Attributes of situational leadership: Insights from Sri Ramcharitmanas

Ramayana the life story of Lord Rama though it is an epic but it is also a vast reservoir of human values and leadership ideals. It contains numerous interesting ideas on managerial processes and leadership styles. It adops a qualitative research methodology called hermeneutics, involving review and interpretations of ideas on trait leadership contained in Tulasi Ramayana. Sri Ramcharitmanas is undoubtedly the most important epic of all times which has crossed all limits of popularity. It is a complete story of Lord Rama – a saga of human values such as truth, honesty, integrity, promise of word, brotherhood, compassion, mercy, sacrifice, benevolence, charity, steadfastness, valour, etc. It is a virtual treasure of Indian cultural values and powerful narration of episodes of its holy past which shaped country's long-drawn beliefs, philosophies and ideals. It seeks to explore human values and leadership ideals enshrined in Sri Ramcharitmans authored by Goswami Tulsidas. By employing a qualitative methodology, the paper explores traits and behaviours which are appropriate for situational leadership, a leadership style which changes according to situation in a flexible manner.