August 19, 2022

Leadership Lessons from Janmashtami

The birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated as Janmashtami or Gokulashtami. Dahi Handi festival is closely connected to Krishna and it’s part of the Janmashtami festival.

As Per the Hindu Scriptures, the Lord Krishna was very naughty during his childhood. He was very fond of eating butter and curd.His mother always kept the mud pot (matki) containing butter and curd at a height that He cannot reach.

Krishna known for his mischievousness and smartness, will climb on his friends shoulders, reach out to the pot, break it and eat the contents. The Dahi Handi festival is a celebration

of these pastimes of Lord Krishna as he was fond of breaking matki.

Dahi Handi has great lessons for all the leaders.

Clarity of Goals- In Dahi handi,The pot that is hanging on the top is the goal for everybody to reach. No matter the person on the ground or the person at the top. Everyone across is aligned to the ultimate goal. The clarity of goal to people in an organisation should be ‘visible’ and well defined. It is one goal that everyone must be focused on. Great leaders have this ability to share this goal with everyone in the team and unify them with clarity of what they are all after.

Clarity of Roles-The Dahi Handi pyramid is well thought through before the actual event. The stronger persons form the base of the pyramid and the middle levels are the ones who provide the balance and skills.The one higher them are usually of the light weights who can climb quick and be agile. Similarly the team composition and balance is important to the success. You don’t witness chaos when the signal of start of Dahi handi as each Govinda knows what his role is and takes the position appropriately.

Culture of Trust –Trust is the foundation of a great team. Each of the members in the Dahi handi pyramid trust the person above is doing the very best to break the pot and are willing to “shoulder” the success even though the focus is on one person who eventually breaks the pot.

Culture of Fail fast and move forward-Great leaders allow failures as lessons, learn from them and move forward quickly. The team in Dahi handi tumble and fall as they pursue to hit the pot but they quickly gather up and try different combinations and strategies to get to the goal.

Cheer the challenges- As the Dahi handi pyramid is getting formed the bystanders throw water on the Govindas. They throw water at them to make them fall.This is the fun part. The team of Govindas enjoy the challenges and have fun while going to the top and hit the pot. Similarly as you are in your journey to set out to achieve goals there will be unplanned events, challenges that will crop up on the way, leaders and great teams don’t get distracted and keep at what they set out to do. They also have fun along the journey.

Celebrate –Though the little guy on the top is cheered for the achievement it’s always the entire team of Govindas celebrate together. A great leader knows though he is the face of success or celebrations, he always credits the team for the achievement.

Don’t Confuse efforts with Results-Govindas don’t get prizes for almost getting to the Dahi Handi. Breaking the Pot is the differentiator of winner and a team that tried. Similarly a leader appreciates efforts but rewards on results. Great teams know the difference between achieving results vs efforts.

While you go out today and watch Dahi handi reflect on these above and let me know if you had newer insights.

Jai shree Krishna -Happy Janmashtami.