In the Valmiki Ramayana, Rama, the hero, built a task-oriented team to conquer Ravana, the king of Lanka, who had abducted his wife.
The Ramayana shows how Rama skilfully built the high performing team. Rama, with his wisdom and expertise, effectively used the canons of conflict management to build the high-performing team.
He used sama (the art of persuasion) to win the friendship of Guha, the chieftain of the Sarayu forest, and danda (the use of force) to destroy the demons in the forest and save the sages and the law-abiding people. He used bheda (the art of selective discrimination) anddanda to slay Vali and save Sugreeva for his team; and dana (motivation through praise, reward, etc.) to bring Sugreeva and Vibhishana on his side against the demonic forces, and all the four canons to defeat Ravana.
The Ramayana is all about team building. Rama used the infrastructure of the monkey-kingdom to defeat the all-powerful demons. Even under trying situations, Rama never violated the well-established norms and time-tested values. He was a role model for his team leaders and his army. His success was the success of his team.
Team Effort in Workplace
“High-performing companies increasingly believe that teams, rather than business units or individuals, are the basic building blocks of a successful organisation.”
--Anthony Jay
Over the years, team work has gained prominence at the workplace. The success of an organisation depends on how well the employees work in co-ordination and harmony. Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell, once said business is all about team-building.
A team refers to employees with complementary skills and knowledge committing themselves to a common goal and working together. They hold themselves mutually accountable.
The purpose of constituting teams is to leverage diverse talents and achieve a synergetic effect. Individuals have strengths and weaknesses; hence, there is need to form a
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