Our history has been filled with anecdotes and stories of men and women who became role models for leaders based on their skills and focus.
We have heard about the tales of Shri Ram, Shri Krishna and in modern times, scores of leaders from business, sports, religion, politics and social work, which gives us hope and a pathway for us to replicate for success as a leader.
One lost chapter, which probably no one has talked about, is the chiranjeevis (The immortals) from the history of Bharat. So, today, I write about the chiranjeevis and the skills they represent that every leader needs to master:
- Shri Hanuman: While supraficially, Hanuman represents shape shifting, knowledge and might his absolute strength is servant leadership and pure, loyal alignment with purpose
- Shri Parshuram: Supraficially, his strengths are the knowledge of weapons and war but he stands for justice and balance
- Rishi Ved Vyas: As a sage his strengths are intellectual and textual architecture but his primary skill is to store, structuralize and pass down the knowledge
- King Mahabali: He is known for radical generosity and is known for the supreme sacrifice of giving away everything (including his ego) but his core skills are righteous Governance, administrative power, structural prosperity and humility
- King Vibhishan: He is known for possessing deep insight into righteousness and statecraft but his deep skill is the moral courage and prioritizing correctness (Dharma: The duties) over loyalty
- Master Kripacharya: The royal preceptor (Kul Guru) of the Kuru dynasty, mastering both scriptures and weapon systems with perfect memory he symbolizes pedagogy, Impartiality and absolute fairness.
- Rishi Markandeya: A sage blessed with eternal youth who mastered advanced meditation, his presence represents unbreakable resilience and proving that intense faith can rewrite destiny
- Ashwatthhama: He possessed devastating firepower so his case is a cautionary tale of what a leader should be away from. He represents the consequences of unresolved ego, and anger
In many leadership courses they teach you about governance, finance, management and much more but these skills that I have highlighted above is what differentiates a true leader from a forced leader, A leader by respect rather than a leader by authority
So, as you take your next steps towards your leadership journey, which are the skills that you are yet to master?
