DW's Blog
The Dalai Lama on Leadership
by DW Green — March 6, 2019
“We are naturally driven by self-interest.”
The Dalai Lama seems like a pretty cool guy. It’s amazing to me how people get to be who they are. For example, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. He was born on a straw mat in a cowshed to a farmer’s family in a remote part of Tibet. He was born into a humble family of farmers as one of 16 children. He became the most popular world leader by 2013. It’s amazing how wise and insightful he has become.
He wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review in the February 20th 2019 issue. The article is titled The Dali Lama on Why Leaders Should Be Mindful, Selfless, and Compassionate. Here’s a portion of that article.
Be selfless
We are naturally driven by self-interest; it’s necessary to survive. But we need wise self-interest that is generous and cooperative, taking others’ interests into account. Cooperation comes from friendship, friendship comes from trust, and trust comes from kindheartedness. Once you have a genuine sense of concern for others, there’s no room for cheating, bullying, or exploitation; instead, you can be honest, truthful, and transparent in your conduct.
Buddhist tradition describes three styles of compassionate leadership: the trailblazer, who leads from the front, takes risks, and sets an example; the ferryman, who accompanies those in his care and shapes the ups and downs of the crossing; and the shepherd, who sees every one of his flock into safety before himself. Three styles, three approaches, but what they have in common is an all-encompassing concern for the welfare of those they lead.
—Dalai Lama
You can find the full article here: https://hbr.org/2019/02/the-dalai-lama-on-why-leaders-should-be-mindful-selfless-and-compassionate
Unrelated to the Dalai Lama is Vincent Van Gogh. I watched a movie about him over the weekend. Eternity’s Gate. An amazing story. Van Gogh seems like a pretty cool guy too! Wow! And then there’s me—a tree and a new pair of socks.
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