It’s a busy media house. Vikram, an experienced editor-in-chief and mentor, is having a conversation with Veda, a young reporter eager to absorb leadership lessons. Intern Sowndarawali, rational and realistic, sometimes interjects with an alternative point of view. The happy little trio has found a quiet place in the newsroom amidst the noise of deadlines.
Veda:
Vikram, I’ve been reading the Bhagavad Gita and would like to know how self-discipline and emotional resilience apply to leadership in a media house like ours, especially when crises come, and we have to perform under pressure?
Vikram:
Great question, Veda! The Bhagavad Gita presents ageless and timely knowledge on how to conquer the mind and rise above emotions, particularly as it relates to leadership. I would like to highlight a powerful verse from Chapter 2, Verse 48 which perfectly encapsulates this message:
Original (Sanskrit):
योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय।
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते॥
Transliteration:
Yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
Siddhyasiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
Translation:
Perform your duty established in yoga, abandoning attachment, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), and be even-minded in success and failure. This even-mindedness is yoga.
This verse is foundational to self-regulation and emotional resilience. Krishna counsels Arjuna to maintain focus and avoid attachment to the fruits of action. And further, to stay in balance when things or not going well! For leaders, this translates, broadly speaking, into maintaining steadiness, even amidst chaos—whether it’s a breaking news crisis, pressure from an advertiser to come up with a story, or internal conflicts—while maintaining ethics and transparency.
Veda: I mean, that sounds really profound, but how and when do we actually apply this when we are working in our media house? If we suddenly faced a scandal, or intense pressure from stakeholders to spin a story about a crisis, how does this equanimity enable the board to stand resolutely and ethically.
Vikram: Resilience is a matter of training the mind to get comfortable with a range of emotional highs and lows. When we encounter a crisis, our minds can lead us to emotional responses grounded in fear of loss of reputation, or excitement or greed for quick wins. The Gita teaches us how to anchor ourselves in purpose—our obligation to provide truth and integrity in journalism. Establishing resilience in our board means developing habits like mindfulness, working with ethical decision making and situational planning. We could simulate the hypothetical situation with the board facing a crisis—in the scenario described it is an advertiser demanding friendly coverage—and calmly respond while guiding ourselves through our principles.
Sowndarawali (interrupting): Sorry, but let me give a simple example. Last month, Hawkins a journalist, found himself in a situation where a major sponsor was attempting to persuade us to kill a story about their company’s wrongdoing. The editor calmly insisted on neutral professional space, and refused to be pressured into hiding behind the document’s corporate objections. Like you said right? Not getting upset and focusing on keeping our conscience clean?
Vikram: Yes, Sowndarawali! That was an awesome real-world example of one of the actions rooted in the Gita. The editor embodied samatvam – remaining equanimous – by focusing on their duty to publish the truth (regardless of a sponsor giving frustration) rather than worrying about the impact of the company losing a sponsor. Resilience isn’t found in moral dilemmas; rather resilience is developed through practice, either from a daily practice of meditation to help us slow down and calm our asses down, or regularly working through ethical dilemmas and deliberatively practicing how we collectively will respond to these dilemmas.
Veda: Okay, that help. But it begs the questions are our governance processes robust enough to absorb external pressures from investor feedback and social media commenting?
Vikram: That’s a good question. Given that governance processes are like the Gita’s call to disciplined action, really in order to be effective, governance processes need to be systematic, procedural, and principle-based. Our media house has a code of conduct, but we must live by that code. We need to conduct annual audits, we need independent oversight, and we need a board composition that is diverse enough that it can challenge the group dynamics. For instance, if you have an investor group interested in sensationalism for revenue, good governance practices – an ethics committee – will hold you accountable by reviewing all decisions with respect to your mission. Moreover, you need some basis for walking ethical dilemmas up the chain of command, so that people do not feel isolated.
Sowndarawali: Like last month, we took a walloping on X about a controversial op ed. The board did not buckle to the mob on-line. They reviewed the op-ed, and looked to see if it was in line with our values, and decided to send it. Governance processes hold us accountable, right?
Vikram: You bet! That was good governance in that they acted as a backbone to our organization, and we did not ride the wave of the mob on Twitter. Governance processes include all the processes we have in place – editorial reviews, fact checks, etc. – which is why they need to be rigorous and transparent. We also need to be able to point to our evidence as justification for a decision, and not emotions.
Veda: All right. So how do we create a culture in which everyone—not just the board—makes rational decisions that are principled?
Vikram: Culture starts at the top but is fostered by role modeling and systems. The idea of yogasthaḥ in the Gita, of being grounded in yoga (or discipline), is important because that sets an environment of calm and a habit of ethical decision-making. Leaders have to model this: stay calm, admit their mistakes, make truth more important than their ego. Having training on ethics, holding workshops on stress management, creating forums where they can speak up and voice their concerns without fear—all of this is how to create that culture. Think about Arjuna listening to Krishna—he needs guidance and then to practice. That builds internal strength.
Sowndarawali: Like when my senior reporter was mentoring me ‘back when’ when dealing with deadlines? She said to me, “Forget about the stress. Focus on the story.” We also have those meetings every week where we have tough calls, e.g., do we name a source? Talking about it, and being able to talk about it in the contextual environment, helps us feel like we can hold to our principles.
Vikram: Absolutely. The mentorship and the weekly meetings are the foundational building blocks of a resilient culture. It creates a shared commitment to principles—so when we are faced with crises, we are aligned.
Veda: I have one last question! How do we honour the expectations of stakeholders—advertisers, readers, etc.—while still living by our principles?
Vikram: It’s largely due to The Gita’s teaching to operate without attachment to results or outcomes. Of course the stakeholders—advertisers, audiences, and investors—have valid or legitimate needs, but our main duty is to truth and the public interest, and meeting those needs requires good communication. That might mean illuminating what we do and why it’s sometimes extremely uncomfortable or difficult.
For example, rejecting an advert based on political bias, or running a potentially unfavourable story that audience members may not want to read about. Also, we have to find other revenue streams, whether that’s subscriptions, grants, or donations, so no one stakeholder can wrest control away from our governance.
Sowndarawali: Like when we rejected that ad that we suspected was corrupt, but the exclusive story we ran turned into more loyal subscribers? We put our values first, which allowed readers to trust us more.
Vikram: Exactly. That is the action of the Gita; acting with equanimity, doing what is right, even when it is uncomfortable or difficult, because it is our dharma (duty). Over time that will build a reputation greater than any short-term relationships or gains.
Veda: This feels like a much clearer image now. The wisdom of The Gita isn’t merely spiritual – it’s also practical about how to lead people of the storm in a way that doesn’t diminish righteous action or purpose.
Sowndarawali: Right, it’s like an internal compass! When crazy is goin’ on outside of you, stay calm, keep your principles, and the right path will appear.
Vikram: Nicely put, you both are right. The Gita tells us that self-control and emotional stability are important personal characteristics but are also fundamental to a valid leadership and ethical governance. In the Gita, Krishna essentially reminds the audience to act with integrity, and trust that long-term trust from the readership is far more valuable than any potential financial or reputational gain we might receive in the short-term.
Sowndarawali (smiling): Here’s my takeaway! “Whether in a newsroom or the centre of a battlefield, chill, stick to your truth, and the chaos will cease.”
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