Leadership Lessons From Indian Festival Of “DUSSEHRA” | Aparna Sharma | Consulting Editor | The People Management

Dussehra is a Hindu festival that is celebrated all over India. Dussehra celebrates the Hindu God Rama’s victory over the Demon king Ravana and the triumph of “Good over Evil”. The name signifies ‘Dus’ in hindi which means ten and ‘hara’ means remove i.e removal of “Ten heads of Ravana”. This could be interpreted as removal of ten negative aspects of a person’s character.

We draw inferences from such mythical stories to apply in our daily life.  The following are the 10 negative aspects that should be removed to be a better Leader in the Corporate World.

1. Distraction:  A leader who gets easily distracted achieves nothing. Leader needs focus and he/she doesn’t stop until the goal is achieved.

2. Arrogance: Every single living being possess its importance in its own way and there is a huge difference between Self Confidence and Self Importance. A good leader earns respect by actions and not by arrogance.

3. Selfishness: A good leader knows how to share and collaborate to find mutually beneficial opportunities.

4. Shyness: A leader is never shy to share his thoughts, ask for his needs and demand for his rights

5. Ego: A leader should never take things too personally and take actions driven by his ego.

6. Jealousy: A leader knows how to receive what he deserves and feels happy for those who receive more.

7. Messiness: A good leader always keeps it clean be it in mind or work place.

8. Laziness: A good leader knows that laziness is infectious. There is no room to stay lazy or procrastinating things when working with such leaders.

9. Pessimism: One of the most important quality of a leader is to stay optimistic even during the darkest times. Pessimism helps none.

10. Cynicism: Trusting people while deliberating is essential to success of the team and that of the organisation. A good leader never gives into cynicism.

Wishing all readers Happy Dussehra!