Managers and Gurus — The Right One Can Change Your Life

Your relationship with your manager is one of the most critical relationships in the workplace. I have been blessed to have some exceptional managers. I have also seen some managers wreak havoc in people’s lives. Over the years, I realized that most managers fall into one of the following categories.

• The Ambitious Manager: Ambitious managers want to grow in the organization rapidly and are always willing to push their team members to deliver extraordinary results. This works well for team members with similar ambitions ready to work long hours and weekends to these deadlines. The most significant benefit of working with such managers is an accelerated learning curve. However, it can also be challenging for other team members looking for a work-life balance and don’t look at work as the sole purpose of their existence.
• The Political Manager: Most ambitious managers are highly skilled, meaning their teams learn a lot from them. However, you have a specific subset of ambitious managers who use politics instead of skill to advance in the organization. They are very good at projecting their value within the organization and often take credit for their team’s work. They will hesitate to let team members present work directly to stakeholders and often play the postman. They are excellent at managing upwards and rely on a mix of fear and incentives to manage their team.
• The Easygoing Manager: These managers are rare to find, but they are people who have had their fill with corporate life. They have either created an alternate source of passive income or are close to retirement. They are happy to see the ambitious people succeed and the other team members manage work and home successfully. The biggest challenge with such managers is that they hate conflict. They tend to bury their heads in the sand when certain members are overworked, and others are coasting. Hence, discontent and rancor typically grow in such teams over time, and such teams are rarely high-performing.
• The Perfect Manager: If you are incredibly lucky like I have been, you end up working with the perfect manager. They are ambitious not only for themselves but also for their teams. They push you to do great work but are also easygoing when it’s time for individuals to relax after completing a stretch goal. They are political enough to understand organizational headwinds and use that knowledge to protect their teams. However, they have a strong moral compass and do a fantastic job of giving credit to team members. Working with such managers makes work a tremendously enjoyable experience.

The Different Types of Gurus

You would think, what do different types of managers have in common with spiritual gurus? I recently read the Ancient Science of Mantras by my Guru Om Swami, and he talked about the different types of gurus that exist today. Like your career, your spiritual path can be accelerated or completely derailed based on your choice.

The Crusading Guru: This master is out to change the world and has a global mission. They generally hop from one event to another and are busy leading fundraisers and events. They are not false gurus. They are simply too busy with global events and activities to take time out to make a significant difference in your spiritual life. They can introduce you to the basics of mantra sciences or meditation but will never be able to take you into higher dimensions. In most cases, they would not have mastered the science of mantras and hence cannot guide you based on their direct experience. They help you get direction and contentment but may not significantly impact your life.

The Cryptic Guru: They are one of the most common kinds you find out there, and they cannot give you a straight answer. They claim to know everything about all the subjects under the sun, but their answers confuse you more than the question. Om Swami sums it up in a very simple sentence. “Truth is always simple. Lies are complicated.”

The Eager Guru: They are among the most dangerous people because you can spot a crusading or cryptic guru after some time. However, an eager guru is generally interested in building their own following and spreading their fame. They will talk about all the right things, such as selflessness and humility, but their conduct will be far from such virtues. Swamiji says it best in the following paragraph.

They will promise you the world and deliver you practically nothing. When they are too eager, it’s usually something they want from you. It’s not always money. Sometimes, it’s your devotion or acknowledgment. If you see signs of indulgence, restlessness, or excessive talking in a person, you are most likely in the presence of an eager guru.

So, why do you risk having a guru if it’s such a risky terrain? Why not have a solo journey? That’s because when you finally meet your guru, and he lovingly teaches humility and surrender, you begin the most beautiful relationship of your lifetime, if not multiple lifetimes. A single glance or smile is enough to change the course of your life. A single word can alter your course. So, what can a real guru do for you? I offer you this beautiful video by my guru, Om Swami.

Let me leave you with a small story of the power of spending a few moments with your guru. I was doing a 40-day Sadhana of Lord Shiva. Fortunately, my guru gave us a small darshan on Zoom on the last day of my Sadhana. I love Lord Shiva and had been a little sad that on all preceding 39 days, I had not experienced complete absorption in the Sadhana. The mind kept going off on its own journey, and trying to keep it focused was hard work. He narrated an incredible story about how Lord Shiva drank the Halal (poison) that emerged during the grand churning of the ocean. His voice transported me into that scene, and when I sat for the Sadhana that night, I experienced a single-minded focus in Sadhana for the first time. I was chanting, and that was the only thought in my head. A mere glance of my guru was enough to generate that state within.