Leaders and Managers Similarities, Differences, and the Centre || Acharya Prashant, SPA Delhi (2023)

Acharya Prashant

‍♂️ Want to meet Acharya Prashant?  Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...    Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?  Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...  ~~~~~   Video Information: 22.02.23, SPA College (Online), Greater Noida   Context:  ~ What is true leadership?  ~ How to be a good leader?  ~ What happens if we don't know our own condition?  ~ Is being confident a quality?  ~ Where does our confidence come from?  ~ How to not be restless always?    Music Credits: Milind Date  ~~~~~

Transcript

00:00Hello sir, myself Neha Tiwari. So my question is, in a classic essay by a former professor

00:11at Harvard Business School, Mr. John Porter, he said that leaders, managers deal with complexity

00:21while leaders deal with a change. So you have been spearheading a mission for a social spiritual

00:29change since the last 20 years. So what is, what's in your opinion an effective tool for

00:37leaders to bring that change and what would be your advice to those promising managers to become

00:43great leaders? See what I'll be saying would be a bit complex and probably stuff that you have not

00:50anticipated as an answer. But I must say this because this thing on leadership and management

00:56and leaders versus managers, I have already spoken on it mostly several years back when I

01:04used to frequent management colleges. So they would ask me such questions and there are responses

01:11and they were recorded and uploaded and published. So you could have them. Today let me say

01:16something beyond that. Leaders and managers both are needed. The question is for what?

01:29As a leader, obviously you are a change agent. You are leading the followers towards something.

01:35Towards what? Like a Pied Piper, are you leading those rats towards their destruction? Even then

01:43you would be called a leader obviously because you are leading them. The question is towards what?

01:49Yes, you are promising them some change. You are also probably bringing about a change.

01:56But what's the change you are giving to them? Remember we are born aspiring for change.

02:05You look at the infant that is born. I frequently refer to the infant because you learn a lot about

02:10the human condition just looking at the infant. The infant wants change, does it not? Continuously

02:18it is restless. Have you ever seen a very calm and peaceful infant? For maybe one or two minutes it

02:26can be calm. After that again restless, wanting something this, that, extending its hands,

02:33stretching its limbs, hitting something, looking at something and every 15 minutes it starts

02:43wailing. So we are restless, we want change, the infant. It's from there that we start wanting

02:50change. So yes, we want change. Is the leader bringing that change to us that we really want

02:59or is the change that the leader is promising and bringing to us mere entertainment,

03:07mere illusion?

03:12Because the human condition is not just that we are restless,

03:16it's also that we are ignorant about our restlessness.

03:21So one, we don't have peace. Secondly, we do not know why we don't have peace.

03:28These two things are together and they get compounded.

03:35What's the result of these two things being together and we being doubly debilitated inside?

03:44You are restless and you also don't know that you are restless. Come on,

03:47tell me what would happen out of that?

03:48Unmute yourself, please.

03:58We could be in a great illusion. We don't know what to do.

04:02No, no, more, more practically, please tell me. You, you are sick, right? And you also do not

04:10know why you are sick. But you are confident that you are a great doctor. Now, what would you do?

04:19This is the human condition. I've added a third factor to it, confidence. Because illusion

04:27typically accompanies confidence. One, we are sick, but we don't know why we don't have confidence.

04:35Confidence. One, we are sick, we are born sick. Secondly, we do not know why we are sick. Thirdly,

04:45we feel confident that we know that we are sick.

04:51Now, if these three things are together present, what would you do?

04:57You are sick, right? You have an ache here in the stomach.

05:00Hmm. The fact is, you do not know what the ache is about. The heart is aching.

05:07Not just the stomach. You've actually known nothing.

05:14But you nurture a great pride and assurance that, oh, I am the all-knowing one.

05:24What would you do now?

05:26Probably just be lying, doing nothing.

05:29But the ache is there. The ache is real. So you'll do something. What would you do?

05:37Go to someone else.

05:39But you think you already know everything about yourself. So what would you do?

05:42Why will you not need to go to somebody else? You already know. That's the human condition. We all

05:46think we know everything. Especially when it comes to life and ourselves. We think we know everything.

05:55We know what's going on. We know what is life. After all, it's my life. I have so much experience.

05:59Don't tell me my... As they say, don't tell me my shit. I know.

06:05So what would you do? You are sick. You are sick.

06:09And you don't know why you are sick. But you think you know why you are sick. So what would you do now?

06:25The pain is severe. What would you do?

06:38Come on, you do that daily. Shouldn't be so difficult.

06:43Continue on doing that.

06:48Continue to suffer.

06:52Continue to suffer.

06:55But you cannot continue to suffer. The pain is severe.

07:04The state of pain has to be changed.

07:09Right? So what would you do?

07:13Deviate my mind.

07:16Deviate my mind.

07:17In deviating your mind, what have you done? You have prescribed yourself

07:26a solution or a medicine, right?

07:30What more would you do?

07:40I have a terrible heartburn or heartache. And I think I know everything. So what will I do?

07:50I know how to treat it. So what will I do?

07:55Then I'll treat it. If I know I have to treat it.

07:58I will start treating myself. Correct?

08:02Right.

08:03So that's what we all do. We start treating ourselves irrespective of the fact that we

08:09know nothing about ourselves. We start prescribing ourselves pills and syrups and stuff.

08:16We start prescribing ourselves pills and syrups and surgeries.

08:21Not only do we prescribe surgeries, we start operating on ourselves.

08:29Right. And that's how we also choose leaders.

08:33So we all need change. And the leader you choose can often bring you change.

08:39Not that the leader changes nothing. The question is what kind of change?

08:43Do you even know what needs to be changed?

08:46Right.

08:48Let's say you feel miserable with your life.

08:53And you don't know why because we know nothing. You feel miserable about yourself.

08:59And you come across a leader who says, okay, I'll do something. You know why you feel miserable?

09:08You feel miserable because of those two neighbors. I'll burn down their house.

09:12And you'll say, wow, now I have a leader. He's bringing in some real change.

09:20He's ushering in great development.

09:25And what has he done? He has burned down the houses of those two neighbors. And for a while

09:29you feel great. And not that the leader has done nothing. The leader has in fact done something.

09:35And for a while you will say, wow, great.

09:38Are you getting it? And then there is a manager that's appointed.

09:42And what is the job of the manager? To not to let those two burnt houses come up again.

09:48Because the role of a manager is to maintain the status quo.

09:53A manager is given a system and entrusted to keep running the system.

09:58Managers are not supposed to build systems.

10:01Managers are not supposed to have visions. Managers are supposed to stick to their brief.

10:09So the brief of the manager is these two houses have been burned down. Please ensure

10:12that they don't come up again. And the manager does that. The leader is doing

10:18what leaders are supposed to do. The manager too is doing what managers are supposed to do.

10:22The leader is doing what leaders are supposed to do. The manager is doing what leaders are

10:27The manager too is doing what managers are supposed to do. The leader brought about a change.

10:33And the manager is now managing the change effectively.

10:41Is that any good? It's not about leaders versus managers.

10:47It's about what is the change that you really want.

10:50When you bring about the right change, the real change,

10:57then leaders are needed to bring about that change. And also managers are needed.

11:03Management is not something inferior. In the leaders versus managers debate,

11:11in the leaders versus managers debate, it is quite fashionable to show the leaders as charismatic,

11:20heroic, the real thing. And the managers are looked down upon. Oh, just a manager.

11:27No, you need managers as well. You wouldn't have had Buddhism

11:32if you had only the Buddha. After Buddha, there was a line of great manager-scholars and that's

11:40why you have Buddhism today. So, let's not discount the importance of great management.

11:52Otherwise, Buddhas come and Buddhas go. And there have been so many Buddhas. If you ask a true

11:58Buddhist, he will say that the Buddha that you know of is only one Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha.

12:06Otherwise, there are umpteen Buddhas, just that you don't know of them.

12:13What did those Buddhas not have?

12:18Great managers. Great managers. So, management is wonderful. Leadership obviously is wonderful.

12:26But you have to figure out what is the direction your leader is taking you towards.

12:34Just because the car is speeding, does not mean the destination will be nice.

12:45One kind of problem is when you have a bogus leader who does nothing at all.

12:50Then you say, oh, see, he's not bringing about any change. That's one kind of a problem.

12:54And an equally troublesome thing is when you have a leader that's bringing about just the wrong kind

13:02of change. So, don't be mesmerized just because there is change. Ask yourself, what is the quality

13:12of this change? What is the direction of this change? Is this the change that would really

13:18bring peace and joy and rest to me? Is this what I wanted? Yes, there is change. But is it really

13:26change for good? Or is it a change for the worse?

Category

Transcript

Recommended