Karma at the workplace

Imagine a life without expectations when you do and give without expecting something in return. It sounds almost spiritual and bordering on impractical. How can you have a workplace equation without expectations? How is this linked to leadership?

Let us start with thinking about understanding the difference between work-related expectations and expectations from people that are tied to the self.  The key is to clearly set the work goals and expectations you have and earmark them so there is no overlap of these with what you want for yourself and what your personal expectations are. 

There are a lot of lessons of spirituality that can really help get a better insight into leadership. Mythology and philosophy closely connect to leadership. There are so many leaders today who take inspiration from stories and characters and real-life people. This is the intersectionality between leadership and spirituality.

Building culture, people management, people engagement are all aspects of business that need to tap into emotions, empathy and compassion and leadership roles heavily rely on these aspects. All these aspects of leadership involve evolved thinking. Spirituality in leadership can mean many things. it can be discipline or a practice or simply being kind and influencing kindness. The range and reach are varied and nuanced. 

A lot of our frustration comes from the fact that our expectations were not met or that they were violated in some form. If the expectations are stemming only from you, that’s a unidimensional view. 

At this juncture, let us understand karma and what it means. Karma is cause and effect and simply put it is what goes around comes back around. What happens around us is a manifestation of what we want in some form and what happens to us is because of ourselves. There is enough proof in the world that there is merit in goodness and kindness. 

In my career, I have observed leaders of all kinds and I have been inspired most buy those who put themselves last in the pecking order. Here are some leadership styles and approaches that have inspired me to learn to be better every day…

• Detaching the professionals from the personal and keeping work issues away from the personal equation you share 
• Respecting everyone equally despite their titles or hierarchy 
• The right intent almost always brings about the right out comes 
• The law of attraction is true and plays a role in everything we do 
• Set aside the ego 
• Be firm, but gently so
• Be aware of the expectations that you have 
• Clearly communicate these expectations to the people that you have them from 
• No one is a mind reader so it is important to have clarity in the communication 
• It is important to align expectations based on the individual and their personality 
• Patience is a virtue, and nobody is perfect 
• Give feedback and be honest but be kind 
• Stay true and stay humble

Karma has twelve universal laws and here is a snapshot from MindMonia as to what they are…

Each one of them is poignant and significant in context of leadership. 

There is a Wayne Dyer quote that comes to mind, “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Shreya Krishnan

Vice President - Marketing and Communications at Aon India Insurance Brokers

Shreya is a CSR Specialist and Corporate Grooming Consultant. Her interests lie in Activism, Dance, Theatre, Poetry, Blogging, Modelling, Acting. She considers herself an Earth Warrior and is an Event Anchor and Trainer. She is a Pageant Winner and public speaker.