Here is a hidden gem of a Leadership lesson from the Ramayana.

Hanuman is considered to be far more powerful than Rama. He has 14 “Kalas” whereas Ram only has 12. “Kalas” are units of Life Mastery if you will. A stone only has 1 kala, water has 2, fire has 3 and so on.

Now you may think, if Hanuman has many more Kalas than Ram, shouldn’t He be the one in charge? Shouldn’t He be the hero?

Clearly He is not. It is called the Ramayana.

Now, why is it like that? How come Hanuman ended up as Lord Rama’s Sevak?

Think about it. If you need a video edited, wouldn’t you give it to someone who is far more skilled than you are at video editing? Or if you want to build a fantastic body, wouldn’t you train with someone who is much better than you in the field of bodybuilding and fitness?

The people who work for you should be really skilled at what they are doing for you. They should be far better than you. If you have people working for you who are not skilled, or not as good as you, you are basically surrounding yourself with “Yes Men”. Clearly not a success strategy.

A great leader will have diverse and highly skilled people working with him. He will be able to manage all these people and steer them towards a worthwhile goal. Each will feel fulfilled and see their purpose in the big picture. Together, this team with the guidance of their leader will be able to move from success to resounding success.

More or less what Lord Rama did. He mobilised people far stronger than Him, far more skilled than Him inspired all of them and achieved His objective of bringing His beloved wife Sita back to Him.

Today, a 500+ year old conflict comes to an end in India. So much hatred and communal disharmony which divided the peoples of India has at last been laid to rest. Millions the world over celebrate as Lord Rama returns to His rightful abode in Ayodhya.

Jai Shri Ram!! Jai Sita Maiya!! And Jai Hanuman!!!