Summary
Contents
For professionals navigating negative corporate karmas, Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita offers a way forward for overcoming self-defeating habits and managing the mind's negative chatter that is often the main obstacle to effective leadership. By promoting a leadership approach of caring for followers, stakeholders and future generations, the book offers hope for harmonious workplace relations and a protected environment. Based on leadership by inspiration as opposed to leadership by control, Leadership Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita provides an alternative to conventional leadership. Particularly, in the times we live, where there is a crisis of faith in leadership, the insights from this book presents a vision of linked-leadership—leaders who are linked through loving-connection or bhakti-yoga with themselves (through self-knowledge), with other beings, with nature and with the supreme source. As exemplified by Krishna taking over the reins of Arjuna's chariot, the crux of this book is leadership, not as a title or position, but as a commitment to service, excellence and virtuous character that motivates and inspires others to pursue the same. The unique insights from this book will help you make sense of different personality types to motivate others according to their natures and inclinations, which will support you in forming effective teams and creating a harmonious and prosperous organizational culture. In short, this book challenges and equips leaders to step up and cultivate unity and diversity, and achieve sustainable wellbeing and happiness in their organizations.
The Leader as the Knower of the Field
The Leader as the Knower of the Field
That the spiritual man need not be a recluse, that union with the divine life may be achieved and maintained in the midst of worldly affairs, that the obstacles to that union lie not outside us but within us—such is the central lesson of the Bhagavad Gita.
—Annie Besant (1847–1933)1
Overview
Linked leaders are capable of distinguishing between the field (prakriti), that is, material nature, including the organizational context, and the knowers of the field, comprising both the soul (jiva), including those of all organizational stakeholders, and the Supreme Soul (Īśvara). Your ability to discern these differences will reflect in your natural development of 20 qualities of character. You will also become ...