Published Article: The impacts of yoga on developing leadership skills- Part 3
Interview with Gopi Kallayil (Chief Evangelist of Brand Marketing at Google)
By: Leila Naderi
In the previous articles, we talked about the main attributes of great leaders such as self-awareness. We also analyzed the importance of yoga in addressing the “Hierarchy of Needs”. Abraham Maslow categorized human’s needs into five different needs. Maslow believed that in order to reach to higher needs (self-actualization), human beings should accept and embrace the lower needs such as physiological needs. Yoga Impacts the physiological needs by developing health and cultivating emotional/mental balance. As Deepak Chopra said: Health is not the absence of disease. Health is the harmony of the mind, body, and soul. When there is harmony between mind and body, a human can attain self-realization. In another word Swami Vishnudevananda stated: “ Health is wealth, peace of mind is happiness. Yoga shows the way”.
By studying eight paths of yoga especially the Yamas (the "don't”) and the Niyamas (the "do's”) , we realize that yogic philosophy can not only be applied to individual’s lives but also can be considered as a code of conduct and ethics in business and leadership. Yamas and Niyamas include non-violence, truthfulness, control of the senses, non-stealing, non-covetousness, non-acceptance of gifts, Purity, cleanliness, contentment, austerity, self-study, the study of scriptures, and surrender to God's will.
As promised, in the upcoming articles we share some ideas/insights that was captured through fieldwork rather than in the books or academic researches. The author- Leila Naderi- had the opportunity to travel across California for 3 months this summer. She visited different yoga ashrams/ retreats while participated in different workshops, lectures, and events. She also conducted several interviews with great thinkers, swamis, yoga teachers, and business leaders who value mindfulness and yoga in their daily lives.
The first interview is with Gopi Kallayil who has integrated yoga and meditation with his leadership role at Google. His speeches at Wisdom2.0 and TEDx, have drawn public’s attention to the importance of yoga and mindfulness in corporations.
Interview with Gopi Kallayil
Gopi Kallayil is the Chief Evangelist of Brand Marketing at Google. He is originally from a small village in the south of India and currently lives in San Francisco Bay Area. He has an engineering and 2 MBA degrees. Gopi is a Sivananda yoga instructor who founded Yoglers a few years ago. Yoglers are a group of self-organized yoga practitioners at Google. Gopi started Yoglers by teaching one class in a conference room to one student. This group has expanded in a way that now almost 70 percent of Google Offices worldwide have at least one free yoga class weekly. In this interview Gopi shares his thoughts about yoga/meditation in leadership:
-Leila: What is your personal philosophy of leadership?
-Gopi: A leader is a person who leads a group of people towards a goal which might seem unattainable but leads the group to achieve that goal by Inspiring and loving them. In another word, Leading a group of people towards a big/inspiring goal by helping the people to reach their highest potential and bringing the best out of people.
-Leila: How did you develop your leadership style (to empower, inspire, and love people to their highest potential)?
-Gopi: You have to be true to yourself. Having integrity towards what you believe in. What is more important to you? What is the meaning of your life? Where do you want to spend your energy? What are you willing to adapt? What are you going to say “ absolutely non-negotiable”?
I have only one life and I can choose what is good for my life and what gives me the greatest contentment. I can choose how to treat my people and how to love them. For example, so many political leaders are corrupted by power. But it doesn’t mean if majority goes toward one direction, you should follow the same path. Even if you are that tiny percent of people that you think is the right thing to do, then you should go for it.
-Leila: How did you begin Yoglers at Google? Did you have challenges to convince the other leaders?
-Gopi: I didn’t convince anyone. I just went and started to do it. I don’t live inside of some processes. I just live my life. One day, a colleague came and asked: can you teach me yoga? I said yes, come tomorrow and we can move some chairs in the conference room. That was the beginning of Yoglers. Like what Swami Vishnudevananda did. He came to America with 10 rupees in 1957. Went to New York and found some issues with immigration. Then he noticed he could go to Canada and teach yoga there. Now his Foundation (Sivananda Yoga) has over 60 locations worldwide and has trained thousands of yoga teachers.
-Leila: So you are not a fan of strategic thinking in leadership?
-Gopi: In fact, that’s my strategy! My strategy is to go and begin to do it. It’s like when you want to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles at night. You can’t see the road till the end but you can see 30-40 feet a head of you. You will follow that and you will get your destination. That’s my way and strategy,
-Leila: Where does Yogler go? Where do you envision the future of Yoglers?
-Gopi: I have three goals:
1-To bring Yoga to 100 percent of Google offices worldwide
2-To encourage higher percent of googlers come to yoga because they believe it’s beneficial. For example Café is always full because people need to drink/eat. I want to encourage them to do yoga because they need to nourish their brain and feelings. I want more Googlers see yoga beneficial for them.
3- I want the other companies to see Google as a model of practicing mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.
-Leila: Why do you think yoga is good for the employees?
- Gopi: First, because of the movements they physically feel healthier. Second, Yoga grounds them, calms the mind, and help them to become more creative at work.
-Leila: What is the correlation between yoga and leadership?
-Gopi: First, in order to be a better leader, you are supposed to manage your physical, emotional, and mental state in a better way. Yoga helps you to do it. It makes you function better. Second, yoga philosophy opens your heart. Gives a sense of connectivity to the entire universe. Suddenly you start treating people differently because yoga philosophy encourages you to see the connection. Third, yoga elevates your consciousness and makes you act on: what is my ultimate purpose? What am I trying to accomplish here? How do I want to be seen? How do I want to treat other people?
For example: in politics so many people put down the others or make fun of the opponent but when you practice yoga you become conscious and you don’t need to put down the others in order to show that you are good. Yoga enhances “self-awareness”. You realize the interdependency between you and the other human beings. It makes you more conscious towards the other people and planet.
- Leila: How can yoga enhance self-awareness?
-Gopi: it Calms your mental process down, you are not distracted by the noises in your head and get closer to the core. What is going on? What is the meaning of life? Many bad decisions you make are because you react emotionally by ego. Yoga encourages you to take a deep breath, take a pause: why am I reacting this way? Is there a better way to respond this situation? Then you start choosing better response and you give people the benefit of doubt and treat people with kindness. Also when you meditate, you go to the state of stillness. You tap into the inner awareness and intuition where all the answers are….
That’s why; Gandhi who was a yoga practitioner could choose a better path in response to British Empire. He said he would fight for freedom but he would fight with higher moral way. He was a yogi. Real yogis don’t do harm the others. They don’t even harm animals (vegetarian). Non-violence (Ahimsa) is a part of yogic philosophy.
Another thing is simplicity. I am in Silicon Valley and surrounded by so many executives who are wealthy. I don’t have lots of physical asset because I don’t want to be controlled by my assets. My friends own many homes and I see how much energy they should spend to manage their assets. Their houses become their lives and consume lots of their life energy to take care of them? Why?
-Leila: For final question, how can you find peace and harmony in the distractions of life (money, power)? How can you find your true self?
- Gopi: You can choose. Make right choices and rely on your integrity. For example, I always begin my meetings with 5 minutes of meditation. That’s a reminder and signal for my colleagues and me to calm the chatter of mind. I am their manager but their yoga teacher as well. I also have set up fixed schedule on my calendar that says “No” to the other things. That’s why, it’s been 9 years I haven’t missed a single yoga class unless I am traveling which someone else teach the class. When you make choice people respect that. I might see bad behavior in the others that I don’t agree but I always remind myself that I have a choice. Finally, What Gandhi did is a reminder that no system is so big that can’t be changed. I HAVE A CHOICE…
-Leila: Gopi, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.I wish you the best of luck in your life journey.
Conclusion:
Margaret Mead stated: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. Gopi Kallayil and his efforts in presenting yoga, meditation, mindfulness to leaders and corporations are a good reminder that: “ a journey of thousands miles begin with a single step”. Authentic Leaders follow their callings and never postpone their mission for the perfect moment because “ today is the tomorrow that we were waiting for it yesterday”. In the upcoming articles, we publish the interviews with Swami Sitaramananda, Swami Narayanananda, entrepreneurs, leaders, yoga teachers/practitioners, and those who apply mindfulness into their daily work/life. To be continued…
For more info:
https://www.sivanandayogafarm.org/course/yoga_for_leadership_leading_with_purpose_consciousness