Maruti Manesar Case

Maruti Suzuki,Manesar, Case Analysis

India’s largest passenger car company Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has recently been facing turmoil of emotions. Being the largest and one of the most trusted automobile manufacturing companies in India, nobody ever thought that it would face a situation of such crisis, distrust, and violence.

As described the live situation by Yogita, when she interacted with the associates in Maruti’sManesar plant, it was very clear that the workers were full of distrust, anger, and dissatisfaction with the management.

This violence has given rise to many questions, like:

Ø  Why did such situation arise?

Ø  What was the root cause?

Ø  Why is there a need for union?

According to my understanding after discussion about this case with Anil sir and Yogita ma’am, I believe that no small issue can give rise to such a big act of violence. As describes by Yogita ma’am, the workers were highly dissatisfied and upset with the management not fulfilling their demands and apart from this, the basic facilities, as washrooms, water coolers etc. were also not available to the workers. In the Manesar plant was mainly headed and run by Japanese counterparts of the company and this lead to a huge gap in communication between the management and workers.

Few points that I feel were main stimulants for this situation to happen, were:

Ø  communication gap between Indian management and workers, and also among Japanese management and Indian management

Ø  Lack of distrust among the workers for the management due to lingering of their demands

Ø  Average age of the workforce is 24 yrs, they are young and too ambitious, aggressive and not that mature

The Japanese management being more focussed on productivity and result were pressurising the Indian management to increase productivity and give results. This led the workers to work overtime. They were enthusiastic to work but not comfortable in working overtime. They told their demands to Indian management but Indian management failed to communicate the working style to Japanese. This lead to a non-clear communication due to cultural gap as Japanese did not know about how Indians work so they kept on pressurizing to increase the production.

All the major manufacturing contracts were loaded on Manesarplant, which increased the pressure.

As the management failed to communicate the problems to Japanese, the problem was untouched for a long time. This led to distrust among the workers.

The basic facilities like water coolers were kept far away from the working area and the workers were given only seven and a half minute break to use washrooms and drink water, so they had to literally run across the huge halls to get a bottle of water. Indian management failed to communicate this to Japanese. This increased the dissatisfactionamong the workers who were suffering for the necessities.

The workforce was young, too aggressive, and ambitious. Most of them had this as their first job so they were lacking maturity. They compared their wages and working hours with that of Honda plant workers near Manesar. They compared their working conditions with that of Maruti’s Gurgaon plant where focus was more on peoplerather that performance. This inequity in wages worked as oil in the fire.

According to me the root cause of this unrest is lack of proper communication, distrust among the workers for the management and too much time taken to address the problem.

Union leadership is a part of the social context to which people belong, or in which they work and they play a very important role in a company. The role of Union leader includes negotiations, bargaining, policing the union, handling grievance process work and of course managing the internal life of the union.
In short, the local Union president works to make the union an active and beneficial presence in each member’s mind and so it's very important that who is the person and is he/she the right person to be there. 
Some companies prefer an external Union leader, who is a third party person, totally unbiased. The advantage being that he/she will take an unbiased and balanced decision which will be beneficial both for the companies and the employees but on the other hand the person being the outsider may not know about the real issues or can't reach to the bottom of the problem. Internal Union leader on the other hand is tend to be biased in his/her decision as they are themselves the employee of the company but the positive thing is that they know their people and their problem. So the actions taken by them may be more effective for the employees than the external union leader.

Earlier during British rule, the workers were tortured and exploited. This gave rise to the need of labour union, to end exploitation of workers at factories and other work places like mines etc. after the end of emergency in India the worker union became active. After the first wave of economic liberalization, the thinking of worker unions started to shift towards adopting a collaborative approach rather than a confrontationist approach. The unions recognized the significance of market forces and started working with the management to increase competitiveness. In 2000, again the young workforce entered the market. They were young, ambitious, and aggressive and lacked maturity. This led to rise of union as they wanted their representatives to talk to management and get them their rights. They wanted short-cut for success.

All these led to high unrest situation at Maruti Manesar plant and led to such voracious act of violence. As said by someone, “there is no good kid or bad kid there is only good parents or bad parents, similarly there is no good union or bad union, there is only good management or bad management”.

Texas Instrument is an anti-union corporation because they believe that they can take care of their workers so they do not need a union for the same. Hence, if the management is determined to take care of their workforce then there is no need for such unions to be formed.

Self_Leadership - Power of Brain

Power of Brain

There are various stages of self leadership –  Power of knowing own soul , Power of Touch, Power of Listening , Power of Emotional Intelligence , Today I came across the concept of Power of Brain. Brain is the centre of the nervous system which exerts centralized control over the other organs of the body. Entire session taken by ANIL sir was an eye opener. Humans have the tendency to form vision statements using the cognitive and creative ability of their brain.

The entire process of making choices and taking decisions through cognitive part of brain follows 6 steps-:

1.       Define the frame

2.       Meaningful and reliable information

3.       Creative and Doable options

4.       Clear on criteria

5.       Trade-offs

6.       Preparation for implementation

Creativity can be defined as -:

1. Coming out with large number of new ideas
2.   Looking at same thing with different lenses
3.  Associational fluency   
4. Making familiar strange
5.  Synetics

Creativity can be measured in terms of Upbringing and Education the scale of Conservative and Libering.

These opinions formed are circumstantial based on our past low and high points and then we start holding ourselves back on creativity due to various fears and commitments.

1.       Fear of Failure

2.       Fear of Criticism

3.       Lack of Resources and time

4.       Loss of self image

5.       Starved sensibility

6.       Physical danger

We can overcome these fears with help of emotions, friends and mentors, forming a controlled environment around us, experimenting new ideas, developing ability to laugh at own and  becoming more sensitive.

Towards the end of session, I learnt about ladder of inference in which our reflexes used inferences and judgements as if they are statements of fact.

Highs and Lows

The self-leadership session taken by Anil Sir last week focused on a variety of elements that leadership of the brain encompasses. We discussed how a structured approach towards decision making works,  how creativity and innovation depends upon our upbringing and education, how nature and nurture combine to influence our mental capabilities and aptitudes, the ladder of inference and judgement, how to go about our social transformation among much more. We also did a few interesting and energy charged activities in groups and pairs.
Amidst all this, what I took home with me and still think about as I write this today is the introspection exercise we did on our high points and low points through life. Although the purpose of the class exercise was to share these with a partner and learn more about the important moments in our life that have had a great impact on us, the greatest value-add was the self-discovery I made in the process.
 I've been appreciated for my grades and academic scores throughout my life, but none of my high points were due to topping a class or getting a 'role model'.
I like to think of myself as a self-sustaining independent identity with no need for support/dependence on others around me, but all my low points were when my family deserted me or disappointed me.
 I realized how my high impact high points were due to my individual effort and these were moments where I showed a great deal of confidence in myself.This is significant for me because Im generally a shy, nervous, under-confident girl who always ends up holding herself back.
I also realized how my low points were due to the dysfunctional state of my family, and ever since a young age, I wanted nothing more than a perfect family. Although I have grown up to become more independent, brave, and strong, these are memories and wishes that never leave you.  And this has reflected in my values today. As Sir was asking us to come up with our personal mission statement, I quickly realized that financial success, a prolific career, and recognition aren't the things I desire.
All I want to do in life is focus on building a strong family unit and providing support to the people I care about today.


Hence, this exercise was useful in more ways than one. It has not only helped me discovering clashing realities within myself, it's also helped me pave the way I want to live my future.

Roopali Agarwal_HRLP040_Self Leadership_Oct2012

The second session of Self Leadership by Anil Sir was on Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is acquired by individuals through upbringing and is not present by birth. Through the session I realized that it is not your intellect or your success in work life that people remember you, but your behavior and your attitude towards life. Emotional Intelligence has two aspects Interpersonal skills (Self Awareness) and Interpersonal skills (Deep listening & Understanding others). The question what is my personal life all about, answered so many questions I had been struggling with since long. The Alter Ego exercise made me realize the importance of Deep Listening. Deep Listening can help in avoiding huge mistakes to occur. It is not just the listener’s responsibility to understand the correct meaning but also the speaker should articulate correctly what he/she wants to convey. The last exercise of sharing things which are bothering us brought all the students closer to each other with the help of knowing each other better. It helped in building a community and made me realize that each one of us have problems in life, what matters is how we face and move on in life.

My key take away from the session is: “It is our birth right to be happy”. By being happy we honor ourselves which leads to personal excellence. The following steps can help us be joyful:

1.       Honour your uniqueness and gifts

2.        Find a cause that gives you joy

3.       Leverage your gifts & uniqueness to work on that cause

4.       Share the joy with others

5.       Enable others to do the 4 above

Avirup Mukherjee_2013HRLP032_Self Leadership_Oct 2012

In continuation to our sessions on Self Leadership, today we delved deeper to understand Emotional Intelligence, its importance and relevance. Gliding through the subject we also covered aspects of being Happy and we finally ended becoming a stronger community.

A beautiful incident occurred to me during the man’s session, the man who speaks gold. January 2009 will always be close to my heart and special because of one simple reason, I met someone who changed me in more than one way. 22^nd January, 2 days before my birthday, I was sitting at Brittos, Baga Beach, in Goa. The sunny morning, golden beach and the water whistling by my ears made me feel, aah! Heaven. It had been a long night and my friends were fast asleep after the nocturnal adventures Goa offers. I however did not want to miss the sunrise and hence woke up quite early and after a nice walk by the beach, picked a spot at my favorite shack across the beach enjoying Shrimp Cocktail, a specialty that had been famous at Brittos since time immemorial.

It had been over a month that I had been extremely stressed at work and was not able to come to terms with why things were falling apart. This very thought kept pondering in my head at all times. In fact my trip to Goa was only a means to de-stress but somehow the thoughts just wouldn’t allow me peace. Across the table a gentleman probably a little better built than myself and a few years elder to me had been observing me and the Shrimp Cocktail, when he finally couldn’t stop himself and came to sit beside me. He said his name was Anand and he belonged to Pune, surprisingly I had lived in Pune for over 10 years myself and hence I felt a connection immediately with the man. He said, “Why are you not enjoying your Shrimp Cocktail?” Are you bothered by something? Obvious as it would seem I said no, after all, why would I want to share my miseries with Anand? Anand somehow realized I was bothered but reluctant to tell him, so he started telling me about himself. A Computer Science engineer by education, he had been working with Symantec for over 8 years and had managed to become a Project Manager. Within a few minutes in the conversation, I realized I had blurted out my entire life to him. An hour ago he was a stranger but now he knew everything about me which included certain aspects which even my closest friends weren’t aware of. I had the same usual problems, too much of work, too little time for myself, even lesser for friends and family, I wasn’t able to find meaning in life.

After hearing me for a while most people tend to start consoling me because I am quite good at lamenting but to my surprise Anand said, “Do you feel like crying or shouting or kicking?” Amazed I said that’s exactly what I feel like doing. He didn’t start pouring gyaan; he said often in life we feel so because we are not clear in our heads about what we really want. He narrated how after completing his engineering he did not know why he did engineering, he did not know why he joined Symantec and he did not know what he wanted to do ahead in life. With such emotions, like mine, he too travelled to various parts of the Konkan Coast to find answers to find solutions but met only failure. Post returning from one of his adventures one morning he was informed at work that on Sunday as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility activity they would be taken to an orphanage to interact with children and spend time with them. He emphasized that this was his turning point in life. He met a kid named Akarsh there and Akarsh changed his life. A boy of just 9 years wanted so much out of life. Akarsh wanted the stars at his feet and was dead adamant of making it happen. That’s when Anand realized if a 9 year old boy, far underprivileged than himself could have such dreams, why couldn’t he?

Anand said that for the last 7 years since meeting Akarsh, he had only strived to get everything possible but not just for himself but for Akarsh and kids like Akarsh. Anand today spends every Sunday at different Orphanages interacting with kids like Akarsh, encouraging them to dream big and helps such initiatives with not only money but his heart and time. He was not only inspired but inspiring others as well. Although he had grown by 7 years, his heart was stuck at the point he met Akarsh. As if he wanted to walk the mile with him. See him achieve see him smile.

I at once understood the meaning of Anand’s story. I understood the meaning of my story. I understood what we all finally want, what we all finally crave for.

Although Anand’s story ends here, the question that lurks in my mind are, how Emotionally Intelligent Anand was. How he knew himself (SELF AWARENESS) at the bottom of his heart. How this enabled him to listen to and understand others better and how it made it so easy for him to relate to others and build trust. Within an hour he made me feel I could tell him much more than I had ever told my best friend.

He also taught me in many ways the aspects and principles of joy, he exemplified honoring himself and his gifts, he found the cause in life that gave him joy, he was utilizing his gifts and uniqueness to work and live for that cause, he was sharing the happiness with everyone and in doing so he was also enabling me to do the same.

Anand and I just had an hour and a half to know each other. In this time we had our time of conflict as well, when I wasn’t open to listen to him and he also am sure must have felt some awkwardness. Even when we started interacting, I listened to him with an artificial mindset, a mindset that would hear what he said from one ear and lose it through the other. But in the end it was genuine. I had not only understood the strength of CAUSE but we had also become a stronger community.

PriyamMalik_HRLP039_Self Leadership_Oct2012

Self Leadership is a journey and not a destination for me. The second session on Self Leadership by Anil Sir focused on what we know as  Emotional Intelligence. One of the most touching and enriching sessions for me as I have taken lot of memories from the same. There are certain inherent qualities of ours like our talent, that we have since the time we were born. But EI is acquired over a period of time with the surroundings and people around us. One of the most important things that Sir emphasised on and now I too truly believe is in Deep Listening. We some times pretend to listen but actually we don't and are in our own world. What we don't realise is that we miss on a great deal of learning, plus we never build true relations that way. Deep listening indeed helps us grow as a person and enhances and broadens our horizons. 

The session made me think and think deep. There are questions now I ask my self and the answers are exciting. The day went by pretty fast and I came to know a lot about my friends which I did not since 4 months. It helped us built what Sir called a 'Community'. There are a huge number of people we come across who are from diverse backgrounds. We all can learn while we grow and not be stuck with our minute issues, which trust me are nothing as compared to people we know.

The session taught me lessons for life which will help me become a better person apart from the path to being an Inspired Leader.

Regards,
Priyam

Sukriti Sinha_HRLP023-Upanishad Ganga 10/6/12

Last Sunday's episode of Upanishad Ganga emphasised on the art of giving. Also, without expecting anything in return. Swamiji is such a renowned poet, everyone respects him and loves him. He has a very philanthropic approach to life. He believes that if one own anything that can be of value to someone else then one should give it to that person. He does not believe that material wealth is richness. Here we learn that its the love, trust and respect from people is what is your  real wealth and you should value it with your life. 

Moreover, the "Sevak" or Swamiji's servant is his most devoted follower. He even goes to th extent of stealing things from his house and selling them on Swamiji's orders. It is this practice of living for others which transforms even Dhruvswamini from a materialistic women to a philanthropist. 

Thus we learn that material wealth is your most invaluable wealth. Your real wealth lies in giving it to the needy and receiving his love and respect.

Regards,

Sukriti  

Sukriti Sinha_HRLP023_Self Leadership_May 2012

The 13^th episode of Upanishad Ganga has many learnings hidden beneath the surface of the story of Sabhyakaam.  First we see the urge in the child to learn, to get educated, to gain knowledge. Learning is something that each one of us should keep striving towards. Next, we see the behaviour  of Malhar Kaka, who discourages him to get educated. In spite of this, Sabhyakaam does not give up. In spite of facing social barriers such as caste discrimination (being the son of a Dasi), he requests Acharya Gautam to teach him. Perseverance always pays. Acharya Gautam agrees to teach him only because of his passion to learn and perseverance. He agrees to impart him the knowledge that he has been asking for since such a long time, despite the fact that other gurus were against this notion. This teaches us that knowledge is not bound by caste, religion or creed. It is everyone’s right to be educated, irrespective of who their mother or father is or which religion they belong to. It also teaches us the lessons of Equality. Each person should be treated equally and with respect. Only if you give respect, will you get it in return. J

Regards,

Sukriti

Vasu Bansal_HRLP001_Self Leadership_May 2012

Moksha

Sri Krishna Govinda Hare Murare  ,
Hey Natha Narayana Vasudeva

Ego....our biggest enemy. It doesn’t allow us to see who we are. All of us give charity in form of money, clothes and other materialistic things, but it’s difficult to donate your ego.   We need to know ourselves.  Every day of our life we pretend to be someone who we are not.  Seek your own real identity...

The story revolves around a rich man “Kotikaran”. He is full of ego and pride as he can acquire anything, even a human being, with power of wealth. One day, while doing charity, he comes across a saint who asks him to donate his ego rather than his land, money and clothes. Kotikaran is taken a back and forced to think.Who he really was? Who am I? What was his purpose on this earth? He gives up everything to search for his answers.  A thief who has seen both faces of Kotikaran (as a rich man and as  a pious saint) encounters similar questions . In order to steal, precious knowledge which Saint Kotikaran has, the thief abides to follow him till he steals away Kotikaran’s wealth.

 We need to look at the entire world, not with different perspectives but with one thought.  If we can find our real “I”, we will see our own reflection in all people around us. We should not try to win the world but to win ourselves.  

We need to understand the importance of our Body, Instinct, Mind, Heart, Brain and I, harmonise and have control on them, then we can attain the next step “Moskha”, which is the pinnacle of human life cycle.

Upnishad Ganga, 27/5/2012

The Sunday episode on Moksha was quite a different approach to life than what I am used to, as it explained that whatever we try to win or thrive for in the world, we ultimately do it for our own happiness, and hence we should rather find ways to win our own Self rather than the whole world. It started with discussing how “ego,” something which we often confuse as our “identity” or “self”. Ego is something we must let go, because we cannot be worried, anxious or afraid of something we do not possess: it would liberate our thinking and mindset. Only if we lose our ego, we’d realise that we are the world ourselves.

  Talking of the “self”, we often again confuse it to be our body, mind, and intellect (and ego as mentioned earlier). It is critical to understand for liberated mindset that these are four different components or objects, of which we are the owners or the subjects; and hence any changes in them should not govern our mindset. The mind, for instance, is susceptible to suspicion and doubt, and we need to be in its control in order to keep ourselves liberated. The body is comfortable in its usual surroundings, but we should realise that our body is not our house, rather it encompasses the whole world: the whole world is our house. We should not be attached to our usual comfort zones, rather we should embrace the changes in life.

  In a way, the liberation I talked of, and the realisation that change is the rule of life, is the attainment of moksha or total freedom. It is a mental state in which we understand that everything worldly is ephemeral, and so whilst we enjoy it, we should know it’d end, but it should not end us – our self, our identity. Our self is supreme as it is pure, perfect and limitless: in fact the happiness we search for in the world is our self only; the Happiness is Us.

Regards,

Sukriti

Sameeksha Khanna _HRLP038, Self Leadership_ HRLP,

This episode shows the importance of Moksha i.e. Liberation the ultimate freedom.

We all are slaves of our senses but we have to control our senses and not let our senses control us.

This story about the proud businessman Kotikaran states his transformation from a proud and arrogant businessman to a monk, getting rid of all the worldly attractions and finally choosing to know oneself i.e. the true meaning of being “I” which lead him to the right path of liberation.

There is a saying in Urdu that means that when we donate something we shouldn’t make eye contact with the needy person because the moment we make eye contact, pride comes in our mind and the person on the receiving end feels inferior. This changes the entire meaning of selfless giving and ultimately it becomes the deed done to show that one is performing goodwill. Kotikaran used to do goodwill just for this sake only. But ultimately when a monk asked him to give away his pride, this made him think about his very being, his purpose of life and the path he is following. Finally he inspired the thief Satyavadi also to leave the path of wrong deeds and follow him to attain salvation.

In this journey from the world to another world i.e. the world of “I” we have to choose our path carefully and selflessly then only we can meet the real ourselves i.e. the core of our being and perform our duties without ego.

Vasu Bansal_HRLP001_Self Leadership_May 2012

SELF-LEADERSHIP

On weekends I used to go to watch movie and feel happy but these feelings used to vanish the next day. After vacation, the fact of returning home used to make me sad. But when I used to help some needy on traffic signal or work for Prayaas, their warmth provided me immense pleasure which I can feel even today. Why this happiness is differentiating? The understanding for this difference I came to know today when I attended ANIL Sir’s session on Self-Awareness.

Like everyone, even I was unaware of Who Am I? What am I here for? What is Self-Leadership? Thanks to ANIL Sir for taking us on this journey of self-awareness from which I came to know that Leadership is not about leading or commanding others but it is about leading our own self. We can lead ourselves only if we really know who we are? If we cannot Honour who we really are? What is our purpose of existence on this planet, we can’t be good leader.

So to understand who we are, we need to understand the circle of existence and where does my happiness lie. The outermost layer is of Body which is an object and not a subject. Next is Instinct, which is first reaction about data. Instinct is dangerous and leadership is not about reaction but about response which comes from Information via data. The next layer is of Mind/Heart, which is emotional layer. It gets meaning from information. This layer makes us compassionate. It is from this layer that various emotions like anger, envy, and lust originate. The next layer is of intellect –Brain, it is the one which makes choices.  The next layer is of enemy within, Ego. It puts fear in us, feed habits from past. It prevents us from changing. The innermost layer is I. I SOUL. I PURE CONSICOUSNESS. I INNER  VOICE.

So, where does my happiness lie? The more we go in outer circle, the more shorten our happiness becomes and this answered my question on differentiation of happiness. But this is not the end; this is just the beginning of knowing me because as ANIL Sir said-:

                The more you learn ....

                The more you find how less you know......

The Journey begins....

Avirup Mukherjee_HRLP032_Self Leadership_May2012

Sometimes we reach a point in life when we learn to retrospect the past, unlearn and learn again.

Instances of achievement on pondering upon teach us immensely about life and its ways. At work, certain encounters sometimes leave an impression about facets of life we seldom realise in day to day lives.

It was a rainy day when the entire team was sitting at work and cursing the needs of life which made it impossible to bunk work and enjoy the showers. A cup of coffee in every hand, caffeine wreaking havoc in the human system proving points of how each one of us gives in to life and its needs.

Enter, the project manager, with some papers and a look that everyone had recognised by virtue of working with him over the years. From head to toe the man meant business, proved something heard over and over and over again, “There are no free lunches in this world”.

A new task had been assigned and completion within 3 months was a mandate. Tension and curses could be suddenly heard in the background, followed by silence. That was an effect the PM had over the team. A capable leader in all ways, he exuberated confidence and charm.

“Let’s group”, he said and each member followed suit. A distinct smell of his perfume suggested the man had good taste, something all envied. A step by step explanation of the entire project charter followed and it seemed as if his speech had been scripted by a bestselling author. So team, “What are your thoughts and how do you think we can do this best?” the team was startled to hear this. He had never before asked for opinions, always a taskmaster giving orders and expecting adherence. An appealing difference noticed in mannerisms. The next thirty minutes saw him silent and the team at their innovative best. One complete hour of productive time, in its true sense, plan formulated, agreements understood and deadlines decided. He rose from his seat, ”Good work guys” is all he said, shook hands with each one in a way which spoke of adherence compromise would still not be tolerated but support would be provided at all phases. He then walked out.

For the first time in months, the team walked back to their desks with a sense of realisation and admiration towards work. It was evident something had changed, someone had triggered the change.

Was the perfume, Leadership of smell? The explanation, Leadership of speech, dedicated listening to the team, Leadership of hearing, the strong handshake, Leadership of touch, the posture, Leadership of the body.

Someone had come closer to the Source. Someone had realised the true potential of self. Someone saw beyond instinct and ego. Someone was awake.

Priyam Malik_HRLP039_Self Leadership_May 2012

Today my very first lecture at SOIL, made me go through so many thoughts and emotions. I was speechless at times and the next moment, I wanted to desperately talk. It was a great learning experience for me. An experience that I will never forget. 

I realised when we say that 'not everything has an answer', is not actually true. I now think since we do not know the answer and we do not even try to find one, we make excuses. It is all about understanding your own self. All about discovering - removing the cover!

There is a silent witness in me and in every one else which will always be there. I can’t push myself to listen to it or find it one day. It will be a journey, a process that will take a life time. I need to realise my purpose in life. I will definitely have ups and downs my entire life; it will be all about learning and taking the experience along.

The six levels/layers that describe our existence taught me about my own self, my feelings and my thoughts.

It is not always about being right or wrong. It is about, I think, sub-consciously being conscious.

I many a times felt I trust every one quiet easily but this warning was through my brain/ my intellect. My mind/heart makes me compassionate towards others and now I am sure that humans are to be trusted!

I might feel I cannot do it or I am not meant to be here but that is not true. It is about how to deal with it!

I learnt a lot more than these mere words can express and I am sure my whole class did!!

Ananya Dhall_HRLP003_Self Leadership_May 2012

   Eyes as the window to our soul
"Silence is the language of god
all else is poor translation"

Rumi

Ancient theologists, philosophers and scientists believed that the "mandorla" (as shown above), holds the geometric key to the crossing of the two worlds, being the product of two overlapping ellipses. Today, this is believed to be nothing more than a metaphor for the eye as a prospective bridge between the inner world and the outer world. 

Today, Anil Sachdev in his series on self-leadership helped me revisit the utilization of metaphors to drive home a point in mythology, religion and history. And as far as metaphors go, this one was quite fascinating and inspirational!

I've often heard of eyes as the 'window to the soul' in convoluted poetry or elaborate prose, but never before had it made me think- so what? How does that affect me? What can I do with it?

Having researched micro-expressions and non-verbal communication, I already knew the degree of importance facial expressions; gestures, eye contact and body language can have in communication and expression. I even to a certain extent was aware of how I use hand gestures, facial expressions and eye contact when I communicate with others. But I only knew of how I use these to enhance and reinforce what I say with my words. 

Never before had I voluntarily tried to communicate so much to another person, (who frankly, wasn't even such a close friend before today), without using my words. Never before had I thought I'd be successful at it. Never before had I thought I'd be amazed by its power. 

The easiest and most common way in which we humans connect with our outer world is our sight. Before we hear others speak, before we taste what we eat, before we touch or feel, we see. It's no point of wonder that the speed of light is the fastest in the world. But it is a point to be noted, that light is also the most powerful in the world. What we see, and how we see it affects how we think, what we do, and what we feel about our outer world. 

Considering our sight and eyes are such a powerful force, it should be important to harness this energy and master this ability. That's exactly what we tried to do today. 

We learnt the importance of both observation and expression through sight. As we tried to narrate an impactful story to a stranger through our eyes, we learnt how hard and yet how easy it could be to articulate ourselves through our eyes. Without any prior knowledge about the person's past, it is quite hard to let preconcieved notions; about what we think would be their impactful story; taint our deduction. I was totally focused on my partner's eyes as I tried to assimilate what he was trying to say. It was hard because although I could understand whether the story made him happy or sad, whether it was a positive one or a negative one, I couldn't understand what had really happened.

It was also easy because I noticed that no matter how hard either of us tried to consciously portray and express our story in a certain way, what we really felt about it was easily given away by our eyes. They always say that the only way to judge if a smile is real is if it travels to the eyes. I couldn't agree with it more. 

We can always deliberately control our actions, our words, and our expressions. But no matter how hard we try, we fail to control our eyes. Its the best and most effective channel of communication.

As we moved along and added on facial expressions and gestures to our narration, I further realized how easy it could be to recount an entire incident or story without actually using any words. The more you add words to your story; the more chances there are of misinterpretation and loss in translation/comprehension. But when you communicate with your body and senses, the more you are in touch with your inner world, and more accurately you're able to express it. 

So, where does this leave me in an MBA program? Besides 3 hours of discovery and stimulation, what did I really learn? 

I learnt how important it could be to harness this energy that our eyes derive from our inner world, or our "I" as we so passionately speak about. In human relations, we talk of empathy, group influence and leadership, emotional intelligence, need for control and belongingness. As noble citizens of this world we talk about compassion, building social relations, helping others grow and develop, and supporting one another. How do you think we can do that in the most rudimentary form? By effectively using our eyes for expression and observation. The more we use our eyes in our efforts to unite our inner world (I) with our outer world (other people and environment), the more successful we shall be at being true to ourselves and working towards a greater good for others. 

Communicate through your eyes, for silence is the language of god, and all else is poor translation!