We have always been told how Indian fables and folklore elucidate the knowledge of Life. But now we come across an example where we see how these stories hold tremendous significance in modern management techniques. Before we begin, here is the small fable about an elephant with dreams and a Mynah, his ultimate guide.
THE ELEPHANT AND THE MYNAH
A Mynah and an Elephant struck a deep friendship. One day the Elephant said: “You
know all my life I wanted to fly. I have always dreamt of the fun it would be to fly
over the villages and to look from the sky at the houses and people below, to glide over
rivers and jungles. Do you think I can fly?”
“Sure you can,” said the Mynah. Reaching back with his beak, she pulled a feather
from her tail. “Here” she said, “take this feather and hold it firmly in your mouth.
Then flap your big ears as hard as you can and you will fly.”
The Elephant did as he was told. He put the feather in his mouth, flapped his ears as
hard as he could and, lo and behold! He began to fly. Holding the feather tight in his
mouth, he flew over the villages. He looked at the people below; he glided over rivers
and trees. He managed to do things he had never done before, he saw things he had
never seen in his life.
At last, when he glided back to earth, he ran to meet his friend, guarding his feather
carefully with his trunk. “Mynah, you have changed my whole life”, he said. “I really
can’t thank you enough for this feather”.
“That feather?” said the Mynah. “You didn't need it at all!. That was just a discarded
one. I just gave you something to believe in” It was your belief and the flapping of
your ears that did it, not the feather!”
Now let analyse the fable in a OB HR scenario. We will consider the statements made by the mynah in the context of Leadership.
Elephant: Do you think I can fly?
Mynah: Sure you can - The Mynah demonstrates complete trust in her follower. She instills that sense of pride so as to instigate inspiration rather than extrinsic motivation. She could have offered the elephant some bananas and encouraged him to fly, but she does not..!!!
Mynah: Take this feather and hold it firmly in your mouth. - Extremely clear instructions are given. There is no ambiguity whatsoever. This enables the follower to blindly walk the path with complete dedication.
Mynah: Then flap your big ears as hard as you can - Benchmarking. Give your 100%. Use your complete potential or all such vague motivational quotes prove to be completely futile as compared to a benchmark of As Hard As You Can.
Mynah: You will fly - A clear goal. A clear victory. No doubtful statements such as "You may eventually..", "And you never know... ", "And One day you may fly.."
Elephant: You have changed my whole life. I really can’t thank you enough for this feather. -Gratitude. A leader's report card. If the leader cannot significantly influence and enhance his followers path. He is not a Leader.
Mynah: That feather? You didn't need it at all! - Transferring ownership of the accomplishment to the doer. To the employees. A wonderful Chinese quote that aptly puts this situation in words has been shared on this blog earlier.
Follow this simple story in every facet of your life and ELEPHANTS WILL FLY.
it kept my interest going till the end..
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