The Feminine Principle

Many men question the need for empathy in a bottomline- oriented workplace. Toughness is respected and empathy is considered a sign of weakness. Goodness and kindness are rejected as ‘older person’ feelings.’ I would like to propose the installation of the so called feminine qualities into the workplace. This would probably make the workplace more creative and right brained. And, as we generally fear our fathers and love our mothers, the concept of a mother-Goddess appeals more to our hearts than that of a father-God. Women are trained to be lovingly supportive, of listening to a child struggling to say his first word. Patience is a culturally celebrated feminine virtue. “As patient as the earth” is the phrase used for a good mother. Unconditional acceptance is ordained in a verse, which says, “Whether he is hard hearted as a stone or useless as a leaf of grass, he is to be loved and supported as a husband, within the circle of a lifetime relationship like marriage.” Empathy becomes easier in such a relationship, protected by the possibility of a lifetime bond. Traditionally, women are comfortable with the care of the old and the infirm. They are patient with stumbling or lack of competence. Today this is changing because women have to operate in the workplace where the rules are different. Can the feminine principle become part of the charter of human hood in the workplace? Here are the new rules for holistic humanity for managers, including women managers: The Mind is central to success in business today. Carl Segan wrote of the Mind: “Every human being has the capacity to store the equivalent of 7550 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Women managers like men need to develop the powers of their mind. The Indian ethos gives us key answers in this journey towards having a razor sharp mind, that can cut through all that is superfluous to the heart of Truth. Develop the ability to wipe your mind clean through silent meditation, because great concepts can be created only when the mindspace is clear of mindless static. 2. Managers must conquer fear and overcome the need for instructions or guidance. Pursue the ability to adapt and be a leader of proactive change. The New World is not for those who are what Nehru called, unwilling victims, dragged to be sacrificed on the alter of change. It is for the promoters of change. Those who dictate the unknown future. Managers must be leaders to be accepted as such. They need to banish forever, their fear of being centerstage, their reluctance to accept that they are where the buck stops. 3. Relearn and reinstall the ultimate software of the human heart that our mothers embodied. The matchless Navarasa of emotional intelligence, explored by Bharata’s 2000 year old Natya Shastra, predates Daniel Goleman by several centuries. The New Human of the past decade has often forsaken her heritage of loving, caring and affirmation for the tough, hard bitten, so called “male boss model.” Both men and women managers need to put the human being at the center of all business processes. Substance is winning the battle that style has waged on corporate battlefields. 4. Be kind to yourself. Love yourself. Women managers need to appreciate that it takes heroic energy to rock the cradle and rock the corporate world. First pin a badge for bravery on yourself for attempting it. Then, promise you will not even begin to tread the path that leads to the joyless land of being a Super Woman or Super Mom. Enlist your men and families as willing accomplices in the challenging task of reconstructing a corporate workplace that lovingly accommodates the needs of humans, for families, for music, poetry and time for just standing and watching the world go by! 5. Health is the car you are given to complete life’s journey. The body too needs preventive maintenance. Look after your health. As group Vice President of the Apollo Hospitals group, we tried to launch the Well Woman Check Up in the same way as the predominantly male Master Health Check Up. “Is your wife overworked, tired, stressed out? Bring her for a Well Woman Check Up,” our advertisement said. The marketplace administered a sharp rap on the knuckles, when not a single woman responded.