Social Cause Marketing - The Regis Group Inc

LEADERSHIP
Rama and you. ...You may carry me
away now; but while Rama, like to
Indra in prowess, lives and wields the
kodanda, you cannot bend me to your
purpose, any more than a fly can eat
ghee and digest itî.
In her rhetoric, she exhibits the
presence of mind to mention even
about Lakshamana: ìA powerful halfbrother
of his, Lakshmana by name, a
tiger among men and the slayer of his
foes on the battlefield, is the companion
of Sri Ramaî. She describes
Lakshmana as a dharmachari, and a
dridhavrata. Here, it is necessary to
note that it is the same Lakshmana to
whom, a while ago she had spoken
harshly accusing him of casting
wicked eyes upon her, but now
speaks highly of him. It means, in saying
those words, she was then not
thinking of their meaning but only of
their effect in making Lakshmana
obey her order to go to the rescue of
her husband, Rama. She has the wisdom
to limit the impact of her words/
thoughts to temporary and specific effect,
and also keep them impersonal.
Else, she would not have been able to
recall Lakshmana so quickly, that too,
refer to him in such high esteem before
Ravana.
All this only vindicates her positive
frame of mind and the ëawarenessí
she had about herselfóher ability
to change herself in tune with the
changing adversityówhich prompts
her to dissuade Ravana from carrying
her away by warning him with dire
consequences at the hand of her
strong husband and brother-in-law. It
is the same optimism that keeps her
mind strong even under distress and
makes her know what to do at what
time: when Ravana is carrying her
over Pampa and seeing five monkeys
there, she puts her jewels in her upper
cloth and drops it hoping that if by
chance, Rama passes through that
way, they would tell him. That indeed
happens. That is the strength of optimism.
Connecting
It is often realized that ìpeople with
strong networks and good mentors
enjoy more promotions, higher pay,
and greater career satisfaction.î Such
people feel a sense of belonging that
makes their life more meaningful.
Mark Hunter and Herminia Ibarra
have said in their HBR article that a
leader is differentiated from a manager
by his ìability to figure out where to go
and to enlist the people and groups
necessary to get there.î At the same
time it must also be remembered that
all networks are not equal. Roy
Baumeister, a social psychologist,
based on his studies, says that men
tend to build broader, shallower networks
than women do and their networks
give them a wider range of resources
for acquiring knowledge and
professional opportunities. As against
this, McKinseyís study reveals that
womenís networks, though tend to be
narrower, are deeper than menís.
Many of the leaders interviewed
by McKinsey team talked about the
importance of having relationships
with seniors in the organization who
could stick out his or her neck to create
an opportunity to a protÈgÈ. But a
number of studies have also shown
that women who promote their own
interests vigorously are often perceived
as aggressive, uncooperative
and selfish. It is also felt that men
practice ìreciprocityî better than
women. This coupled with the perceived
awkward sexual politics between
senior executives and younger
women, makes it harder for women to
get sponsors in the offices. It is therefore
all the more essential for women
to assess their comfort level with the
people they work in office and how
influential they are professionally, and
practice reciprocity. Many successful
women leaders are found to be adept
at finding sponsors and building networks.
We have one such scene in
Ramayana where we encounter Sita
displaying a fine piece of articulation
about dharma that reveals her sense of
ëbelongingnessí to her husband and
brother-in-law, also; her commitment
for ëreciprocityí immediately after
Rama and Lakshmana finishes
Virdha. That day, early in the morning,
as Rama and Lakshmana are
about to leave, it is the turn of Sita to
bring the bows and arrows from inside
and give to the brothers who were to
wear them. And as they leave the hermitage
after taking leave of the Rishi,
Sita, with a strong sense of what she
owed her husbandósense of belongingóposes
a problem to him. True to
her stature, Sita protests against her
husband killing Rakshasas at the behest
of Rishis which according to her
is a transgression of a yati, muni,
which Rama was to be in the forest.
She says: ìthere are three transgressions
to which a man is liable even
when he makes a slight departure
from propriety. False speech is extremely
bad; the other two are even
worse than thatócopulation with the
wife of another and cruelty without
enmity. A false statement you have
A number of studies have shown that women who promote their
own interests vigorously are often perceived as aggressive,
uncooperative and selfish
never made nor will you ever make...
how can there spring up in you the
desire for othersí wives, that destroys
Dharma? You have not got it, nor was
it ever with you. ...Dharma and
Truthóeverything is well-established
in you. ...But the third terrible evil,
viz., the taking of othersí lives, which
is done without enmity due to ignorance,
is facing you. O hero, you have
undertaken a vow to kill the ogres on
the battlefield for the protection of
sages living in the Dandaka forest; and
for this (very) purpose you have set
out with arrows and a bow towards
the forest well-known as Dandaka
with your brother. ...Hence, seeing
you on your way to the Dandaka, my
mind is perturbed with anxiety, thinking
of your behavior and of your highest
well-being and worldly interests. I
do not like, O hero, your going to-
SEPTEMBER 2009
80
EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE