What Ravana's Ten Heads Teach Us About Leadership (and Ourselves)

Last week, during a coaching conversation, a client said something that stayed with me:
“I don’t know why I reacted that way… it felt like ten different voices were speaking inside me.”

I smiled and said, “Welcome to the club. Most leaders feel like Ravana at least once a week.”

He laughed. But then went quiet—the good kind of quiet.

Because the story of Ravana’s ten heads isn’t just mythology.
It’s psychology.
It’s leadership.
It’s us.

Each of Ravana’s heads represents one force that pulls us away from wisdom and clarity:
𝐊ā𝐦𝐚 – desire that distracts
𝐊𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐡𝐚 – anger that explodes
𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚 – delusion that blinds
𝐋𝐨𝐛𝐡𝐚 – greed that drives overdrive
𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐚 – pride that refuses help
𝐌ā𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚 – envy that compares endlessly
𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐢– intellect that overthinks
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬– mind that wanders
𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚 – will that wavers
𝐀𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐤ā𝐫𝐚 – ego that defends, justifies, and resists
In coaching, these “heads” show up more often than you’d think.

I asked him, “What emotion is speaking the loudest right now?”
He paused. “Honestly? Anger… and maybe a bit of pride. I don’t like being challenged.”
There it was: Krodha and Mada whispering loudly.

Then, as we went deeper, he admitted: “And maybe ego too… I’m afraid people will think I can’t manage my team.”
Ah. Ahamkāra—the head that hides the most.

As he named each voice, something shifted.
The noise quietened.
Clarity walked back into the room.
“I think I know what I need to do now,” he said softly. "It’s not about him. It’s about what’s happening inside me.”

That’s the moment when coaching works its magic.
Not by removing the ten voices—
but by recognising them, mastering them, and choosing which one gets the mic.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧
Ravana wasn’t punished for having ten heads.
He was brought down because he never mastered them.
Leaders aren’t destroyed by outside enemies.

They fall because of the ones living quietly inside:

• The anger they didn’t pause to question
• The pride they didn’t soften
• The envy they didn’t admit
• The ego they didn’t tame

And most dangerously, the delusion that whispers, “Nothing’s wrong. Everyone else is the problem.”

When these inner forces are acknowledged and mastered…
light returns.
Clarity returns.
Wisdom returns.

That’s why coaching exists.
Not to fix the outside world, but to help leaders meet the Ravana within, understand each head, and decide which ones to quiet… and which ones to elevate.

𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮
Which of the ten heads has been the loudest for you this week?
And what might shift if you simply named it?

If this resonates and you’d like to explore your “ten heads” with a coach who won’t judge but will hold the mirror gently and firmly…happy to talk. Just book a chemistry session (https://lnkd.in/gr7gMFau).