The EYES of a Leader...
The Mahabharata tells the story of a kingdom where the royal couple has no EYES. The king, Dhritarashtra, was blind and his queen, Gandhari, blindfolded herself. The result: children who were unobserved. The father cannot SEE; the mother chooses not to SEE. The children grow up with a warped value system. Since no one is seeing them, they feel they can get away with anything. As a result the law of the jungle reigns supreme in the kingdom of Dhritarashtra. A woman is publicly disrobed and lands are grabbed by force.
Leaders must have the EYES to SEE his people. He must recognize them for who they are, rather than what he wants them to be. More often than not, leaders don't have EYES – or rather they SEE only themselves. Their EYES are only for their vision of the world. They do not realize there are others around them with other visions of life. This lack of EYES strips them of all empathy. Everything is measured and valued against their narrow vision. Those who support, praise and align with their vision are good; while those fail to do so or provide constructive criticisms are bad. Intellectual leaders with an intellectual outlook of things therefore look down upon people who are not intellectual. Emotional leaders keep advising non-emotional team members to transform for their betterment. Task oriented leaders do not value people oriented team members and vice versa. In other words, they SEE nothing but themselves and constantly seek themselves in others. They notice no one else. They SEE others as they SEE themselves.
The ability to recognize and nurture talent is often missing in people who are assumed to be leaders by their respective organizations. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. The character Karna in the Mahabharata is a case in point. Karna was always seen as a charioteer's son and never as a great archer by the Pandavas. It was Duryodhana who saw Karna's talent but used him unfortunately for his villainous goals. This is what happens to talented people who are rejected in organizations or in countries – they end up with competitors. These talents are like stallions, they know their value and can move anywhere with tremendous speed. The leaders must have the EYES to spot and develop talents within their organizations.
In the Upanishads, it is said that it is an observer who creates an observation. It is our attention that creates the world around us. Likewise, it is the EYES of the leader that creates an organization around him. In Mahabharata Dhritarashtra's lack of sight and his wife's refusal to SEE created the Kauravas. It is not so much about sight as it is about attention – how much attention do we put in people around us.
As leaders, do we SEE people around us and pay attention to them? Do we SEE what they SEE? Do we try and align our vision to theirs or do we simply impose our vision onto them? It is time for leaders to open their EYES to these questions, otherwise they should not be in leadership positions.
Source: Dr Devdutt Pattanaik
The Mahabharata tells the story of a kingdom where the royal couple has no EYES. The king, Dhritarashtra, was blind and his queen, Gandhari, blindfolded herself. The result: children who were unobserved. The father cannot SEE; the mother chooses not to SEE. The children grow up with a warped value system. Since no one is seeing them, they feel they can get away with anything. As a result the law of the jungle reigns supreme in the kingdom of Dhritarashtra. A woman is publicly disrobed and lands are grabbed by force.
Leaders must have the EYES to SEE his people. He must recognize them for who they are, rather than what he wants them to be. More often than not, leaders don't have EYES – or rather they SEE only themselves. Their EYES are only for their vision of the world. They do not realize there are others around them with other visions of life. This lack of EYES strips them of all empathy. Everything is measured and valued against their narrow vision. Those who support, praise and align with their vision are good; while those fail to do so or provide constructive criticisms are bad. Intellectual leaders with an intellectual outlook of things therefore look down upon people who are not intellectual. Emotional leaders keep advising non-emotional team members to transform for their betterment. Task oriented leaders do not value people oriented team members and vice versa. In other words, they SEE nothing but themselves and constantly seek themselves in others. They notice no one else. They SEE others as they SEE themselves.
The ability to recognize and nurture talent is often missing in people who are assumed to be leaders by their respective organizations. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. The character Karna in the Mahabharata is a case in point. Karna was always seen as a charioteer's son and never as a great archer by the Pandavas. It was Duryodhana who saw Karna's talent but used him unfortunately for his villainous goals. This is what happens to talented people who are rejected in organizations or in countries – they end up with competitors. These talents are like stallions, they know their value and can move anywhere with tremendous speed. The leaders must have the EYES to spot and develop talents within their organizations.
In the Upanishads, it is said that it is an observer who creates an observation. It is our attention that creates the world around us. Likewise, it is the EYES of the leader that creates an organization around him. In Mahabharata Dhritarashtra's lack of sight and his wife's refusal to SEE created the Kauravas. It is not so much about sight as it is about attention – how much attention do we put in people around us.
As leaders, do we SEE people around us and pay attention to them? Do we SEE what they SEE? Do we try and align our vision to theirs or do we simply impose our vision onto them? It is time for leaders to open their EYES to these questions, otherwise they should not be in leadership positions.
Source: Dr Devdutt Pattanaik
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