Indian mythology can provide a treasure-trove of learnings, which can be relevant even for our post-modern age. They can even provide insights to today’s and tomorrow’s HR Managers too.
For example, in Ramayana, Ravana ridicules Vibhishana and told him to leave when the later advised the mighty king of Lanka to return Sita to Rama. Vibhishana switched sides to join Rama and contributed to the downfall of Ravana.
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Getting the Right Advice
This incident can imply an important HR lesson; if a leader does not heed to useful advice from her/his crucial team members and insults them for their sane advise, then she/he may lose them to rival companies, which can in turn be detrimental to the progress of her/his company.
Moreover, Ravana instead of listening to sensible advice from his brother Vibhishana and wife Mandodari, continued to listen to his courtiers who only played to his ego. This again contributed to his downfall. That incident also provides an important HR insight.
A leader who knows how to manage human resource effectively should give more importance to honest feedback, however unpalatable to her/his ego it may be rather than only giving credence to the sycophants who are busy telling what is apparently pleasing (but may be harmful) to the leader and her/his company.
Making Team Members Valued
In Ramayana, during the process of building the bridge to Lanka, when monkeys were carrying heavy rocks and boulders, a squirrel too was also doing his bit, by picking up tiny pebbles and dropping them into the ocean. The pebbles played their role in binding the logs, rocks and boulders together by filling the gaps between them, thereby making the bridge strong.
Though the squirrel was mocked by a monkey who shouted to the squirrel to get out of the away, Rama acknowledged the tiny creature’s sincere efforts. He picked up the squirrel and affectionately stroked his back. According to the mythology, the squirrels’ stripes are the eternal mark of Rama’s fingers on that squirrel’s back.
Today’s and tomorrow’s HR leaders can take inspiration from this mythological incident and appreciate even the apparently small efforts from team members. It is not only because modest efforts from a team member with limited capabilities can also contribute to building a huge bridge to success, but also because it is the right thing to do for making every team member valued.
In Sundarkand, Hanuman, who had forgotten about his exceptional divine powers, was made to realise his ultimate potential by Jamwant, the king of bears. In corporate world, many team leaders and managers need to often act as Jamwant by spotting the untapped potential of her/his team players and making them realise their true potential.
For that of course the leader/manager needs to know the capabilities of the concerned person better than the person possessing those capabilities but by acting like Jamwant, she/he can discover champion/s who can propel the company to new heights of growth and excellence.
So Jamawant’s making Hanuman aware of his own immense capabilities can be an inspiring HR management lesson for many HR professionals to bring more growth and prosperity to the company.
Creating the Right Environment
Confidence building environment is also an important HR tool to make employees, especially new employee,s to lose hesitation and perform better. In Ramayana, when Hanuman saw Sita at Ashok Vatika, he didn’t approach her directly but created an environment around himself by sitting on a tree and signing praises of Lord Ram, and then dropping the ring of Lord Ram in front of her. That made Sita get assured of Hanuman’s genuineness.
If Hanuman appeared before her suddenly, there were chances that Sita, who was living with demons for a good period of time since her kidnapping by Ravana, would have viewed the monkey God with suspicion. That incident from Sundarkand can inspire HR management in the corporate world to create a confidence building environment for new employees, which in turn can contribute to their becoming more productive in the future.
Right Man for the Right Job
The idea to bring Shikhandi at the forefront of Arjuna in the Pandavas’ decisive battle against Bhisma, on the 10th day of the Mahabharata war, was a very intelligent war strategy. As Bhisma vowed not to fight with Shikhandi as he perceived Shikhandi as a woman (which Shikandi was in the previous birth), the great warrior couldn’t counter Arjuna’s arrows too and fell on the battlefield, riddled with arrows of Arjuna.
So, in Mahabharata’s Bhishma Parva, the use of Shikhandi to vanquish the mighty Bhishma shows how assigning the right man for the right job can help you outsmart your corporate rival too, howsoever mighty she or he may be.
The Power of Motivation
Similarly, it was Krishna’s out-of-the-world motivational skills which convinced Arjuna, possibly the best warrior on the Pandavas side, to take up arms in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, on seeing that he had to fight with his relatives and loved ones was thinking of quitting the battle, but it was Krishna’s motivation which made him change his decision. This can be a good lesson in management in human resource.
In the corporate space, the leaders could get inspired by Krishna and should motivate their team members and clear doubts clouding their mind, especially in the face of challenging situations. Inspiring motivation by corporate leaders in turn could greatly increase the chance of their team members to perform at their optimum, even in demanding circumstances.
