A 10,000 year old team meeting

Most of us working in the corporate environment are well aware of how project meetings are conducted (pun intended). In most meetings, either the direction is lost midway, the intention does not percolate to all the team members, or the mission is not clear or challenging enough. This demotivates the team and negatively affects the organization's morale. The manager blames the team, and the team blames the manager.

On the other hand, there are inspiring sessions run by leaders who take responsibility for the team’s shortcomings while being fully aware of their personal limitations. These leaders selflessly give way to skill and talent in the team without letting their ego hinder the project outcome. They let their teams speak for themselves, never losing sight of the directions envisioned by their superiors, and yet they magically unlock all potential in the team. They unleash this potential to bring success to the project, making every individual count and spotting the right talent for the right job.

Let’s look at one such ancient case study of a project meeting that has been extremely well documented. This meeting consisted of a highly experienced manager and his team of subordinates. They were running on a deadline, and the pressure was mounting every minute. The instructions from the top management were abundantly clear. However, there was a huge ambiguous problem to solve.

This meeting took place close to 10,000 years ago on the southern coastline of India. The guideline and the ultimatum from the top management were perfectly unambiguous: “Go and find Sita. Period.” The meeting was led by the most experienced warrior Jambavan and attended by the likes of Angada and Hanuman, among other team heads.

Let me set the context for the readers.

The Story

Rama, the young prince of Ayodhya, was sent to exile with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. During this period, Sita was abducted. This was one of the first kidnap events documented in Indian or world history. Rama, the prince in exile, struck a strategic alliance with Sugreeva, the supremo of a large army, who would help Rama find Sita in exchange for the acquisition of a kingdom called Kishkindha. Sugreeva had a huge fleet of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled resources at hand. He dispersed many search parties across the country with one single mission: “Find Sita and report to base command.”

The team meeting in question was conducted by one such search party. This team managed to grab clues left behind by Sita and was now within striking distance of knowing her whereabouts. However, they needed to be absolutely sure before reporting the findings. They pursued their search, reached the coast, and hit a roadblock. They looked at the mighty ocean sprawling from the coast to the horizon with no land in sight. The challenge at hand was to cross the mighty Indian Ocean, sneak into enemy territory, note Sita’s coordinates, and return. It was nothing short of a ‘surgical strike’ moment for this team. Even taking the first step meant crossing the daunting Indian Ocean, which looked like a reflection of the limitless sky on land.

Let’s look at how this meeting took place.

Once the daunting challenge started sinking into their minds, the team was drastically losing morale. Jambavan, the most experienced and aged campaigner in the team, was quick to sense this drop in energy. With a loud voice, he said, “Team, let not the gravity of the situation weigh down your spirits. Do not let your mind sway. This is an opportunity! It’s an occasion to showcase your valor and presence of mind. Do not let your mind prey to despondency. A depressed man’s endeavors never bear fruit. So focus!”

Such inspiring words of wisdom! Jambavan didn’t want to waste a second letting his team’s minds wander and succumb.

Soon after hearing these words, Angada, one of the most promising leaders in the team, spoke up to the whole team. “Dear team, we have a situation. But yes, Jambavan is right. We need to treat this as an opportunity. Who now would like to step up for the challenge? It is time to volunteer.”

Stoic silence followed these words. The silence seemingly resounded with self-doubt and an inhibition to deal with ambiguity.

Angada cleverly broke this silence. “All of you here are endowed with unbending prowess. Nothing can stop you and break your indomitable spirit. So let’s speak out on who can leap how far,” he stated.

A brilliant strategy by Angada! He discreetly broke the problem into smaller parts and diverted the team’s attention from the seemingly large problem. Part 1 – crossing the ocean. It needs to be noted here that he was addressing an army of monkeys, and he touched upon their innate strength: ‘to leap.’

Instant energy echoed along the coastline. The team started speaking out with utmost enthusiasm, proclaiming their leaping capabilities. The plan had worked for Angada. One screamed eighty miles, another said sixty, and a third, three hundred and twenty miles.

Jambavan rejoiced in this involvement from the team and proclaimed his strengths. “How I wish I could take up this task myself. Though mentally agile, my withering body limits me from much activity. Nevertheless, I can surely leap seven hundred and twenty miles without a doubt,” he added. As if to validate this statement, Jambavan relived a moment from his younger days and narrated it to the team. It was a time when he was young and was given a similar task, only more demanding, and how he could complete it despite the obstacles.

Meanwhile, Angada too joined in by stating that he too could cross the ocean; however, he was not sure of his safe return. This triggered Jambavan’s thoughts, and he said a few very important things.

These lines can be embedded into many lessons regarding resource management. “Son Angada,” Jambavan said, “There is no doubt that you can cross and return from the other side of the ocean. However, it might not be what you are meant to do. You are the director of this expedition. You are responsible for directing the teams in achieving their goal. However capable a director or leader is, it is unwise to send him on a risky expedition. He is a key resource, and losing him could jeopardize the entire project. Much like how a wife holds the entire family as a unit and leads them into achieving their goals, you have a responsibility to hold your army and team together. We, the army, heavily depend on your directional capabilities and hence cannot risk losing you on a searching and exploring task.”

Dear readers! Sit back and allow this moment to soak in.

Angada is one of the key resources in the army. He is a member with inherent leadership capabilities. The army needs his strategic and directional expertise at various stages. Hence, though he offers himself to be used, Jambavan deems it wise not to risk it at this moment. He quickly makes a mental risk assessment and feels the threat of losing him is bigger than the opportunity to display his valor. Also importantly, he neither imposes his feeling on the team nor refrains from stating it. Angada responds to this statement respectfully and, with a positive intent, asks for an alternative solution.

With an ultimatum looming over their heads and the clear instructions of ‘Do or Die’ from their supremo, Sugreeva, ringing in their ears, the team is now eagerly looking for a solution. This is the moment when Jambavan lays his eyes upon Hanuman, who unassumingly is sitting aloof and away from all the action.

He spots Hanuman and deems him fit for the challenge.

Let’s list the takeaways from the discussion above:

Jambavan – Senior Management

• Jambavan, who was probably handling the last project of his active career, did not for a moment lose sight of the goal.

• Encourages the team by participating in their weak and strong moments alike.

• Uses his experience and wisdom at opportune moments, showing no urgency or need to steal the limelight. Instead, he was their guiding light, steering them in the right direction.

• Displays eloquence in imparting wisdom from time to time, benefiting the team’s morale.

• Acts as the wise grandpa in the family, quipping and sharing important lessons.

• His potential for picking and spotting the right member for the right job comes through very distinctly throughout the conversation.

• Displays an uncanny ability to grasp the team’s pulse and clearly visualize the responsibility of every team member in a crunch situation.
  

Angada – Mid-level Management

• Angada respected the wisdom shared by Jambavan, but was not trying to impress him.

• Holds his ground and displays self-belief in the way he carries himself.

• Comfortable playing his role as the strategic and directional head, and was not desperate to showcase his abilities.

• Constantly peps the team at the right moment with clever strategies.
  

The Team

• The team is free to voice their opinion through a self-assessment process.

• The ambiguous problem is dealt with as an opportunity and is equally held out to every team member with the intention of awarding it through a merit-based process.

• The team does not shy away from the problem. They seem to share their management’s vision of finding Sita, no questions asked.

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PS: This is an extraction from a situation documented in the epic, Valmiki Ramayana.

Sources from Valmiki Ramayana:

न विषादे मनः कार्यम् विषादो दोषवत्तरः | विषादो हन्ति पुरुषम् बालम् क्रुद्ध इव उरगः || ४-६४-९
यो विषादो प्रसहते विक्रमे समुपस्थिते | तेजसा तस्य हीनस्य पुरुष अर्थो न सिद्ध्यति || ४-६४-१०
कामम् शत सहस्रम् वा न हि एष विधिः उच्यते | योजनानाम् भवान् शक्तो गन्तुम् प्रतिनिवर्तितुम् || ४-६५-२१
न हि प्रेषयिता तात स्वामी प्रेष्यः कथंचन | भवता अयम् जनः सर्वः प्रेष्यः प्लवग सत्तम || ४-६५-२२
भवान् कलत्रम् अस्माकम् स्वामि भावे व्यवस्थितः | स्वामी कलत्रम् सैन्यस्य गतिः एषा परंतप || ४-६५-२३
अपि वै एतस्य कार्यस्य भवान् मूलम् अरिम् दम | तस्मात् कलत्रवत् तात प्रतिपाल्यः सदा भवान् || ४-६५-२४
मूलम् अर्थस्य संरक्ष्यम् एष कार्यविदाम् नयः | मूले हि सति सिध्यन्ति गुणाः पुष्प फल उदयः || ४-६५-२५
तद् भवान् अस्य कार्यस्य साधनम् सत्य विक्रमः | बुद्धि विक्रम संपन्नो हेतुः अत्र परंतपः || ४-६५-२६
गुरुः च गुरु पुत्रः च त्वम् हि नः कपि सत्तम | भवन्तम् आश्रित्य वयम् समर्था हि अर्थ साधने || ४-६५-२७