As companies navigate hybrid work, shifting employee values, and rising mental health concerns, traditional productivity models are showing strain. Leaders are increasingly asking: What truly motivates people? How do we build cultures that are both high-performing and humane? Ancient Indian wisdom looks at these questions through the Triguṇa lens, offering profound answers.

Stemming from the Sanātana Dharma philosophy, the Triguṇa framework, offers strategic insights into optimising team behaviour and strengthening organisational culture.

Tri– three, Guṇa– quality

At its core, Triguṇa  refers to the three essential qualities or tendencies in all human behaviour:

• Sattva: purpose, clarity, and harmony
• Rajas: ambition, action, and restlessness
• Tamas: stability, conformity, and confusion

Every individual, team, and organisation embodies a unique mix of these three Guṇa.

• Sāttvika energy brings vision, insight, and cohesion.
• Rājasika energy drives activity, deliverables, and growth.
• Tāmasika energy grounds processes, structure and order.

All organisations possess these qualities in varying proportions. However, an imbalance among the Guṇa can gradually undermine organisational health. By learning to observe, evaluate, and consciously harmonise the Triguṇa, companies can cultivate cultures that are resilient, productive, and deeply engaging.

Productivity Patterns Through The Triguṇa Lens

Different Guṇa generate different forms of productivity. The Guṇa are not abstract ideals; they show up clearly in everyday work environments:

1. Sattva: Deep Work And Sustainable Output

You will spot predominantly Sāttvika teams in the workplace as:

• Purpose driven and clear in priorities
• Intrinsically motivated
• Calm and reflective
• Solving problems creatively
• Transparent in decision-making
• Respectful and cooperative
• Focused on impact, not just metrics
• Balanced in work-life integration

Example: A collaborative product design team combining creativity with user empathy, focused on long-term value and social impact

2. Rajas: Speed And External Achievement

You will spot predominantly Rājasika teams in the workplace as:

• Results-oriented and output-driven
• Competitive and fast-paced
• Visibly bustling with activity and in frequent meetings
• Reactive in responses to situations
• Ardent in communication
• Measuring success by recognition and rewards
• Prone to stress and burnout
• Often lacking sustainable work-life practices

Example: A high-performing sales team pushing hard to meet quarterly targets through high-volume outreach and internal pressure

3. Tamas: Inertia and Resistance

You will spot predominantly Tāmasika teams in the workplace as:

• Fixated on conventions and top-down direction
• Highly reliant on process
• Disconnected from broader purpose (tunnel vision)
• Resistant to innovation and change
• Low on motivation
• Often disengaged and deadline-averse
• Lacking ownership and initiative
• Task avoidant and blame-oriented

Example: A bureaucratic legacy operations team doing just enough to get by, with little enthusiasm for improvement or feedback

Towards a Guṇa-Conscious Organisation

Organisations need all three Guṇa in balance. Understanding productivity patterns from the Triguṇa lens allows for optimising the organisational Guṇa proportion for sustainable productivity and growth.

When balanced, Tamas provides grounding, consistency and order. However, highly Tāmasika cultures tend to foster stagnation, disengagement, and lack of accountability, leading to silent attrition where employees do the bare minimum.

When aligned, Rajas provides momentum and energy. However, in highly Rājasika cultures, high productivity frequently comes at the expense of employee well-being. Often breeding unhealthy competition and fear of failure, this leads to burnout and short tenures.

Sattva brings vision, coherence, and purpose. Sāttvika cultures promote emotional safety, long-term innovation, and a deep sense of purpose and pride in one’s work. Cultivating Sattva is not merely a spiritual ideal; it is a strategic imperative for building resilient, engaged, and high-performing teams in today’s workplaces.

1. Guṇa Culture Map

Every company can begin developing a ‘Guṇa Culture Map’. Ask:

• What Guṇa  currently dominates in each department?
• Where is this helping and where is it hurting?
• What interventions can elevate the Guṇa mix toward balance?

A well-led company orchestrates the Guṇa like a symphony, not a solo act. By mapping Guṇa across departments, leaders gain a new perspective on strengths, risks, and cultural bottlenecks.

2. Rebalancing The Guṇa Culture

Companies cannot eliminate the Guṇa but they can re-balance the dominant one through intentional strategies.

For Tāmasika Teams:

• Create clarity: Align on purpose and immediate goals
• Re-ignite ownership: Involve team members in shaping their roles
• Introduce change gently: Small wins, quick feedback loops

For instance, an outdated finance team could be revitalised by involving them directly in innovation. Suppose a new budgeting tool is being developed, engaging the team in its design and testing can foster a sense of ownership, ensure relevance, and spark renewed energy.

For Rājasika Teams:

• Channel ambition into collective success, not internal competition.
• Introduce reflection: Weekly check-ins that include values and impact.
• Build recovery: Normalise rest and intentional breaks.

For instance, to bring calm and focus to a high-pressure sales team, consider starting each week with a 30-minute mindfulness session. This could include practices such as sharing stories of customer gratitude, helping to balance performance with a sense of purpose.

For Sāttvika Teams:

• Let them lead culture initiatives
• Avoid overburdening with external pressure
• Reward depth, not just speed

For instance, a creative product design team could be reinforced with  a supportive environment that fosters collaboration, autonomy, recognition, open communication, clear goals, and professional growth

3. Hiring, Onboarding And Training with Guṇa Awareness

The Triguṇa  framework can also inform people strategy at every stage:

Hiring: Go beyond skills and qualifications. Look for dominant Guṇa traits and fit the right person for the right job.

Onboarding: Introduce the company’s Sāttvika aspirations: clarity, ethics, contribution. Offer role models and mentorships that exemplify balanced leadership.

Learning and Development: Design training programs that raise Sattva, which includes emotional resilience, systems thinking, and ethical leadership. Use Guṇa-based assessments to personalise development plans.

Conclusion: From Awareness To Action

The Triguṇa framework offers modern organisations a powerful language for transformation—one that bridges timeless wisdom with practical outcomes. Persistent challenges like sustaining growth, retaining talent, and managing hidden costs often arise from an imbalance in the three Guṇa. The solution begins with recognising the distinct Guṇa cultures present across different teams.

This starts with three levels of awareness:

• Awareness of what truly drives and sustains people within each team
• Awareness of the team’s energy, motivation, and sense of purpose
• Awareness of how to lead with wisdom, not merely willpower

The future of organisational culture will not be shaped solely by performance metrics, HR technology, or quarterly targets. Instead, it will be defined by Guṇa awareness—and by leaders who can actively align team dynamics with a deeper understanding of human nature.

If your goal is to create a positive impact by nurturing environments where individuals feel seen, respected, and genuinely valued, start now.

• Reflect on the dominant Guṇa shaping your team’s culture.
• Initiate one meaningful conversation this week about how you work, not just what you do.
• Design one policy or team ritual that raises Sattva—cultivating emotional resilience, clarity of purpose, and collective coherence.

Because when you shift the energy, you shift the outcomes.

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© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Sujata Khanna’s book, ‘The Eternal Law’, explores Sanātana Philosophy in its elemental form. Available on Amazon worldwide: India, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherland, Poland, Sweden, Japan

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