Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Managers

As we tread on the journey to unveil the management lessons from ‘The Bhagavad Gita’, a famous saying quotes, “Leaders are those who do the right thing, while managers are those people who want to do things right." 

Both roles assume knowledge of what the right thing is in the first place, and that right thing is described in detail by the Gita, which is relevant to not just organizations but also people. 

The Battlefield Symbolism 

Gita begins with the shloka “Dharmakaya, Etre, Kurukshetra,” meaning Kurukshetra is not only the name of the battlefield where Mahabharat was fought but it also symbolizes the place of action. The central theme of Gita revolves around how our actions should be guided by dharma and ethical principles. 

A contemporary classic ‘Good to Great” by Jim Collins talks about two qualities of a great leader. Fierce professional will and compelling modesty. This modesty is also one of the qualities Gita talks about, also focusing on developing qualities of the head and the heart entirely working upon self-mastery. 

The Concept of Kartavya (Duty) 

Another important lesson that Bhagwat Gita talks about is that of Kartavya/duty. Kartavya is what one ought to do, what one must do. Kartavya is doing our duty in all our roles, in all situations we face, and under all conditions surrounding them. Kartavya has a special significance for all humans, including managers in organizations. 

Managers should be guided by their duty in the execution of any of their functions that draw from their roles in the organization. Whenever feeling confused or facing a dilemma like Arjuna did before the war, a manager should search for the answer by knowing what his or her duty is in that regard. 

The Two Pillars: Performance and Duty 

Managers should be judged not by the outcome of their performance but whether they performed their duty to their best ability. This thought relates to a famous shloka of Gita, “Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou Kada chana"—You have the right to perform your actions, but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions. “Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani"—Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty. Our only duty is to do our job right. The expectation of our action is not in our hands and must not dictate the work we do. 

In work-life balance, we take on multiple roles: supervisors, subordinates, colleagues, buyers, sellers, siblings, parents, neighbors, and more. By accepting to do a certain job, we choose to play several roles that become our duties. 

An Important Message: The Duty Test

As Gita goes on to say, every time a manager is deciding or selecting out of several options, one should always ask if the outcome of the action would pass the duty test. In other words, the manager should ask, would his or her action be a source of a sense that one did, what one should have done, that one was expected to have done, and if this test approves the act, then the manager did one’s duty. This duty test or kartavya test is an important message from the Bhagavad Gita.