise to amplify your narrative.
Strengthening Your Leadership Presence : Understand how to manage your interpersonal style to enhance impact while discovering actions to craft your leadership presence without micromanaging.
Cultivating Informal Networks : Identify strategies to build a professional network and adopt strategies to cultivate valuable relationships and leverage networks effectively.
Persuasively Communicating Your Vision and Strategy : Look at the big picture through nontraditional means to communicate your vision and strategy.
Let’s look at how Lord Rama measures up on these traits of an effective leader :
1. Leading with Persuasive Communication: Lord Rama’s ability to communicate persuasively is evident in the way he convinced the monkey king Sugriva to join forces with him to defeat Ravana. Despite Sugriva’s initial distrust, Lord Rama was able to build a rapport with him and ultimately persuade him to join his cause. Lord Rama’s approach demonstrates the importance of building trust and establishing a connection with those you are trying to influence. He used his presence and poise to amplify his narrative, which allowed him to inspire others to take action. This is what every startup founder does day in day out!
2. Strengthening Your Leadership Presence: Lord Rama’s leadership presence was characterized by his calm and composed demeanor, which earned him the respect and admiration of his followers. He never micromanaged or dictated, but rather trusted his team and allowed them to make their own decisions. This is a lot of CEOs fail, especially as founders
3. Cultivating Informal Networks: Lord Rama understood the importance of building relationships and cultivating informal networks. He formed alliances with different groups of people, including the monkey army, the bear army, mighty birds and even the Gods, to achieve his goals. By building these networks, Lord Rama was able to leverage the strengths of each group and overcome his enemies. He understood that building relationships and networks was essential for success in any endeavor.
4. Persuasively Communicating Your Vision and Strategy: Lord Rama was able to communicate his vision and strategy in nontraditional ways. For example, when his army was stranded on the shores of the ocean, Lord Rama invoked (and even threatened) the God of the ocean to allow them safe passage. God of the ocean comes and explains to Rama who in his army was the best person to architect and design and lead building the bridge. This showed his followers that he was willing to think outside the box and use unconventional means to achieve his goals.
Isn’t it impressive that a thousands of years old epic has such timeless lessons?
