Guidelines for excellence and success

Wouldn't it be nice if they were simple way of becoming excellent in what we do? Well, there is. We simply have to find out what excellent people do that non-excellent people do not do, and then we have to do it ourselves. There have been many studies, and here we want to present a few simple guidelines.
The first is:

“First build on strengths, Then fix weaknesses.”

We live in a culture based on fear and guilt. Worldwide, only a minority of people believe that it is better to build on strengths than to try to fix weaknesses. However, successful people know the route to success: put most of your efforts into identifying your strengths and improving in those areas, rather than trying to improve on your weaknesses. This is because we can only improve on our weaknesses to a limited extent, whereas one can improve one's strengths almost unlimitedly. Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva have both exhibited this principle wonderfully. They have both shown genius at encouraging our efforts and "catching us doing right."

Of course, if one is being crippled by compulsive behavior or addiction, this has to be addressed. Still, the basic principle is: “First build on strengths, Then fix weaknesses.”

How to build a wonderful group

The Gallup organization performed a massive survey to answer a simple question: "What is the difference between on the one hand successful organizations that satisfy their employees and clients, and on the other hand less successful organizations that do not?” The answer is very encouraging for us. It is extraordinarily simple, and it depends, not investment of money, but on attitudes and behaviors that we can manage relatively easily. The answer is as follows. Members of organizations that are successful and great to work in given a very high score (5 out of 5) on the following six questions:

(1) “Do I know what is expected of me at work?”
(2) “Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?”
(3) “At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?”
(4) “In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?”
(5) “Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?”
(6) “Is there someone at work who encourages my development?”

There it is then. Do we want to form a sanga, a group, or a seva team that is great to be in, and produces wonderful results? If so, we need to relate and interact with each other in such a way that everyone will answer the above questions very positively. Translated into our own terms, that means that:

(1) We need to know what is expected of us in our service and in our practice.
(2) We need to have the facilities necessary to perform our service correctly.
(3) We need to know what are our skills and talents, and engage them with enthusiasm every day.
(4) We need to recognize others’ efforts and results regularly (and especially before we criticize or try to correct them.)
(5) We need to care for each other, not just as workers and doers, but as beloved spiritual beings, who have physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs, just as we do.
(6) We need to establish a culture that encourages us all to develop as people and as devotees.

How to help devotees in your team to engage and advance
In a spiritual preaching movement, we all need to help each other. We need to help other devotees (and ourselves), and we need to help those who are not yet devotees. Newcomers need to understand philosophy, but they also need love and affection, and they need service. This will help them to feel part of the sanga. The same is true, perhaps in a different way, of devotees who have been practicing for some time.
It is difficult to find a word that describes this role in the association of devotees. If we say “manager" or "leader," as in the work-world, that implies someone who will take charge and be in command. This will probably be unwelcome as well as unnecessary. In the sanga today, leaders and managers need to help others to engage, rather than telling them what to do. Perhaps “mentor” (“an experienced and trusted advisor or guide; a teacher, a tutor”) would be a better title. In any case what follows is a simple guide to becoming an outstanding mentor or leader.

(1) Engage devotees according to their talent
(2) Define outcomes
(3) Focus on strengths
(4) Encourage development to excellence

(1) Engage devotees according to their talent
Vedic principle is that everybody should work according to their propensity. The same is true for devotees. “Engage in devotional service according to your propensity…”[SP Letter: 28th December, 1974] “Everyone has got some propensity. The art of preaching is to engage that propensity in the service of Krsna. Whatever we have got, our mind, our intelligence, our possessions, our time, our energies, let them all be used in Krsna's service. So by training people in this way, this will be the success of your preaching work.” [SP Letter: 28th January, 1973] If we engage according to our propensity, we will be enthusiastic and successful; and as we become more absorbed, we will become free from material attachment.

(2) Define outcomes
In an effective team, everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing, and within what time-frame. This may be by common agreement, or it may be delegated by the coordinator. After this, it is everyone's responsibility to complete the task in their own way, so long as they arrive at the agreed outcome.

(3) Focus on strengths
All individuals are different. We all have different talents. An expert mentor focuses on the talents of team members, and helps them to build on those talents, and become more of what they are and may be. When the focus is on strengths and talents, and team members feel the exhilaration of achieving goals and developing personally and spiritually, the issue of weaknesses is not so daunting. One can discuss them dispassionately, without arousing fear and guilt, and make plans to manage around them.

(4) Encourage development to excellence
It takes time to become brilliant. It is possible if we persevere in working in the field of our strengths and talents, and develop them continuously. A study called the Development of Talent Project found that it takes between 10 and 18 years to reach the level of world-class competency – that is if one perseveres in one's field of talent. It will never happen if one simply goes from one field to another. A brilliant mentor can motivate others to become brilliant in this service by persevering and developing their real talents. Imagine what it would be like to be part of a sanga, many of whose members were serving at a world-class standard!

Learning organizations

Modern organizations are moving away from the old hierarchical model, where policies are dictated by a director, who may not be in close contact with the clients or customers. Instead of this, organizations are moving towards having "empowered teams." These empowered teams have the authority to find out what the client wants and to supply it. They question customers, and learn what the needs are in the marketplace. They also learn new ways of finding out what customers and would-be customers want. In this way, the organization as a whole becomes more expert at learning how to service the needs of customers and would-be customers.
This is the model established by Srila Prabhupada 40 years ago. In a letter to Karandhar in 1972, he explained that he did not want a central government dictating the policies of the whole movement. Rather, he wanted his centers (in our case seva teams) to be autonomous units, each interacting with its respective environment, preaching and finding resources for itself. “Krishna Consciousness Movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action.”

The guideline for success here is:
Get together
Listen and learn
Serve together
Learn to listen and learn more
Keep going