4 Leadership Lessons from Lord Krishna’s Caring for Cows
by Gaurangi Arora, 14.
The story dates back to some 5300 years ago.
A little boy, who earlier used to take calves to the pasture fields had turned six now. He demanded that He will take the cows for grazing. His mother couldn’t fathom how would he? They housed not 10 or 100 or 1000 but cows in lakhs.
The boy must have been far better at convincing than his mother could argue. Because his parents had finally let him go.
The world was to witness something never before seen or imagined.
A 6-year-old boy taking charge of 9 lakh cows!
You might have guessed by now. Yes, we are talking about Krishna, who, after this instance, got the name Gopala — the protector of cows.
You might shrug saying, “Krishna is God. He maintains the entire creation. What is the big deal in him managing 9 lakh cows?”
Yes, that’s true. But in feeding cows, Krishna didn’t perform any miraculous deeds. He applied certain Leadership Principles.
How he managed 9 lakh cows on his own at a young age, is something that must be critically analysed.
Here are 4 lessons that we can learn from Krishna, the Leader
- Core Team Strengthening
A leader must have a strong core team. People whom he trusts and nurtures. And that is to be done before project (work) execution.
Krishna had a strong team of cowherd boys whom He took apt care of and nurtured. When they used to go for butter stealing (when they were small), Krishna fed his friends first and himself ate later.
Krishna’s friends trusted him so much that even when they knew they were entering a demon’s mouth (Aghasura) shaped in the form of a cave, they were fearless saying Krishna will protect us.
2. Work Delegation
It is important for a leader to not take everything on himself but delegate his work so that he can supervise work progress and improvise wherever required.
Krishna had divided the 9 lakh cows into 8 prominent groups which were managed by his core team. Those were then subsequently divided into 108 and further 1008 groups so that ultimately, the smallest group had manageable cows under one boy.
This way, Krishna coordinated with his core team and each core member with his team members to ease up coordination and supervision.
3. Sacrificing and Caring
A leader must be ready to sacrifice personal comforts for his people. That means he should place his people and care for them before himself
When Krishna was about to leave for the forest with all cows, mother Yashoda asked him to wear his footwear. Krishna asked mother Yashoda to provide 36 lakh shoes for all the cows and then only he will wear his own. Because mother Yashoda didn’t provide footwear to the cows, Krishna also went barefoot.
4. Personal Touch
It is eminent for a leader to know all his congregation. That helps to develop faith and confidence in his people for him.
Despite having 9 lakh cows, Krishna had named and remembered every cow’s name. He had developed personal relationships with each one and whenever he used to call a cow, she used to come running.
