‘We are not here to merely earn a living and to create value for our shareholders. We are here to enrich the world and make it a finer place to live. We will impoverish ourselves if we fail to do so.’ ~ Woodrow Wilson

Buddha was an exceptional leader. He led not from authority, but from the quality of his ideas, actions and conduct. Despite being selfless in his ambitions, he had what majority of contemporary leaders can only dream to have – wide-ranging followership.

Five Principles

Adapting his eight-fold noble path for self-realization to the modern context, here are five key principles that I believe are instructive of his teachings and can be an apt source of inspiration for any contemporary business leader. This is how Buddha would be as a CEO.

1. Right livelihood

Buddha strongly advocated that we work in a field that is honest and ethical and is devoid of any pursuits that maybe detrimental to society in any way. Besides choosing to stick with businesses that are aligned to this ideology, in the modern context, Buddha would have surely expanded its scope to include the need for clarity of organizational purpose.

In the race for commercial success, there has been a significant decline in the clarity of purpose for a vast number of organizations – leading to increased stress and reduced fulfillment for workers at all levels. As a leader, he would question the core purpose of his organization’s existence – the fundamental social need it is trying to serve?

Is your business driven by creating lucrative apps or simplifying people’s lives; discovering the next wonder drug or healing the world; managing people’s wealth or making families financially independent. As leaders commit to such a meaningful purpose, they are better able to align with the deeper motivations of employees and other stakeholders.

2. Right view

Buddha suggested that for greater effectiveness, we need to establish a wholistic perspective towards life, people, nature, the world, and its interconnectedness.

As a modern leader, this means having a clear understanding of the connections between our customers, employees, business growth, and the social issues including the environment. An effective leader would be as concerned about people, planet, and sustainability, as for business profits. Such a leader would appreciate that business growth at the cost of negative social impact is like a cancerous organism that eventually kills the whole.

3. Right intention

The next principle is based on an appreciation of the law of karma – that all our experiences in the present are dictated by our cumulative stored impressions emanating from our past intentions, thoughts, and actions. Cultivating the right intention towards our profession, colleagues, and clients is paramount to experiencing healthy, harmonious, and sustainable progress.

Leaders inspired by this principle are governed by the driving force of a deeper personal purpose. They are thoughtfully aware of the central purpose of their own life and are able to clearly see it getting fulfilled at work through their actions – whether they are driven deep-down by serving a social need, nurturing their team’s talent, or pursuit of pure excellence.

4. Right actions

Besides the right intentions, Buddha would be conducting his professional and personal life in the right way – living a life of integrity and character, taking personal responsibility of his actions, and practicing the values he preaches to others.

His actions would be grounded in a healthy balance between passion (for his purpose) and humility (of his character). He would be assertive and authentic (instead of being aggressive or permissive) in his communication; and compassionate (instead of self-serving) in his actions. Driven less by a sense of competition and self-preservation, he would be led by the motive of serving the greater good of his colleagues, customers and the broader society.

5. Right mindfulness

Finally, Buddha was an unequivocal proponent of cultivating mindfulness. He would make a leader who’s mindful not only of who we are at the core of our very existence, but also of our limiting and conditioned perceptions and beliefs. Operating from such mindfulness gives the leader a deep sense of inner stillness, that isn’t easily shaken by the short-term ups and downs of business.

He would make an empathetic listener and would be mindful of helping others to be the best they can be. Letting go of any attachments to pleasure, gain and fame or to the fear of loss, shame and criticism, he would be fully present in all his interactions, connect with each one at their mental-emotional level, and be committed to whatever is in the best interest of everyone.

In Summary

Generally speaking, junior managers manage tasks, middle managers manage processes; and the most significant role of senior managers/ leaders, besides developing strategy, is to manage people. But I find, in my coaching practice, the most outstanding leaders to be the ones who know how to manage themselves. As they progress on that path, they no longer have to make the effort to lead others – they become such role models that others simply want to follow them.

With the above five traits, Buddha (or anyone following these principles) would definitely make such an outstanding leader!