Karma: work and execution
Karma YogaDoing the work fully and well, without being driven by personal reward.
In practice: Hold yourself and your team to clear delivery standards, and judge by work done rather than credit claimed.
The 27 models
WCRC-GLC-18 — The Renaissance Masters
Swami Vivekananda
The WCRC Four-Yoga Leader Model
Every person is potentially great; build all four capacities.
THE MODEL
The WCRC Four-Yoga Leader Model
The Four-Yoga Leader Model starts from Vivekananda's premise that every person is potentially divine and treats leadership as the work of bringing that potential out. It draws on his four yogas as four capacities, work, devotion, mastery of mind and insight, which a leader develops in themselves and in others, with character-building as the purpose.
Anchor teaching: "Each soul is potentially divine."
This is a selection of teachers linked with the Hindu tradition, not a ranking. The models offer management reflection, not religious instruction.
WCRC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any teacher or organisation discussed.
MODEL STRUCTURE
How it works
Bhakti: passion and devotion
Bhakti YogaWholehearted commitment to a purpose larger than oneself, which gives the work its energy.
In practice: Tie each team's goals to the people the company serves, and tell those stories often.
Raja: mastery of mind
Raja YogaControl of attention and emotion, so the leader can stay clear under pressure.
In practice: Keep a daily period of focused, undistracted thinking before reacting to the day's demands.
Jnana: insight and knowledge
Jnana YogaClear discrimination between what is real and what is assumed, grounded in study.
In practice: Read and reflect a little every day, and test major assumptions before committing to them.
Man-making: build people
His phrase for education that builds character, strengthens the mind and expands the intellect; here, the leader's duty to grow people.
In practice: Give every manager an explicit goal for how each direct report will grow in character and capability this year.
TEACHING AND CONTEXT
The thinking behind it
From 1890 to 1893 Vivekananda wandered across India as a monk and saw the poverty of the masses. At the end of 1892 he meditated for three days on a rock off Kanyakumari and resolved on his mission. On 11 September 1893 he opened his address at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago with "Sisters and Brothers of America", drew a long standing ovation, and quoted a hymn about many rivers flowing into one sea.
Divinity of the soul: "Each soul is potentially divine"; spiritual life is about bringing that divinity out.
Raja Yoga, Preface, Complete Works Vol. 1Four yogas: work, devotion, mind-control or knowledge are all valid paths; use one or all.
Raja Yoga, Preface, Complete Works Vol. 1Man-making education: education should build character, strengthen the mind and expand the intellect.
Belur Math, quoting VivekanandaHarmony of religions: different paths lead to the same goal; sectarianism and fanaticism are to be rejected.
Chicago address, 11 September 1893, Complete Works Vol. 1OPERATING MODEL
From principle to practice
Inputs
- Belief in every person's potential
- Clear purpose that inspires devotion
- Time protected for focus and study
- Managers accountable for growing people
Practices
- Balanced development across all four capacities
- Purpose stories linked to daily work
- Daily focus and reflection routines
- Character as well as skill in reviews
Outputs
- Leaders strong in more than one capacity
- Teams that execute with conviction
- Calmer decisions under pressure
- Deep bench of developed people
Outcomes
- People leadership that multiplies talent
- Global, non-sectarian culture
- Sustained performance with integrity
- Human capacities that complement AI
BENEFIT MODEL
Who it is for
leader
The leader has a balanced map of their own strengths and gaps across work, devotion, mind and insight, and a reason to grow in all four.
employees
They are treated as people with large potential and given deliberate help to develop character as well as skills.
customers
They are served by teams that combine competent execution with real care for the people they serve.
investors
A deep bench of rounded leaders reduces dependence on any single individual.
society
Companies that build character and serve without sectarian division add to the harmony he preached at Chicago.
WCRC MODEL PARAMETERS
Model emphasis
The scores describe this model's emphasis on each parameter. They are not scores for a person or organisation.
Vision Quotient4 / 5
Impact Index4 / 5
Innovation Score3 / 5
People Leadership5 / 5
Stakeholder Trust3 / 5
Resilience Factor3 / 5
Global Mindset5 / 5
THE AI AGE
Why it matters now
The AI Index 2026 notes that productivity gains from AI are largest in structured, measurable work where outputs are easy to monitor [1], which leaves devotion to purpose, mastery of mind and real insight as the leader's distinctive contribution. Brynjolfsson warns that building AI to automate human work rather than augment human capability risks a "Turing Trap" [2]. The WEF lists resilience, flexibility and agility, and leadership and social influence among the skills employers prioritise [3]. A CEO who develops all four capacities in their people builds an organisation that uses AI as an amplifier of human potential.
EXECUTION
Put the model to work
Rate yourself honestly on execution, devotion to purpose, focus under pressure and insight, and pick the weakest of the four to work on first.
Founder and CEO
- Rate your four capacities: In the first week, rate yourself on Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana, and ask two colleagues to rate you too. Choose the weakest capacity as your focus.
- Guard daily focus and study: Keep a period of undistracted thinking every morning before reacting to the day, and read and reflect a little every day. Test one major assumption each week.
- Tell the purpose stories: Each week, share a story that links someone's work to the people the company serves. A founder can do this in person; a large-company CEO uses a regular message and site visits.
- Set growth goals for reports: Give each of your direct reports an explicit goal for growth in character and capability this year, and review it with them every quarter. Give honest feedback on real gaps.
- Judge work, not credit: In every review, hold yourself and your team to clear delivery standards and judge by work done rather than credit claimed. Make it a steady habit.
Company
- Assess the four capacities (CHRO with business heads): Rate senior leaders on execution, devotion to purpose, focus under pressure and insight to see which capacities are thin across the company. Check how many senior roles were filled from inside.
- Pilot man-making in one unit (One business head): In one unit, have every manager set character and capability growth goals for each direct report, and add purpose stories to team meetings. Compare people growth after a year.
- Embed character into reviews (CHRO): Add character alongside skill in appraisals and promotion criteria, and make growing people a stated duty of every manager. Protect time for focus and study in leaders' calendars.
- Train managers to grow people (CHRO and all people managers): Teach managers to develop all four capacities in their teams and to give honest feedback rather than flattery about potential. Use real development plans as practice material.
- Track balance and growth (HR analytics): Report four-capacity balance, people growth, the internal leadership pipeline and inclusion across backgrounds every year, with a mid-year check. Share the results with the leadership team.
- Scale and check for imbalance (CEO and board): Extend growth goals to every manager once the pilot shows results, and review each year whether one capacity has crowded out the others. Make sure Vivekananda's words are quoted only from verified sources.
Readiness check
Before starting
- Does every manager have an explicit goal for how each direct report will grow this year?
- Do we assess character as well as skill when we promote people?
- Are our leaders strong in more than one of the four capacities?
Phase 1 · Diagnose and commit
See each leader's balance across the four yogas and commit to growing people as well as results.
- Each leader rates themselves, and is rated by peers, on Karma (execution), Bhakti (devotion to purpose), Raja (focus under pressure) and Jnana (insight).
- Each leader picks the weakest of the four to work on first.
- Record the share of senior roles filled by people developed inside the company, and survey agreement that people of every faith, region and background are treated with equal respect.
- Check whether managers currently set any explicit goal for how each direct report will grow.
Deliverable: A four-capacity profile for every leader and a baseline for people growth, internal pipeline and inclusion.
Gate: Every leader has a four-capacity profile and a named weakest capacity, and a baseline is recorded for all four KPIs.
Phase 2 · Pilot and prove
Prove in one unit that man-making goals and work on the weakest capacity change how people grow.
- Managers in the pilot unit set a character and capability goal for every direct report, for man-making.
- Each leader starts a specific practice on their weakest capacity: a daily period of focused thinking for Raja, daily reading and testing of assumptions for Jnana, tying goals to the people served for Bhakti, or clear delivery standards for Karma.
- Hold a mid-point growth conversation with every direct report, giving honest feedback on real gaps.
- Check that any words quoted from Vivekananda in the unit's materials are verified against his Complete Works.
Deliverable: A pilot record of growth goals, mid-point conversations and each leader's practice on the weakest capacity.
Gate: Every direct report in the pilot has a written growth goal and has had a mid-point conversation, and every pilot leader has an active practice on their weakest capacity.
Phase 3 · Embed and scale
Write character and capacity into how the company reviews and promotes people.
- Add growth goals met to every manager's performance review.
- Require strength in at least three of the four capacities for promotion to senior roles.
- Train managers to grow people through honest feedback rather than praise alone.
- Frame the four capacities in plain work terms in all materials, so people of every faith and none can use them.
Deliverable: Revised review and promotion criteria and a trained manager group.
Gate: Growth goals appear in every manager's review, and promotion panels are applying the four-capacity criterion.
Phase 4 · Sustain and renew
Keep the four capacities in balance and the language honest over time.
- Re-rate every leader on the four capacities each year and track how many are strong in at least three.
- Check annually that 'potential divinity' language has not replaced honest feedback.
- Track the share of senior roles filled from inside and report it to the board.
- Repeat the inclusion survey and act on any group that reports less respect.
Deliverable: An annual four-yoga review covering balance, people growth, internal pipeline and inclusion.
Gate: Four-capacity balance is tracked year on year, and the internal pipeline and inclusion measures are reported to the board.
Governance
sponsor: The CEO, who rates themselves on the four capacities first and shares their weakest with the leadership team.
lead: The CHRO, who runs the four-capacity ratings, growth goals and promotion criteria.
forum: The half-yearly talent review in the leadership meeting, and the board's nomination committee once a year for the internal pipeline.
decision_rights: The lead can set the rating method, growth goal templates and training; changes to promotion criteria and senior appointments go to the sponsor.
Cadence
Daily: Each leader keeps a short period of focused, undistracted thinking or reading before reacting to the day.
Monthly: Each manager holds a growth conversation with every direct report on character and capability.
Quarterly: Teams hear one story of the people the company served, tying their goals to a purpose beyond themselves.
Annually: Every leader is re-rated on the four capacities, and the internal pipeline is reviewed by the board.
By company stage
startup
The founder rates themselves on the four capacities, hires a co-founder or early leader strong where they are weak, and sets a growth goal for each early employee. Growth is discussed in one-to-ones every month.
scaleup
The CHRO runs four-capacity ratings for all managers, growth goals become part of performance reviews, and promotion to senior roles needs strength in three capacities. Managers are trained to give honest feedback.
enterprise
Four-capacity ratings and growth goals run across all businesses and countries, with the materials framed in plain work terms. The board's nomination committee reviews the internal leadership pipeline and four-capacity balance each year.
Success looks like
- Leaders can name their weakest of the four capacities and show what they have done about it.
- Direct reports say their manager helped them grow in character as well as skill, and can give an example.
- More senior roles are filled by people the company developed itself.
MEASUREMENT AND LIMITS
What to watch
Four-capacity balance
Rate each leader annually on execution, devotion to purpose, focus under pressure and insight, and track how many are strong in at least three.
People growth
Record the share of direct reports whose manager-set growth goals for character and capability were met in the year.
Internal leadership pipeline
Measure the share of senior roles filled by people developed inside the company.
Inclusion across backgrounds
Track employee survey agreement that people of every faith, region and background are treated with equal respect.
Failure modes
- One yoga dominates: a leader strong only in execution, or only in insight, calls that the whole model.
- "Potential divinity" turns into flattery that avoids honest feedback on real gaps.
- His words are borrowed for motivational posters or misquoted lines that he never said.
Execution risks
- One capacity dominates and a leader strong only in execution calls that the whole model.: Ratings cluster high on Karma and low on Raja and Jnana across the leadership team. Mitigation: Make strength in three capacities a promotion requirement and pair leaders with complementary strengths.
- 'Potential divinity' turns into flattery that avoids honest feedback.: Growth conversations record no development needs, and ratings drift upwards with no change in work. Mitigation: Require every growth conversation to name at least one real gap and one action.
- Words are borrowed for posters, or lines he never said are attributed to him.: Quotes appear in materials with no source. Mitigation: Verify every quotation against the Complete Works before use, and drop any that cannot be traced.
- Religious framing alienates staff of other faiths or none.: Inclusion survey scores fall in some groups after the launch. Mitigation: Present the four capacities in plain work language and keep the source as background for those who want it.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Sources and notes
- Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). (2026). The 2026 AI Index Report, Chapter 4: Economy. Stanford University.
- Brynjolfsson, E. (2022). The Turing Trap: The promise & peril of human-like artificial intelligence. Daedalus, 151(2), 272–287.
- World Economic Forum. (2025, January). The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Geneva: WEF.
- Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 93–102 (republished as HBR 'Best of', January 2004).
The WCRC Guru Management Codex and its 27 models are proprietary WCRC models. © WCRC. All rights reserved.