nhrd apr 2009

NHRDNetwork

Journal

Leadersh

ipApril

2009

Leadership

ISSN - 0974 - 1739

NHRD Network JournalApril 2009 Volume 2 Issue 2

www.nationalhrd.org

A quarterly Publication by The National HRD Network

John Adair

Arvind Agrawal

Stewart D. Friedman

Paul Hersey

N.S. Rajan

Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood

Gary Yukl and Rubina Mahsud

Anu Aga

Sandeep Bakhshi

Jaspal Bindra

Peter Capelli et al

Jim Collins

B. Santhanam

Vijay Bharadwaj

Aquil Busrai

Rajeev Dubey

P. Dwarakanath

Adil Malia

Anand Nayak and L. Prabhakar

Vivek Patwardhan

Satish Pradhan

Sanjeev Sahi

T.T. Srinath

Inder Walia

www.nationalhrd.org

National HRD Network

The National HRD Network, established in 1985, is an

association of professionals committed to promoting

the HRD movement in India and enhancing the

capability of human resource professionals, enabling

them to make an impactful contribution in enhancing

competitiveness and creating value for society.

Towards this end, the National HRD Network is

committed to the development of human resources

through education, training, research and experience

sharing. The network is managed by HR professionals

in an honorary capacity, stemming from their interest

in contributing to the HR profession.

The underlying philosophy of the NHRDN is that every

human being has the potential for remarkable

achievement. HRD is a process by which employees in

organizations are enabled to:

• acquire capabilities to perform various tasks

associated with their present and future roles;

• develop their inner potential for self and

organizational growth,

• develop an organizational culture where

networking relationships, teamwork and

collaboration among different units is strong,

contributing to organizational growth and

individual well-being.

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NHRD Network Journal

Leadership

Volume 2 Issue 2 April 2009

NHRD Network Board MembersNational President: Aquil Busrai, ED-HR, IBM India Limited,

Past National Presidents: Dwarakanath P, Director-Group Human Capital, Max India

Dr. Santrupt Misra, Director Aditya Birla Group

Regional Presidents:

East: Prof. Madhukar Shukla, XLRI, Jamshedpur

South: Gopalakrishna M, Director Incharge, A.P. Gas Power Corporation Ltd.

West: Satish Pradhan, Executive VP Group HR, Tata Sons

North: NS Rajan, Partner, Human Capital and Global Leader – HR Advisory,Ernst & Young

National Secretary: Dr. P VR Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants

National Treasurer: Ashok Reddy B, VP-HR, Info Tech Enterprises

Executive Directors: Satyanarayana K (Hon.)

Mohit Gandhi

Editorial Board NS Rajan, Partner, Human Capital and Global Leader – HR Advisory,Ernst & Young, [email protected](Guest Editor for this issue)

Dr. PVR Murthy, Managing Editor,CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,[email protected]

Aquil Busrai, Executive Director, Human Resources, IBM IndiaLimited, [email protected]

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, VP-HR-Asia Pacific, Perot Systems,[email protected]

Publisher, Printer, Owner Satyanarayna K, Hon. Executive Director, National HRD Network onand Place of Publication behalf of National HRD Network, 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24,

Leela Nagar, Ameer Pet, Hyderabad 500 016. Tel: +91 (40) [email protected]

Printed at Nagaraj & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 156, Developed Plots Industrial Estate,Perungudi, Chennai 600 096. Tel : 044 - 66149291

The views expressed by the authors are of theirown and not necessarily of the editors nor of thepublisher nor of authors’ organizations

Copyright of the NHRD Journal, all rights reserved.Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproducedwithout copyright holders’ express permission in writing.

NHRD firmly believes in and respects IPR and we appeal to thecontributors to strictly honour the same.

For any further clarifications, please Contact :

The Managing EditorDr. P V R Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,#8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600 018.

[email protected]

ABOUT THE JOURNALThe National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal-each issue dedicated to atheme. Publications so far include on the themes “IT in HR”, ”Performance Management”, “Attractingand Retaining Talent”, “Career Management”, “Organizational Change”, “Global HRM”, “Women inCorporate Leadership Roles”, “Organization Development” and “Learning and Development”.

The current issue is on the theme of “Leadership”

The plan for the ensuing issues is as follows:

The journal publishes primarily three categories of articles:

• Conceptual and research based

• Contributions from thought leaders including a limited number of reprints with due permission

• Organizational experiences in HR interventions/mechanisms

Editorial Board Members :

Dr. P.V.R. Murthy, Managing Editor is a product of I.I.T., Kharagpur and IIM, Calcutta with close to thirtyyears experience in H.R. field. He is founder and runs an executive search firm Exclusive SearchRecruitment Consultants. He is associated with a number of academic institutions. He is trained inTQM in Japan and in human processes from ISABS and NTL, U.S.A., He is the National Secretary ofNational HRD Network.

Aquil Busrai is Executive Director Human Resources with IBM India. He has over 36 years HRexperience, both in strategic and operational HR with blue chip organisations like Unilever in Kenyaand India, Motorola in Asia Pacific and Shell in Malaysia. He is the National President for National HRDNetwork.

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay is the Vice President & Head, Human Resources - Asia Pacific, PerotSystems. A doctoral fellow from XLRI and AHRD. He is trained in OD and Human Processes from NTL,USA, he believes in applying HR concepts to practice to make it more meaningful and effective. He isa mentor and coach to many young HR professionals.

Date of Publication Theme Guest Editor

July 2009 Work-Life Balance Dr. C.S. Venkataratnam

Oct. 2009 Institution Building Mr. S. Varadarajan

Jan. 2010 “HR for, and of Gen Next” —Leveraging Demographic Dividend Dr. S. Chandrasekhar


CONTENTSS.No. Title of Article Author Page No.

THE MASTERS

1 Functional Leadership John Adair 2

2 Leadership for Averting Organization Disasters Arvind Agrawal 8

3 How To Improve Performance Stewart D. Friedman 16In All Parts of Life

4 Pace, Then Lead Paul Hersey 22

5 Leadership Theory: In Evolution NS Rajan 24

6 Our Leadership Journey Dave Ulrich and 33Norm Smallwood

7 Linking Strategic Leadership and Human Gary Yukl and 44Resource Management Rubina Mahsud

THE ARCHITECTS

8 When Does a CEO Become a Leader? Anu Aga 52

9 Effective Leadership is Driven by Sandeep Bakhshi 57Strong Values

10 Leadership in Changing Times Jaspal Bindra 61

11 The DNA of Indian Business Leadership Peter Capelli, Harbir Singh, 66Jitendra V Singh andMichael Useem

12 The 10 Greatest CEOs of All Time Jim Collins 72

13 I10 : Framework For Leadership B Santhanam 80

THE ALCHEMISTS

14 Leadership Development Process in anOrganization to Sustain BusinessGrowth and Leadership Vijay Bharadwaj 88

15 Letter to a Young Professional Aquil Busrai 94

16 Leadership in Tomorrow’s Company Rajeev Dubey 96

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S.No. Title of Article Author Page No.

17 Leadership in Perspective P Dwarakanath 100

18 Corporate “Ubermensch” – A View fromEthereal to the Real… Adil Malia 106

19 The ITC Leadership Paradigm: Vision, Anand Nayak and 109Values & Vitality L Prabhakar

20 Dimensions of Leadership Vivek Patwardhan 116

21 Leadership – The Experience of Those Satish Pradhan 122We Choose To Lead

22 All Aboard! – The Leadership Journey at HAL Sanjeev Sahi 126

23 The New Leader: An Emerging Butterfly T.T.Srinath 132

24 Leadership at Bharti Inder Walia 136

Book Reviews

25 Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich & C Mahalingam 142Norm Smallwood

26 Leadership in The Era of Economic S Sadasivan 144Uncertainty by Ram Charan

27 The Gamechanger: How Every Leader R Shantaram 145Can Drive Everyday Innovation byA.G.Lafley & Ram Charan

28 Strengths based Leadership by C S Venkata Ratnam 146Tom Rath and Bary Conchie


EDITORIAL COMMENTSKenneth Clarke, the eminent art historian, who dedicated a lifetimeto the study of civilization, would say that he still did not know whatit was but thought he could recognize it when he saw it.Metaphorically, the study of Leadership, both an art and science,could well be described in similar terms. With the advent ofindustrialization in the nineteenth century, leadership in the worldof business assumed renewed significance and drew some of the greatminds to unravel our understanding of it with multidisciplinaryapproaches.The need for, and recognition of leaders has been felt arguably sincethe beginning of human civilization. This has been felt even moreacutely in current times with the turn of events around us throwingup unprecedented challenges. As Napoleon aptly observed, "a leaderis a dealer in hope", and the situation today calls for leadership thatcan convert these adversities into opportunities. It surely is a time toreflect on the first principles of leadership.In such a context, it is indeed a real privilege to bring out this"Leadership" issue of the National HRD Network. This special issuecomprises rich contributions from a select list of invitees comprisingeminent scholars, exceptional CEOs and custodians of human capital.The authors have blended deep insights, experiential learning andpersonal discoveries into a powerful amalgam of ideas that serve asa rich vein of knowledge to enhance our understanding of leadership.The issue has been divided into three distinct sections, followed byreviews of books on the theme of leadership.

I: THE MASTERS

Scholars of eminence who have advanced and expanded ourknowledge of leadership through their incisive research, insightfuldiscoveries and practical frameworks have been specially invited tocontribute to the journal. Some of them have had schools of leadershipnamed after their thought provoking additions to the science, havebeen feted for their rich body of work, and recognized by fraternityas leadership gurus.John Adair (renowned for Action Centred Leadership), Stewart D.Friedman (founding director of the Wharton School's leadershipprogram), Paul Hersey (reputed for Situational Leadership), DaveUlrich & Norm Smallwood (widely known for their hugely popularbest selling books on Leadership), Gary Yukl & Rubina Mahsud(Yukl's books on Leadership are text books at business schools) havegraciously contributed and enriched the journal. As students of thescience of leadership, Arvind Agarwal (RPG Group) and NS Rajan(Ernst & Young) have reviewed leadership literature throwing lighton the remarkable journey of leadership thought.

II: THE ARCHITECTSCreators par excellence of wealth for stakeholders, visionaries in theirown right with entrepreneurial flair, and role models all rolled intoone are contributors to this section. It has chief executives offering

NS Rajan(Guest Editor for

this Issue)Rajan is Partnerin the HumanCapital Practiceof BusinessA d v i s o r yServices andGlobal Leader -HR Advisory inErnst & Young.


Dr. PVR MurthyManaging Editor

Dr. PallabBandyopadhyay

Aquil Busrai

their deep insights on leadership, as they perceive it. They are leaders,who at the helm of their organizations endeavour to create lastingvalue and shared vision. The buck stops here!Anu Aga (Thermax), Sandeep Bakhshi (ICICI Lombard), Jaspal Bindra(Standard Chartered Bank) and B Santhanam (Saint Gobain) needno introduction, and their articles reflect deep understanding of whatit means to lead successfully.Jim Collins (of the classic Built to Last fame) contributed an article hewrote on the ten best CEOs, hugely relevant even today. Peter Capelli,Harbir Singh, Jitendra V Singh, and Michael Useem (of WhartonSchool) had joined hands with NHRD to unravel the DNA of Indianbusiness leadership, an abstract of which is also featured in this issue.

III: THE ALCHEMISTS

Custodians of human capital of their organizations, leaders of thecritical human resources function, creators of shared vision andalchemists who nurture and develop the latent potential comprisethis section of contributors, a veritable galaxy of people who trulymatter to people who truly matter.The invitees include some of the finest human resource leaders inthe country including Vijay Bharadwaj (Dell), Aquil Busrai (IBM),Rajeev Dubey (Mahindra Group), P Dwarakanath (Max Group), AdilMalia (Essar Group), Anand Nayak & L Prabhakar (ITC), VivekPatwardhan (Asian Paints), Satish Pradhan (Tata Group), SanjeevSahi (Hindustan Aeronautics) , TT Srinath (Pegasus), and Inder Walia(Bharti) who have distilled decades of experiential knowledge intoeminently articulated expositions of leadership thought.

BOOK REVIEWS

CS Venkata Ratnam, C Mahalingam, Shantaram R and S Sadasivanhave reviewed the recent books available on leadership.In putting together this special edition on leadership, the journeyhas been immensely gratifying, and the opportunity to interact withthe contributors has been a remarkable source of learning.Hope this endeavour serves the purpose of illuminating the scienceof leadership thought, and in current times to serve as a beacon foraction. I recall the words of William Shakespeare's from Julius Caesar"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leadson to fortune". May you find yours.


April | 2009 NHRD Network Journal 1

Scholars of eminence who have advanced and expanded our knowledge ofleadership through their incisive research, insightful discoveries and practicalframeworks have been specially invited to contribute to the journal. Some of themhave had schools of leadership named after their thought provoking additions tothe science, have been feted for their rich body of work, and recognized by fraternityas leadership gurus.

John Adair (renowned for Action Centred Leadership), StewartD. Friedman (founding director of the Wharton School’s leadership program),Paul Hersey (reputed for Situational Leadership), Dave Ulrich & NormSmallwood (widely known for their hugely popular best selling books onLeadership), Gary Yukl & Rubina Mahsud (Yukl’s books on Leadership are textbooks at business schools) have graciously contributed and enriched the journal.As students of the science of leadership, Arvind Agrawal (RPG Group) and NSRajan (Ernst & Young) have reviewed leadership literature throwing light onthe remarkable journey of leadership thought.

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2 April | 2009 NHRD Network Journal

FUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIPJOHN ADAIR

Abstract

Leadership does not operate in isolation, and in fact is based on continuous interaction withothers. This interaction is constitutive of complex coordinates which determines whether thegroup is able to achieve its objectives or not. This article presents a leadership framework that

explains leadership in the context of group situations and details the key functions ofleadership. Further, it elaborates upon the key behaviors that are useful in order achieve the

desired goals.

“Leadership is action not passion”- Donald H Mcgannon

Leadership and Motivation are like brotherand sister. It is difficult to think of a leaderwho does not motivate others. Butleadership embraces more than motivation.

What is leadership? The Action-CenteredLeadership (ACL) approach offerscomprehensive answer to that question.The model encompasses the concept ofIndividual Needs, which is the areachartered by Maslow and Herzberg.Therefore, it provides a natural context foran exploration of their theories

The Background

Functional leadership training was firstdeveloped at the Royal Military Academy,

Sandhurst as part of a programmeintroducing young officers to theresponsibilities of leadership. Whentransposed into industry and commerce itwas renamed Action-Centered Leadership(ACL). Initially, the core content of ACLremained much the same as the originalSandhurst version, though the practicalexercises and case studies were changed.

Here, I shall present that framework of thatoriginal concept of ACL, and thencomment upon its constituent elements.

My standard introduction to the ACLmodel has been to look first at the QualitiesApproach and then at the SituationalApproach to leadership. Having outlinedthese approaches or theories, identifyingboth their drawbacks and their positive

About the Author

John Adair is one of the world’s leading authorities on leadershipand leadership development. John holds the higher degrees ofMaster of Letters from Oxford University and Doctor of Philosophyfrom King’s College London, and he is also a Fellow of the RoyalHistorical Society. In 2009, John was appointed Chair of LeadershipStudies United Nations System Staff College in Turin. John haswritten over 40 books, translated into many languages. Apart frombeing an author he is also a teacher and consultant.

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contributions to our understanding ofleadership, I move on to the thirdingredient in the story (apart from thepersonality and character of the leader andthe situation in which it was all happening),namely the people concerned. Havingmentioned the amount of research done ongroups as wholes that are more than thesum of their parts (which led toestablishment of the new sub-disciplines ofSocial Psychology) I explain that I haveselected one theory from the mass ofresearch material which I consider to be ofmost relevance to the practical managerintent upon understanding leadership andmotivation – the theory of group needs. Tothis I add the concept of group personality.This is how I actually explain it.

The Theory of Group Personality andGroup Needs

As a starting point I have developed theidea that working groups resembleindividuals in that although they arealways unique (each develops its own‘group personality’) yet they share, asindividuals do, certain common ‘needs’.There are three areas of needs present insuch groups. Two of these are theproperties of the group as a whole, namelythe need to accomplish the common tasks andthe need to be maintained as a cohesive socialunity (which I have called the ‘team

maintenance need’). The third area isconstituted by the sum of the individualneeds of group members.

Individual Needs and Motivation

This third area of need present in thecorporate life inheres in the individualmembers rather than in the group itself. Tothe latter they bring a variety of needs –physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual– which may or may not be met byparticipating in the activity of the group.Probably physical needs first drew mentogether in working groups: the primitivehunter could take away from the slainelephant a hunk of meat and a piece of hidefor his own family. Nowadays the meansfor satisfying these basic needs of food,shelter and protection are received inmoney rather than in kind, but theprinciple remains the same.

There are, however, other needs lesstangible or conscious even to theirpossessors which the social interaction ofworking together in a group may or maynot fulfill. These tend to merge into oneanother, and they cannot be isolated withany precision, but Figure 1.1 will indicatetheir character. Drawn from the work ofAH Maslow1 it also makes the point thatneeds are organized on a priority basis. Asbasic needs become relatively satisfied

Self-actualization

Growth

Personal development

Accomplishment

Esteem

Self respect

StatusRecognition

Social

Belonging

Social activities

Love

Safety

Security

Protection from danger

Physiological

HungerThirstSleep

Figure 1.1 The priority of needs

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higher needs come to the fore and becomemotivating influences.

These needs spring from the depths of ourcommon life as human beings. They mayattract us to, or repel us from any givengroup. Underlying them all is the fact thatpeople need one another, not just to survivebut to achieve and develop personality.This growth occurs in the whole range ofsocial activity – friendship, marriage,neighborhood, but inevitably work groupsare extremely important because so manypeople spend so much of their waking timein them.

Professor Fredrick Herzberg hasdichotomized the list by suggesting that thefactors which make people experiencesatisfaction in their work situation are notthe reverse of those which make themdissatisfied. The latter is caused bydeficiencies in the environment or contextof the job; in contrast, job rests upon thecontent of work and the opportunities itpresents for achievement, recognition,professional development and personalgrowth.2

The Needs Interact

The first major point is that these areas ofneed influence one another for better orworse. For example, if a group fails in itstasks this will intensify the disintegrativetendencies present in the group andproduce diminished satisfaction for itsindividual members. If there is a lack ofunity or harmonious relationships in thegroup this will affect performance on thejob and also individual needs (cf. A HMaslow’s Social Needs). And obviously anindividual who feels frustrated andunhappy in a particular work environmentwill not make his or her maximumcontribution to either the common task orto the life of the group.

Conversely, achievement in terms of acommon aim tends to build a sense of

group identity – the ‘we’ feeling, as somehave called it. The moment of victory closesthe psychological gaps between people:morale rises naturally. Good internalcommunications and a developed teamspirit based upon past successes make agroup much more likely to do well in itstask area, and incidentally provide a moresatisfactory climate for the individual.Lastly, an individual whose needs arerecognized and who feels that he or she canmake a characteristic and worthwhilecontribution both to the task and the groupwill tend to produce good fruits in boththese areas.

We can illustrate these interrelations witha simple model:

Figure 1.2 Interaction of needs

If you place a coin over the task circle itwill immediately cover segments of theother two circles as well. In other words,lack of task or failure to achieve it will affectboth team maintenance e.g. increasingdisruptive tendencies, and also the area ofindividual needs, lowering membersatisfaction within the group. Move thecoin on to the ‘Team’ circle and again theimpact of near-complete lack ofrelationships in the group on both task andindividual needs may be seen at a glance.

Conversely, when a group achieves its taskthe degree of the group cohesiveness and

TASK

TEAM INDIVIDUAL

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enjoyment or membership should go up.Morale, both corporate and individual, willbe higher. And if the members of the grouphappen to get on extremely well and findthat they can work closely as a team, thiswill increase their work performance andalso meet some important needs whichindividuals bring with them into thecommon life.

These three interlocking circles thereforeillustrate the general point that each areaof need exerts an influence upon the othertwo: they do not form watertightcompartments.

Leadership Functions

In order for the need for this area to be metin any group or organization certainfunctions have to be performed. Accordingto this integrated theory, the provision forthese necessary functions is theresponsibility of leadership. However, notall of them are required all of the time.Therefore you need:

1. Awareness of what is going on in groups(the group process or underlyingbehavior as well as the tip of the iceberg-the actual content of the discussion).

2. Then one needs understanding whichmeans in this context knowing that aparticular function is required.

3. You should have the skill to do it wellenough to be effective. That can usuallybe judged by whether or not the groupresponds or changes course.

But are these membership or leadershipfunctions? The orthodox teaching of thegroup laboratory movement, as we haveseen, was somewhat ambiguous on thispoint. On the whole they were happiertalking about leadership rather than

leaders. Leadership resided in thefunctions not a person. Therefore, thegroup could share leadership amongstthemselves. If a member provided afunction, e.g. summarizing which thegroup accepted, then in that moment itbecame a leadership function. If the groupdid not accept, then it remained amembership function. So leadershippassed from person to person, like a ballin football match. It is true that somegroups might elect leaders, but their rolewas essentially to be as safety nets, pickingup the functions which members failed toprovide.

As already stated, these assumptionsrested in part on value judgments,especially the dislike of any idea of an eliteof born leaders exercising power over theirfellows. It also reflected the particularsituation of the group laboratory: 16 or 18people, all with equal knowledge orignorance, plunged into a group with notask but to examine to examine their ownlives. Valuable as it was for learning orresearch ends such groups are ratherdifferent from real work groups in industryor any other human enterprise.

To begin with, work groups have a moreconcrete or objective task to perform.Groups which come together to pursue aself chosen task, such as trade unions orsports clubs, tend to elect their own leaders,who are responsible ultimately to thegroup. Where tasks are given to the groupthe leader tends to be appointed by a higherauthority and sent to it as part of thepackage deal. In this case, the leader isaccountable first to the appointingauthority and only secondly, if at all, to thegroup. He is accountable for all threecircles. That does not mean, of course, thatthe leader is going to provide all thefunctions needed in the three areas, thereare far too many required for any one

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Understanding your position as the leaderin relation to the three circles is vitallyimportant. You should see yourself as halfin half out. There should be some socialdistance between you and the group, butnot too much. The reason for maintainingthis element of distance is not to enhanceyour mystique, but because you may haveto take decisions or act toughly in the taskarea which will cause reactions to bedirected at you, from the group and theindividuals who face, in consequence,some unwelcome change. You haveweakened yourself if you are on toofriendly terms; or rather you have exposedyourself to pressures – ‘we didn’t expectthis from you’- which you may not be ableto handle.

There is an especial problem for leaderswho are elected or appointed fromamongst their workmates and remain withthe same group. To exchange the closefriendly relationship of collgeues for thoseof a leader or subordinate is not easy. Thathas been recognized for many years. Whenthe Roman Army appointed a man to be acenturion (a cross between a companycommander and a regimental sergeant

person to do that, especially in largergroups. If he exercises the art of leadershipproperly, he will generate a sense ofresponsibility in every one of them so thatmembers naturally want to respond to thethree sets of need. But he alone isaccountable at the end of the day. It is theleader who should get the sack if the taskis not achieved, or the group disintegratesinto warring factions, or the individuals’lapse into sudden apathy. That is whyleaders usually get paid more than thegroup members.

Position of Leader in relation to Group

Behavior Useful Not Useful

Leader emphasizesdistance

Where group knows him well before he became aleader. When group seems to want over-familiarity.When unpopular decisions are in the offing.When taking charge initially of a new groupWhen taking charge initially of a new group

Where group already has astrong traditional sense ofdistance from its leaders.When people can be fullytrusted not to become toofamiliar anyway

Leader minimizesdistance

When there is lack of communication and trustbetween management and employeesWhere all are roughly equal in knowledge andexperience.

Where the distance isalready fairly minimalowing to the predecessor’sstyle.Where it can be mis-interpreted as familiarity.

Leader strikesbalance betweencloseness anddistance

Most working situations Where the group needscorrective treatment aftereither too remote or toofriendly leadership.

Figure 1.4 Position of Leader in relation to Group

Figure 1.3 What a leader has to do

Achieving theTask

Building andMaintainingthe Team

Developingthe Individual

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major) he was always given a century of100 men in another legion. The principle isa sound one, and is widely applied in theindustry today.

You can begin to see why a degree of selfsufficiency is important for a leader.Leadership is not about popularity, thoughit would be inhuman not to enjoy beingliked. Because leaders tend to have social,even gregarious natures, they can find theinevitable brickbats that come their wayhard to endure. But what matters in thelong run is not how many rounds ofapplause a leader receives but how muchrespect he gains, and that is never achievedby being ‘soft’ or ‘weak’ in the task, teamor individual circles. See Fig 1.4 for somerelationships between leader and group.

The leader’s social needs can be met partlyby relations with his team, but it is alwayslonely at the top. He can never fully share

the burden with those who work for him,or open his heart about his own doubts,fears and anxieties; that is best done withother leaders of his own level. If the leader’ssuperior is doing his job he will help tomake such meetings possible (they areoften called management training courses!)Even more important, the leader’s superiorwill himself be a resource; a pillar ofstrength and at times a shoulder to weepupon, should the leader require it.

By performing the functions of leadership,the leader guides the group to:

• Achieve the Common Task

• Work as a Team

• Respect and Develop Its IndividualMembers

Until you can do this essential work yourappointment as a leader will not be ratifiedin the heart and minds of the group.

The copyright of this article belongs to its author, Mr. John Adair. The three circles model and theAction Centered Leadership (ACL) in particular is his registered trademark. For more detailsplease visit http://www.johnadair.co.uk/. If any organisation is interested in applying the author’swork to leadership training & development, please get in touch with him through his website.

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LEADERSHIP FOR AVERTING ORGANIZATIONDISASTERS

ARVIND AGRAWAL

Abstract

This article distinguishes between the ‘Leader’ as an Individual and ‘Leadership’ as a process.Further, the article explains leadership as a process in the context of the nature of tasks and

exchange with subordinates. Both, excessive job demands on the leader and a very personalizedrelationship with the leader, pose threats for the organization, as the leaders may indulge in

‘impression management’ or ‘hijack’ the organization to meet own agenda. Therefore,appropriate checks and balances need to be built by organizations to avert any crises in future.

About the Author

Arvind Agrawal is an IIT Kharagpur and IIM (A) alumnus, majoringin Marketing and Human Resource Development. Since 1999, he isPresident – Corporate Development and Group HR in the RPGGroup. His current responsibilities in RPG comprise HR, TQM andInformation Technology. The first 12 years of his working life werespent in the HR function in companies like Escorts and Modi Xerox.On the professional front, Arvind has been active in Management& HR forums in the country. In 1992, he was awarded the National

HRD Award.

Organization performance has been thefocus of scholars since long. From Fortune500 list of companies in 1992, only 120appear in the list of Fortune 500 for the year2007. That is, over 76% of the Fortune 500companies disappeared from the list in 15years, Accenture study (2007). In India, oneof the most readily available organizeddata on performance of the businessorganizations is published by EconomicTimes, in terms of ranking of Top 500companies in India. This is published everyyear so that the comparison from year toyear is possible. For the purpose of thispaper, 10 years’ data from the fiscal year1995 to fiscal year 2005 was taken. These10 years have been the years ofliberalization and growth in Indian

economy, marked with unprecedented andsweeping changes. This has thrown openopportunities in all sectors of economy.Organizations have had wider choices toembrace new technology, launch newproducts, enter new markets and becomeglobal companies. These opportunities havebeen available to all companies in India.Some of them made full use of theseopportunities and grew very rapidly. On theother hand, a large number of companieshave not been able to cope with this newliberalized competitive environment.Economic Times ranking of 500 topcompanies in India shows that 309 out oftop 500, i.e. 62% of the companies listed inthe fiscal year 1995 are no longer in theEconomic Times listing of top 500 companies

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for the fiscal year 2005. Further, 101 out oftotal 500 companies i.e. 20% of thecompanies have declined in their rankingfrom fiscal year 1995 to fiscal year 2005. Only90 companies, which are 18% of the Top 500companies, have improved their rankingover the last 10 years. Both Fortune 500 andEconomic Times 500 indicate a trend thatlarge number of organizations are not ableto sustain their success over a time periodof 10 to 15 years.

Why does this happen? Does leadershipplay any role in influencing the company’sperformance?

Wright Theerathom, Tu, Coilmore andLado (1992) conclude that the leadershipat the top management together with theprevailing organization culture, leading tochoice of appropriate strategic option,leading to superior business performance.Ashley and Patel (2003) analyzed the dataof Fortune 500 companies during 2001 and2002. They identified 17 best-performingcompanies and 17 worst-performingcompanies in terms of shareholder returns.They found quality of management i.e. theleadership was one of the most significantfactors that differentiated the companyperformances.

Strategic choices have large behavioralcontent in terms of cognitive base andvalues of the decision makers, Hambrickand Mason (1984). They have establishedthat leaders’ assumption about futureevents, knowledge of alternatives,consequences and the value system hasprofound impact on performance of theorganizations. According to Day and Lord(1988), leadership can make a difference ofas high as 20 to 45% of performance in anorganization. Joyce, Nohria and Roberson(2003), reported that leadership accountsfor 14% variance in the firm’s performance.They established that leadership biases,experiences and preferences influencestrategic choices and companyperformance.

Further, Hogan and Kaiser (2005), afterreviewing the empirical literature onleadership and organization effectiveness,concluded that leadership is the mostimportant factor impacting organizationeffectiveness.What is leadership which has such anoverwhelming impact on organizations.Stogdilll (1974) in the Handbook ofLeadership defines leadership as theprocess of influencing the activities of anorganized group in its efforts towards goalsetting and goal achievement. The Websterdictionary meaning quoted by Augier andTeece (2005) defines leadership as ‘leadingothers along a way, guiding’. Javidan andHouse (2002) in their Global Leadershipand Organizational Behavior Effectiveness(GLOBE) study of 62 countries defineleadership as the ability to motivate,influence and enable individuals tocontribute to the objective of organizations,of which they are members.In this paper, in operational terms,leadership is defined as the process tomotivate, influence and enable individualsto meet goals of the organizations, of whichthey are members.As per this operational definition, leaderis not leadership. Leader is an individualand leadership is a process. This paperdeals with leadership that is process.Leadership researches also establish thateffectiveness of leadership equally dependsupon nature of task, (Fiedler, 1967; House,1971; Hersey and Blanchard, 1969; Sinha,1990). Whittington, Goodwin and Murray(2004) established that challenging goalsenhance the effect of leadership behavioron employee commitment and jobperformance. However, if the demand onthe job becomes excessive, it may provokethe leader to adopt illegitimate means todemonstrate continued good performance.Hambrick, Finkelstein and Mooney (2005)established the effect of executive jobdemand on the leadership behavior.

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Firstly, Hambrick et al. (2005) identifiedthree major determinants of the executivejob demand as task challenge, performancechallenge and executive’s own aspirations.Task challenges are the conditions thatmake the performance of the task difficult,be it external environmental factors orinternal factors such as resource scarcity ortask complexity. Performance challengesarise due to various stakeholders such asfirms’ shareholders, customers, govern-ment regulators or employees. Executiveaspirations could be arising from one’s ownneed for achievement, age and tenure.

Research done by Hambrick et al (2005) canbe best understood by the diagram below:

This Fig. 1 shows that leadership issurrounded by job demands arising out ofnumerous factors. These factors are risingaspiration of customers and shareholders,rapid changes in the environment, shorterproduct lifecycle, and high incentives.These factors surrounding the top

management team create high pressure onthe leadership. Pressure on the job getsfurther compounded by one’s own as wellas the followers’ aspirations. Under suchexcessive pressures, the leadership oftengets tempted to doing impressionmanagement or adopting unfair means toachieve the promised high achievement.Extent of job demand hence, is animportant contextual variable whichmoderates leadership behaviour.

Excessive monetary reward linked tosuccess, is another variable that moderatesleadership behavior. Cannella and Monroe(1997) quoted Fama and Jensen, (1983)confirming that tying managerialremuneration to company performanceinduces performance orientation.However, when there is use of powerfulincentive packages without sufficientinstitutional checks and balances, then itleads to temptations of cooking the books,Piper (2002). Hambrick et al (2005) concludethat researches have so far not been able to

Job demands on Leadership

Shareholders’ Pressure

Customers’ aspiration

Own Personal Aspiration

Shorter Product Life

Cycle

Higher Incentive

Task Complexity

Impression Management

Demands

Illegalities

Followers’aspiration

TemptationsRate of change

in business environment

HIGH

GOAL

ACHIEVEMENTS

Fig. 1 : Consequence of Executive Job Demand on Leadership behaviourprepared based on Hambrick et al (2005)

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establish the right level of monetary rewardwhich provides the right level of challengewithout tempting the leadership towardengaging in erratic strategic choices,impression management and sometimeseven illegalities. During the last decade,there has been increasingly greater focusto introduce and enhance performance-based incentive remuneration to raise theperformance orientation in theorganizations. If the top management teamis put on excessive monetary reward, thenthe resultant leadership behavior may getmoderated to somehow produceorganization performance. This temptsthe leadership to doing impressionmanagement or even adopting unfairmeans to achieve the targeted high goals.

Review of leadership literature alsodemonstrates that effectiveness ofleadership is contingent upon quality ofrelationship between leader andsubordinate, (Fiedler, 1967; Vroom andYetton, 1973; Liden and Graen, 1980; Basss,1999; Hersey and Blanchard, 1969; Sinha,1990; Vaishli and Kumar, 2003).

High quality of leader’s relationship withfollowers leads to mutual trust andconsequently increased delegation.Gerstner and Day (1997) mention that LMX(Leader Member Exchange) theory focuseson the dyadic exchange relationshipsbetween the leader and the follower.Jenssen and Van Yperen (2004) in theirresearch in a Dutch firm found that highquality exchange relationship consists of

mutual trust, respect and obligation. Wang,Law, Hackett, Wang, and Chen (2005) inPeople’s Republic of China, observed thattransformational leadership behaviorpositively impacts quality of leader-member exchange, which in turn positivelyimpacts organization citizenship behavioras well as task performance of thesubordinates. Brower, Schoorman and Tan(2000) established relationship betweentrust and leader-member exchange. Theyconcluded that leaders with high mutualtrust tend to take higher risk and in turndo higher delegation. Lord and Brown(2001), in their research found thatfollowers’ mental model about themselvesand the leader’s, moderates the nature ofrelationship they will have with the leaderand what will be effective leadershipbehavior, as shown in Fig. 2 as follows.

It shows that leader with high quality (HQ)of relationship with followers will be ableto influence the follower’s mental modeland hence have higher effectiveness. But ifthe quality of leader-follower relationshipis of low quality (LQ), then leader may notbe able to influence the follower’s mentalmodel. Hence, leader’s effectiveness will below. For leadership, this means, if theyhave high quality of relationship with theirfollowers, then they will be able toinfluence the actions of the followers, toproduce desired organizationperformance. That is, the quality of leadersrelationship with followers impacts theleadership behavior.

L eaderFollower’s mental model

• About themselves• About leaders

L eaders hip E ffectivenes s(organizationperformance

HQ*

L Q*

High

L ow

Fig. 2: Quality of leader — follower relationship and follower’s mental modelPrepared based on Lord & Brown (2001)

* HQ – High Quality Leader - follower relationship* LQ – Low Quality Leader - follower relationship

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Howell and Shamir (2005) mention thatfollowers have two distinct types ofrelationships with their leaders –personalized and socialized withconsequences as shown in Fig. 3.

The Fig. 3 shows the consequences of thetwo distinguished types of relationshipsfollowers have with their leaders.Followers with personalized relationshiphave blind faith on their leaders. In thisrelationship, leader feels empowered.There is danger that leader may hijack theorganization towards his own agenda. Onthe other hand, if followers have socializedrelationship with their leaders, then theirrelationship is for a specific mission.Followers and leaders have constantdiscussion on ‘means’ and ‘outcomes’.Under this relationship, leader cannothijack the organization, as he or she willbe questioned by the followers. Thisimplies that the nature of relationshipbetween leaders and their followers willinfluence the organization performance. Ifthe relationship is personalized, then theorganization will blindly follow the goalsset by the leaders. In such a scenario, theleader can hijack the organization for hisown agenda, which may or may not be inorganization’s interest. On the other hand,

if the relationship between leaders andtheir followers is ‘socialized’, there will beconstant discussion on ‘goals’ as well as‘means’ to achieving them. Nature ofrelationship between leaders and thefollowers becomes another moderatingvariable for impact of strategic leadershipbehavior on organization performance.

Any organization that relies on the abilityof a single person at the top is livingdangerously, observes Probst and Raisch(2005). Organizational crisis, whichincludes both bankruptcy and a dramaticfall in market value, has increasinglyaffected blue chip companies in recentyears. Probst and Raisch (2005) havecarried out in-depth analysis of the 100largest organizational crises during theyear 2000 – 2005, to identify the rootcauses including the role CEO leadershipplayed in this crisis. The diagram belowshows, how the successful companiessuddenly crash.

Autocratic CEO leadership in anenvironment of excessive growth, drivesthe company to uncontrolled changes bydiversifying in to unrelated businesses, inorder to sustain the momentum ofexcessive growth. This gets compoundedby excessive success culture marked by

Followers

Blind faith on leader

Mission congruent relationship

Leader feels empowered

Constant discussion with leader on, ’means’

and ‘outcomes’

Leader can hijack the organization to meet

own agenda

Leader cannot hijack

Personalised

Socialised

Fig. 3: Organization consequences of follower’s relationship with leaders(prepared based on Howell & Shamir (2005))

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excessive bonuses and internallycompetitive culture, all of these lead theorganization to burn out and eventuallycrash. Similarly, in the organizations whichhave weak leadership suffer from lack ofsuccess culture. This results in stagnation,premature aging and financial crash of anorganization.

From these researches, one finds thatfollowing factors could lead to disastrousconsequences for the organization –

• Excessive job demand

• Excessive monetary reward

• High quality but personalized leader– follower relationship

• Low quality leader – followerrelationship

The first two factors as we all know aregetting increasingly more pronounced inIndian business context. Jobs are becomingmore demanding and monetary rewardsin form of performance bonuses and stockoptions are increasingly becomingcommon place as well.

In terms of quality and nature of leader-follower relationship, let us look at Indian-social culture.

Hofstede (1980) in his study of 40 countriesestablished that Indian culture consistsof high power distance which promotes

personalized bureaucracy i.e. peoplein power decide what happens andothers follow.

Javidan and House (2002) in theirGlobal Leadership and OrganizationalBehavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) projectsurveyed over 18000 managers across622 countries have reaffirmed that inIndian Culture, Power distance in theorganizations are high.

Therefore, there is a great chance thatIndian business organization will eitherhave leadership with close personalizedrelationship with followers who blindlyfollow them or leaders who are distantfrom their followers.

Either of these two scenarios will furtherincrease the vulnerability of Indianbusiness organization.

Overall, therefore our businessorganizations are very vulnerable to beinghijacked by powerful leaders with blindfollowings leading to organization crash.

From the media reports, it appears thatSatyam Infotech is perhaps a recentexample of such an organization crashled by powerful promoter ChairmanRamlingam Raju. He appears to havenever been questioned by his managementteam members. They blindly followed him.

• Autocratic leadership • Excessive success

culture

• Excessive growth • Unrelated M& A

•relation

Weak Leadership in to sub-

ordinates / unions • Lacking success culture

• Stagnant growth• Clinging to status quo

Organization Crash

Burnout syndrome

Premature aging syndrome

Fig. 4 – Causes of Company Crash Based on Probst et al. (2005)

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How do we prevent organization gettinghijacked to personal agenda of leaders?First and foremost, value base is veryimportant for a leader under such situation.Value base will be the moral compasswhich will guide the leader to choose theright from wrong under moments ofextreme pressure and temptations.

Secondly, leader must develop a strong topmanagement team who are totally alignedto values and mission of the organization.Such members of the top managementteam will have, ‘socialized relationship’with the leader. Consequently there will behealthy climate of constant discussions andscrutiny of ‘means’ and ‘outcomes’. Probstand Raizch (2005) based on their analysisof top 100 organization crisis during the

first five years of this millennium,recommend that, to avoid organizationcrisis, CEO needs to ensure –

• Sharing of power with team members

• Establish process of ‘checks’ and‘balance’

• Create bottom up culture thatencourages constructive questioning

• Promote trust through openness incommunication

• Promote integrity and cooperation

We need to assess the organizations onthese dimensions and facilitate buildingappropriate processes and culture in ourorganizations so as to avert such disastersin future.

ReferencesAshley, A., and Patel, J.B. (2003). The impact of Leadership characteristics on corporate performance. International Journal of Value –

based management, 2003;16,3

Augier, M., & Teece, D.J. (2005). Reflections on Leadership: A report on a seminar on Leadership and Management Education.California Management Review, Vol. 47, No.2.

Brower, H.H, Schoorman, F.D & Tan, H.H (2000), A Model of Relational Leadership: the integration of trust and leader – memberexchange. The Leadership Quarterly 1192), 227-250.

Cannella Jr, A.A, and Monroe, M.J. (1997). Contrasting perspectives on strategic leaders: toward a more realistic view of top managers.Journal of Management, Vol.23, No.3, pp. 213 (25)

Day, D.V. and Lord, R.G. (1988), Executive Leadership and Organizational Performance. Journal of Management, 14, 453 – 464.

Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.

Gerstner,(.R.) and Day, D.V. (1997) Meta-analysis review of Leader – member exchange theory: correlation and construct issues,Journal of Applied Psychology, 82 : 827-844.

Hambrick, C.D., Finkelstein, S and Mooney, A.C. (2005). Executive Job Demands: new insights for explaining strategic decisions andleader behaviors. Academy of Management Review, Vol.30, No.3, 472 – 491

Hambrick, C.D. and Mason P.A. (1984). Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of its Top Managers. Academy of ManagementReview, 9 : 193 –206.

Hersey, P. and Blencherd, K.H., (1969), Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. Eaglewood Cliffs, NewJersey.

Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work - Related Values. SAGE Publications Ltd., New Delhi.

Hogan, R. and Kaiser, R.B. (2005). What we know about leadership, Review of General Psychology, Vol.9, No.2, 169-180.

House, R. (1971), A Patt-Goal Theory of Leader Effectiveness, Administrative Science Quarterly, September, 321-38.

Janssen, O., & Van Yperen, N. W. (2004). Employees’ Goal Orientations, The Quality Of Leader-Member Exchange And The OutcomesOf Job Performance And Job Satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal. Vol. 47, No. 3, 368 – 384.

Javidan, M. and House, R.J. (2002). Leadership and Cultures around the world: findings from Globe. Journal of World Business 37; 1-2

Joyce, T.A., Nohria, N. and Roberson, B. (2003). What Really Works: The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success. Newyork :Harpen Business.

Liden, R. ad Graen, G. (1980), Generalizability of the vertical Dyad linkage model of leadership. Academy of Management Journal,September, 451-465.

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Lord, R. G., & Brown, D. J. (2001). Leadership, Values, and subordinate self-concepts. The Leadership Quarterly 12, 133 – 152.

Piper, T.R. (2002). What Leaders Need to do to Restore Investor Confidence. Harvard Business School - Working Knowledge. October7, 2002.

Probst, G., & Raisch, S. (2005). Organizational crisis: The logic of failure. Academy of Management Executive. Vol. 19. No.1.

Sinha, J.B.P., (1990) Work culture in the Indian context, Sage Publication, New Delhi.

Stogdill, R. M. (1974). Handbook of Leadership - A survey of Theory and Research. The Free Press. New York.

Vaishali and Kumar, M.P. (2003). Leadership Effectiveness on Organizational Climate and Burnout: A Putt Analytic Approach. In S.Bhargava (Ed.), Transformational Leadership, Sage Publications: New Delhi.

Vroom, V.H. and Yetton, P.W., Leadership and Decision Making (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973).

Wang, H., Law, K. S., Hackett, R. D., Wang, D., & Chen, Z. X. (2005). Leader-Member Exchange As A Mediator Of The RelationshipBetween Transformational Leadership And Followers’ Performance And Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Academy ofManagement Journal. Vol. 48, No. 3, 420 -432.

Whittington, J.L., Goodwin, V.L. and Murray, B. (2004). Transformational leadership, goal difficulty and job design: independent studyand interactive effects on employee outcomes. Leadership Quarterly 15, 593-606.

Wright, P., Theerathorn, P., Tu, H., Gilmore, J.B. and Lado, A. (1992). Top managers, organizational culture and strategic profiles:implications for business performance. American Business Review, June 1992, 25-36.

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In my research and coaching work over thepast two decades, I have met many peoplewho feel unfulfilled, overwhelmed, orstagnant because they are forsakingperformance in one or more aspects of theirlives. They aren’t bringing their leadershipabilities to bear in all of life’s domains –work, home, community, and self (mind,body, and spirit). Of course, there willalways be some tension among thedifferent roles we play. But, contrary to thecommon wisdom, there’s no reason toassume that it’s a zero-sum game. It makes

more sense to pursue excellentperformance as a leader in all four domains– achieving what I call “four-way wins” –not trading off one for another but findingmutual value among them. This is the mainidea in a program called Total Leadershipthat I teach at the Wharton School and atcompanies and workshops around theworld. “Total” because it’s about the wholeperson and “Leadership” because it’s aboutcreating sustainable change to benefit notjust you but the most important peoplearound you.

HOW TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCEIN ALL PARTS OF LIFE

STEWART D. FRIEDMAN

Abstract

Leadership, as this article explains is not just excelling in the professional sphere, but in allwalks of life. It is a holistic development that makes an individual achieve his/her goalsin all domains. The article presents the idea of ‘Total Leadership Development’ whichrests on the principles of being real, acting with integrity and being innovative with

everything that one does.

About the Author

Stewart D. Friedman is a Practice Professor of Management atthe University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in Philadelphiaand the founding director of the Wharton School’s LeadershipProgram. He has consulted with a wide range of organizationsand executives, including Jack Welch and Vice President Al Gore;he serves on numerous advisory boards; and he conductsworkshops globally on leadership and the whole person, creatingchange, and strategic human resources issues. Prof. Friedman is

author of works, including his 2008 book, the best-selling and award-winning TotalLeadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life. His 2000 book, Work and Family –Allies or Enemies?, was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the field’sbest. Working Mother magazine recognized him as being one of America’s mostinfluential men for having improved conditions for working parents. The NewYork Times noted that his students talk him “with a mixture of earnest admiration,gratitude, and rock star adoration.” To learn more, visit www.totalleadership.org.

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Scoring four-way wins starts by taking aclear view of what you want from and cancontribute to each domain of your life, nowand in the future, with thoughtfulconsideration of the people who mattermost to you and the expectations youhave for one another. This is followedby systematically designing andimplementing carefully craftedexperiments – doing something new for ashort period to see how it affects all fourdomains. If an experiment doesn’t workout, you stop or adjust, and little is lost. Ifit does work out, it’s a small win; over timethese add up so that your overall effortsare focused increasingly on what and whomatter most. Either way, you learn moreabout how to lead in all parts of your life.

This process doesn’t require inordinaterisk. On the contrary, it works because itentails realistic expectations, short-termchanges that are in your control, and theexplicit support of those around you. Take,for instance, Kenneth Chen, a manager Imet at a workshop in 2005. (All names inthis article are pseudonyms.) Hisprofessional goal was to become CEO, buthe had other goals as well, which on theface of it might have appeared conflicting.He had recently moved to Philadelphia andwanted to get more involved with hiscommunity. He also wished to strengthenbonds with his family. To further all ofthese goals, he decided to join a city-basedcommunity board, which would not onlyallow him to hone his leadership skills butalso have benefits in the family domain. Itwould give him more in common with hissister, a teacher who gave back to thecommunity every day, and he hoped hisfiancée would participate as well, enablingthem to do something together for thegreater good. He would feel morespiritually alive and this, in turn, wouldincrease his self-confidence at work. Now,about three years later, he reports that heis not only on a community board with his

fiancée but also on the formal successiontrack for CEO. He’s a better leader in allaspects of his life because he is creativelyenhancing his performance in all domainsof his life and leading others to improvetheir performance by encouraging them tobetter integrate the different parts of theirlives, too.

Kenneth is not alone. Workshopparticipants assess themselves at thebeginning and the end of the program, andthey consistently report improvements intheir effectiveness, as well as a greater senseof harmony among the once competingdomains of their lives. In a study over afour-month period of more than 300business professionals (whose average agewas about 35), their satisfaction increasedby an average of 20% in their work lives,28% in their home lives, and 31% in theircommunity lives. Perhaps most significant,their satisfaction in the domain of the self– their physical and emotional health andtheir intellectual and spiritual growth –increased by 39%. But they also reportedthat their performance improved: at work(by 9%), at home (15%), in the community(12%), and personally (25%). Paradoxically,these gains were made even as participantsspent less time on work and more on otheraspects of their lives. The process is prettystraightforward, though not simple. In thesections that follow, I will give you anoverview of the process and take youthrough the basics of designing andimplementing experiments to producefour-way wins.

The Total Leadership Process

The Total Leadership concept rests on threeprinciples:

• Be real: Act with authenticity byclarifying what’s important

• Be whole: Act with integrity byrespecting the whole person

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• Be innovative: Act with creativity byexperimenting with how things getdone.

You begin the process by thinking, writing,and talking with peer coaches to identifyyour core values, your leadership vision,and the current alignment of your actionsand values – clarifying what’s important.Peer coaching is enormously valuable, atthis stage and throughout, because anoutside perspective provides a soundingboard for your ideas, challenges you, givesyou a fresh way to see the possibilities forinnovation, and helps hold youaccountable to your commitments.

You then identify the most importantpeople – “key stakeholders” – in alldomains and the performance expectationsyou have of one another. Then you talkwith them. These insights createopportunities for you to focus yourattention more intelligently, spurringinnovative action. Now, with a firmergrounding in what’s most important, anda more complete picture of your innercircle, you begin to see new ways of makinglife better, not just for you but for the peoplearound you. The next step is to designexperiments and then try them out duringa controlled period of time.

Our research has revealed that mostsuccessful experiments combinecomponents of nine general categories.Thinking about possibilities in this waywill make it easier for you to conceive ofthe small changes you can make that willmutually benefit your work, your home,your community, and yourself. Mostexperiments are a hybrid of somecombination of these categories:

Tracking and Reflecting: Keeping a recordof activities, thoughts and feelings (andperhaps distributing it to friends, family,and coworkers), to assess progress onpersonal and professional goals, therebyincreasing self-awareness and maintaining

priorities. Examples: record visits to thegym along with changes in energy levels;track the times of day when you feel mostengaged or most lethargic.

Planning & Organizing: Taking actionsdesigned to better use time and prepareand plan for the future. Examples: use aPDA for all activities, not just work; shareyour schedule with someone else; preparefor the week on Sunday evening.

Rejuvenating & Restoring DesigningExperiments: Attending to body, mind,and spirit so that the tasks of daily livingand working are undertaken with renewedpower, focus & commitment. Examples:quit unhealthy physical habits (smoking,drinking); make time for reading a novel;engage in activities that improve emotionaland spiritual health (yoga, meditation, etc.)

Appreciating & Caring: Having fun withpeople (typically, by doing things withcoworkers outside work), caring for others& appreciating relationships as a way ofbonding at a basic human level to respectthe whole person, which increases trust.Examples: join a book group or health clubwith coworkers; help your son completehis homework; devote one day a month tocommunity service.

Focusing & Concentrating: Beingphysically present, psychologicallypresent, or both when needed to payattention to stakeholders who matter most.Sometimes this means saying no toopportunities or obligations. It includesattempts to show more respect toimportant people encountered in differentdomains and the need to be accessible tothem. Examples: turn off digitalcommunication devices at a set time; setaside a specific time to focus on one thingor person; review e-mail at preset timesduring the day.

Revealing & Engaging: Sharing more ofyourself with others – and listening – sothey can better support your values and the

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steps you want to take toward yourleadership vision. By enhancingcommunication about different aspects oflife, you demonstrate respect for the wholeperson. Examples: have weeklyconversations about religion with spouse;describe your vision to others; mentor anew employee.

Time Shifting & “Re-Placing”: Workingremotely or during different hours toincrease flexibility and thus better fit incommunity, family, and personal activitieswhile increasing efficiency; questioningtraditional assumptions and trying newways to get things done. Examples: workfrom home; take music lessons during yourlunch hour; do work during yourcommute.

Delegating & Developing: Reallocatingtasks in ways that increase trust, free uptime, and develop skills in yourself andothers; working smarter by reducing oreliminating low-priority activities.Examples: hire a personal assistant; have asubordinate take on some of yourresponsibilities.

Exploring & Venturing: Taking stepstoward a new job, career, or other activitythat better aligns your work, home,community, and self with your core valuesand aspirations. Examples: Take on newroles at work, such as a cross-functionalassignment; try a new coaching style; jointhe board of your child’s day care center.

Designing Experiments

To pursue a four-way win means toproduce a change intended to fulfillmultiple goals that benefit each and everydomain of your life. In the domain of work,typical goals for an experiment can becaptured under these broad headings:taking advantage of new opportunities forincreasing productivity, reducing hiddencosts, and improving the workenvironment. Goals for home and

community tend to revolve aroundimproving relationships and contributingmore to society. For the self, it’s usuallyabout improving health and findinggreater meaning in life.

As you think through the goals for yourexperiment, keep in mind the interests andopinions of your key stakeholders andanyone else who might be affected by thechanges you are envisioning. Someexperiments benefit only a single domaindirectly, while having indirect benefits inthe others. For example, setting aside threemornings a week to exercise improves yourhealth directly but may indirectly give youmore energy for your work and raise yourself-esteem, which in turn might make youa better father and friend. Whether thebenefits are direct or indirect, achieving afour-way win is the goal. That’s whatmakes the changes sustainable: Everyonebenefits.

Identify Possibilities

Open your mind to what’s possible and tryto think of as many potential experimentsas you can, describing in a sentence or twowhat you would do in each. At first blush,conceiving of experiments that producebenefits for all the different realms mayseem a formidable task. After all, if it wereeasy, people wouldn’t be feeling so muchtension between work and the rest of theirlives. But I’ve found that most peoplerealize it’s not that hard once they approachthe challenge systematically.

Conversations about work and the rest oflife tend to emphasize segmentation.However, it might be better to makeboundaries between domains morepermeable, not thicker. The verytechnologies that make it hard for us tomaintain healthy boundaries amongdomains also enable us to blend them inways – unfathomable even a decade ago –that can render us more productive andmore fulfilled. The challenge we all face is

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learning how to use them wisely, and smartexperiments give you an opportunity toincrease your skill in doing so. The mainpoint is to identify possibilities thatwill work well in your unique situation.All effective experiments require thatyou question traditional assumptionsabout how things get done, as the salesdirector did.

Whatever type you choose, the most usefulexperiments feel like something of astretch: not too easy, not too daunting. Itmight be something quite mundane forsomeone else, but that doesn’t matter.What’s critical is that you see it as amoderately difficult challenge.

Coming up with possibilities is an exercisein unbounded imagination. But when itbecomes time to take action, it’s not practicalto try out more than three experiments atonce. Now the priority is to narrow the listto the three most-promising candidates byreviewing which will:

• Give you the best overall return on yourinvestment

• Be the most costly in regret and missedopportunities if you don’t do it

• Allow you to practice the leadershipskills you most want to develop

• Be the most fun by involving more ofwhat you want to be doing

• Move you furthest toward your visionof how you want to lead your life

The investment in a well-designedexperiment almost always pays off becauseyou learn how to lead in new and creativeways in all parts of your life.

Measuring Progress

The only way to fail with an experiment isto fail to learn from it, and this makes usefulmetrics essential. Failed experiments giveyou, and those around you, informationthat helps create better ones in the future.

To set up your own scorecard for four-waywins, use a separate sheet for eachexperiment; at the top of the page, write abrief description of it. Then record yourgoals for each domain in the first column.In the middle column, describe your resultsmetrics: how you will measure whether thegoals for each domain have been achieved.In the third column, describe your actionmetrics – the plan for the steps you will taketo implement your experiment.

As you begin to implement your plan, youmay find that your initial indicators are toobroad or too vague, so refine yourscorecard as you go along to make it moreuseful for you. The main point is to havepractical ways of measuring youroutcomes and your progress toward them,and the approach you take only needs towork for you and your stakeholders.

Workshop participants have used allkinds of metrics: cost savings fromreduced travel, number of e-mailmisunderstandings averted, degree ofsatisfaction with family time, hours spentvolunteering at a teen center, and so on.Metrics may be objective or subjective,qualitative or quantitative, reported byyou or by others, and frequently orintermittently observed. For examples,please visit www.totalleadership.org.

Small Wins for Big Change

Experiments shouldn’t be massive, allencompassing shifts in the way you live.The best experiments let you try somethingnew while minimizing the inevitable risksassociated with change. When the stakesare smaller, it’s easier to overcome the fearof failure that inhibits innovation. You startto see results, and others take note, whichboth inspires you to go further and buildssupport from your key stakeholders.Another benefit of the small-wins approachto experiments is that it opens doors thatwould otherwise be closed.

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By framing an experiment as a trial, youreduce resistance because people are morelikely to try something new if they knowit’s not permanent and if they have controlover deciding whether the experiment isworking according to their performanceexpectations. But “small” is a relative term– what might look like a small step for youcould seem like a giant leap to me, and viceversa. Large-scale change is grounded insmall steps toward a big idea. So while thesteps in an experiment might be small, thegoals are not.

Ismail, a successful 50-year-oldentrepreneur and CEO of an engineeringservices company, described the goalfor his first experiment this way:“Restructure my company and my rolein it.” Ismail designed practical stepsthat would allow him to move towardhis large goal over time. His firstexperiments were small and achievable.He introduced a new method that bothhis colleagues and his wife could useto communicate with him. He began tohold sacrosanct time for his family andhis church. As he looked for ways to freeup more time, he initiated delegationexperiments that had the effect of flatteninghis organization’s structure.

These small wins crossed over severaldomains, and eventually he did indeedtransform his company and his own role

in it. When I spoke with him 18 monthsafter he’d started, he acknowledged thathe’d had a hard time coping with the lossof control over tactical business matters,but he described his experiments as “atestament to the idea of winning the smallbattles and letting the war be won as aresult.” He and his leadership team bothfelt more confident about the firm’s neworganizational structure.

People try the Total Leadership programfor a variety of reasons. Some feelunfulfilled because they’re not doingwhat they love. Some don’t feel genuinebecause they’re not acting according totheir values. Others feel disconnected,isolated from people who matter to them.They crave stronger relationships, builton trust, and yearn for enriched socialnetworks. Still others are just in a rut.They want to tap into their creative energybut don’t know how (and sometimes lackthe courage) to do so. They feel out ofcontrol and unable to fit in all that’simportant to them.

You have to know how to look for four-way wins and then find the support andzeal to pursue them. No matter what yourcareer stage or current position, you canbe a better leader and have a richer life – ifyou are ready and willing to rise to thechallenge.

Author’s Note

This article is adapted from “Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life”, an article by Stewart D.Friedman that appeared the April 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review.All rights reserved.

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PACE, THEN LEADPAUL HERSEY

Abstract

Leaders influence others through both personal power and position power, though these aremodern terms given to the age old question of whether it is better to rule by love or fear. Theanswer to that question is that both are needed in order to be an effective leader because what

works in one situation may not be what is needed in another.

About the Author

Paul Hersey is an internationally renowned behavioral scientist,recognized by business leaders around the world as one of theoutstanding authorities on training and human resourcedevelopment. His research at the Center for Leadership Studies ledto the development of the Situational Leadership® Model. Thisapproach to leadership has been used to train over 14 millionmanagers including those in some of the most well known Fortune500 companies. The model reminds us that it is not enough to

describe your leadership style or communicate your intentions. A Situational Leaderassesses the performance of others and takes responsibility for making things happen.Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Center for Leadership Studies, PaulHersey’s current passion resides with online training and the personalizeddevelopment tools that technology makes possible.

Etzioni (1961) described personal power asthe extent to which a leader gains theconfidence and respect of others and hasthe ability to generate cohesiveness andcommitment. At its most basic level, it isabout the willingness of others to follow aleader, and that has to be earned.

Position Power differs in that it is the extentto which the leader has rewards, arecognized formal role and if needed,sanctions to bring to bear in reference totheir people. The confidence and trustleaders develop with the people abovethem often dictates the willingness ofupper management to delegate powerdown to them.

A leader’s behavior impacts how willingothers are to follow them and subsequently

how willing those above are to dole outtheir power. One way to increase theirwillingness to share and your effectivenessas a leader is to build upon your personalpower by establishing rapport. Part ofestablishing rapport is being able tocommunicate effectively in a way that iscomfortable for the people you areattempting to influence. To make peopleget comfortable you have to get in step withthem – pace with them.

Rapport is about being attuned to otherpeople verbally or nonverbally so that theyare comfortable and have trust andconfidence in you. Too often leader’s listenjust enough to form their rebuttal or maketheir case instead of hearing the way inwhich the words are expressed or truly

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seeing the facial features and bodylanguage for what it is, the second half ofthe message.

Effective communication requires that youdemonstrate interest, understanding andgenuine concern for others. Faking it won’twork because people hear your tone andpick up unconscious cues about yoursincerity. As a Leader you must take thetime to develop rapport so that others canfeel comfortable and have trust andconfidence in you.

How do you develop rapport? You reflectwhat others do, know or assume to be trueby doing something similar or matchingsome part of their ongoing experience. It’scalled pacing.

When you have established rapport withpeople, they are more apt to follow yourlead. And that is the point, isn’t it: to beable to influence the behaviors of others ina way that impacts positively onperformance? That requires a measure ofadaptability on the part of a leader.

An effective leader needs to have enoughrange in their own behavior to pace withothers with whom they are interacting.That’s because there is no single right way.As a leader you need to be flexible enoughto select from a variety of influencebehaviors according to both the demandsof your specific situation and yourpotential to positively influence theoutcome.

Essentially, power is your influencepotential. For instance, ever wonder whysome leaders can give orders withcomplete authority while others are

questioned and challenged at everyrequest. Attempting to influence peoplewith these leadership behaviors may verywell be what is needed when performanceis low, but to be effective in this directivestyle it requires a degree of position powerto support or drive the leader’s behavior.

Oftentimes a leader knows what the rightthing to do is but realizes that, if they doactually behave that way people may notfollow willingly. In that instance they knowintuitively that they can’t rely on the mostobvious base of power that matches theleadership behaviors and would be mosteffective in a given situation, so they havelearned to be more creative in how theyattempt to influence others. Theycompensate by using less effectiveleadership behaviors that they do have thepower to support. They get the job done,but it isn’t quick and painless.

Don’t be the leader who has to compensatefor their lack of power. Make a plan todevelop your power by figuring out whatyou do that is eroding your effectivenessand stop it. Come up with a list of whatyou want to do more of and what you wantto do less of. Don’t go it alone. Enlist aperson who has a significant impact onyour success. Solicit their help andsuggestions so you can earn the personalpower necessary to be able to ask for theallocation of the position power needed tobe an effective leader.

As a leader you can build a case andnegotiate for an increase in position power.It is increasing your personal power thattakes work and time as you prove yourselfworthy!

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LEADERSHIP THEORY: IN EVOLUTIONN.S. RAJAN

Abstract

Leadership as a phenomenon has enthused the minds of researchers from time immemorial. Thecanon of 'leadership' is constitutive of writings of both past philosophers and modern theorists;

the difference being, the nomenclature of 'leadership' used by ancient scholars - of rulers,politicians and heroes, was unlike that used by modern theorists. This article explores theilluminating journey that 'leadership' has travelled through the minds of great people. It

throws light upon the historical evolution of leadership theory, reflects upon definitions andtheories and also questions ambiguous facets of this ever evolving concept. Moreover, the

article emphasizes on the need for an integrated framework for leadership which synthesizesdifferent approaches to form a more comprehensive theory of leadership. It also calls forconstructing a 'roadmap' for developing leaders who can steer organizations through

uncharted waters to sustained glory and success.

About the Author

N.S. Rajan, a Business Management alumnus of XLRI, is Partner inthe Human Capital Practice of Business Advisory Services in Ernst& Young India. He is also the Global Leader - HR Advisory of Ernst& Young. With over two and half decades of work experience, inboth industry and consulting across many functions, Rajan bringswith him comprehensive knowledge of the issues facing the humanresources function. Rajan has been accorded the "HR Professionalof the Year 2008" for excellence and contribution to human resources

function by NHRD Network, the country's largest association of HRD professionals.He can be reached at [email protected].

Who should lead us? Plato, the Greekphilosopher, poses this critical question inhis Republic, written around 380 BC, wherehe envisages an Ideal State led by speciallyeducated leaders, the "philosopher kings".Kautilya, the renowned prime minister ofthe Maurya Empire in the fourth centuryBC, in his economic treatise Arthashastra,dwelt on the role of a king as a leader whorecognizes the need to serve his subjects

even as he stays focused on achievingresults. Although, the nomenclature of'leadership' was not in vogue,philosophical speculations and insightfulhistories of yore have dwelt in penetratingdepth upon rulers, politicians and heroes,offering us early frameworks. Leadershipresearch has gained prominence amongresearchers in the last two centuries onaccount of rapid industrialization.

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Our understanding of the concept ofleadership has transformed radically since1300 when the word "leader" first appearedin the English language originating fromthe root leden meaning "to travel" or "showthe way." (The Oxford English dictionary)Leadership as a word is said to haveentered the lexicon much later. "Greatnecessities call forth great leaders", wroteAbigail Adams in 1790. The need forleaders has been felt over the ages acrossall walks of life.

Who is a leader? Is there an ideal businessleader? What attributes make an effectiveleader? Is leadership implicitly 'good'?How is a leader different from a manager?Can organizations create leaders? Incurrent times, these questions have beendwelt upon by researchers who haveendeavored to unravel the way forward."Leadership is one of the most observedand least understood phenomena on earth"observed Burns (1978), three decades ago.The 20th century in particular haswitnessed a wide range of theories beingput forth. The extent of interest led Stogdill(1981) to observe ironically that "there arealmost as many definitions of leadershipas there are persons who have attemptedto define the concept". Warren Bennis(1985) too lamented the fact that there areover 300 definitions of leadership, even asthe world clearly recognizes the dire questfor leaders.

Yukl (1981) noted that "the term leadershipis a word taken from the commonvocabulary and incorporated into thetechnical vocabulary of scientific disciplinewithout being precisely defined." Withouta universal definition, how does anorganization recognize a leader, or even goa step forward to create one. Many scholarsand practitioners have endeavored touncover assumptions, discover newcontours, and question uncertainties. Alucid system of thought on the emergenceof leadership theory is hence essential to

provide a frame work, to build conceptsfor the future, and to convert theory toaction.

Van Seters and Field, Fleet and Yukl,Armandi et al have reviewed the empiricalresearch and developments over the pastmany decades paving a systematic way tounderstand how leadership science hasevolved. Dorfman (1996) suggestedleadership research is often complex andnot as simplistic as it seems, though hedepicted leadership research passingthrough three eras i.e. trait, behavior andcontingency eras. The categorizationprovided by Van Seters and Field (1990)provides a practical framework, usingwhich an attempt has been made tocomment on some of the keystones of thearch of leadership thought, groupingrelated schools of research rather thanbeing bound by a chronological order ofdiscoveries in the vast area of leadership.

Personality

• Great Man Theory - Bowden 1927,Carlyle 1841 , Galton 1869

• Trait Theories - Bingham 1927

Early theories on leadership primarilyfocused on historical personalities andwhat made them strong leaders, with anattempt to equate leadership withpersonality. Great Man theory contendedthat leadership traits are inherited. Thisschool was based on the belief that leadersare exceptional people, born with innatequalities, destined to lead. Leadership wasthought of as a concept which is primarilymale, military and Western. Trait theoriesidentified traits that differentiate leadersfrom non-leaders. This school also focusedon the lists of traits or qualities associatedwith leadership. Research findings furtherfocused on being able to identify traits thatdistinguish leaders from non-leaders. The

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trait theories often could not accommodateleader- subordinate's interactions and wasdisconnected from situational conditions.Leadership then was viewed from the pointof power and influence, where leadershipwas examined as a relationship betweenpeople.

Influence

• Power Relation Theories -French1956, French and Raven 1959

• Persuasion Theories - Schenk 1928

This school recognized leadership asrelation between individuals and not acharacteristic of the solitary leader andattempted to explain leadershipeffectiveness in terms of source and use ofpower. This school acknowledged thatleadership is a process that involvesrelationship between people and cantherefore not be understood by focusingexclusively on leadership as a specializedrole.

to deliberating on their traits or the powerthey possess, leading empirical studies tofocus on behavioural traits rather thanpersonality. The two major studies onbehavioural aspects of leadership were theMichigan study and the Ohio state studieswhich highlighted initiating structure(leader emphasis on accomplishment oftasks) and consideration (leader concernfor individual and group cohesion). Arelated area built on the dimension ofMichigan studies was the managerial stylegrid which dwelt on the two corner stonesof care for people and concern forproduction, where five styles of leadershipwere identified (Blake and Mouton, 1964).This concluded that managers who are ableto score highly on both the dimensions ofpeople and production have performedbetter than the others due to what has beenrecognized as the best form of teammanagement (Wren, D. 1994). This viewdid not take into account the fact that theright leader types are likely to bemoderated by constraints which aresituational in nature. Theories X and Y triedto provide a framework on who needsdirection and who is self-motivated(McGregor D., 1960).

Situation

• Environment Theory - Hook 1943,Katz and Kahn 1978

• Social Status Theory- Stogdill 1959,Homans 1959

• Socio-Technical Theory - Trist andBamforth 1951

Behavior

• Early Behavior Theories - Bass 1960,Fleishman, Hariris and Burtt 1955,Likert 1961

• Late Behavior Theories - Blake andMouton 1964, Bowers and Seashore1966, Argyris 1976, McGregor 1960

• Operant Theories - Sims 1977,Ashour and Johns 1983

The behaviour school concentrated onwhat leaders actually do rather than ontheir qualities. Different patterns ofbehavior are observed and categorized as'styles of leadership'. The behaviouraltheories moved on to understandingleadership as what leaders do, as compared

This school sees leadership as specific tothe situation in which it is being exercised.It also proposes that there may bedifferences in required leadership styles atdifferent levels in the same organization.Situational aspects gained significantattention with a number of empirical

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studies highlighting the importance ofnature of task, social status, relativepossession of power and externalenvironment (Bass, 1985). Situationalvariables are organization, nature of work,characteristics of subordinates, nature ofexternal environment. The environmenttheories explored how leaders emerge inthe right place at the right time to take thelead. The social-status theories are basedon the idea that as individuals completespecific tasks, they reinforce theexpectation that each individual willcontinue to act congruent with previousbehavior. The leader's and subordinate'sroles are thus defined by mutualexpectation of their behavior. The sociotechnical theory combined theenvironment and social status theory.

variables: Leader-member relations, Taskstructure and Position power. The Path-goal theory identified four possiblebehaviors exhibited by leaders: Directive,Supportive, Participative and Achieve-ment-oriented. Normative theory relatesleadership behavior to decision makingincorporating 7 contingencies on taskstructures and five alternative styles. Adairlaid down a framework for what leadersshould do in order to be effective. TheAction Centered Leadership modeldistinguishes three groups of activities i.e.Achieving the Task, Building andmaintaining the Team and Developing theIndividual, which are highly interrelated.None can be viewed in isolation, and allmust receive leadership attention in orderfor any to work effectively and fororganizational goals to be met. TheContingency theories do not explain clearlywhy employees follow nor do they offerprescriptions on suggested behaviors fordifferent situations.

This school emphasizes the importance ofthe relationship between leader andfollowers, focusing on the mutual benefitsderived from a form of 'contract' throughwhich the leader delivers such things asrewards or recognition in return for thecommitment or loyalty of the followers.Bass's (1985, 1990) work characterized theexchange period and emphasized theimportance of transactions between leadersand followers as well as leader's role ininitiating and sustaining interaction. The

Transactional

• Exchange Theories - Dansereau,Graen and Haga 1975, Greene 1975,Hollander 1958

• Role Development Theories -Hollander 1979, Jacobs 1970, Graenand Cashman 1975

Contingency

• Contingency Theory -Fiedler 1964

• Path Goal theory - Evans 1970,House 1971

• Situational Theory - Hersey andBlanchard 1969, 1977

• Multiple Linkage Model- Yukl1971, 1989

• Normative Theory - Vroom andYetton 1973, Vroom and Jago 1988

• Action Centered Leadership: Adair1973

Leadership studies then moved on to animportant phase of contingency era wheremajor advances were made in the form ofthe Fiedler model (Fiedler, 1964), Path-goaltheory (Bass, 1985) and Normative Theory(Vroom and Yetton, 1973). This schoolrepresented the view that effectiveleadership is contingent on one or morefactors of behavior, personality, influenceand situation. Fiedler identified leadershipsituations as a result of three contingency

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importance of influence between leaderand subordinate returned to focus with thetransactional approach. Vertical dyadlinkage (Graen, 1975) examinesrelationship between leader and followerson a one on one basis, and the mutualinfluence there of, as compared to thegroup as a whole. There was emphasis laidon equitable exchange relationships, andindividual interactions dominating relationbetween the leader and the group,sometimes almost suggesting that thesubordinate could be the leader.

The central concept in this school is change,and the role of leadership in envisioningand implementing the transformation oforganizational performance. The task ofleadership is one of building, monitoringand reinforcing culture of high expectation.Concepts of charisma and transformationalability have started gaining recognition.Leadership has also been seen as vision.The ability to create positive expectations(Bass, 1985) has been observed as a primaryrole of a leader. The new leader (Bennis andNanus, 1985) is one who energizes peopleto action, develops followers into leaders,and transforms organizational membersinto agents of change. Ulrich andSmallwood (1993) defined "Leadership isabout more than individual, psychologicalcompetencies; it's also about deliveringresults. An effective leadership formula isleadership as a multiplicative function ofattributes and results." Leaders who are

This school is based on the sentiment thatperhaps leadership as a concept cannotreally be articulated. The leadership hasbeen perceived as the perceptualphenomenon in the mind of the observer.The numerous approaches to leadershipled to the view that most research isinconclusive and there is no universalunderstanding of leadership. In the article"The Ambiguity of Leadership" the leaderis viewed as a symbol indicating to bealmost insignificant (Pfeffer, 1977). Thisschool research also focused on developingleadership substitute.

This school suggested Leadership isomnipotent in the culture of the entireorganization. Leaders can create a strongculture so that employees lead themselves.The paradigm of leadership started gettingviewed as an intrinsic part of the cultureof the organization and more importantlyenhancing quality of over taking the needto increase quantity of work (Peters andWaterman, 1982, "In Search of Excellence").This era for the first time changes the focusfrom quantity enhancement to qualityenhancement. This school can also beviewed as an extension of the substitutetheories.Anti-Leadership

• Ambiguity Theories - Pfeffer 1977

• Substitute Theories - Kerr andJermier 1978

Culture

• Mckinsey 7 S - Pascale and Athos1981

• Theory Z - Ouchi and Jaeger 1978

• In Search of Excellence -Peters andWaterman 1982

• Schien Theory - Schien 1985

• Self Leadership - Manz and Sims1987

Transformation

• Charisma Theories - House 1977,Burns 1978

• Self Fulfilling Prophecy - Field1989, Eden 1984, Bass 1985

• Leadership Brand – Ulrich andSmallwood, 1999

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able to demonstrate both right attributesand right results become "LeadershipBrand". Results have been aligned to allinternal and external stakeholders.

The need for an integrative framework

Leadership theories have thus been animportant area of research in behavioralsciences, and continues to expand ourunderstanding of leaders, leadership,and leadership development systems.While the utility of understandingleadership is beyond doubt, the futilityof being able to create an integrated

universal model of leadership continues toengage researchers.

Van Seters and Field (1990) also noted, intheir review of literature over the years,"what is required is a conceptualintegrating framework which ties thedifferent approaches together, and makespossible the development of acomprehensive, sustaining theory ofleadership". They depict the progress ofleadership theory, in a schematicrepresentation of affiliations andenveloping inter-linkages the developmentof view points, as shown below :

Source: Van Seters and Field (1990)

Integrative era

Transformational era

Culture era

Anti- leadership era

Transactional era

Contingency era

Situation era

Behaviour era

Influence era

Personality era

Great man period

Trait period

Power relations period

Persuasion period

Early behaviour period

Late behaviour period

Operant period

Environment period

Social Status period

Sociotechnical period

Behaviour Personality Influence Situation+ + +

Exchange period

Role development period

Influence Situation+

Ambiguity period

Substitute period

Charisma period

Self fulfilling prophecy period

?

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Yukl (1981) suggested an insightful,integrating framework which can be usedas the basis for furthering research intoleadership that aims to link trait, behavior,situation and leadership effectiveness intoone unified field for future discovery.

In the continuing quest for a universallyapplicable definition of leadership itself, aresultant corollary seems to be thedivergence of routes that are being chosenby organizations for developing effectiveleaders. In the current globalized scenariowith unprecedented challenges all around,leadership matters more than ever andorganizations are investing a lot of time andresources to understand what makes asuccessful leader. Ulrich and Smallwood(2000) observed that there still is a criticalneed to identify a small set of attributes thatsuccessful leaders possess, articulate themin ways that could be transferred across all

Source: Yukl (1981)

Leader C harac teris tics Leader B ehavior Intervening

VariablesE nd-R es ult Variables

E xogenous S ituational Variable

Leader P ower

• Traits• S kills• C ompetencies• Physical Attributes

• 13 C ategories of behavior

• S ubordinate C haracteris tics

• Group C haracteris tics

• R ole C haracteris tics• E xternal R esources

• Productivity• E ffectiveness• Psychological Health• Development &

Growth

• Task/Technology C haracteris tics

• Organizational/ Legal/ Political Factors

• 5 Bases• 2 Directions

Micro As pect

Macro As pect

Pers onal C haracteris tic As pect

B ehavioral As pects C riterion Is s ues

R eciprocal Influences

leaders, and create leadershipdevelopment experiences to ensure thatfuture leaders possess these attributes.Leadership theories have contributed to agreat extent in development of leadershipdevelopment methodologies. A practical

way forward, rooted in real life situations,is of great significance to construct a roadmap for developing leadership that cansteer and enable sustained organizationalsuccess.

The more one reviews literature on thisvital field with the many strands ofknowledge awaiting a synthesis, theresultant state of the aspirant still seems tobe a "tabula rasa", a blank slate. It is vitalto explore further the realms of whatgoverns the roadmap of leaders,leadership, leadership effectiveness, andcapability building that creates effective

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leaders. Ambiguity continues to prevailwhether the path chosen is the right one.As a student of leadership, my own questfor a "golden mean" of consilience thatserves as the bridge of understanding,between "a priori" and "a posteriori" statesof our knowledge, remains intriguingly ina present-continuous state. Every stepforward and each insight offered, byeminent scholars, practitioners and

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If you google the word leader andleadership, there are 487 million hits. That’san awful lot of information. If you googlesubordinate and follower there are less than25 million hits. So, almost 20 times more hasbeen written about leadership than aboutbeing a good subordinate. Maybe we’veidentified the crux of the leadershipchallenge- not enough followers!

Clearly, leadership is a topic where thevolume of writing does not match the

value. Much is written and many of thesame ideas are repeated. In the last decade,we have addressed the issue of how leadershave impact by contributing to this hugevolume of work with four books and manyarticles. In this article, we’ll review thiswork and synthesize how we believe we’vecontributed a unique perspective aroundfour ideas:

1. Leadership is about morethan individual, psychological

OUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEYDAVE ULRICH and NORM SMALLWOOD*

Abstract

The authors have specially put together their last decade of work on leadership in this article.Focusing on the “Effective Leadership” formula, they further explore how Leaders build value

and the importance of paying attention to leadership as an “Organization Capability”.Moving beyond the conventional approaches to explaining leadership as traits exhibited by

the leader, this article calls for a balanced approach, exploring the results that leadershipmust attain. Leadership is not only about developing individual qualities but also aboutunderstanding how those qualities lead to superior performance. Therefore, apart from

having effective attributes, Leadership will be considered effectual if it delivers results in thefour key areas - employees, organization, customers and investors.

About the Authors

Dave Ulrich is a professor of business at the Ross School ofBusiness, University of Michigan and co-founder of The RBLGroup. He has written 15 books covering topics in HRand Leadership; is currently on the Board of Directors forHerman Miller; is a Fellow in the National Academy ofHuman Resources; and is on the Board of Trustees of SouthernVirginia University.

Norm Smallwood is cofounder of The RBL Group, he is coauthorof six books and more than a hundred and fifty articles, includingtwo co-authored with Dave Ulrich in Harvard Business Review.Before The RBL Group, Norm was co-founder of The NovationsGroup and an internal consultant at Procter and Gamble and atEsso Resources Canada.

* Please do not cite without permission. For further information see www.rbl.net or contact either DaveUlrich ([email protected]) or Norm Smallwood ([email protected]).

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competencies; it’s also about deliveringresults. An effective leadership formulais leadership = attributes * results(Results Based Leadership, HarvardBusiness School Press, 1999)

2. Leaders must focus outside the firm oninvestors and customers, as well asinside, because results are tied tomultiple stakeholders both inside andoutside the organization. When this isdone well, greater market value occurs.(Why The Bottom Line Isn’t, Wiley,2003 and soft cover- How Leaders BuildValue, Wiley, 2003)

3. Individual leaders matter; butleadership matters more. It’s criticalto pay attention to leadership as anorganization capability not justleader as individuals. When thiscapability ensures the desiredcustomer experience, both customersand investors are served. (CapitalizingYour Capability, Harvard BusinessReview, 2004; Leadership Brand,Harvard Business School Press, 2007)

4. There are two kinds of individual leadercompetencies — a set of fundamentalcompetencies — the leadership codeand a set of unique competenciesthat relate to how leaders connectemployees with customer —the differentiators. (The LeadershipCode, Harvard Business SchoolPress, 2008)

Let us review the evolution of these ideas.

Results Based Leadership – The Kickoff

In the late 1990’s we had a simple insight –much of the practice of leadership wasfocused on individual, psychologicalcompetencies. Virtually every book wecould find then, and to a great extentnow, was aimed at individual, leadercompetency development (what we calledthe attributes of leaders). Popular examplesinclude:

• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

• Authenticity

• Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun,Thomas Jefferson, Buddha, Santa Claus,etc.)

• Emotional Intelligence

• Judgment

• The Extraordinary Leader

• And so on

In seminars we frequently ask, “Whatmakes an effective leader?” The responseis often the same: setting a vision, havingintegrity, communicating, being bold,making things happen, and otherpersonal attributes. Frequently, leadershipdevelopment experiences are organizedwith a day on each attribute.

We proposed that this approach was halfright. Leaders do need to have effectiveattributes but leadership is also aboutgetting results. So, in our 1999 book, ResultsBased Leadership, we explored four resultsthat leaders need to deliver:

• Employee — leaders must increaseemployee competence andcommitment as evidenced inproductivity and retention.

• Organization — leaders must buildsustainable capabilities that shape anorganization’s identity

• Customer — leaders must ensurecustomer delight as seen in share ofcustomer

• Investor — leaders must build investorconfidence in the future as seen inintangible value

It was at this time we realized theimportance of the relationship betweenattributes and results. Neither alone isenough, it’s the virtual cycle between themthat makes all the difference. We connectattributes and results with SO THAT

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and BECAUSE OF. One simple applicationis that when a leader receives 360-degreefeedback, which is about her individualcompetencies, she must ask the “so that”query. I must improve this competency“so that” I deliver a particular result to oneof my stakeholders. Alternatively, anotherleader delivers results and should askthe “because of” question. I delivered thisresult “because of” this competency I have(or lack).

innovation, service, efficiency, culture orshared mindset, and so on. Thesecapabilities become the key to sustainedstrategy execution, the deliverables of HR,and the core identity of the organization.

Customer results

Ultimately, what happens inside anorganization needs to deliver value tocustomers outside the organization. Thetag line being “the employer of choice”

makes more sense if we are the employerof choice of employees our customers wouldchoose. Using customer criteria as the filterfor internal management actions validatesthose actions.

Investor results

What happens inside the organization alsoaffects investor confidence for the future.Investors invest based on industryfavorableness, firm performance, andquality of leadership and organization. Webelieve that the leadership andorganization dimension is often the mostdifficult to specify, but also one that mayhold a key to firm’s overall market value.

In the last decade, we have worked tofurther explore each of these four resultareas.

Investor Results: Why the Bottom LineIsn’t (or How Leaders Add Value)

We began with a very simple question:“which of the four results areas are senior

Figure 1: The Virtuous Cycle of Attributes and Results

This simple chart has guided the last tenyears of our writing and applications forleadership. Let us quickly overview eachof four results, and then show how we haveexplored each of them in the last decade.

Employee results

We have articulated a simple formula foremployee results: competence *commitment * contribution. Leaders mustenable employee results in all three areas.Employee competence means that theindividual has the skills to do the job.Commitment or engagement is aboutinvesting discretionary energy to do whatit takes to get things done. Contribution isabout finding meaning in work.

Organization results

Organization theory has shifted the focusfrom structure, shape, and morphology tocapabilities. Capabilities are the DNA ofcompanies and determine how things areaccomplished. Sample capabilities include:speed of change, learning, collaboration,

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executives most interested in?” With a fewnotable exceptions, senior executives tendto be interested in what investors wantbecause it aligns with the executives’personal interests and because it sustainsthe longevity of the firm. So, we began toread and ask questions about how marketvalue was derived. Pretty soon we werereading the work of Baruch Lev, aneconomist at NYU who was the world’sexpert on intangibles. At about this time,we felt as though our approach toleadership was going in a very differentdirection than what we knew ourcolleagues were studying and we wereexcited about what we were learning.

Since 1990, financial results have played adecreasing role in market value, so muchso that across industries, by 2005, marketvalue was half earnings and the otherhalf intangibles.Intangibles are the factors that giveinvestors confidence in the future of yourcompany versus other competitors in thesame industry. These intangibles deter-mine why two companies in the sameindustry with similar earnings might havevastly different market values. We synthe-sized a number of studies on intangiblesinto an Architecture for Intangibles thatexplains how leaders increase confidencein future earnings:

Figure 2

Figure 3: Architecture for Intangibles

Financial results account for a shrinking proportion of acompany’s market value

Confidence in your future

Confidence in track record

Regressionof earningsand stock

price

1

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

01977 20052002199219871982

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These intangibles define what leaders mustdo to build capabilities that investors value.We found that intangibles exist in both upand down markets.

• Keep our promises: The organizationhas a track record of delivering earningsin a consistent manner

• Create a clear, compelling strategy:There is a shared direction about whatwe will win in the industry

• Align core competencies: We havedeveloped targeted core competenciesthat are consistent with our strategicdirection

• Enable organization capabilities: Wehave distinct social capabilities thatallow us to win through our people andorganization.

Organization results: Capitalizing onCapabilities

About a year after the publication of HowLeaders Build Value, we published an article,“Capitalizing on Capabilities” in theHarvard Business Review, June 2004 thatdefined, identified, and operationalizedorganization capabilities. Organizationcapabilities are the fourth level of theArchitecture for Intangibles. We had afondness for these issues because werealized that organization capabilities arethe deliverables of strategic HR andbecause they have a direct line of sight toimproving market value. Leaders atcompanies like GE, Singapore Airlines,P&G and many others discovered how toincrease investor confidence by buildingcapabilities of leadership, talent, culture,and customer connection. In this work, wesuggested that once leaders have definedstrategy, they should create organizationcapabilities that enable and sustain thatstrategy. These capabilities outlast anyindividual leader, management event, orHR practice.

In particular, we wanted to look at internalorganization capabilities from the outside/in. For example, HR at IntercontinentalHotels sponsored an “Organization (orintangibles) Audit” where they solicitedfeedback from not only employees andleaders, but also franchisors, keycustomers, analysts and institutionalinvestors. The process of obtaining thisorganization level feedback anddetermining how to act on it was newground. The results spoke for themselves-they fought off a hostile takeover and wereable to convince analysts that they shouldnot continue cost cutting but invest incustomer service.We continue to reflect on the capabilitiesorganizations required to achievesustainable success. In our recent writing,we have added to our original list thecapabilities of simplification, socialresponsibility, and managing risk. Whencapabilities integrate diverse HR practices,and when they are linked to customerexpectations, they build long termsustainability.

Customer Results: Leadership BrandAs we turned to the customer results, webegan to focus on the importance of a brandthat distinguishes a firm by making andacting on promises to customers. We likedthe metaphor of brand because it is soclearly tied to business results. As amarketing concept, brand starts with thecustomers. Traditionally individualcompetencies for leadership are definedexclusively inside the company byinterviewing high vs. low performingleaders and then linking the identifiedcompetencies to strategy execution.The more we started with the firm’s brandand the identity of the firm in the mind ofthe customer, and worked to identifyleadership behaviours consistent with thatexternal brand, the more we were sure thatwe had struck gold. We captured ourthinking with two conceptual shifts:

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1. Individual (focus on the leader as aperson) vs. Organizational (focus onleadership as a capability)

2. Inside the Firm (focus on what happensinside the person or the firm) versusOutside the Firm (focus on customerand investor expectations)

These two shifts are shown in the followingfigure:

External

Internal

Celebrity Leaders Leadership Brand:

Leadership SystemsCompetent Leaders

Figure 4

Competent Leaders: As we’ve pointed outbefore, this is where most companies spendtheir time - trying to determine theknowledge and skills of the individualleader - and is an important quadrant.

Leadership Systems: Aligning selection,development, compensation and retentionsystems so integrated and helpful toleaders.

Celebrity Leaders: Famous leaders whoare known to customers and investors helpby drawing attention to the firm- thinkSteve Jobs or Bill Gates.

Leadership Brand: Leaders at every levelwho are recognized both by employees aswell as customers and investors, for theirability to deliver results in a mannerconsistent with firm brand identify.Confidence in future drives price: earningsmultiple and higher market value.

Leadership brand occurs when externalcustomer expectations are translated intointernal leadership behaviours, so that,leaders ensure employees deliver the

desired customer experience wheneverthey touch the customer. To do this, thefirm must not only build good individualleaders, but must develop leadership as anorganization capability, recognized insidethe firm and also by the market.

Figure 5

An early adopter of these ideas was ADIA-the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority- thelargest sovereign wealth fund in the world.ADIA has identified three “cultural pillars”describing their desired firm brand:

1. Effective collaboration

2. Prudent Innovation

3. Disciplined Execution

This perspective guides HR practicesas well as leadership developmentinitiatives. HR practices such as selection,development, performance managementand retention must all integrate aroundeffective collaboration, prudent innovationand disciplined execution. As actionlearning projects are identified foremerging Emirati leaders, they are alsostructured to deliver the cultural pillars orfirm brand elements:

• Effective Collaboration — Each projectwill be sponsored by a member of theAdministration Committee and staffedby 2-3 participants in the cohort. In thisway, collaboration occurs among thepeople on the project and between theproject team and the senior executive.

External

Internal

Celebrity Leaders Leadership Brand :

Competent Leaders Leadership Systems

FIRM BRAND(How a firm wants to be known by customers)

CUSTOMER

EXPERIENCE

EMPLOYEE

ACTIONSLEADERSHIP

DIFFERENTIATIONS

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In addition, projects that crossdepartments are identified, to ensurecollaboration across organizationboundaries.

• Prudent Innovation — This culturalcapability can be developed by scopingthe project so that it delivers a level ofimpact on the numerator or thedenominator e.g. $150,000 impact.

• Disciplined Execution — Tight timeframes ensure disciplined execution.Therefore, each project must becompleted in 8, 10 or 12 weeks. Eachproject must also be measured forimpact and a short white paper writtenthat describes what the project intendedto accomplish and key learning by theteam. This information is madeavailable to future cohorts.

In our consulting practice and in ourresearch with Hewitt on Top Companies

for Leaders (published by Fortune every 2years) we discovered that leadership brandmay be created by 6 integrated steps:

We attempt to link customer expectationsto leadership actions so that employeescould see a line of sight from what they didto what customers expect.

Employee Results: Managing Talent andAbundance

We have written indirectly about employeeresults by helping frame the ways in whichthe HR function can deliver value (HRValue Proposition, Harvard Business Press,2005). When HR departments, practices,and professionals align their work with thegoals of the company and with thecustomers, HR builds employeecommitment.

We are currently working to furtherunderstand employee results in two ways.

Figure 6

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First, we have synthesized the key insightsthat general managers should know abouttalent. To do this, we have created a talentmenu of 10 things, which a general managershould understand, to build better talent.These include defining, assessing, andinvesting in talent, as well as managingdiversity, matching people and position,and measuring talent. Second, we areworking to further clarify how peoplemake meaning at work. While employeesmay be competent (able to do their job) andcommitted (willing to work hard), whenthey also feel a sense of contribution ormeaning, they are more productive. Wecall this creating the abundant organizationand draw insights into this phenomenonfrom multiple disciplines like positivepsychology, demographics, highperforming teams, commitment, and socialresponsibility.

We clearly believe employee results matterand deserve attention, but to date we havefocused on leadership on investor,organization, and customer results.

Leadership Code: Back to the Basics

During 2008, we realized that we really hadnot impacted how the majority of firms didleadership. Rather than fight this tide, wedecided to do integrative and synthesizingresearch around attributes that wouldallow leadership practitioners to move onand join us in our quest to integrateattributes with results.

Faced with the incredible volume ofinformation about leadership, we askedour colleague at The RBL Group, KateSweetman to join us and then turned torecognized experts in the field who hadalready spent years sifting through theevidence and developing their owntheories. These thought leaders had eachpublished a theory of leadership based ona long history of leadership research andempirical assessment of what makeseffective leadership. Collectively, they havewritten over 50 books on leadership andperformed well over 2,000,000 leadership360’s. They are the “thought leaders” ofthis field.¶

In our discussions with them we focusedon two simple questions whose answershad always been elusive:

1. What percent of effective leadership isbasically the same?

2. If there are common rules that allleaders must master, what are they?

We wanted to understand if an effectiveleader at, say, Walmart in any waysresembles an effective leader at VirginAirlines? Does an effective leader in abootstrapping NGO in any way resemblean effective leader at the famouslybureaucratic United Nations? Does aneffective leader in an emerging marketresemble an effective leader in a maturemarket? Does an effective leader in

¶ These generous thought leaders included: Jim Bolt (working on leadership development efforts): RichardBoyatzis (working on the competency models and resonant leadership); Jay Conger (working on leadershipskills as aligned to strategy); Bob Fulmer (working on leadership skills); Bob Eichinger (work with MikeLombardo to extend work from Center from Creative Leadership and leadership abilities); Marc Effronworking on large studies of global leaders; Marshall Goldsmith (working on global leadership skills andhow to develop those skills); Gary Hamel (working on leadership as it relates to strategy); Linda Hill(working on how managers become leaders, and leadership in emerging economies); Jon Katzenbach(working on leaders from within the organization); Jim Kouzes (working on how leaders build credibility);Morgan McCall (representing Center for Creative Leadership); Barry Posner (working on how leadersbuild credibility); Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman (working on how leaders deliver results and becomeextraordinary).

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organized crime in any way resemble aneffective leader in organized religion? Doesan effective leader in a Swisspharmaceutical company share anyunderlying characteristics with an effectiveleader at Google?

To the first question, the experts varied asthey estimated that somewhere in therange of 50 to 85% of leadershipcharacteristics were shared across alleffective leaders. The range is fairlybroad, to be sure, but consistent. From thebody of interviews we conducted, weconcluded that 60-70% of leadershipeffectiveness would be contained in aLeadership Code if we could crack it.Synthesizing the data, the interviews, andour own research and experience, aframework emerged that we simply call theLeadership Code.

In an effort to create a useful visual,we have mapped out two dimensions(Time and Focus) and placed what we arecalling Personal Proficiency (selfmanagement) at the center as anunderlying support for the other two. Thisfigure synthesizes the Leadership Codeand captures the five rules of leadershipthat capture leadership DNA. These fiverules can be readily applied to any groupof leaders:

Rule 1: Shape the future. This rule isembodied in the strategist dimension of theleader. Strategists answer the question“where are we going?” and make sure thatthose around them understand thedirection as well. They not only envision,but also can create a future. They figureout where the organization needs togo to succeed, they test these ideaspragmatically against current resources(money, people, organizationalcapabilities), and they work with others tofigure out how to get from the present tothe desired future. Strategists have a pointof view about the future and are able toposition their organization to create andrespond to that future. The rules forstrategists are about creating, defining, anddelivering principles of what can be.

Rule 2: Make things happen. Turn whatyou know into what you do. The Executordimension of the leader focuses on thequestion “How will we make sure we getto where we are going?” Executorstranslate strategy into action. Executorsunderstand how to make change happy,to assign accountability, to know whichkey decisions to take and which todelegate, and to make sure that teams workwell together. They keep promises tomultiple stakeholders. Executors makethings happen, and put the systems

Figure 7: The Leadership Code

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in place for others to do the same. Therules for executors revolve arounddisciplines for getting things done andthe technical expertise to the get the rightthings done right.

Rule 3: Engage today’s talent. Leaders whooptimize talent today answer the question,“Who goes with us on our businessjourney?” Talent managers know how toidentify, build and engage talent to getresults now. Talent managers identify whatskills are required, draw talent to theirorganizations, engage them, communicateextensively, and ensure that employeesturn in their best efforts. Talent managersgenerate intense personal, professional andorganizational loyalty. The rules for talentmanagers center around resolutions thathelp people develop themselves for thegood of the organization.

Rule 4: Build the next generation. Leaderswho are Human Capital Developersanswer the question, “who stays andsustains the organization for the next

generation?” Talent Managers ensureshorter-term results through people whileHuman Capital Developers ensure that theorganization has the longer-termcompetencies required for future strategicsuccess. Just as good parents invest inhelping their children succeed, humancapital developers help future leaders besuccessful. Human capital developersthroughout the organization build aworkforce plan focused on future talent,understand how to develop the futuretalent, and help employees see their futurecareers within the company. Humancapital developers ensure that theorganization will outlive any singleindividual. Human capital developersinstall rules that demonstrate a pledge tobuilding the next generation of talent.

Rule 5: Invest in yourself. At the heart ofthe Leadership Code – literally andfiguratively – is Personal Proficiency.Effective leaders cannot be reduced to whatthey know and do. Who they are as human

Figure 8

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beings, has everything to do with howmuch they can accomplish, with andthrough other people. Leaders are learners:from success, failure, assignments, books,classes, people, and life itself. Passionateabout their beliefs and interests, theyexpend an enormous personal energy andattention on whatever matters to them.Effective leaders inspire loyalty andgoodwill in others because they themselvesact with integrity and trust. Decisive andimpassioned, they are capable of bold andcourageous moves. Confident in theirability to deal with situations as they arise,they can tolerate ambiguity.

As we have worked with these five rulesof leadership, we can make some summaryobservations.

• All leaders must excel at PersonalProficiency. Without the foundation oftrust and credibility, you cannot askothers to follow you. While individualsmay have different styles (introvert vs.extrovert, intuitive vs. sensing, etc.), anyindividual leader must be seen ashaving personal proficiency to engagefollowers. This is probably the toughestof the five domains to train and someindividuals are naturally more capablethan others.

• Effective leaders have one toweringstrength. Most successful leaders haveat least one of the other four roles inwhich they excel. Most are personallypredisposed to one of the four areas.These are the signature strengths ofyour leaders.

• All leaders must be at least average inhis or her “weaker” leadershipdomains. It is possible to train someoneto learn how to be strategic, execute,manage talent, and develop futuretalent. There are behaviors and skillsthat can be identified, developed, andmastered.

• The higher up the organization that theleader rises, the more he or she needsto develop excellence in more than oneof the four domains.

It is very bold to say that these five domainssynthesize and summarize leadership, butwe continue to believe that we havecaptured the essence of what attributeseffective leaders need.

What’s next?

After a decade, we are more confident thanever about a balanced formula forleadership: attributes * results. This simpleformula allows us to organize theory,research and practice of leadership. Thesummary of our publications in leadershipcan be seen in Figure 8.

We know there is more to do. As we lookahead, there are more stakeholders thathave results for leaders to build value for.For example, we are interested incommunities and how leaders ensure socialresponsibility. We’re also interested in howinvestors, venture capitalists, privateequity funds, sovereign wealth funds andothers determine quality of leadershipduring due diligence processes. Our initialresearch into this area and the globaleconomic condition suggests currentapproaches are relatively primitive. Thisfuture work will continue to flesh out themix of attributes and results thatcharacterize effective individual leadersand organization leadership capabilities.

As we have done this body of work, wehave better defined the importance of bothleaders as individuals and leadership assystems, of both attributes of effectiveleaders and results of effective leadership,and of leaders serving stakeholders bothoutside and inside their organizations.

We have many ideas that continue to buildon this logic over the next decade and hopeto use fewer words to have more impact.

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LINKING STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND HUMANRESOURCE MANAGEMENT

GARY YUKL and RUBINA MAHSUD

Abstract

The literatures on human resources management and on strategic leadership have developedseparately, and important linkages between the two subjects have not received much attention.

Leaders can influence the quality of human resources in a company, and human resourcespecialists can improve the quality of strategic leadership by executives. We describe how

HRM and strategic leadership are inter-related and how they jointly influence the financialperformance of a company.

About the Authors

Gary Yukl is a Professor of Management at UAlbany, and hisprimary areas of research and teaching include leadership,interpersonal influence, and management development. He hasreceived several awards for his research and is a Fellow of theAcademy of Management and the Society of Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Yukl is the author of many articlesand books, including Leadership in Organizations (Prentice Hall,7th edition, 2009), which is used in many countries including India.

He can be reached at [email protected].

Rubiná Mahsud is an Assistant Professor in the Albers Schoolof Business at Seattle University. Her primary areas of teachingand research include business strategy and strategic leadership.She has a Ph.D. in Organizational Studies from UAlbany andhas earlier degrees in medicine and public health (including anMD). She can be reached at [email protected].

Introduction

The literature on strategic leadershipdescribes the influence of top executives onorganizational processes that determinethe financial performance and survival ofa company. The literature on humanresource management (HRM) describespractices and programs used to improveemployee skills and commitment. The twoliteratures have developed separatelywithout much attention to points ofconvergence. How top executives influence

the quality of human resources, and howHRM programs influence the quality ofstrategic leadership are seldom examined.The purpose of this article is to examinerelated aspects of the two literatures thatdeserve more attention.

Strategic Leadership and CompanyFinancial Performance

Evidence from research on top executivesindicates that they have a moderate amountof influence on the bottom-line financial

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performance of a company over a period ofseveral years (see Hambrick, 2007; Mackey,2008; Yukl, 2009). However, limitedprogress has been made in explaining howtop executives actually influence thefinancial performance of a largeorganization. The explanations provided inmuch of the leadership literature involveleader influence on employee confidenceand commitment to an appealing vision forthe future. For example, several surveystudies examined the relationship betweenCEO transformational or charismaticleadership and indicators of companyperformance (e.g., Angle, Nagarajan,Sonnenfeld & Srinivasan, 2006; Waldman,Javidan, & Varella, 2004). Severalcomparative case studies have examined theinfluence of top executives on thecompetitive strategy and the processes usedto make strategic decisions (e.g., Finkelstein,2003; Tushman & O’Reilly, 1996). Otherleadership scholars have described how topexecutives can influence organizationalprocesses and aspects of structure thatimprove efficiency and adaptation, whichare two primary determinants of long-termprosperity for an organization (e.g., Ebben,& Johnson, 2005; Yukl, 2008; Yukl &Lepsinger, 2004). A company is highlyefficient when essential operations areconducted in a way that minimizes costsand avoids wasted effort and resources.Efficiency is especially important for theperformance of a company when thecompetitive strategy is to offer its productsand services at a lower price thancompetitors. Top management can improveefficiency by redesigning work processes,applying new technology that is relevant forimproving work processes, finding ways toreduce costs for materials, supplies, labor,and energy, and coordinating unitactivities to avoid unnecessary activitiesand wasted resources.

The financial performance of a companyalso depends on responding in appropriate

ways to external threats and opportunities.Adaptation is especially important whenthe external environment is volatile anduncertain, and for an organization thatemphasizes unique, leading-edge productsor services designed to satisfy the changingneeds of customers and clients. Topmanagement can improve adaptation bycarefully monitoring the externalenvironment and tracking changes incustomer preferences, economicconditions, competitor actions, andtechnological discoveries relevant to thefirm’s processes, products, or services.Adaptation is also improved when topmanagement has a flexible strategy thatwill facilitate rapid change, and there areeffective processes for acquisition,dissemination, and application of relevantnew knowledge (Yukl, 2008; Yukl &Lepsinger, 2004).

HRM and Company FinancialPerformance

The literature on human resourcesmanagement is primarily concerned withthe recruitment, selection, training,compensation, and retention of employees.Examples of widely used programs includerecruitment and selection, orientation andteam building, mentoring and careercounseling, training and development,talent management, succession planning,compensation and benefits, and employeeempowerment. In much of the recentliterature on strategic human resources,talented employees (sometimes referred toas “human capital”) are viewed as a sourceof competitive advantage and a way toimprove bottom line results (Hatch et al.,2004; Hitt & Ireland, 2002). Several studiesfound that companies with effectivehuman resource management practicesand programs have better financialperformance (e.g., Becker & Huselid, 1998;Bowen, & Ostroff, 2004; Huselid & Schuler,1997; Richard, & Johnson, 2001; Park,Mitsuhashi, Fey, & Bjorkman, 2003).

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An example of this type of research is thestudy by Singh (2003), which tested therelationship between HRM practices andfirm performance in a sample of 84 Indianfirms selected across range of industries.Using data from the Business Today 500database, Singh examined the impact ofHRM practices such as manpowerplanning, recruitment, selection,evaluation, compensation, employeetraining, and staffing on objective measuresof firm performance such as return onassets (ROA) and sales growth. Aftercontrolling for firm variation and industryeffects, HRM practices were significantlyrelated to these measures. Singh concludedthat through the use of good HR practices,it is possible to have a more competent andcommitted workforce, which in turnprovides a source of sustainablecompetitive advantage.

Research on the impact of HRM programsand practices on a firm’s financialperformance have made only limitedprogress in identifying explanations for therelationship. The programs are often verycostly, and a company can have poorfinancial performance despite elaborateHRM programs and employees who arehighly skilled and motivated. HRMprograms and practices are unlikely to beeffective unless they are consistent withthe firm’s competitive strategy. There alsois some evidence that HRM practicesshould be comprehensive and mutuallycompatible (Ichniowski & Shaw, 1999). Therole of leaders is seldom examined closelyin the HRM literature, but it is obvious thatleaders at all levels in an organization caninfluence the quality of human resources.

How Leaders Can Improve HumanResources

Flexible leadership theory describeshow leaders can enhance employeecommitment and skills in ways that willeventually improve efficiency, adaptation,

and financial performance (Yukl, 2008;Yukl & Lepsinger, 2004). Many studiesduring the past half century have identifiedtypes of leadership behavior that canenhance employee confidence,cooperation, and effort. Examples includeproviding support and encouragementwhen an employee is discouraged or upsetby a difficult problem, providinginstruction and coaching to an employeewho needs it, providing recognition forimportant contributions and achievementsby an individual or team, empowering acompetent employee or team to determinethe best way to do a task, and delegatingnew responsibilities or more authority to acompetent employee. How leaders canimprove employee skills has received lessattention in the leadership literature, butexamples of relevant behaviors include:providing clear explanations about jobresponsibilities and work procedures tonew or inexperienced employees,providing coaching and feedback to anindividual or team, encouragingemployees to attend relevant trainingactivities, facilitating attendance at trainingprograms, making developmentalassignments to learn new skills, andproviding opportunities to use newlylearned skills.

Leaders can also improve the quality ofhuman resources by their influence onHRM programs and management systems(Yukl, 2008; Yukl & Lepsinger, 2004). Thistype of leader influence is sometimes calledindirect leadership, because no directinteraction with followers is necessary toinfluence their attitudes and behavior. Topexecutives in an organization usually havethe authority to design or modify humanresource management programs. It is theirresponsibility to ensure that the HRMprograms are cost effective, compatiblewith each other, and consistent withthe firm’s competitive strategy. Middleand lower-level managers can help to

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implement and support the HRMprograms, and they can help to evaluatethe programs and suggest improvements.

Direct behaviors and changes in HRMprograms are complementary forms ofleader influence. The direct behaviors canbe used to facilitate the implementation ofnew programs and their successful use. Forexample, a new training program is morelikely to be successful when managersencourage subordinates to attend theprogram and provide opportunities to usenewly learned skills on the job. Humanresource management programs canenhance the effects of direct leadershipbehaviors. For example, encouraginginnovative thinking is more likely toincrease the development of new productsand processes, when an organization hasa well-designed program to facilitate andreward innovation. However, programsand structures can also limit the use ofleadership behaviors or nullify their effects.For example, it is difficult to empowersubordinates when there are elaboraterules and standard procedures.

Human resource management programsand systems can also serve as substitutesfor some types of direct behaviors, and theyprovide a way to ensure that commonactivities are carried out in an efficient anduniform way across subunits. For example,training of generic skills that are relevantfor all employees is likely to be moreefficient and consistent if provided byexpert trainers as part of a companytraining program rather than by manyindividual managers in the company.

Despite the evidence that HRM programscan improve financial performance, manycompanies fail to achieve the potentialbenefits (Bassi & McMurrer, 2007; Pfeffer,2005). One reason is that some topexecutives still regard human resources asa cost rather than an asset, and they viewHR functions as a low-level staff

responsibility that can be outsourced orminimized. It is essential for top executivesto understand the potential benefits fromHRM programs and how these benefits canbe achieved. To improve consistencybetween HRM programs and the firm’scompetitive strategy, the HR directorshould be included as a full-fledgedmember of the top-management team whoparticipates in the process of makingstrategic decisions for the firm.

Human capital is related to efficiency andadaptation in complex ways, and a goodunderstanding of these interdependenciesis required to balance the tradeoffs and findsynergies (Yukl, 2008). It is important toavoid any adverse consequences that cannullify the potential benefits of HRMprograms and practices. For example, it isusually expensive to attract, develop, andretain talented people, and improvementsin human capital will reduce overallefficiency unless the additional expensesare exceeded by greater benefits fromenhanced performance. It is also importantto ensure that HRM programs andpractices are implemented effectively(Gratton & Truss, 2003; Khilji & Wang,2006; Richard & Johnson, 2001). When apopular HRM program is poorlyimplemented, the likely result is highercosts without most of the desired benefits.To assess the utility of human resourcemanagement programs and practices, topmanagement should find ways to measuretheir short-term and long-term costs andbenefits.

How HRM Can Improve StrategicLeadership

Up to this point, the focus of this article hasbeen on the influence of leaders on HRM,but reverse causality also occurs. Theimportance of human resourcemanagement systems for improving thequality of leadership has not been clearlyacknowledged in much of the leadership

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literature. Most leadership theories focuson the skills and actions of individualleaders without considering theorganizational processes by which leadersare selected, trained, and developed. Thequality of top executives who are promotedfrom within the organization is highlydependent on programs and practicesinvolving leadership development,performance appraisal, successionplanning, and executive selection. Theresearch on human resource managementhas identified effective practices fordeveloping and assessing leadershipcompetencies, but many organizations failto apply this knowledge systematically toimprove strategic leadership by topexecutives (McCall, 1998).

Another contribution of human resourcemanagement programs to strategicleadership is to provide the informationneeded by top management to assess theorganization’s human capital. The need forconsistency between managementprograms and the competitive strategy isnot only a matter of changing programswhen the strategy changes. An effectivecompetitive strategy depends in part on thecore capabilities of the organization, andhuman capital is often one of them. Thediversity of potential strategies is increased

when an organization already has talentedpeople who are able to support a newstrategy requiring different skills than thecurrent one, or when such employees canbe hired without excessive cost. A well-designed human resource system can trackemployee capabilities that are relevant tothe challenges facing the organization.

Conclusions

There is a growing recognition of the needfor better integration of the literatures onhuman resource management and strategicleadership. The importance of humancapital as a determinant of firmperformance is gaining recognition in thestrategic leadership literature, and the needfor human resource programs that supporta firm’s competitive strategy is gainingrecognition in the human resourcemanagement literature. Human resourcemanagement and strategic leadership arerelated in many ways, and there is muchpotential for mutual enhancement. Moreresearch is needed to explore the complexrelationships and discover how to increasethe joint contribution of leadershipprocesses and human resourcemanagement programs to a company’slong-term financial performance.

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Pfeffer, J. (2005). Producing sustainable competitive advantage through the effective management of people. Academy of ManagementExecutive, 19 (4), 95-106.

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Creators par excellence of wealth for stakeholders, visionaries in their own rightwith entrepreneurial flair, and role models all rolled into one are contributors tothis section. It has chief executives offering their deep insights on leadership, asthey perceive it. They are leaders, who at the helm of their organizationsendeavour to create lasting value and shared vision. The buck stops here!

Anu Aga (Thermax), Sandeep Bakhshi (ICICI Lombard), Jaspal Bindra (StandardChartered Bank) and B Santhanam (Saint Gobain) need no introduction, andtheir articles reflect deep understanding of what it means to lead successfully.

Jim Collins (of the classic Built to Last fame) contributed an article he wrote onthe ten best CEOs, hugely relevant even today. Peter Capelli, Harbir Singh,Jitendra V Singh, and Michael Useem (Wharton School) had joined hands withNHRD to unravel the DNA of Indian business leadership, an abstract of whichis also featured in this issue.

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WHEN DOES A CEO BECOME A LEADER?ANU AGA

Abstract

Is being a CEO not synonymous with being a leader? May be not. This article further exploresthe ‘differentiating’ factors of leadership that a typical CEO may need to develop or nurture. Itis when a CEO’s sensitivity is fine-tuned to local and global issues, even though they may not

have an immediate and direct impact on his business, that he will grow in leadershipcapabilities.

In the US, they conduct a weekend seminarcalled Renaissance Weekend, where highprofile people from politics, arts, education,and industry are invited. Even Nobel Prizewinners, sometimes, participate in theseminar. Towards the end of the session, afew participants are asked to give a speechof no more than three minutes and have toimagine that as soon as they deliver thetalk, they would drop dead.

Imagine a situation like that, and whatwould a typical CEO say just three minutesbefore he/she says goodbye to the world!Looking at the context of today’s business– financial meltdowns brought about bygreed and unethical behaviour, scams andfrauds, an atmosphere of suspicion andcynicism about business itself – it isdoubtful if he/she would feel comfortable

at all. Even in the best of times, whenbusiness was booming and our growthrates were galloping, what could be thebest that a successful CEO can say – thathe/she could add profit quarter afterquarter; that he/she was loved byshareholders? What will he/she say abouthow his/her own employees, his/herfamily and the society saw him/her andwhat about the legacy he/she is leavingbehind?

One good outcome of this current financialmeltdown is a reappraisal of everythingthat was once considered sacrosanct. Whenthe edifice of the modern financial systemis exposed to be hollow and moth eaten, itis only natural the captains of that systemare subjected to intense scrutiny. The onephrase that we hear often is ‘the failure of

About the Author

Anu Aga is on the Board of Thermax Limited, the Rs. 3000-croreleading Indian player in energy and environment management. Sheretired as chairperson of the company in October 2004. She has beenvery active in various national and local associations likeConfederation of Indian Industries (CII) and had served as theChairperson of CII’s western region. She has written extensivelyand given talks on the subjects of corporate governance, corporatesocial responsibility, role of women and education. Ever since her

retirement, Anu Aga spends most of her time towards social causes. Her area of interestis education and is keenly involved in an organization called Akanksha, whichpromotes education for the underprivileged children in Mumbai and Pune.

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leadership’. It is true the term connotes awider universe, that of societal leadershipitself. What the world experiences today isa failure of collective leadership on allfronts – politics, education, developmentinitiatives, humane technologies and ofcourse, sustainable business practices. Eversince the end of the Cold War era with itspolarized ideologies, when state-controlledeconomies including ours opened up,business was seen in a new light andpeople looked to captains of industry forcreating wealth and for shouldering theresponsibilities of development. Today, itis that faith and trust that have crumbledand unfortunately, much that has beenbuilt in terms of goodwill and reputationalso has been dismantled. A world thatdiscarded the failure of state-run, regulatedeconomies is, today, questioning the basicprinciples of capitalism itself. And rightlyso. Can we sanction or allow this blatantdisplay of unchecked, unregulatedcapitalism that has destroyed wealth,ruined lives and brought misery andcynicism around the world? Just as thereis a growing tide of popular resentmentabout politicians, can we demand morefrom our CEOs? Can they rebuild ahumane capitalism that can help togenerate and share wealth, and eventuallymove towards interdependence andharmony? Can our CEOs grow to be trueleaders who can give those three-minutespeeches with a sense of fulfillment?

It is now clear that being a CEO is notsynonymous with being a leader. There aremany more aspects of leadership that atypical CEO may need to develop ornurture. First and foremost, there is thecrucial issue of organizing one’s own lifearound a core of calmness and abidingvalues, before one can lead others. Frommy own experience, I have realized it iswhen she is able to lead her own life witha sense of wellbeing that a CEO can aspire

to lead others, become a real leader. Whilelife will keep on presenting hurdles andchallenges, it is an important attribute ofthe leader to face the world withequanimity. One needs to find one’s owncentre – a calm and still zone within. In ourpersonal lives, all of us face situations whenwe need to deal with loss and failure. Weneed to use them as opportunities to tapstrength from within.

Vipassana, a Buddhist meditationdiscipline taught me that unless we tap thepersonal power which is within each of us,we cannot lead from positional power – thepower that comes from our office and title.With centeredness, we begin to appreciatethe uniqueness of our own being andthrough that process learn to respect theindividuality of every person. Once wepractice this, we don’t see people as facelesscategories – employees, shareholders andso on. Getting tuned to our inner stillnessis not some esoteric exercise meant only foryogis or mystics. Eckart Tolle in his book“Stillness Speaks” says, “When you losetouch with inner stillness, you lose touchwith yourself. When you lose touch withyourself, you lose yourself in the world.”

When you operate from your calm centre,you are no longer burdened with theresponsibility of having to be a supermanor a superwoman. You realize the powerof what you can achieve, but moreimportantly, the limits of what is possiblefor a single individual. Then you see noproblems in asking for help. A leader hasto know when the organization is out ofits depth and needs help; and that sheherself need not feel small or ashamed toask for help. This also means creatingshared leadership. Most organizationshave been hierarchical with a strong centralleader managing through a distinct chainof command. This worked in the past, buttoday’s interdependent world of rapid

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changes and cultural diversity demandsthat leaders allow situational leadership toemerge. A CEO becomes a leader when he/she facilitates several leaders to emergefrom within the organization.

Such a clear-eyed and realistic approachwill see the importance of creating anurturing environment for others.Attracting and retaining talent is a bigchallenge that companies face today. Apartfrom being paid well, the youngergeneration would expect that there is roomfor them to make a difference. It is all aboutcreating a stimulating and vibrantenvironment where employees participatewith enthusiasm and feel the glow offulfillment when they know somethingmeaningful has been achieved at the endof a working day. Can we business leaderscreate an ‘entrepreneurial’ culture thatgives employees this sense of fulfillment,where without necessarily owning shares,they experience a strong sense of belongingand have a sense of purpose?

In our own case, Thermax grew becausethere was ample opportunity forindividuals to come up with an idea andmake it a success. Entrepreneurial culturealso means having tolerance for failures.As expected, some of our initiatives failed.During a critical phase, when thecompany’s performance deteriorated, ourtolerance for mistakes went down but weare once again re-creating our innovativeand entrepreneurial spirit. Withouttolerance for genuine mistakes, a leadercannot lead a vibrant organization.

Most of you must be familiar with the storyabout two masons who were asked whatthey were doing. One said he was layingbricks, while the other replied that he washelping build a cathedral.

Purpose stems from how you define work.For example, in my own company,

employees can think they are making andselling products like boilers, chillers orpollution equipment or they can look uponit as being in the energy and environmentfield, which addresses the issues of globalwarming. If they are connected to a largervision, they will be energized. And it is forthe leader-CEO to do this.

Vibrancy and interdependence can beenhanced if a leader consciouslyencourages diversity of gender, culture,region and religion. Formulating andfollowing an affirmative policy whichincludes women and marginalizedmembers of the society is not about doingsocial work, and it has been proved that ina globalized environment, diversity addsto better decision making (since it includesdifferent points of view) and enhancescompetitiveness.

I mentioned earlier how today’s CEOs areoften reduced to being mere numbercrunchers. Living such a life, it is naturalthat the cultures they create withinorganizations also become unidimensionaland narrow. Is an organization’s aim onlyfinancial success or is human wellbeing thereal purpose of business? I am convincedthat human wellbeing should be at the topof our agenda. If that is the case, we willneed to question many practices that wehave so far taken for granted. Does successat work carry along with it, a huge pricetag whereby you end up in life as a failure,incapable of meaningful relationships withyour loved ones? Can we business leaderstake on the wider responsibility of helpingour employees achieve a greater sense ofbalance and wellbeing?

As a CEO, a person is responsible for thefinancial success of his organization.However, as a leader, he/she is not onlyresponsible for the success of hisorganization but he/she also needs to

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stand for a wider world – the communityand the society at large. While the firstresponsibility as a corporate leader is tomake his/her organization financiallystrong and sustainable, that is not enough.We have to reach out to the largercommunity from which we draw all ourresources. Very often, corporates argue thatthey are doing their bit by creating jobopportunities and paying taxes. I believethat as the corporate sector is an integralpart of any community, they have to besensitive to its needs. There is a strikingparagraph I read somewhere stating thatthe business of business is to generategrowth and profits or else it will die;however, if that is the sole purpose ofbusiness, then also it should die for it nolonger has a reason to exist. This is veryapplicable to a country like India wherepoverty is a compelling reality and the gapbetween the rich and the poor is widening.It is imperative that the corporate sectorwith its managerial resources, financialmuscle and technical competence reachesout to the needy and make growthinclusive. Apart from a sense of justice,business needs to do this in its ownenlightened self-interest. Corporate socialresponsibility is not just a fashionable thingto do but needs serious commitment fromleaders.

We also need to be responsive andresponsible stewards of life on earth. Weowe it to our future generation and cannotselfishly deplete the limited resources thatthis earth has to offer. Business leadershave a direct role to play when it comes towider concerns such as global warmingand climate change, the extinction ofspecies and cultures, the emergence ofdrug-resistant diseases.

The disastrous consequences of the world’sclimate change offer just such anopportunity to link business with the

wellbeing and security of nations andfuture generations. Unless we step out ofthe paradigms of limitless growth based onunchecked exploitation of hydrocarbonfuels and curb our wasteful energy usepatterns, we would soon be crossing thepoint of no return. Can we as world leaderscontribute in our individual ways to reduceour energy intensities and reduce ourcarbon footprints?

When a CEO’s sensitivity is fine tuned tolocal and global issues even though theymay not have an immediate and directimpact on our business, then she will growin leadership capabilities. For this she willhave to come out of the culture of silence.In all societies, every day there areinstances of social injustice and violationsof human dignity. It might not directlyconcern a CEO, but as a leader how do youreact to injustice, be it communal violenceor atrocities towards the downtrodden thatflare up from time to time in different partsof our country? It will be a test of leadershipfor her whether she chooses to stay foreverin comfort zones and like an ostrichpretend that it is not our business tointervene, or decide to take an active standand be prepared to face the consequences.Just as we are tuned to listening to ourshareholders, every night before we sleep,should we not also take care of that smallvoice – of our own conscience? AmartyaSen warned us that “Silence is a big enemyof social justice”.

In these times of uncertainty and constantchange, we need a constant set of values, astrong ethical sense to anchor us. Insocieties where corruption is rampant, theleader through his/her personal examplehas to show the way. I cannot beprescriptive about values but each leaderwill have to decide where to draw the line.

Life can be the most potent teacher,provided we heed the message it is trying

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to convey. I would like to share a profoundlesson I have learnt: To emerge as a leaderyou have to invest in yourself. Reading orattending programs or gatheringintellectual information can add to yourknowledge and skills but not to yourwisdom. I strongly believe skills can behired but wisdom has to be a key attributeof a leader. Wisdom is your unique andpersonal learnings from life as it unfolds.In a lighter vein, it has been said thatintellect tells you that a tomato is a fruit;wisdom tells you not to use it in fruit-salad.

Wisdom also means realizing the transitorynature of positions and the fact thatinstitutions will continue even asindividuals come and go. A leader plansher succession so that there are no hiccupsand there is smooth transition.“Succession” seems such a logical, goodidea but it means coming to terms with thefact that you are dispensable. Leadershipalso means accepting and coming to termswith the fact that our stay on this earth isfor a short duration, our roles dispensableand however important we imagine we are,our impact is inconsequential.

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EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IS DRIVEN BYSTRONG VALUES

SANDEEP BAKHSHI

Abstract

Leaders are the catalysts through which strategy translates itself into the organization.Therefore, the need for developing leadership potential is evidently undisputable.

Yet, leadership cannot be taught but can certainly be learnt. The article posits that the key toleadership development lies in nurturing strong organizational values. The leaders must

consistently demonstrate these values and bear the responsibility of instilling these throughoutthe organization.

About the Author

Sandeep Bakhshi is the Managing Director & CEO of ICICILombard, a 74:26 joint venture of ICICI Bank and Fairfax Groupand one of the eight companies which started operations after thesector opened up to private sector participants in the year 2001.Bakhshi, an Engineer and an MBA by education, joined ICICI in1986 in the project financing department and worked there till 2001before joining ICICI Lombard in January 2002.

Effective leadership is always a significantelement in the study of success. Thisbecomes even more relevant in areas suchas business, sports, politics and war whichinvolve leading teams or leading a largenumber of people. As a result, there aremany definitions of leadership dependingon the context. Most definitions revolvearound describing the ‘role’ of a leader asone who defines a vision and aligns andmotivates a group of people to achieve thesame. However, more significantly, it isalso seen that the influence of a leader isnot always dependent on title or formalauthority. There is clearly a behaviouralaspect in this insight into leadership andunlike management, leadership thus flowsfrom the core of a personality - it cannot betaught although it may be learnt.

Therefore the question that arises is howone can empower people to spontaneously

take on the leadership mantle towardsachieving a particular result. From abusiness perspective the objective wouldalways be to develop leadership qualitiesacross the width and depth of theorganization and to do so consistently overa period of time.

The answer lies in the development andnurturing of a shared set of core values.Values exert a major influence on thebehavior of an individual and serve asbroad guidelines in all situations. They cutacross hierarchies and functions and formcommon bonds that hold groups togetherat an emotional level.

Strong values are seen to be inter-relatedwith strong leadership and this is pertinentin every context. Organizations thatespouse a distinct set of relevant values andlive by them are able to carve out a definite

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position for themselves in the market.Brands that engage with their targetaudience through a consistent set of valuesthat are built over time have a largercustomer franchise than others. Individualsat all levels who stand for a clear set ofpositive values are respected by everyone.

It is essential that the foundation of anorganization’s DNA be built on a set ofanchor values that are relevant in thecontext of the company’s business modeland the industry it operates in. At ICICILombard we have defined a specific set ofcore values in the context of our business.

a. Positivity: In a world full ofuncertainties a positive approach willlead to positive results and this reflectsin our communication and behaviourwith customers.

b. Sensitivity: Stepping into the customer’sshoes sensitizes us to their emotions andsituational context. This enables aresponse that is appropriate for thesituation and helps build a superiorcustomer experience.

c. Integrity: Integrity is about honesty,sincerity and being of sound moralprinciple. It is also about keepingpromises and fulfilling expectationswhere each function within theorganization comes together seamlesslyas an integrated whole to deliver aconsistent service proposition tocustomers.

d. Humility: True leadership in the serviceindustry requires the humility to keepone’s ego sublime and to serve others.Leaders recognize that they are inbusiness because of customers and areagile thanks to competitors.

e. Responsiveness: We are in the businessof distress management and ourcustomers expect us to respond to theirneeds. A quick response environmentis a source of differentiation and creates

customer loyalty as well as strong wordof mouth.

f. Transparency: Openness in allcommunication is necessary to earn thetrust of both internal and externalcustomers. Interactions underpinned bytransparency go a long way in buildingcredibility in a business such asinsurance where each transaction isbound by a legal contract.

Leaders must consistently demonstrate theorganization’s core values and theyshoulder the responsibility of instillingthese throughout the business. This comesto the fore in various situations that arefaced on a day-to-day basis that indeed putleadership to the test. Some of thesesituations are elaborated below to highlightthe impact of baseline values on theleadership imperative.

Recruitment: Proper recruitment of newresources is the starting point of buildingthe organization’s value system and is inline with the adage that well begun is halfdone. Employees who have been filteredthrough the sieve of core values form thebedrock of a values-driven organization.Their ability to adapt to the company’sculture and beliefs is that much easier andhelps in finally building a team that workswell together. Humility and respect for theindividual enables the team at ICICILombard to work collaboratively in amulti-functional environment towards acommon goal.

Building leadership depth and developingleaders: One determinant of a true leader isthe ability to build bench strength and astrong second level of leadership. This isonly possible when the individual is securewith his own value system and is able toinculcate the same in a positive manner inthe team. This also requires constantcommunication with a bias towardsongoing mentoring as well as coaching.Rewards, recognition and growth that are

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usually linked to performance must alsobe supported by a demonstrated alignmentto the core set of values. A high-performingemployee who is seen to constantly violatethe core values would have a limited futurein the organization.

Decision making: Decisions on key issuesthat the businesses encounter are taken onthe assessment of the choices vis-à-vis theiralignment with core values. Hence both theintended and unintended consequences ofthe decision are owned by the leadershipteam. This also ensures that there are nosignificant post-decision debates and theentire organization is aligned towardsdelivery rather than discussion.

Moments of truth: A service-drivenorganization is faced with thousands ofcustomer interactions on a daily basisacross touch points. Each of these is amoment of truth and could have anelectronic interface or a human interface.Experience suggests that situationsinvolving a human interface with acustomer have a higher chance of creatingboth a positive as well as a negative impacton the brand. Consistency in the customerexperience at these moments of truth buildsa coherent and strong brand. The challengelies in ensuring the desired service deliveryon every occasion especially where humanbehaviour is involved. Furthermore, thechallenge is compounded exponentially asan organization scales up. Training, controland monitoring help in building thedesired service delivery model and ensurea base level customer experience.However, effective differentiation leadingto brand leadership can only be developedthrough an emphasis on the core valuesand their guiding principles. Sensitivityand responsiveness to a customer needrequires a behavioural response that mustcome from within. Integrity of promisesand transparency of communication buildthe foundation of a longer term customerrelationship that is mutually beneficial and

a win-win for both parties. The rightrecruitment filters are important to ensurethat the service-led organization carries thecorrect cultural context. In addition,experiential training helps to demonstrateand internalize the desired value-drivenbehaviour.

Communication with external stakeholders:The industry’s perception of anorganization is a reflection of theperception of its people. The leadershipteam in its interaction with key partners,regulators as well as competition has theopportunity to build a positive image ofthe company and its business philosophy.Here again the right selection of leadershipis crucial as individuals are often insituations where they represent theorganization and their behaviour andcommitment are always underobservation. Leaders who have beentempered and tested in the crucible of corevalues have the confidence of theirshareholders to act in the best interests ofthe organization. At ICICI Lombard, wealso encourage leadership development atvarious levels by allowing the person whois right for the occasion to represent usrather than rely on hierarchical choice.

Corporate social responsibility: The purposeof business cannot be seen in isolation ofits impact on the environment and people.Sensitivity of the leadership towards theirfellow humans reflects in socially directedefforts that do not necessarily have atangible commercial pay off. Genuineefforts which are not superficial would onlycome out of a deeper value-driven initiativeto give something back to society. This, inturn, creates a longer term positive rub-offon the corporate image.

The above perspectives bring some clarityto the interplay between values andleadership and lend credence to the beliefthat the efficacy of the latter is anchored inthe strength of the former and draws

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sustenance from it. We use values asguideposts in our decision making, indeveloping leadership depth, as well as inserving our internal and externalstakeholders. Companies which havevalues that are congruent with theircustomers’ needs are rewarded withloyalty and advocacy leading to highermarket share and a recession-prooffranchise.

It also becomes evident that individualscannot be greater than the organization andleaders who understand this and make it apart of the organizational DNA createbusinesses that are sustainable over thelonger term. The leadership baton thenpasses smoothly between successive teamswho cumulatively take the organization onan unassailable leadership trajectorywithin its ecosystem.

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LEADERSHIP IN CHANGING TIMESJASPAL BINDRA

Abstract

Set in the context of the global economic meltdown, the article provides guidelines forcontemporary leaders to rise above the crises and create real value. It calls for a more proactive

approach on part of business leaders to look aside of the scarce resources and identityopportunities for future growth. In current circumstances, companies need leaders who canaccept the challenge and position their organization to advantage by managing their internal

resources optimally.

About the Author

Jaspal Bindra is currently the CEO Asia of the Standard CharteredBank where he is responsible for developing strategy, drivingstronger regulatory and government relations, addressinggovernance issues and monitoring performance. He also overseesall the M&A activities in Asia, acts as a senior contact role for majorclients, regulators, governments and NGO relationships in Asia andthe UK. He also chairs the Diversity & Inclusion initiative groupwide. Jaspal Bindra is a member of the Visa Asia Pacific Senior

Advisory Council and a Board member of Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Companies and individuals are strugglingto cope with the challenges presented bythe global economic crisis. These areunprecedented times and leaders at alllevels, and across industries, are in manycases facing the most challenging marketcircumstances that they have seen in theircareers. Leaders not only have theresponsibility of ensuring that their staff aremotivated and stay engaged andproductive during these uncertain times,they also have to actively manageexpectations against a backdrop of scarceresources, limited rewards and bleakprospects. Managing such a situation is noteasy; it calls for leadership brimming withstamina, self-confidence, maturity, and along-term view. Those who can thinkahead strategically with a vision for thefuture, rather than those who are inwardlooking and tactical, will emerge as the

winners in this equation. Companies needleaders who can see opportunity in crisisand position their organizations toadvantage. They also need true peoplemanagers who can inspire and motivatetheir people and bring them along for theride. The ability of a leader to retain strongtalent will surely be a differentiator ascompanies try to transition into bettertimes.

Acknowledging the Challenge andLeading from the Front

The first step in articulating strategy is tocome to grips with the situation andacknowledge the challenges. Leaders at alllevels in companies need to adequately andaccurately take stock of the circumstancesand analyze the impact of various factorson all aspects of their business. It istempting to dismiss the current market

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events as cyclical. Many take the stance thatthe economic problems are beyond one’scontrol, and will gradually rightthemselves of their own accord once thelarger system re-balances. Successfulleaders will instead read and master thesituation by delving into the nuts and boltsdetails of their business; and they willcontinue to inform themselves as newinformation emerges. Leaders, who can rollup their sleeves and get into micro detailsabout how their business is being affected,will be best positioned to counterimpediments and gauge opportunities asthe situation improves.

Identifying Business RisksThe ability to identify these potentialbusiness risks, both existing and emerging,is important. One of the top reasons citedfor the financial crisis is inadequate riskmanagement practices at banks, increasedcomplexity of financial instruments andmarket speculation. This allowed manybanks to increase their exposuredisproportionately in a single line ofbusiness ignoring the underlying risksinvolved. Risk should be considered aninput for all business decision making andnot viewed as a mere regulatory activity.A dynamic risk mitigation strategy acrossan organization is a must. Equally,corporate governance has never been moreimportant – financial reporting, accountingpractices, disclosures and compensationstructures are under immense public andgovernmental scrutiny. Leaders shouldensure their houses are in order internally– all practices should be scrutinized, openand transparent, helping avoid allegationsor misunderstandings that could lead toerosion of brand value.

Understanding Customer Needs

Another critical input to building asuccessful strategy in tough times is stayingclose to customers. Leaders have to stayclosely informed about changing customer

needs, and challenges that customers arefacing in their own industries. This betterpositions companies to respond withrelevant services. It is important to keepan on going dialogue with clients, even iftransactions have currently slowed down.It will ensure that companies get the firstcall when the situation turns.

Downturns actually provide opportunitiesfor a company to increase value delivered,through better operational efficiency.Sygneta, a company in Latin America thatmanufactures fertilizers, agrochemicalsand pesticides, learned from a downturnin agricultural markets a few years ago,that it can increase its value proposition tofarmers (its customers) by offering themyield guarantees. This created a win-winsituation for both sides - farmers werewilling to buy the products for a higherprice without defaulting and Sygnetastarted to see healthier profit margins.

Sharing the Vision and EmpoweringPeople

Leaders may have to make tough decisionsabout costs and people, but in doing so theyare in fact providing their teams a chanceto learn and grow. Constrained resourcesoften bring out the best innovations andgive people at all levels a chance to bethoughtful and creative. Many leaders saythat they and their teams learn more inchallenging times, rather than when timesare good and the revenues flow in as amatter of course. It is critical therefore, thatstaff are brought in to share the vision andare empowered to take ownership forperformance and implementation. The bestlaid plans often go awry because of poorimplementation. Whilst leaders setdirection from the top, it is important toseek input to decision making at all levels.It is usually staff on the line, those who areon the job day-to-day, that come up withthe most creative ideas to successfullyimprove a process.

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Investing in Creative and LonglastingSolutions

In trying to increase operational efficiencyand encouraging staff to do more with less,companies may find that investments ininfrastructure related areas like technologymay reap benefits in the long run. It isimportant to avoid being myopic, and totake a long-term view on such investments,though it may seem a surprising time to bespending more money. This is the kind ofmeasured risk that leaders should becourageous about taking during toughtimes. Historically, some of the mostcreative and lasting solutions haveemerged in the most challenging businessscenarios.

”Henry Ford cannot take credit forinventing the automobile or the assemblyline. He will, however, forever beremembered as the visionary whotransformed the assembly line so that hisModel T could be produced moreinexpensively. In doing so, he changed theautomobile itself from a luxury to anecessity and changed the average man’slife for good.”

Similarly, in preparing GE for the future,Jack Welch implemented his famous SixSigma effort in 200 projects in the companyin 1995 at an investment of USD 200million. The benefits were almostimmediate; GE recorded USD 170 millionin savings from this initiative.

Building People Capabilities

No one can accomplish all of this alone.A good leader will have a dedicated teamof lieutenants; capable professionals to helpprepare, plan and execute. This group oflieutenants will not appear overnight –leaders should plan for succession andgroom their juniors as a constant priority.In difficult times it is more important thanever for leaders to know the strengths andweaknesses of their people – to knowwhom they can trust to get the job done,

and make decisions in a pinch. This secondbench will believe in their leader’s visionfor the company and be jointly accountablefor performance. This accountability isimportant; it provides a sense of ownershipfor the company and its people. Leadersshould continually empower their toppeople in this manner and gradually buildownership.

These top leaders should be careful not tolet the current situation overwhelm them,or they will risk losing the confidence oftheir staff. Employees today are well-informed and have access to numerouschannels of information. They understandthat in conditions like these, there is nosilver bullet solution or one right answer.Rather than pretending to know it all orpotentially making false promises to staff,honesty is the best way for leaders to bemost reassuring. Leaders shoulddemonstrate that they are on top of factorswithin their control and that they areprepared and capable of responding toshifting market dynamics. They shouldstick to the facts and be transparent – thiswill inspire confidence and give themintegrity as a leader. Keep in mind thatleaders are also competing with the mediafor staff attention. Now more than ever, themedia limelight is focused on companyleadership, exposing leaders and theirinternal frameworks to public analysis.People watch leaders’ reactions, the wordsthat they use, their facial expressions, eventheir body language, as the basis foranalysis to draw broad conclusions abouta company’s health.

Communicate, Communicate,Communicate

In a stressful time like this, many leadersmake the mistake of getting so caught upin their business strategy and balance sheetthat they do not have the time tocommunicate with their people. Theyshould put in a concerted effort towards

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sharing information and setting realisticexpectations. It is important to motivatestaff by displaying a positive attitude,without appearing arrogant or over-confident. Staff should trust that theirleadership are thinking ahead andplanning for their collective future. Regularand timely communication is extremelyimportant and leaders should be veryvisible – in town hall meetings, roundtablesessions and on the production floor. Noamount of email communication can buildthe trust that a face-to-face meeting can.Senior leaders in a company can providereassurance to younger staff by tellingthem about challenges they may have facedat some point in their own careers and theirsurvival strategy. They can tell them storiesabout companies that have emergedwinners through a downturn and theirtactics for staying ahead of the pack. Inmaintaining a confident and reassuringapproach, leaders will win support andtrust from staff. On the other hand if theyare tentative or dishonest in theircommunications, staff will lose faith in theirleadership and in their commitment to thecompany as a whole. The absolute worstthing that can happen during tough timesis for leaders to be seen as withholdinginformation. If this happens, staff will startto rely on the rumour mill as their primarysource of information and base their actionson what they are hearing in the corridorsor in the cafeteria. This can have disastrouseffects and spawn uncertainty and attritionamongst the best performing staff - simplybecause they believe the grapevine in theabsence of direct communication withleadership.

Leaders should be clear that the companyand the people come above all else. Theyshould give praise where deserved. Thecompany’s agenda for the future, itsbusiness goals, and the role staff shouldplay in achieving these, are items thatshould be reiterated consistently in all staff

forums, town halls, and lunch meetings.This is the best way a leader can win thesupport of his people if tough decisionshave to be made, whether it is cutting costsor announcing redundancies. They willunderstand that these steps are necessaryto define the future of the company.

So while leaders are coming to grips withthe situation and setting strategy, it iscritical that they win public and staffconfidence by displaying a cool head andremaining guided by company principlesto tide the organization throughuncertainty. Complacency and overarrogance based on past success can belethal. Mature leaders will expect themarket to keep changing and will beprepared for the unexpected. They will bealert and have the flexibility to respond tosudden changes which may call for a quickrevision of plans. This flexibility andadaptability to market dynamics is a criticaldifferentiator for leaders today.

It is very hard for anyone to predict whenthe downturn will reverse its trend. Whileit is natural for companies to think aboutsurvival during this time, the smart onesshould actually be planning for theturnaround phase and how to emerge awinner. They should put together a robuststrategy with contingency plans, a goodpeople management and talent retentionprogram and also be willing to takecalculated risks to strengthen their corebusiness, while willing to trim non-coreand cost-intensive business practices. Theyshould look at increasing their efficienciesand increasing their value proposition totheir stakeholders. The landscape aroundus will continue to change and we maynever taste the old times again. But tosurvive and succeed, leaders have to beresilient; they must restore confidence,prepare their organizations to adapt andrespond, and build a culture ofperformance and accountability in theircompanies. Leading a company in tough

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times is not easy and it is even harder todrive performance keeping in mind thatchallenging times call for stretched anddemanding benchmarks. It is best totherefore, always act within the value and

References:a. Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time - Daniel Gross and the editors of Forbes magazine

b. 50 Companies that Changed the World – Howard Rothman

Other internet references:1. Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty – Ram Charan

2. Tackling Tough Times – John Eales – Mettle Group

3. Winning in Turbulence – Bart Vogel – Bain and Company

4. Managing in the Downturn – Paul Thompson – Partner, Advisory – KPMG Australia

5. Leadership in Turbulent Times – Damien O’Brien – Egon Zehnder International

6. The McKinsey Quarterly - Leading through Uncertainty – December 2008 – Lowell Bryan and Diana Farrell

7. Strategy in a Structural Break – The McKinsey Quarterly – Richard P. Rumelt

8. Seven Lessons for Leading in Crisis – The Wall Street Journal, Feb 2009 – Bill George

9. Cracking the Code of Change – Harvard Business Review – Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria

10. Moving Upward in a Downturn – Harvard Business Review – Darrell Rigby

11. The Crisis: Mobilizing Boards for Change – The McKinsey Quarterly, Feb 2009 – Andrew Campbell and Stewart Sinclair

12. Leadership in Turbulent Times: The New Scorecard – Luis F. Valdes, Turknett Leadership Group

13. http://www.imd.ch/research/challenges/TC001-09.cfm

culture framework of the company andwin the respect and trust of the people bybeing role models worthy of emulation.Now more than ever, leaders have to walkthe talk and lead by example.

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THE DNA OF INDIAN BUSINESS LEADERSHIPPETER CAPELLI, HARBIR SINGH, JITENDRA V SINGH and MICHAEL USEEM

Abstract

A detailed study covering over 100 CEO’s and heads of human resources was conducted by theNational HRD Network and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania to explore the

areas of Leadership, Governance and Employee Management in leading Indian firms.The focus of the study was on identifying the distinctive features of Indian organizations thatset them apart from their U.S counterparts. This article summarizes the key findings of the

study and throws light upon the distinguishing features of India Inc.

About the Authors

Peter Capelli is George W. Taylor Professor of Management at TheWharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also the presentDirector of ‘Center for Human Resources’. His research interestsinclude, human resource practices, talent and performancemanagement and public policy related to employment amongothers.

Harbir Singh is the The Mack Professor of Management at TheWharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also the ViceDean for Global Initiatives and the Co-Director of Mack Center forTechnological Innovation. His research interests include strategiesfor corporate acquisitions, corporate governance, joint ventures,management buyouts and corporate restructuring.

Jitendra V Singh is the Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Managementat The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is also theVice Dean for International Academic Affairs. He holds a PhD fromStanford University. His research interests include, business processoutsourcing, developing firm capabilities, organizational evolutionand organizational change, among others.

Michael Useem is the William and Jacalyn Egan Professor ofManagement at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.He is also the Director of Center for Leadership and ChangeManagement. He holds a PhD from Harvard University. Hisresearch interests include, leadership, decision making, governance,corporate change and restructuring among others.

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On August 15, 2007, India celebrated the60th year of its independence from theBritish. Both within and outside of India,the interest in how India has been doingfocuses on the Indian economy and Indiancompanies in particular. The reason, ofcourse, is because the economy has beenbooming and is increasingly becoming amodel for countries elsewhere. GDPgrowth until the recent global meltdownaveraged an amazing 9 - 9.5 percent peryear; foreign investment, both portfolioinvestment and FDI, were at an all timerecord high; India’s foreign exchangereserves, which in 1991 were down to justover $1 billion, were until recently at $320billion; inflation was well under control,and a large swathe of Indian society hasbeen lifted out of poverty.

Clearly, India’s economic success scores forspecial interest, yet another reason thatdraws world attention is the ability ofIndian companies to deal with a workforceof incredible diversity. At present, Indiarecognizes more than 18 languages, isdivided among six major ethnic groups andscores of smaller ones. Getting thisextraordinarily diverse population to worktogether is a challenge that dwarfs theproblems we see in the U.S. and most othercountries in the world. The Indianeconomy and especially the largecorporations that drive this diverseworkforce, therefore, seem to representsomething unusual that deserves greatconsideration. Moreover, these arecompanies that came right out of economicliberalization (many getting started onlyafter the 1991 economic reforms) andimmediately became competitive with thebest companies in the West. This level ofsuccess raises some profound questionsthat are important not just in India but inthe rest of the world as well. The mostimportant of these questions is simply,what is it that Indian businesses are doing?Is there something distinctive about the

way in which they are operating that mightaccount for this success? In particular, arethey functioning differently than thedominant models we see for managinglarge enterprises in the West, and, if so,could those differences help us understandthe success of these companies?

These are obviously difficult questions andattempting to assess all of them would bealmost an impossible task. Therefore, wedecided to focus on the aspects that havethe biggest effect on the enterprise as awhole. The most important of these aspectsare associated with the CEOs and the waysin which they operate. Undoubtedly, thepriorities of the CEOs and their decision-making processes have an enormousinfluence on their enterprises. Therefore,the focus of the research was CEO’spriorities as studying those reveal the mostdistinctive and most important aspects ofoperating Indian businesses. The goal of thestudy was to identify the distinctiveness ofthe Indian model especially from the U.S.

As focus of the study, the areas ofleadership, corporate governance, andmanagement of employees was chosen.Regarding leadership, expectation was thatthere would be a great deal ofheterogeneity among different types ofIndian firms – more Western style firmslike Hindustan Unilever or ABB, or publicsector firms like ONGC or HindustanPetroleum, or promoter-led companies likethe Aditya Birla Group, Tata Group or theRPG Group, or firms like Infosys or Larsen& Toubro. In the corporate governancedomain, we were aware that this hasbecome a topic of great interest to Indianfirms. Once Clause 49- the Indian versionof the Sarbanes Oxley Act, came into effectat the end of 2005, the regulatory contextfor corporate governance changedsignificantly. The human resources areahad traditionally been a quiet backwateron the Indian management landscape,governed by extensive regulations and

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union management relations. In recentyears, however, competition for humantalent has increased dramatically. Rates ofvoluntary turnover and retentionchallenges have exploded. Also,compensation packages have grownsharply in a literal war for talent. For manycompanies attracting and retaining the besttalent has become the top strategic priorityand a shortage of trained and educatedworkers may now be the most significantconstraint on the overall economy.

As part of the study we interviewed over100 chief executives, managing directors,and other top executives of large, publiclytraded Indian companies. We wereespecially interested in learning whetherthere were distinctive aspects to the waythese leaders operated their organizations.We also surveyed their heads of humanresources to identify additional detailsabout the operation of their companies andused those findings to draw comparisonswith similar operations in the U.S.

The interviews with the senior executivesreflected several leadership themes in theIndian context. All the top executivesinterviewed were asked “What are the toptwo leadership capacities that have been mostcritical for the exercise of your leadership duringthe past five years?” Although there wasconsiderable diversity in the responses,three primary themes emerged from theinterviews with the executives: Vision andstrategy, the ability to shape the structure orarchitecture of the organization and personalqualities.

Clearly, enterprise values and vision weredeemed by the Indian business executivesas the sine qua non of their enterprise, thestarting platform upon which theyconstructed all else. Their values andvision, along with strategic thinking aboutthe company’s future, defined mindset,influenced decisions, and guidedexecution. By self-consciously placing their

values and vision for the company at thetop of their operating framework, thebusiness leaders created guideposts thathelped carry them through both hardshipand prosperity. The second set of responsesfocused on the structure of the organizationand of the executive teams that run it.Many executives emphasized theimportance of building their top team, asthe most common response. The qualitiesof their direct reports were similar to whatthey expected of themselves, including anability to think strategically, a commitmentto the values of the firm, and a capacity togrow and adapt as the companiesexpanded. Importantly, the CEOs did notfocus attention on their own individual orpersonal qualities as being the keycompetencies for leadership. To get at thisissue more explicitly, an additionalquestion was asked, “In your experience, howare Indian business leaders different from thosefrom other countries, especially the U.S.?” Theinterviews reveal three major themes in theway Indian executives perceive themselvesand their peers as advantaged, relative totheir counterparts in the U.S. and Europe;Flexibility and resilience, family ownership, andentrepreneurship and risk taking.

One of the common themes that emergedacross the interviews was the belief thatIndian business leaders have learnedthrough hard experience to look beyondthe endless obstacles. India had beenthrough the ‘license raj’ and liberalization,therefore it was essential for businessleaders to constantly reinvent, and beflexible and resilient in the face of anuncertain environment. Besides flexibility,family ownership was cited as the secondmost common difference by therespondents. Unlike in the U.S, familystakes remain more important in manycompanies, and this is seen by manyexecutives as an asset. Several of the CEOsbelieve that Indian business leaders placegreater emphasis on their families where

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family involvement is significant as insuccession planning, which is often anintra-family affair. The extent ofentrepreneurial behavior was the thirdtheme in the differences seen by the Indianexecutives. Many of the Indian executivesstressed their willingness to take risks inbuilding their companies. This entailedgoing into uncharted waters, testingunproven business models, and acting asentrepreneurs even if running a large firm.

The second focus area of the study was thedomain of Corporate Governance. Indiahas undergone substantial changes incorporate governance over the past decade.With much greater amounts of FII moneyflowing into Indian stocks, there had beenan increasing demand for transparencyand disclosure from Indian firms. In 2005,clause 49 was introduced as guidelines forcorporate governance in India. In the study,the vast majority believed that Indianpractices would converge with those usedelsewhere, especially in the US, to theextent that they saw Indian practices asbeing distinctive, their main explanationwas the greater importance of promotercontrol and even family ownershipamongst Indian companies. They saw therole of independent directors as importantfor good governance and believed thatthese directors had an especially importantrole to play in the strategy formationprocess. The CEOs valued professionalexperience, good reputation, andindependent thinking as key attributes forsuch directors. Yet, an important group ofrespondents felt that Indian firms willdevelop a model of governance unique toIndian conditions, including greaterconcern for the interests of stakeholders,such as employees and even the largersociety, beyond the traditional focus on theshareholder.

Lastly, in the area of managing employeesIndian companies differed significantlyfrom their US counterparts. The study

revealed that Indian companies design andexecute extensive diversity programs as away to reach a broader labor market. Theyalso have more sophisticated systems ofworkforce planning and of performancemanagement than one typically sees in theU.S. Where U.S. companies focus theirattention in human resources on costreduction, Indian companies see theiremployees more as capital investments thathave to be supported and nurtured. As aresult, these companies manage theiremployees much more carefully than dotheir U.S. counterparts. The Indianexecutives, viewed employees much moreas assets whose contributions should bemaximized, rather than as financialliabilities, a drain on resources.

The picture of Leadership and executivepriorities drawn from the study suggestthat there are important elements ofdistinctiveness in the Indian context. TheIndian CEO’s greater focus on managingthe inside of their businesses and theattention that they give to employee relatedissues appear to be quite distinctive. Inthese areas, the Indian CEOs appear to befollowing the ‘best practice’recommendations from around the world,albeit recommendations that their CEOcounterparts especially in the U.S do notfollow. The relatively lower priority theIndian CEOs appear to give to financialissues, including addressing the investorcommunity, is also distinctive compared tothe Anglo-US Models. Whether thatpriority will increase with the expansionof U.S-style investors is an open question.While governance appears to beconverging with the U.S model, CEOpriorities and practices appear to be quitedistinctive in ways that may not converge.The greater involvement that Indian CEOsappear to have in the strategy formationprocess may at some point change astheir organizations become moreprofessionalized, although the

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entrepreneurial inclinations of the IndianCEOs may keep them involved in thatprocess even when professional managersare more common.

The factors that account for thedistinctiveness of these Indian practices -whether they are based on culturaldifferences, the different state ofdevelopment of the Indian economy, orwhether Indian CEOs have somehow beenable to sustain practices that work better -remains to be examined.

Implications for HR

The perspectives shared by the CEOs helpus understand how they have succeededin the past and what might be necessary todo so in the future. They also suggest whichaspects of leadership; governance andhuman resource management are at the topof the CEO’s agenda. Keeping this as thebackground, HR professionals need toachieve common themes in these agendas.In the end, we leave leaders to consider thefollowing challenges.

LeadershipTo build a strong leadership capacityrequires both, being visionary and tacticalability to construct the architecture of theorganization. How can HR integrate thesecompetencies into its leadership pipeline?

CEOs emphasize the importance ofbuilding their top team. What can HR doto build this priority into the organizationaland leadership philosophy of theenterprise?

“A critical leadership capacity meansempowering talent to aggressively growthe company,” as one CEO put it. How canHR incorporate this level of empowermentinto the organizational architecture?

EntrepreneurshipThe Indian context has encouraged anentrepreneurial spirit, coupled withflexibility, resilience and several other

factors, all of which contribute towardssuccess in India. How should HR deal withthis innate ability in its employee?

While features such as family ownership,a directive & hierarchical mindset andemotion & intuition have been a part of theIndian way of working, what is the HRprofessional’s analysis of its relevance inthe future? What could be those elementsof these features that can enableorganization’s growth in the global arena,and what are those elements that hinderthe process?

How can HR frame its systems, policiesand practices to encourage innovation,such that the CEO’s expectations of‘changing the status quo’ and breaking thecomplacency mode’ are fulfilled?

Fostering Workplace DiversityAs India continues to go global, workforcediversity is not just about managingdifferences, but about encouraging diversebackgrounds and cultures. CEO’s arespending less time on fostering workplacediversity.

HR’s responsibility here is two fold, to a)spearhead diversity in the organization ata strategic level and b) translate the impactof the workplace diversity to the bottomline.

GovernanceWith the greater amounts of FII moneyflowing into Indian stocks, there has beenas increasing demand for transparency anddisclosure from Indian firms. Once clause49 came into affect in 2005, the regulatorycontext for corporate governance changedsignificantly. In this scenario, are HRprofessionals proficient in the principles,philosophy and translation of governancepolicies and practices in the organization?What is HR’s role in the area ofgovernance?

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Governance practices in India focus on alarger spectrum of stakeholders, such asthe employees and local communities. Insome cases, it is seen from the perspectiveof national development. Keeping in mindthe intersection of national andorganizational interests in the waygovernance may be defined in India, whatare the competencies the HR communityneeds to build for itself, to strengthen theprocess?

CEO’s expectations of HRCEOs believe their number one priority isto shape the culture, with able support andexpert guidance from HR. It is essential forHR leaders to develop ways and means tomeasure culture change andindoctrination. How can the HRprofessional build his /her role as StrategyArchitect and Operational Executor tobuild and ingrain culture into theorganization?

Managing/Developing talent is globallyseen as the CEO’s most critical challengetoday. In India, this priority is furtherimpacted by the widespread concern aboutthe quality of candidates in the job market.As a commodity, what are some of theinterventions that HR can initiate now tobalance the talent supply-demand ratio ofthe Indian market?

Legacies & SuccessorsIndian leaders firmly believe that leavinga legacy means inspiring and instillingchange, at an employee level, anorganizational level, or at a national level.India’s century needs this kind of thinkingand execution. HR as the link betweenpeople and business is at the forefront ofshaping this common vision acrosscorporate India. How can the HRcommunity drive this vision of change?

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THE 10 GREATEST CEOs OF ALL TIMEJIM COLLINS

Abstract

In the backdrop of economic crises and failed governance mechanisms, the article lists downcharacteristics of 10 greatest CEOs of all time who looked beyond short term gains to createlong term sustainable value. The author posits that, great CEOs are not the ones who see

themselves as members of an elite group but are the ones who feel a deep sense of connectednesswith their organization and who build values that thrive long after they have left the

organization.

About the Author

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies –how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and howgood companies can become great companies. Having invested overa decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authoredfour books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, a fixture on theBusiness Week best seller list for more than six years, and has beentranslated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune,The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review,

and Fast Company. Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teachingcareer on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received theDistinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratoryin Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives fromthe corporate and social sectors.

It’s a familiar scene. An industry under fire.A congressional committee demandinganswers. A corporate CEO called to testify.

Yet the familiarities, in this case, end there.When Boeing CEO Bill Allen appearedbefore a House subcommittee—addressingcharges that military aircraft makers hadimproperly inflated profits at thegovernment’s expense—there was nolawyer whispering in his ear. There wereno notes before him. There was no hint thathe wasn’t personally responsible forBoeing’s actions. And when he hadfinished his quietly forthright explanation,there was no question that Boeing—farfrom gouging the government to padexecutives’ bonuses—had in fact been

laying the foundations for future greatness,plowing profits into research anddevelopment. The committee’s responsenow seems unimaginable: It erupted intoa standing ovation.

That image, from 1956, kept popping tomind whenever someone asked me aboutthe business meltdowns of 2001 and 2002.What, went the questions, should be doneabout governance? What should Congressdo? What should boards do? What, what,what?

I usually declined to comment, feeling I hadlittle to say that had not already been said.But as the Allen image lingered, I came torealize that I did have something to say.

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It’s just that my answer wasn’t a whatanswer. It was who.

When the debates over governancemechanisms and procedural reform are allsaid and done, one question will still towerabove all others: Who should we choose torun our corporations? In the 1990s, it’s nowclear, boards increasingly gave the car keysto the wrong people. Like doctors bleedingpatients to death in the 1600s, the boardsweren’t trying to do harm. They weresimply using the wrong models.

Yet where, these days, are the rightmodels? For good reason, we’ve becomecynical about CEOs. There seem to be noheroes left standing, no one to emulate orbelieve in. There’s an increasingly gloomysense that we should simply throw up ourhands and give up on corporate leadership.

I disagree. Having spent years studyingwhat separates great companies frommediocre ones, I can say unequivocally:There are role models to learn from—albeitnot the ones you might expect. It’s whatinspired me to go back to my research andassemble my list of the ten greatest CEOsof all time.

Who made the cut? Some names on the listwill be familiar, while several you mightexpect to see—names like Gates, Grove,Welch, and Gerstner—weren’t eligible fora simple reason: Great CEOs buildorganizations that thrive long after they’regone, making it impossible to judge theirperformance until they’ve been out of officeat least ten years. That criterion—legacy—was one of four I used to winnow auniverse of more than 400 CEOs. I alsoscored the top candidates on impact(presiding over innovations—whethertechnical or managerial—that changedthings outside the company’s walls),resilience (leading the company through amajor transformation or crisis), andfinancial performance, measured bycumulative stock returns relative to the

market (or other financial metrics in thecase of pre-IPO companies) during theCEO’s tenure.

So what, exactly, made these ten so great?Strikingly, many of them never thought ofthemselves as CEO material. The second-greatest CEO on the list initially refused thejob on the grounds that he wasn’t qualified.No. 9 described herself as “scared stiff.”No. 5 was once told flatly, “You will neverbe a leader.” Striking, too, is the sheer scaleof their time frames. Surrounded bypressures to manage for the quarter, theymanaged for the quarter-century—or eventhree-quarters of a century. The No. 4 CEOshaped a company that would average 15%earnings growth for an astonishing 75years.

Yet if one thing defines these ten giants, itwas their deep sense of connectedness tothe organizations they ran. Unlike CEOswho see themselves principally asmembers of an executive elite—anincreasingly mobile club whose membersmeasure their pay and privileges againstother CEOs’—this group’s ethos was a truecorporate ethos, in the original, non-business sense of the word corporate:“united or combined into one.” Theyunderstood the central paradox ofexceptional corporate leadership: On theone hand, a company depends more on theCEO than on any other individual. Onlythe CEO can make the really big decisions.Yet a company equally depends on theCEO’s understanding that his or her rolestill represents less than 10% of the totalpuzzle. Much depended on them, but itwas never about them.

Inclusion on this list would surprise, if nothorrify, more than a few of them. But if thequestion is how to identify more of theright leaders—and how a new generationcan learn to become the right leaders—there is no better answer than these ten. Inan age of diminished standards, those theyset loom larger than ever.

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No. 10: David Packard

Rejected the CEO clubHis eulogy pamphlet identified the Hewlett-Packard co-founder as ‘Rancher, etc.’In 1949, 37-year-old David Packardattended a meeting of business leaders.Fidgeting while they discussed how tosqueeze more profit from their companies,he was finally unable to contain himself.“A company has a greater responsibilitythan making money for its stockholders,”he asserted. Eyes turned toward hissix-foot-five-inch frame. “We have aresponsibility to our employees torecognize their dignity as human beings,”Packard said, extolling his belief that thosewho help create wealth have a moral rightto share in that wealth.

To his elders, Packard’s ideas seemedborderline socialist if not outrightdangerous. “I was surprised and shockedthat not a single person at that meetingagreed with me,” Packard reflected later.“It was quite evident they firmly believedI was not one of them, and obviously notqualified to run an important enterprise.”

That was just fine with David Packard. Henever wanted to be part of the CEO club;he belonged to the Hewlett-Packard club.In an era when bosses dwelt in mahogany-paneled sanctums, Packard took an open-door workspace among his engineers.He practiced what would become famousas “management by walking around.”Most radical of all for the time, he sharedequity and profits with all employees.

What set Packard apart, in other words, isthat he wasn’t a person set apart. His ideaof a good time, according to a co-worker,was to get together with friends and stringbarbed wire. Despite being one of SiliconValley’s first self-made billionaires, hecontinued to live in the small, understatedhouse he and his wife had built in 1957.And though he donated (with Hewlett) to

Stanford University an amountcomparable to the present value of Jane andLeland Stanford’s original endowment, henever allowed his name to appear on anyof its buildings while he was alive. Bydefining himself as an HP man first and aCEO second, Packard did more thandemonstrate humility. He built a uniquelydedicated culture that became a fiercecompetitive weapon, delivering 40consecutive years of profitable growth.

While Packard’s values have since wanedwithin HP, he did more to create the DNAof Silicon Valley than perhaps any otherCEO. Like the heritage left by the architectsof democracy in ancient Athens, thespirit of his and Hewlett’s system liveson, far beyond the walls of the institutionthey built.

No. 9: Katharine Graham

Wasn’t afraid of fear

The Nixon White House threatened her, but thechief of the Washington Post Co. didn’t flinch.

On Aug. 3, 1963, Katharine Graham heardthe crack of a gunshot within her house.She ran downstairs to discover that herhusband, Philip, lay dead by his own hand.

On top of the shock and grief, Grahamfaced another burden. Her father had putthe Washington Post Co. in her husband’shands with the idea that he’d pass it alongto their children. What would become of itnow? Graham laid the issue to restimmediately: The company would not besold, she informed the board. She wouldassume stewardship.

“Steward,” however, would not describeGraham’s approach to her new role. At thetime, the Washington Post was anundistinguished regional paper; Grahamaimed for people to speak of it in the samebreath as the New York Times. A crucialdecision point came in 1971 when sheconfronted what to do with the Pentagon

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Papers—a leaked Defense Departmentstudy that revealed governmentdeceptions about the Vietnam war. TheTimes had already incurred a courtinjunction for publishing excerpts. If thePost published, it risked prosecution underthe Espionage Act. That, in turn, couldjeopardize the company’s pending publicstock offering and lucrative televisionlicenses. “I would be risking the wholecompany on this decision,” Graham wrotein her memoir, Personal History. Yet to optfor assured survival at the cost of thecompany’s soul, she concluded, would beworse than not surviving. The Postpublished.

Eventually vindicated by the SupremeCourt, it was a remarkable decision for anaccidental CEO who suffered from lifelongfeelings of insecurity; phrases like “I wasterrified” and “I was quaking in my boots”pepper her memoir. That anxiety wouldsoon reach a crescendo as Post reportersBob Woodward and Carl Bernsteindoggedly investigated what becameknown as Watergate. Today we take thatstory’s outcome for granted. But at the time,the Post was largely alone in pursuing it.In choosing to publish, Graham built agreat paper and, in turn, a great company—one that ranks among the 50 best-performing IPOs of the past quarter-century and earned the investment ofWarren Buffett. Graham never awardedherself much credit, insisting that, withWatergate, “I never felt there was muchchoice.” But of course, she did choose.Courage, it’s said, is not the absence of fear,but the ability to act in its presence. By thatdefinition, Katharine Graham may be themost courageous CEO on this list.

No 8: William McKnight

Disciplined creativity

He gave fledgling ideas freedom to growat 3M—but insisted they learn to stand ontheir own.

The early giants of industry tend to fall intoone of two camps: Individual innovators(think Walt Disney) and system builders(think John D. Rockefeller). 3M’s WilliamMcKnight falls into neither. Beginning in1929, the bookish accountant fused the twomodels into something entirely new: acompany that turned innovation into asystematic, repeatable process. While youcouldn’t predict exactly what McKnight’ssystem would create, you could predictwith certainty that it would create.

Many know the story of the 3M scientistwho blasted a hole in his basement to housethe machine that made his little stickytabs—a product that had failed markettests—and how, like a drug dealer, hecreated a base of addicted users bydistributing free samples to headquartersstaff. It’s one of many 3M stories thatcelebrate the lone spirit who persistsagainst all odds. The oft-overlooked lesson,though, is the “all odds” part. It’s preciselybecause 3M entrepreneurs must battleattempts to kill off their ideas that a handfulof winners like Post-its emerge. Withoutthis creative tension—freedom vs.discipline, innovation vs. control—all youhave is chaos, or worse. Enron was a highlyinnovative culture that lacked discipline,innovating itself right out of existence.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence,” wroteF. Scott Fitzgerald, “is the ability to holdtwo opposed ideas in the mind at the sametime and still retain the ability to function.”By that definition, McKnight was not justa first-rate intelligence, but a genius—agenius whose company was lucky bydesign.

No. 7: David Maxwell

Turned a turnaround into artFannie Mae was losing $1 million a day whenhe arrived—’an opportunity to make [it] into agreat company.’

In 1981, as the stock of Chrysler hit an all-time low, America was beginning its

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enthrallment with the man hired to saveit. Lee Iacocca would soon be a nationalicon—bestselling author, star of more than80 commercials, and everyone’s image ofa turnaround artist.

That same year, as the stock of Fannie Maehit an all-time low, a different executivewas hired to save the deeply troubledmortgage lender. David Maxwell wouldnot become a national icon—nor even arecognizable name. Yet by the time bothmen retired in the early 1990s, Maxwell’sFannie Mae had beat the stock market at arate more than twice that attained byChrysler under Iacocca.

More inspired than inspiring, more diligentthan dazzling, Maxwell took a burninghouse and not only saved it but built it intoa cathedral. Some steps, such as selling off$10 billion in unprofitable mortgages, wereclassic fireman stuff. But his deepest geniuswas to frame the rebuilding around amission: strengthening America’s socialfabric by democratizing home ownership.If Fannie Mae did its job well, peopletraditionally excluded from owninghomes—minorities, immigrants, single-parent families—could more easily claimtheir part of the American dream. Ifturnaround is an art, Maxwell was itsMichelangelo.

No. 6: James Burke

Acted before crisis hit

The former Johnson & Johnson boss is a legendrevered—for the wrong reason.

Ask people to single out a courageous CEOaction, and many will cite James Burke’sdecision to pull Tylenol capsules off theshelves in response to the cyanide-poisoning crisis of 1982, taking a $100million hit to earnings along the way. It’s awonderful story. But it misses the point.

Burke’s real defining moment occurredthree years before, when he pulled 20 key

executives into a room and thumped hisfinger on a copy of the J&J credo. Penned36 years earlier by R.W. Johnson Jr., it laidout the “We hold these truths to be self-evident” of the Johnson & Johnson Co.,among them a higher duty to “mothers andall others who use our products.” Burkeworried that executives had come to viewthe credo as an artifact—interesting, buthardly relevant to the day-to-daychallenges of American capitalism.

“I said, ‘Here’s the credo. If we’re not goingto live by it, let’s tear it off the wall,’ “ Burkelater told Joseph Badaracco and RichardEllsworth for their book Leadership andthe Quest for Integrity. “We either oughtto commit to it or get rid of it.” The teamsat there a bit stunned, wondering if Burkewas serious. He was, and the room eruptedinto a debate that ended with arecommitment. Burke and his colleagueswould conduct similar meetings aroundthe world, restoring the credo as a livingdocument.

No one could have predicted the act ofterrorism perpetrated on J&J customers in1982. But J&J’s response was predictable.It didn’t need to debate whether customersafety outweighed short-term financialconcerns, because the debating was alreadydone. Burke makes the list not because heled J&J through crisis; he makes it becausehe led in the absence of it.

No. 5: Darwin Smith

Asked questions and moved rocks

The Kimberly-Clark chief was told ‘You’ll neverbe a leader’ by the Army’s officer-trainingschool.

Lois Smith could tell a big decision wasafoot at Kimberly-Clark whenever sheheard the rumbling of a backhoe in themiddle of the night. That was Darwinagain, moving rocks from one pile toanother. This was how her husband mulledover big decisions—and to judge by the

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huge piles still standing sentinel atGotrocks Farm in Wisconsin, Smith was achampion muller.

When he became CEO of Kimberly-Clarkin 1971, Smith faced a brutal fact: Thecompany languished in mediocrity, thebulk of its capital tied up in giant papermills. Yet Smith offered no visionstatement, no splashy acquisition, nohoopla-laden change program. Instead heposed questions. What, he pressed hiscolleagues, could Kimberly-Clark bepassionate about? What could it be best atin the world? What could improve itseconomics? For months he continued to askquestions and move rocks.

This was not Smith being indecisive.Diagnosed with nose and throat cancershortly after becoming CEO, he told Loiswhat he’d learned from his illness. “If youhave a cancer in your arm, you’ve got tohave the guts to cut off your arm.” Hepaused. “I’ve made a decision,” hecontinued. “We’re going to sell the mills.”

The decision had grown out of one ofSmith’s dialogues in which a fellowexecutive noted that Kleenex, a sidelineproduct, had become a brand synonymouswith its category, like Coke or Band-Aid.In what a Kimberly-Clark director calledthe “gutsiest decision I’ve ever seen a CEOmake,” Smith jettisoned 100 years ofcorporate history, right down to theoriginal mill in Kimberly, Wis. Analystsderided the loss of revenue. The stock tooka hit. Forbes predicted disaster. But Smith’sruminations had equipped him with quietsteel.

A CEO must be willing to act boldly, yetboldness is worthless if you’re wrong. It’san obvious point, but one routinely ignoredby those caught up in the fanfare of bigaction. Smith grasped that it is better to beright than to be impressive.

And Smith got it right. Twenty-five yearsafter becoming CEO, Kimberly-Clark was

the world’s No. 1 paper-based consumer-products company—its stockoutperforming the market by a factor offour over that span—and owned its mainrival, Scott Paper, outright. Smith movedrocks and, in the end, moved a rock thatnobody thought could be moved.

No. 4: George Merck

Put profit second

The Merck & Co. boss didn’t worry about WallStreet—and grew profits 50-fold.

Late one afternoon in 1978, Dr. WilliamCampbell did what all great researchers do:He wondered at the data. While testing anew compound to battle parasites inanimals, he was struck with the idea that itmight be effective against anotherparasite—one that causes blindness anditching in humans so horrific that somevictims have committed suicide. Campbellmight have simply scribbled a note in thefiles and gone to lunch. After all, thepotential “customers”—tribal people inremote tropical locations—would have nomoney to buy it. Undaunted, Campbellpenned a memo to his employer, Merck &Co., urging pursuit of the idea. Today 30million people a year receive Mectizan, thedrug inspired by his observation, largelyfree of charge.

The most exceptional part of the story isthat it wasn’t an exception. “Medicine isfor people, not for the profits,” GeorgeMerck II declared on the cover of Time inAugust 1952—a rule his companyobserved in dispensing streptomycin toJapanese children following World War II.Yet fuzzy-headed moralistic fervor wasn’tGeorge Merck. Austere and patrician, hesimply believed that the purpose of acorporation is to do something useful, andto do it very well. “And if we haveremembered that, the profits have neverfailed to appear,” he explained. “The betterwe remembered, the larger they have

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been.” It’s the mirror image of CEOs whoseunhealthy fixations with Wall Street haveserved neither people nor profits: Merckserved shareholders so well preciselybecause he served others first.

No. 3: Sam Walton

Overcame his charisma

‘I have the personality of a promoter,’ the Wal-Mart founder wrote, but ‘the soul of anoperator.’

A Brazilian businessman once told me howhe’d sent letters to the heads of ten U.S.retailers in the1980s, asking to visit to seehow they ran a retail operation. Most didn’tbother to reply, and those who did sent apolite “No, thank you.” All except SamWalton.

When the Brazilian and his colleaguesstepped off the plane in Bentonville, Ark.,a white-haired man asked if he could help.“We’re looking for Sam Walton,” they said,to which the man replied, “That’s me.”Walton led them to his truck andintroduced his dog, Roy. As they rumbledaround in the front cab of Walton’s pickup,the Brazilian billionaires were pummeledwith questions. Eventually it dawned onthem: Walton had invited them toBentonville so that he could learn aboutSouth America. Later Walton visited hisfriends in Sao Paulo. Late one afternoonthere was a phone call from the police.Walton had been crawling around in storeson his hands and knees measuring aislewidths and had been arrested.

The story encapsulates some of Walton’sgreatest strengths, notably his hunger forlearning. But it also points to his biggestliability: his singularly charismaticpersonality. Companies built around a cultof personality seldom last. After Sam,would Wal-Mart decline like a church thatloses its inspirational pastor?

Yet Walton himself refused to let hiscolorful personality distract from his

central message: to make better things evermore affordable to people of lesser means.And before his death in 1992, he made twobrilliant moves to ensure that idea wouldoutlast him. First, he set a goal that he knewwould be unachievable in his lifetime: togrow annual sales from less than $30 billionto $125 billion by the year 2000. Second, sothat no personality would become biggerthan the idea, he picked a successor whohad seemingly undergone a charismabypass. Under David Glass, Wal-Mart blewright past the $125 billion goal, clocking inat $165 billion in 2000.

Walton knew better than anyone thedangers of charismatic leadership. Heproved that, like any other handicap, it canbe overcome.

No. 2: Bill Allen

Thought bigger

‘Don’t talk too much,’ Boeing’s new chiefadmonished himself. ‘Let others talk.’

Its planes helped win the war—yet victoryin 1945 looked like death for Boeing.Revenues plummeted more than 90% asorders for bombers vanished overnight.And bombers, everyone knew, were whatBoeing was all about.

Everyone, that is, but its new leader. Anunderstated lawyer who said he wasn’tqualified for the job, Bill Allen never sawBoeing as the bomber company. It was thecompany whose engineers built amazingflying machines. In 1952 he bet heavily ona new commercial jet, the 707. At the time,Boeing had no business being in thecommercial market, or at least that’s whatpotential customers said. (“You make greatbombers up there in Seattle. Why don’t youstick with that?”) Yet Allen’s time frameswere bigger too. He saw that Boeing couldcompete by changing the industry. Underhis leadership, Boeing built the 707, 727,737, and 747—four of the most successfulbets in industrial history. At a board

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meeting described by Robert Serling inLegend & Legacy, a director said that if the747 was too big for the market to swallow,Boeing could back out. “Back out?”,stiffened Allen. “If the Boeing Aircraft Co.says we will build this airplane, we willbuild it even if it takes the resources of theentire company.” Like today’s CEOs, heendured the swarming gnats who thinksmall: short time frames, pennies per share,a narrow purpose. Allen thought bigger—and left a legacy to match.

No. 1: Charles Coffin

Built the stage on which they all played

General Electric’s first president didn’t seehimself as a genius; he came from the shoebusiness.

Most people have never heard of CharlesCoffin—and that’s the ultimate testimonyto his greatness. His predecessor hadsomething to do with this. No CEO finds iteasy to take over from a foundingentrepreneur; now imagine that founderholds patents on the electric light, thephonograph, the motion picture, thealkaline battery, and the dissemination ofelectricity. But Coffin knew his job was notto be the next Thomas Edison—thoughCoffin, too, would prove a master inventor.His invention was the General Electric Co.

Coffin oversaw two social innovations ofhuge significance: America’s first researchlaboratory and the idea of systematicmanagement development. While Edison

was essentially a genius with a thousandhelpers, Coffin created a system of geniusthat did not depend on him. Like thefounders of the U.S., he created theideology and mechanisms that made hisinstitution one of the world’s mostenduring and widely emulated.

Edison’s wouldn’t be the only name toovershadow his. Coffin’s era (1892-1912)became known as the “Steinmetz era,” inhomage to the brilliant GE electricalengineer Charles P. Steinmetz. What littlename recognition Coffin did enjoy wouldthen be obliterated by the likes of Swope,Cordiner, Jones, and Welch—GE CEOswho became giants in their own day.

Jack Welch’s stature, in particular, reacheda point where GE was called the HouseThat Jack Built. In fact, Welch was as mucha product of GE as vice-versa. CertainlyWelch vastly improved the system, andhistory will likely judge him a greatexecutive. He was a master at developinggeneral managers and steadily increasingprofit per unit of executive talent.But Welch did not invent this concept;he inherited it.

The same cannot be said of Charles Coffin.More than any other leader, Coffin madeGE into a great company, creating themachine that created a succession of giants.For that reason, he stands a notch abovethe CEOs whose names eclipsed his.He built the stage on which they all played.

“Copyright © 2003 by Jim Collins. Jim Collins operates a management-research laboratoryin Boulder, Colorado. He is the author of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make theLeap… And Others Don’t and co-author of Built to Last: Successful Habits of VisionaryCompanies. More information about Jim Collins and his work can be found atwww.jimcollins.com.”

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I10 : FRAMEWORK FOR LEADERSHIPB. SANTHANAM

Abstract

Leadership behavior is one of the most researched and talked about phenomenon of the modernbusiness environment. Drawn from success stories of real life, this article defines key traits of

leadership with contemporary illustrative examples. These traits, if inculcated by presentleaders will lead to increased leadership effectiveness which forms the bedrock for success

in an organization.

About the Author

Santhanam obtained his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology,Madras and Post Graduation in Management from Indian Instituteof Management, Ahmedabad, with focus on Operations, Systemsand General Management. Santhanam, as the President – Flat Glass,South Asia and founder Managing Director of Saint-Gobain GlassIndia, enabled the company to achieve, in a short time, quality,technical and market leadership position. Santhanam is a Memberof the National Council since 2006 and Southern Regional Council

of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Santhanam is also the Chairman of the“CII’s National Committee on Skills, Human Resources and Industrial Relations” andChairman, “Task Force on Human Resources, Skills, Employability, Affirmative Actionand ITI- IMC” of CII Southern Region.

The framework I propose constitutes teninterrelated traits that I believe significantlycontribute to effective leadership. Myexperiential learning over the years leadsme to believe that these 10i’s may be thedefining dimensions of Leadership, whichif inculcated will provide potential leadersa framework for demonstrating leadershipcharacteristics that form the bedrock of anyorganization’s success.

i1 - Intelligence

First and foremost differentiator of theleader from other persons is Intelligence.The early 1900’s saw the emergence of traittheories of leadership. These theories tookthe view that there are a set of traits thatcreate a distinction of leaders from non-leaders. Studies around the trait theories

intelligence

insight

intensityinfluence

independence

information

imagination

inspirationimpact

integrity

i10

of Leadership

included intelligence as a key characteristicof leadership.

More often, the society analyses people onAnalytical intelligence but real leadershipdemands more than just that. Analyticalintelligence is a prerequisite for an effectiveleader. Most of the current research point

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Information

i10 of Leadership

out to the need for a threshold level ofanalytical ability to understand the social,scientific, human phenomena in order tomake meaningful connections andconclusions.

But other forms of Intelligence, viz.,Emotional and Social Intelligence are evenmore crucial for a successful Leader. Anemotionally intelligent leader is aware ofherself and empathizes with others. Asocially intelligent leader leveragesnetworking with others, collaborates,persuades and influences people overwhom he has limited authority.

Leadership demands ability to select theright approach, bring alignment andachieve desired goals through superiorexecution by constantly leveraging theleaders’ Analytical, Emotional and Socialintelligence. Rarely you will find a topleader excel in only one form ofintelligence. Eminent leaders have alwaysdeveloped a holistic intelligence thatcombines all the three dimensions.

We can find no better person than BarrackObama, who perhaps excels in alldimensions. Obama displays deepunderstanding of social, economic, politicalissues and has the uncanny ability to alignand collaborate with other world leadersfor larger cause.

i2 – Information

‘Information is power’ is an old adage, butone that holds true in leadership situations.Information is easily accessible in today’sera. However, the ability to generateknowledge, develop frameworks and drawlinkages through the use of information is

fast becoming a true source of competitiveadvantage for effective leadership.

Intelligence

i10 of Leadership

An example of the power of information isevident through the example of Google.It had a humble beginning that took rootin a Stanford University dorm room andquickly spread to information seekersaround the globe. Larry Page and SergeyBrin chose to develop a search engine thatwould organize information on the weband the power of information has guidedGoogle to a leadership position. Truly, itlives by its vision - ‘to organize the world’sinformation and make it universallyaccessible and useful.’Another example of the power ofinformation is Wikipedia, which is amultilingual, web-based, free-contentencyclopedia. Wikipedia has become oneof the most visited sites and is instrumentalin knowledge transfer across the world.Excellent leaders always seek high qualityinformation, possess domain expertise andknowledge in key areas and constantlykeep themselves updated. Their keenAnalytical ability helps them to connectand convert the data into information andknowledge.They possess ability to provide relevantinformation at the right time and at theright place.

i3 – Insight

In today’s era of information accessibilityto everyone, the differentiating factor ofeffective leadership is the ability to createinsights from data and information.Insight, when capitalized upon, leads toinnovation and further contributes to theorganization’s competitive advantage andleadership position. Understanding

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i10 of Leadership

Insight

consumer psychology by studying themarket, customer behavior and industrytrends are useful sources of generatinginsight. There are many companies whichbank upon these insights to developinnovations in products, businessprocesses, distribution channels, valuechains, people management and even inthe functions of management.

value in an industry that was reserved forthe elite.

Top leaders constantly discern market,social, industry and consumer trends wayahead of others.

i4 - Imagination

Effective leadership involves working withimagination and being unconstrained byresources. Leaders with imagination havetheir eyes not only on the task at hand, butalso focus on the horizon. They have theability to build scenarios, see the biggerpicture, think strategically and come upwith out of the box solutions.

An example of one such company isCavinKare which launched its key product,“Chik Shampoo” in innovative sachetpacking at a strategic price of Re.1 and 50p.After 3 decades, that insight has nowbecome a main stream idea. In a highlycompetitive FMCG category that seemedimpenetrable to most marketers, ChikShampoo identified a humongousopportunity in rural and semi urban Indiaand created waves with its entry into thesemarkets.

During the early 70’s long before it wasfashionable to talk about InformationTechnology and Outsourcing, F C Kohli,the doyen of IT Industry, was insightfulenough to see IT services as an industry.

This was really an outcome of theconsumer Insight that C K Ranganathan,the Founder had.

Computer programming at that time wasseen as an intellectual and analyticalendeavour largely limited to analyticallysmart people. FC Kohli’s insight led to thebirth of modern IT industry withstructured programming, QualityManagement System (QMS) and large scalerapid training of averagely intelligentpeople into the rigors of programming. Hisinsight enabled an average person to add

i10 ofLeadership

Imagination

C.K. Prahalad used his imagination to draft‘India@75’. It is one of the mostcomprehensive and popular ideas in Indiatoday. It seeks to create a movement whereeveryone can get involved into realizingthe dreams of our country. A.P.J. AbdulKalam is another leader who used hisimagination to draft ‘India 2020: A Visionfor the New Millennium’; which offers avision of how India can emerge to beamong the world’s first four economicpowers by 2020. Such leaders possess theability to look into the future and createscenarios which act as an inspiration forothers to follow.

To be able to build effective leadershipvision and garner support on theinitiatives, imagination is a crucial tool.

i5 - Intensity

Ram Charan in his book, ‘Leadership in theEra of Economic Uncertainty’, reiterates theneed for intensity as a leadership trait. Ibelieve leadership is about intensity asdemonstrated in passion, drive and

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i10 of Leadership

Inspiration

i10 of Leadership

Intensity

involvement in the task ahead. Withoutthis intensity of thought and action,leadership will have little influence. Thisintensity translates itself into rapid forcewith which organizations adapt to changesin the business scenario.

motivate people to achieve more than theymay have ever dreamt as possible.Inspiration is the spark for motivation thatleads to action. Leaders motivate others fora common purpose and inspire others todo things normally beyond their realm.

In 1996, Hyundai, then an aspirant in theGlobal Auto industry, decided to enterIndia. Most industry analysts were moreenamoured by other auto majors.

However, the intensity with which topKorean Leaders, who were deputed toIndia, pursued their audacious goals andensured that they captured the heart ofIndia, made all the difference. The Koreanleaders went about understanding theIndian consumers’ mind, designed a WorldClass Car, developed an ancillary base,recruited top talent and invested in a state-of-art facility. The result is that theirChennai complex, in just a decade, reachedan annual production of over 500,000 cars.

The result is, today they are 10 times biggerin India than the US auto majors. Whatdifferentiated the two teams was thepassion and intensity of the top leaders.

Therefore, intensity as exhibited in thespeed with which companies respond tochanging business needs is extremelycritical for growth.

i6 - Inspiration

Leadership does not operate in isolationbut in continuous interaction with others.Leadership derives its very meaning fromits association with the ‘other’ – thefollowers. By becoming an inspiration forothers, leaders create a shared vision, getothers to commit to the common goal and

The best example to demonstrateinspiration as a trait of effective leadershipis Mahatma Gandhi, who without anymilitary aid, economic force, violence ordevious politics got the British to leave thecountry. Gandhiji‘s non violent ways andpeaceful methods were the foundation forgaining independence from the British.Through his own moral values and beliefin ‘Satyagraha’ he was able to create acommon vision amongst different castesand communities of India. He inspired thecommon man to rise above his abilities andcontribute to nation building. By hispursuit of truth and non violence, hebecame a role model for the masses andled the nation to freedom.

Therefore, inspiration is imperative forgood leadership. Through inspiration,leadership enables others to emotionallycommit and identify with the goals, leadingto success.

i7 – Influence

Influence is a key component ofLeadership. Being able to persuade others,build consensus amongst the contendingparties, create a cohesive team andcollaborate effectively are keys toinfluential leadership.

An example of influence is illustrative inthe case of Dewang Mehta, ex chief of

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i10 of Leadership

Impact

i10 of Leadership

Influence

NASSCOM. He played an important rolein lobbying with the Government on behalfof the fledgling Indian software industry.Mehta’s knowledge of the correct peopleto lobby and his collaborative stance withIT-related departments enabled him to gainconcessions, while other industriesstruggled. Recognizing the potential of thesoftware and services segment as a majorforeign exchange earner, Mehta launchedthe India Inc. crusade, where he personallypresented the country’s software industryto the world. Besides a dream for thesoftware industry, Mehta had a blueprintfor the IT industry and how it could be usedeffectively to change the lives of India’steeming millions. His vision was achievedthrough his influence and this is reflectivein the fact that India is one of the leadingproviders of IT services in the world.

Leadership talent is closely related with theability to influence, not just the consentingparties but also the dissenting parties. Todevelop leadership skills, it is imperativeto develop the ability to persuade othersand collaborate effectively.

i8 - Impact

To a great extent, leadership is aboutimpacting others and getting theminvolved in the task ahead. Since leadershipis based on interaction with others, it isimportant to build connect. In this,communication plays a vital role. Clarityof thought and the ability to communicateeffectively is pivotal in developingleadership competence.

Barack Obama, the President of UnitedStates, is someone who has risen fromwilderness in just over two years and todayhas become a person to reckon with.

Although Obama always stays cool, hisspeeches energize the audience and stir themind. Having heard Obama first as acandidate and now as the President, peoplearound the globe have put their faith andhope in him. His powerful communicationstyle creates maximum impact on peopleacross the globe.

Therefore, leadership is not just about aninherent value or substance but also aboutoutward style which makes it attractiveand impactful to the masses.Communication becomes as important asany other trait of leadership, as it connectspeople and creates impact.

i9 - IntegrityThere is a common theme among researchpapers written about leadership in recenttimes - Leadership and its relationship withintegrity. Effective leaders serve as rolemodels who are looked upon to setexamples and lead. Integrity is that factorwhich makes leaders trusted, helps thembuild credibility and create an impact onthe masses.

i10 of Leadership

Integrity

The Tata Group has been in existence forover 100 years and has always focused onintegrity as an important value for theorganization. The Tata Group not only hasa code of ethics, but a Code of Conduct,which specifically addresses behavioralexpectations from employees- right from

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i10 of Leadership

Independence

the CEO to the staff level employees. TheTata group has ensured consistency ofexhibiting moral values & integrity acrossits illustrious life span and in all its dealingswith numerous stakeholders.

In 1956, Lal Bahadur Sastry, the thenMinister for Railways, set an example ofconstitutional propriety by submitting hisresignation as Minister, by owning upmoral responsibility for the two railaccidents.

Effective leadership flows from the displayof the highest standards of integrity in alltypes of situations – normal and high stress.

i10 - Independence

Finally, Leadership stems fromindependence of thought. Self motivatedleaders who have an autonomous way ofthinking and executing their plans come upwith original models and their convictionpaves way for leadership success. Theseleaders have the edge which makes themdistinctly stand out from the crowd.

towards excellence is exhibited in the turn-around speed of projects – he rebuilt thePamban Bridge after it was washed off ina short period of less than 60 days, whenthe mandate given to him was six months.

Varghese Kurien, father of the whiterevolution, driven by the challenge left hisgovernment job and set up Amul. He gaveautonomy to the farmers and underKurien’s leadership, India became thelargest producer of milk in the world. Whatdifferentiates both these leaders is the edgeof ‘independence’ - of themselves and theirfollowers. Thus, Effective Leadership ispreceded by a relentless pursuit towardsexcellence, equipped with the tool ofindependence of thought.

The 10 principles highlighted are not meantto be a judgment on all the traits a leadermust possess. However, based on mypersonal experience as well as myobservations of instances of greatleadership, I believe that the elements ofthe i10framework encompass essentialattributes that have served leaders well inthe past and are bound to prove their worthif applied in the right context and in theappropriate manner.

I would like to conclude with a quote ofone of the twentieth century’s greatestmanagement writers, Herbet Casson, “Themen who succeed are the efficient few.They are the few who have the ambitionand will power to develop themselves”. Ihope the i10 framework acts as a guidingforce for all of us to develop and transforminto effective leaders.

E. Sreedharan, who is more than 70 yearsold now, is the architect of the metro railproject in Delhi. It is well ahead of scheduleand the pace of work is admirable. Hissuccess is driven by his independent streakand self motivation. His relentless pursuit

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Custodians of human capital of their organizations, leaders of the criticalhuman resources function, creators of shared vision and alchemists whonurture and develop the latent potential comprise this section ofcontributors, a veritable galaxy of people who truly matter to peoplewho truly matter.

The invitees include some of the finest human resource leaders in thecountry including Vijay Bharadwaj (Dell), Aquil Busrai (IBM), RajeevDubey (Mahindra Group), P Dwarakanath (Max Group), Adil Malia(Essar Group), Anand Nayak & L Prabhakar (ITC), Vivek Patwardhan(Asian Paints), Satish Pradhan (Tata Group), Sanjeev Sahi (HindustanAeronautics) , TT Srinath (Pegasus), and Inder Walia (Bharti) who havedistilled decades of experiential knowledge into eminently articulatedexpositions of leadership thought.

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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN ANORGANIZATION TO SUSTAIN BUSINESS GROWTH

AND LEADERSHIPVIJAY BHARADWAJ

Abstract

Different business environments call for different approaches on part of leaders. Takingchanging business paradigms into consideration, organizations need to constantly revisit their

leadership strategy and put in place appropriate development interventions. This articleexplores the tenets and constituents of the leadership development process in the context of

‘environmental realities of the market place’.In order to develop leadership potential, organizations need to provide structured programs

and ensure top managements’ commitment.

The last few months have seen one of theworst economic crises unfold in front of oureyes resulting in once venerableorganisations biting the dust and the wholeworld plunged into an economicdownturn. The spotlight is on seniorleadership and critical, high performingtalent and their actions in each of theseorganisations. ‘Leading’ is one of the mostdemanding and arduous tasks for anindividual, and the leadership journey is adifficult process filled with many catalystsand inhibitors. A bit like humandevelopment, the leadership developmentin an organisation is a process influencedby intrinsic individual factors and asignificant set of external parameters.

These external factors range from what ishappening in the business landscape ingeneral to the organizations own ambitionsto deal with survival and growth.

Organizations constantly endeavor todevelop their band of asset-generatingleaders who combine astute businessacumen with caring team building skills.Organizations expect them to use a blendof knowledge, skills, business acumen andeconomic intuition, to make businessdecisions and develop leadership benchstrength in the company. While most of theleadership development literature focuseson development of competencies innate orintrinsic to an individual, I would likereflect upon how some of those efforts need

About the Author

Vijay Bharadwaj is currently Vice President and Head HumanResources for Dell India and Dell International Services. Hisexperience includes leading the Human Resources function foran international banking and financial services major, anInformation Technology bellwether and a Chemical andmanufacturing organisation. He has specializations in IndustrialPsychology and Personnel Management.

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a contextualization with the environmentalrealities of the market place.

Good times and tough times …

The business landscape poses immensechallenges to leaders and providesopportunities during both prosperous anddifficult times. Organizations need torevisit their drawing boards to strategizewhat best to do, to stay in control in eithersituation. Every time the economy sinks,as in the current recession or rides a surgingwave, a new business reality emerges. Howagile the organization is to capture newopportunities or the kind of absorptioncapability that it can develop to suffer theslings and arrows of business cycles, addsimmense value to the leadership in anorganisation. As a few organizations arediscovering today to their discomfort, theirmanagers and leaders have no experienceof managing the current economic downturn. On the contrary, those organizationswho have been through these times quicklyrecognize that new business opportunitiesexist even in recessionary times. Thecurrent breed of young leaders in India,who are used to coping with pressuresassociated with economic growth are nowfaced with the challenges of managing adownturn. Changing course from buildingscale to focusing on efficiencies is adevelopment process which no class roomsimulation can provide. From anorganizational point of view, these arejunctures where structured processes andsystems need to be quickly put in place toenable appropriate development. Ratherthan leaving it to the individual to cull outhis own learning and adapt, organizationsneed to support with concrete programsand timely inputs aligned to therequirements of business strategy.

Organizational DNA differentiatingSuccessful companies from the Also-rans ...

Every organization has it own culturalthread that links the various business

processes and creates a broad out lay of“How we do things here?” The workingethos, high business performancestandards and the resultant organizationallanguage it creates, makes an immenseimpact on the development of variousbusiness competencies of its people acrossthe hierarchy. We constantly hear that‘winning teams create winning behaviorsin their players’. The winning or losingstreak of organizations creates profoundbehavioral changes in their leaders and theemployees unconsciously synchronizetheir behaviors with their leaders. Anorganisation that is seen as an also-randevelops to the contrary, often a negativeset of values and behaviors exemplified bydefensiveness, lack of an entrepreneurialstreak and fear of failure. Such anorganisation often develops the notion that‘leaders need to know all the answers’concentrating decision making at the topand a lack of a “can – do” spirit in the lowerlevels . It becomes important for the ownersof the leadership development process toobjectively analyze these patterns,reinforce positive behaviors and ensurethat the top management demonstrate therequired competencies through theiractions.

Growth companies and static orshrinking companies …Organizations in various stages of thebusiness cycle – growth, stagnation ordecline, would tend to have different waysof dealing with their conditions withresultant effects on the leadershipdevelopment process. Growth companiespresent multi-fold opportunities to itsleaders to experiment and whet their riskappetite. Static/shrinking organizationsbreed behaviours which are not conduciveto developing leaders. They do not realizethat by cutting back on investments inleadership development they cutthemselves from opportunities of breakingout of the vicious cycle of self defeating

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behaviours and resultant organizationaldecline. There is little realization thatleadership development would encouragetheir natural tendency to innovate,experiment, learn and grow helping themembrace the virtuous cycle of growth andprogress.

Finally the people …People selection in organizations, on thebasis of educational achievements and thepedigree of the educational institutionsserves the limited purpose of ensuring abasic fit. Gauging an executive’s fit for thecurrent management tier and his potentialto perform at levels above is anothermatter, and best done in actual worksettings. Over time, individualperformance helps identify variouscompetencies, skills and gaps ofemployees, giving the organization a clearpicture of the investment that is needed tosculpt potential leaders for the future. Thisprocess needs to be carried out verycarefully over a sustained period of timeas mistakes could prove very costly. Theobjective of the leadership developmentprograms is to convert high performingemployees with high potential into leaderswho can handle growth and relatedcomplexities with integrity and acommitment to organization values.

A complex interplay of these intrinsic andextrinsic factors create the environment inwhich organizations grow leadershiptalent to reach their true potential. In turnonly those leaders who have potential, helpthe organization achieve businessleadership and success.

Leadership development process

The objective of the leadershipdevelopment in organisations should be toprovide opportunities for talent to growthrough structured experiences in alearning environment. The basic content ofthe program should ensure that the

individuals get the requisite skills and theknowledge to develop future capabilities.As far as possible the learning route mapmust allow the individual to select hislearning style. The detailed structure andprocesses of development blending hardexposure to business problems with softeraspects like mentoring and coachingensures the right combination of Yin andYang.

Corporate training programs and theexecutive development programsconducted by business schools can help inimparting basic management skills thoughnot contextualized to specific requirementsof say a software service provider or a farmequipment manufacturer. At best they helpexecutives with a beneficial brush up ofbusiness fundamentals and learn from theexperiences of benchmark organizations.The design of leadership capabilitydevelopment program must be carefullyand deliberately undertaken byorganizations themselves. Acuteawareness of organizational business,market realities, organizational culture andcompetency requirements are essential tocreate these programs. A successfulleadership development programdesigned for a multiproduct, multi-country, computer hardware producingcompany is unlikely to create a leadershippipeline for a local Indian pharmaceuticalcompany and vice-versa.

Management experience forms the fulcrumof a robust leadership developmentprocess. The key imperative of such aprocess should be to create learningsituations and experiential simulationswhere the individual can find a rigorousexercise of leadership competencies. Hereare some ideas for you to look at:

• Leadership competencies

Every company has its own take onwhat they want their leaders toaccomplish. This wish list needs to be

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broken down into a series of winningbehaviors. These behaviors can befurther grouped under variousleadership competencies. Theseleadership competencies become therecipe for the development process.They provide a level wise set ofrequirements to the developmentprocess and also guide the design of thedevelopment process. Thesecompetencies need to be constantlyscrubbed against the ever changingmarket situations and matched withnew realities.

• Leadership Kindergarten

The fundamental tenet for everynursery or kindergarten is to createexperiences around what a growingchild needs to learn in the mostsupportive of environments. Whatorganizations need to do is to createleadership nurseries for theiremployees - opportunities where theindividual can work and learn. Theessence of these programs is also todesign experiences where theindividual has to exhibit theseleadership competencies to solve andmanage real life work situations. Theexperiences need to be created aroundclass room training and board roominteractions. The experiential learningthat occurs in organizations based onhow they are grappling with theeconomic environment and theirsuccess or the lack of it with strategiesthey had adopted is in itself a greatlearning laboratory for leaders todevelop their capabilities.

• Leadership Mentors

A good practice to follow in theseprograms is to assign a leadershipmentor. These mentors need to beprofessionals in the organization withhigh credibility and whom the entireorganization admires and the junior

management wants to emulate.Constant interactions with these rolemodels reinforce various managementbehaviors and also serve asopportunities where the individual canuse the mentor as a sounding board forbouncing off ideas and doubts. The roleof the mentor is to also probe thevarious actions of the individual anddelve deeper and ask questions on therationale for various actions. Thesedialogues need to tease the reflectiveanalysis skills of the individual and helphim or her to question various exhibitedbehaviors. Reflective observation laysa key foundation in building the abilityin the individual to cement his learningsfrom various diverse experiences andalso connect them to the larger thestructure in his / her mind.

• Leadership CoachingWhile mentoring helps in the tutoringprocess, a more personalized approachis the leadership coaching. The coachhelps in enabling the individual toexamine his strengths and gaps andwork towards closing those gaps withsuggested inputs. Such closeinteractions with leaders help inbuilding confidence in the individualand also help to explore what suits bestfrom him or her preferences - behaviorsthat suit the individual strengths of theperson.

• Leadership Musical chairThere is no substitute for the exposureto different positions – with the changedjob description and different expectedwork outcomes – it contributes to theoverall development of the individualinto a well-rounded professional. Themetaphor of the different chair in eachround is for the change assignmentsand the reducing number of chairsdenotes the move up in hierarchy. Thisalso helps in fostering a general

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management outlook in the individualrather than the targets and pressures ofthe respective function of business unit.In an organization known fordeveloping leadership talent, this oftenis a well organized process with newassignments being given to developingleaders almost with a clock workprecision.

• Leadership PodiumAn exposure to formal seniormanagement meetings and learningopportunities with the top managementof the organization builds confidence inthe person. It also provides anopportunity to interact and get theviews of the wider leadershipcommunity. Organizations need tohave a structured program where theindividuals get opportunities, on aperiodic basis, for formalized learningsharing capsules. When this processis embedded in the operational fabricof the organization, it serves as aregular experience reckoner. In suchorganizations leaders provideopportunities to promising talent intheir teams to make presentations tosenior management forums instead ofdoing it themselves.

• Leadership Chronicles

“Education is best imparted throughfables” – one cannot over emphasizethis notion. Whether it is Panchatantraor Grimm’s fairy tales, we have alwaysfound their allegories build a basicsense of life, good, evil, sociallyacceptable actions in all its readersespecially in their formative years.Leadership chronicles are what greatleaders in their organization or industrydid in various trying and dodgy timesand how they prevailed over theobstacles. These ‘stories’ filter throughthe rank and file of the organization andbecome the subject of many a

discussion. Whether it is the watercooler chat or the coffee table tête-à-tête,these discussions are indispensable increating an atmosphere of positivitywithin the organization. Creating story-boards for teaching difficult subjectslike ethics and values in an organisationis the most effective way ofinternalizing these learnings.

• Leadership level execution skills

The programs and initiatives in asuccessful business organisation havea serious focus on execution. Althoughorganizations have severalimplementations going on at everypoint of time, what they lack is thediscipline to create a robust feedbackand control dashboard which alsoencourages the rigor of projectmanagement on to some of the lesstangible initiatives. Having executionmetrics is also fundamental to thesustainability of these initiatives. Theorganizational literature is full ofexamples on how great business ideaswere not executed efficiently leading towastage of resources and opportunitycost. Assigning responsibility early onfor executing on complex projects canhelp develop a strong internal pipelineof leaders who are strong at executionas well.

Although most of these ideas andprograms are being taken up in today’scompanies there are also several boobytraps:

o The prevalent accounting practiceshaving a parochial view to thelearning and development costs.These are not very differentiated inthe organization’s financialreporting and hence a lot ofinitiatives fall under the guillotine ofcost reduction.

o Some of the management metricsencourage organizations to take

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short term tactical measures onvarious issues like training persondays, etc leaving long term resourcedevelopment plan out in the cold.

Leadership is also a ‘perishablecommodity’! One has to constantly look atthe program and ask the question – has thiscompetency ‘expired’? As a new businessreality emerges every few months, one hasto keep a keen eye on the programfundamentals and some assumptions ofbusiness which have played a role in theentire design.

Finally, I believe that leadershipdevelopment is definitely a board levelimperative. While the implementationresponsibility can be delegated, there isno substitute to top management timefor the initiative. Successful organizations

are known to spend a lot of time onleadership development issues andplans. This time is clearly set aside on theannual calendar of the top managementand is never swapped for more ’urgentthings’. A simple review of leadershipsuccession plans in an organizationclearly sums up where it stands andwhether its plans have delivered. Suchorganizations look proactively at theefficacy of the leadership developmentprogram on the one hand and emphasizethe importance of the initiative in everymanagement forum down the line on theother. This helps in making all the currentleaders in the organization sensitive to theneed for leadership development.Successful companies make leadershipdevelopment a part of their long termbusiness objectives. And that is secretrecipe for their success.

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LETTER TO A YOUNG PROFESSIONALAQUIL BUSRAI

Abstract

This article is in the form of a letter written by the author to a young professionalon qualities that make a good leader.

About the Author

Aquil Busrai is Executive Director Human Resources with IBMIndia. He has over 36 years HR experience, both in strategic andoperational HR with blue chip organisations like Unilever in Kenyaand India, Motorola in Asia Pacific and Shell in Malaysia. He isthe National President for National HRD Network.

Dear fellow professionals,

Thanks to the delayed flight that you and Ihad a chance to chat up last week at theairport. I was intrigued at your repeatedquestions about qualities of a good leaderand could not help but notice how youwere trying to correlate those qualities withsuccess of leaders in real life. It had mereflect on my own observations over allthese years and it offered an opportunityto dwell on qualities that I have appreciatedin many good leaders that I have had theprivilege to work with or closely observe.

Then came this invitation to write an articlefor the Network journal. I decided againstthe idea of writing an article on leadershipand instead went back to our conversationand my subsequent reflections to capturethe essence of leadership in practice. Theresult was a list that I would like to sharewith you.

Successful leaders are those :

• Who are fiercely passionate about theirprofession and are proud of it

• Who consistently display highest levelof integrity

• Who can work with high level ofcomfort in a culturally diverseenvironment

• Who recognize their own derailmentfactors honestly. And act on it

• Who ask for larger and more complexroles

• Who let their expectations be wellknown to their team

• Who have a good Mentor and who usethem with regular frequency. Andattend their meetings well prepared.

• Who create a strong and workable planfor work-life balance

• Who own their career themselves andconsider the organizations as afacilitator

• Who take charge of the situation andhold themselves accountable for itsoutcome

• Who use the systems available in theorganizations but questions its efficacyfrom time to time

• Who are geographically mobile. Theyhave an accelerated career growth

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• Who are not bashful

• Who enjoy mentoring and take pride inthe success of the protégé

• Who do not have fear of failure

• Who do an honest and critical selfassessment annually

• Who demonstrate passion for theirorganizations

• Who have a T Shape expertise. Deep inone thing, general in others

• Who own and execute on personalperformance and take accountability

• Who identify and groom their successorone who is truly able

• Who define clear roles for their juniorsand hold them accountable

• Who realize that employees do not reactnor behave the way they are expectedto

• Who want to be first line managersbecause they realize that it will providethem an opportunity to showcase theirleadership skill

• Who spend quality time in selfreflection

• Who develop and nurture professionalcontacts and relationships

• Who leverage professionaldevelopment opportunities forthemselves and their team members

• Who simply want to excel

• Who set their own standards ratherthan set targets based on what othershave achieved

• Who develop a large network withinthe organization and access it

• Who delegate but hold themselvesaccountable

• Who provide regular feedback

• Who renew themselves throughlearning opportunities

• Who emulate their Role Modelsconsciously

• Who are decisive

• Who dare to think big

• Who are powerful communicators

• Who engage their teams and involvethem in decision making

• Who are themselves good follower

• Who demand high performance workculture and act on it

• Who differentiates in Rewarding highperforming employees

• Who takes bold action on lowperformers

• Who leave a legacy

The above list is certainly not exhaustive.But the points enumerated are ones thathave worked well for many leaders andhave shaped their success. Like you, all ofus as professionals keep learning in life.Many learn through observing masters atplay, I hope you too come across leaderswho you may desire to emulate. And thenbecome a good leader yourself. When thathappens, you may re-visit this list and addyour own learning for the next generationof professionals. And the journey oflearning will go on …

Yours truly,Aquil Busrai

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LEADERSHIP IN TOMORROW’S COMPANYRAJEEV DUBEY

Abstract

As the world shifts to a new business order where there is distrust of big business houses, lesspolitical stability and developing countries play a more substantial role, leadership too will

have to reposition itself and adjust to the rapidly changing times. The article attempts to definethe basic leadership traits that become necessary to steer the organization through the ‘choppy

waters of such a new World’.

About the Author

Rajeev Dubey is President (HR, After-Market & Corporate Services)& Member of the Group Management Board of Mahindra &Mahindra Ltd. He is also on the Boards of several Group companiesincluding Mahindra Ugine Steel, Mahindra Intertrade, MahindraFirst Choice, Mahindra Steel Service Centre, and Mahindra Retail.He is also the Chairman of Mahindra Insurance Brokers andMahindra First Choice Services. In addition, he is Chairman of theSustainability Council and CSR Council, and a Member of the

Corporate Governance Cell, of the Group. He also serves on the CII NationalCommittee of Indian MNCs, the CII Apex Council on Affirmative Action and theCII Western Regional Council.

A brave new world is emerging from theashes of the current economic meltdownand while I am no soothsayer, I can safelysay that we will need to create a differentframework for tomorrow’s company if it isto survive and prosper in a world in whichleadership will have to face challenges thatwill require a mindset quite different fromthe ones, which have worked in the past.

The new world order is likely to becharacterized by:

• Mistrust of big business

• Far less stability in economic andpolitical affairs

• A shift in the centre of economic poweraway from the traditional bastions ofUSA & Western Europe to other

economies, especially the BRICcountries.

• A far stricter regulatory environment

• Much greater public-private-not forprofit partnerships

• Demand for addressing the triplebottom-line of profit, people and planet

To navigate the Corporation successfullythrough the shifting and choppy waters ofthe new world order, leaders will need to relyheavily on

A. Empowerment

B. Innovation

C. Creating opportunities in situations ofapparent conflict

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This will require at least the following basicleadership traits:

1. A deep sense of self-awareness andauthenticity, which genuinelyencourages others to experience andunleash their human potential.Creating a culture where people are notbound by hierarchical lines of commandand control, and rules which stifle thespirit of experimentation, will be amajor role of the leader. This is notsomething which can be “put on”, amask which conceals an actualtendency to dominate and control, fortomorrow’s employee will demand somuch freedom that the mask will soonbe stripped away. This freedom will berequired not only because of the manyspecialized skills which will need to bebrought together to solve problems, butof the emerging mindset of Gen Y whichno longer has respect for authorityhardwired in its genes. Hence we needthe confident and authentic leader whopeople can trust, and who trusts peoplein turn. This authenticity and self-confidence will depend not only onexpertise and experience in multi-cultural settings, which willincreasingly become an essential part ofthe leader’s armory, but also on anevolved and “centered” spiritual core.Thus the intellect, heart and soul needto work in tandem and fire on all sixcylinders if the leader is to be able togenuinely empower his people.

2. Genuine respect for others, and thecompassion required to see things fromthe other’s point of view, without whichthe leader will not be able to create andsustain a culture of empowerment andinnovation. This requires an open mindand open heart, the ability to begenuinely non-judgmental and be ableto focus on issues not personalities,build on strengths and not only seek toremove weaknesses.

3. Innovation requires people to be givenfreedom to experiment and makemistakes (though within limits and notrepeatedly!) It also requires the leaderto show in his daily behavior the abilityto do, and appreciate, lateral thinking.

4. A genuine belief that talent is abundantand not scarce, and that the leader’sbasic job is to create an energy-spacewhere latent talent can flower, and athousand leaders bloom across thelength and breadth of theorganizational landscape. Clearly,talent development will become anincreasingly important and time-consuming role for tomorrow’s leaderand he will be well advised to use theAppreciative Enquiry approach, where hebuilds on the strengths of his peopleinstead of focusing on weaknesses andareas for improvement (which was thetraditional approach) and this not onlyfor select hi-potential executives, but forsolid performers who make up the bulkof the workforce.

5. To come from a space which knows thatbusiness outperformers and concern forpeople are not antithetical but in factcomplementary forces. Creatingsynergy out of seemingly conflictingforces and objectives, and the ability tocreate win-win situations, have been thehallmark of the most successful changeinitiatives I have seen. A paradigm shiftis taking place where forces which wereseen to be in conflict, now become richand powerful sources of synergy andstrength, as competition yields to co-opetition in the age of diminishingnatural resources and global concernsof climate change.

6. A genuine commitment to the triplebottomline. Till now the commitmentto community and planet has been moreintention than action, but the time hascome when corporates will be under

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increasing pressure to demonstrate thatthey mean and act on what they say.This pressure will come not only fromactivists but also from government andeven investors and the response willhave to be sustained over a considerableperiod of time for it to show measurableresults. The real skill will be for theleader to convince his people that thisapproach has to be enhanced and willmake sound business sense. Henceaction covering product, process,people and community.

7. I firmly believe that this must be a massmovement with crusaders and apostleswho can spread the word and instilthem in the minds of the young. Notonly in those who are being preparedfor leadership positions, but equally inthose who will serve in the value-chainright down to the grassroots level.

8. The ability to connect with people, bothwithin the organization and in theexternal environment, will be a criticalrequirement. Within the organization,since the comfort of the command andcontrol culture of the industrialorganization has been replaced by theneed to persuade and influence peoplein flat net-worked organizations, thecommunication skills of the leader willbecome ever more important. Sincecommunication is a two-way process,listening skills will be at a premium. Infact the leader as coach/facilitator/counselor/guide is the new avatarwhich is being born. With the emergingenhanced role of government andregulatory authorities in the fortunes ofcompanies, the leader will spend moreand more of his time interacting withexternal constituencies. He will haveto have the inclination and space to livewith differing points of view and feelcomfortable about it.

9. Uncertainty, violent fluctuations andco-existence of multiple forces in

economic, social and political life willbecome a fact of everyday existence.Hence leaders will need to have theability to deal with change, uncertaintyand multi-polarity in place of the orderand discipline of the industrialcapitalism of the twentieth century.Wisdom and intuition will have tocomplement intellect and logic inbusiness decision making.

10. The ability to deal with the multi-culturaldimensions of doing global business –people, languages, locations, beliefs,customs and conventions. The uni-polar world dominated by the US, andto a lesser extent Western Europe, isslowly and surely yielding to a multi-polar world where most economies aregetting integrated into the globalnetwork of countries which areinvolved in the flow of goods, services,capital and people. Leaders who havenot worked in several countries will beat a distinct disadvantage, and workexperience in countries like China,India, Russia and Brazil will carry apremium. Recognizing this, leadingbusiness schools and universities areinsisting on global experiences for theirstudents and this trend will onlybecome stronger in the years to come.

11. And yes, tomorrow’s leader will haveto be e-savvy! If anyone had doubts, thelatest US elections should conclusivelylay them to rest: thanks to Obama.

12. For too long have too many in positionsof power believed that commercial/business success is inherently in conflictwith Ethics and Values. And yet welament the absence of ethics/values andlong for a world where “success” wouldnot necessarily mean having to sacrificebasic human decency based on trustand respect. The good news is theemerging groundswell of belief that infact sustained business success sans

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ethics/values is not possible, even if weforget the desirability aspect of it.

13. Here too is a fundamental mentalparadigm shift which practitioners andeducational institutions have to workon together, if society is to survive inthe brave new world where win-lose mustnecessarily, even from the most hard-nosed and selfish point of view, yieldplace to win-win. Where the ability tolisten, trust and respect are not pooh-poohed as “soft” skills meant for theweak and ineffective, but become thecornerstone of the foundation thatstrong and effective leaders need.

14. Where a higher order purpose whichdrives people to outperform and reachfor the stars, is not the realm of esotericarm-chair philosophers, but the bloodand gut of highly successful businesspeople and organizations. Where truth,compassion and a spirit of service(Satya, Prem & Seva) are not things tobe ashamed of in the world of successand achievement, but are in fact criticalsuccess factors

15. Finally, men and women in theorganization are looking for purposeand meaning in their lives which gobeyond parameters like profit, marketshare, sales growth etc. People aregroping for a higher order purposewhich touches and satisfies a deep innerchord, a return to basics in terms ofemotional and spiritual needs even asphysical standards of living rise.

16. They will look for tomorrow’s leader toinfuse this purpose into theorganization vision and life.

17. Clearly, this list is not exhaustive, noris it meant to be. Nor are these attributesa substitute for strategy, vision, processand systems. But taken further, theycould lead tomorrow’s company tosustained success in the brave newworld.

* I would like to acknowledge TonyManwaring for the term “Tomorrow’sCompany”.

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LEADERSHIP IN PERSPECTIVE —AN INTERVIEW WITH P. DWARAKANATH

by AMRITA VIJAY KUMAR

Abstract

A combination of mental toughness and personal humility with personal resilience issignificant to be a good leader. A leader also has a high degree of emotional intelligence interms of creating awareness, self regulation, motivating people and exhibiting empathy.

Ultimately, it is to deliver what you promise, to embrace tough love and to demonstrate thehuman touch that forms some of the key leadership qualities.

Amrita Vijay Kumar speaks to P. Dwarakanath about his leadership journey of over30 decades, the challenges faced and the lessons learnt…

About P. Dwarakanath

P. Dwarakanath is the Director – Group Human Capital of Max India Ltd,and brings rich and varied experience of nearly 38 years. Dwarakanath is aBachelor of Science, Law and holds Post Graduate Diploma in Managementin PM & IR. He has retired from GSK as Director – Human Resources andAdministration, India/ South Asia after spending 27 years with the company.He is on the board of several Companies / Institutions including GSKConsumer Healthcare Ltd. He has won many awards including the

“Pathfinders Award” by the National Human Resource Development Network in 2004; “HRProfessional of the year” by Mid-Day in association with DAKS, London and others in 2005and the “Career Achievement Award” by GSK International 2006.

A: You were with GSK for over 30 years andexperienced the entire leadership journey tobeing a director. Longevity is a critical factorfor a leader to drive a vision for the organization.What were your experiences in this regard?

D: I was a management trainee at DCM andwent on to become a director at GSK. It istrue that if you want to build anorganization it is important to spendenough time understanding the culture, thepeople and the processes so that you cantake them forward. Organizations are notbuilt in a day or two. Yet looking at thecontemporary scenario, I acknowledge thatwe need to be practical and realistic in our

approach. I am also not trying to preach oradvocate the concept of ‘cradle to grave’or lifetime employment in oneorganization. Having said that, I believethat you need to have spent enough timein an organization in order to understand,appreciate and bring any transformationalchange. And when I say ‘I’, it does notmean that change is brought about by oneindividual, rather it is a team effort.

I have had a very fascinating experience inmy career as an HR professional and havewitnessed very exciting times- with respectto a constant evolution of the Indian andGlobal business environment and the

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transformational change it brought aboutto the approach and attitude towards theHR profession. I started my career in early70’s when the focus of HR was more onemployee relations, fire fighting, welfareand legal compliances. Today, however,HR has grown into being a more proactivefunction. In the last ten years, HR hasundergone a change from being a merefacilitator of HR processes to becoming astrategic business partner. I think the realtest of HR in the future is to be able to “addvalue” to the business. What I call the‘Dave Ulrich’ test, the ‘wallet’ test is howHR can influence your customers or buyyour products or seek services from theorganization at the cost of your competitor.I think HR is playing a vital role inorganizations and a paradigm shift hastaken place in the last decade, and there isstill some way to go.

To sum it up, I have gone through variousphases in my career, from having a welfareorientation to fire fighting to maintainingIndustrial Relations to managing HRprocesses to being a proactive facilitatorand to being an institutional builder.

A: What are the major leadership qualities thathelped you grow within GSK in your stint ofover three decades?

D: Fundamentally for any leader or evenmore for an HR manager, it is importantto have a high degree of emotionalintelligence in terms of creating awareness,self regulation, motivating people andexhibiting empathy. However, mere IQ orsheer intelligence is not enough. Havingsaid that, I believe it is also important todeliver what you promise. In order todeliver or execute, it is important to carryyour team with you. Leadership is not oneman’s effort as you walk with and throughpeople. Apart from this, it is important toembrace the art of ‘tough love’, which isbeing tough on issues but soft on people.In rough times of economic downturns or

acquisitions, how you manage, motivateand retain your people becomes a keyleadership quality. You may need to maketough decisions due to businessimperatives but how you make thosedecisions painless for your people is whatmakes a good leader. Some decisions maybe hard but if the process is equitable andtransparent, employees will go with thesatisfaction that the company has been fairto them. Ultimately, it is to deliver whatyou promise, to embrace tough love andto demonstrate the human touch which Icall emotional intelligence that forms someof the key leadership qualities.

A: You also experienced and steered large scaletransformations - over 6 mergers. Could youplease share special leadership traits / lessonsthat you gained from that experience?

D: I think fundamentally you need toaccept that change is inevitable. Embracingchange and making the transition seamlessand painless is what matters. One needs tolook at change as an opportunity ratherthan as a threat. It is important to manageboth the set of people, those who you couldretain and those who you could not. I feelthat there are five key requisites of change:

Firstly, I feel that it is the Organization thatis the hero and no individual is bigger thanthe organization. There have been greatleaders like Jack Welch who have played acritical role but ultimately it is GE thatstands. People come and go. Everyoneworks for the organization and if there is amerger or an acquisition or anytransformational change, ultimately it isimportant to recognize that it is in theinterest of the organization.

Secondly, times may be difficult, but itdepends on how you look at it. It is theglass half full or empty syndrome. Whetherit was the Smithkline Beecham merger orthe Beecham acquisition or the GlaxoSmithkline merger, what we learnt was

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that you need to look at it as a positiveopportunity rather than as a dauntingchallenge. If you have a winning attitude,nothing is impossible.

Thirdly, there are some changes that youanticipate and some that you don’t. For e.g.no one anticipated a downturn two yearsback. Therefore in these times, teamlearning and sharing becomes important.Some people might become moreimportant than the others but ultimately itis a team effort. Like in any movie, thecredit goes either to the director, the actors,but there are enough number of peoplecontributing behind the screen. Noteveryone gets the Oscar. Similarly, for adrug discovery only one or two will get theNobel Prize although there may bethousands working with them to ensuresuccess. Hence it is imperative to recognizethat everyone has contributed, and as longas you do that, team learning and sharingtakes place.

Fourthly, communication is very critical.Communicate to the right people at theright time at the right place, especiallyduring a transformational change.

Lastly, how you hardwire the soft stuff iswhat makes the difference. Hard-wire isthe standard systems or processes and soft-wire is the values. A transformationalchange brings an opportunity to bring in anew culture, which was what happenedduring the Smithkline Beecham merger. Itis very tough to bring a new culture in anongoing organization as you need to havea very compelling reason to bring about achange. Therefore it is important totranslate values into great strategies,systems or processes. The differencebetween a good and a great company ishow you translate the values intosuccessful deliverables. That is howSmithkline Beecham and Glaxo Smithklinewere successful as we could hardwire thesoft stuff into actionable. To cite an

example, we said our global quest is toimprove the quality of human life - be itpatients, customers, clients or employees.We decided to be involved only in thosebusinesses where we could live up to thismission. So we disposed off otherbusinesses such as the personal care wherewe could not clinically prove valueaddition. That was a paradigm shift in ourapproach which was based on our missionand culture.

A: You have also been the past president of theNational NHRD Network. How is it differentto lead a fraternity from leading anorganization?

D: It is a very different experience, whichis not only exciting and interesting but alsochallenging. When you are leading abusiness you have structures, systems andhierarchies but when you are running avoluntary, non profitable, professionalorganization- with people with highcaliber, leadership attributes andintellectual ability, it is important to carrypeople with you. Thus, the style ofleadership is different as your role is moreof a facilitator. The approach is moreparticipative, transparent and open insteadof the ‘tell sell’ approach.

A: Another aspect that will surely interest ourreaders is your connection with sports. Youhave been a university level tennis player. Whatimpact has that had on shaping your overallpersonality?

D: It is a very interesting question as sportsreally shaped my style and outlooktowards people, business and leadership.If you are a competitive sportsman, youstrive to win a game. Yet at the end of theday, I realize that everything is notwinning. It is how you contribute to a causewhich is more important. You need to havea sporting spirit and accept and appreciateboth winning and losing. Concedingdefeat gracefully and striving for a win-win

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scenario even when you are losing a matchis important.

One of my magic moments was when wewon a big tournament where at a criticalstage one of the points which wassupposed to be in our favor was ruledagainst us. Yet in the next point ouropponents conceded the point. I rememberthis match more for the sporting gesturethan for winning the match. Sports trulyhelps one imbibe the qualities of teamwork,sporting spirit, patience and enduringresilience.

A: Being a veteran in the industry, what is yourview on the evolution of leadership in the ever-changing paradigms?

D: I think leadership has gone through ahuge transformation. To define a greatleader, I am tempted to quote Jim Collinsfrom his book ‘Good to Great’. A hallmarkof a great leader is a person whodemonstrates a high level of professionalwill and personal humility. It goes withoutsaying that a great leader should have highdegree of emotional intelligence, he mustbe able to deliver and carry his team withhim, he should have not only businessacumen, but also a human touch. But thathuman touch can be inculcated only whenone has demonstrated high level ofpersonal humility. Unfortunately, what wesee with most successful managers is thatwhen success goes to their head, they tendto lose humility. While they have theprofessional will to succeed, they do notdemonstrate personal humility. Byhumility I don’t mean meekness orsubservience. To conclude, great leadersare not just charismatic but also have highdegree of professional will and personalhumility.

A: How does one nurture leaders in anorganization and how does one instill the valuesof ownership, which is critical for a leader?

D: In order to develop the culture of anorganization, it is critical to start from thetop - which means from the CEO orbusiness leaders. There needs to be a rolemodel at that level who walks the talk.When culture is driven from the top andcascaded down, half the battle is won.Secondly one may start an initiative verywell, but sustaining developmentinitiatives for long is more critical. It is easyto practice something new but tough tosustain it and that is where the practicebecomes robust and reliable. Constantcommunication at the right time in the rightforums is important to enabletransformation of culture. Therefore todevelop leadership, one should start fromthe top, be a role model, walk the talk,sustain the process and communicate well.Also if you don’t keep scoring, you are justpracticing. It is important to measure howthe organization is performing and how thepeople and the culture are gettingimpacted.When I was looking for the position ofDirector HR at Glaxo Smithkline, one of thequestions I was asked informally is‘Having been with the company for somany years, how many people have youdeveloped? Who are they and how did youdevelop them?’ A good leader is one whoshould not feel insecure to develop thesecond line of leadership. The leadershippipeline is very important. I believe thatexperiential learning is the best way togrow and nurture talent. A leader shouldhave the ability of story telling where hecan share his experiences to coach others. Ithink apart from coaching, mentoring,sharing feedback or inputs - storytelling isa great way to nurture talent.

A: Talking of leadership development, what isyour opinion on it and its current state inorganizations today?

D: In my view leadership means leadershipat all levels and one can’t suddenly develop

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leaders at the top level. In GSK, we have aconcept of grow your own timber. Secondly,we believe that everyone is committed andeveryone can contribute. Thirdly, oneshould develop oneself and others sincedeveloping oneself is the first step to beable to develop others. Also, one cannotdevelop others through positional power,it comes from one’s personal influence. Acombination of personal power throughone’s position can help nurture someone.Therefore, continuous learning at any stageis important to gain acceptance. To sumleadership development - catch themyoung, realize that leadership is at all levelsand develop self and others.

A: Are there any leadership theorists or leadersthat you do admire? If yes, what has been theirinfluence on you?

D: Personally there have been a couple ofleaders who have had an influence on me.One of them was the managing director atGSK, who was my role model, apart frommy father, who taught me the art of ‘toughlove’. I feel that to be a great leader, oneshould not have any bias. Ones actionsshould be based on fair play and equity. Iam also very impressed with what JackWelch has done for GE, by nurturing talentacross levels, focusing on creating learningcenters and developing GE as a greatorganization.

A: As a leader how do you define your firstprinciples and how do you live by them?

D: I think that firstly it is important todevelop trust as nobody will accept aleader whom they can’t put their trust in.And trust cannot be built in a day; one hasto consistently walk the talk.

Secondly, it is important to have thecompetence to deliver what you promise.The third important principle to live by isexecutive intelligence. Executiveintelligence is not academic intelligence.

Instead it is constitutive of how oneaccomplishes the task of leadership, howone works with people, and how one canevaluate one’s own attitudes andbehaviours and make necessaryadjustments from time to time.

A: What is your opinion on the role of a followervis-à-vis the role of a leader?

D: A good leader is also a good follower.Unfortunately, some of the great teams insports fail because everyone is a greatleader but not a great team player. It isimportant to recognize that dependingupon the situation, someone else may havebetter competence or knowledge tomanage the requirements. Being able toaccept others leadership, being able to learnand leverage from their strengths despitebeing in the position of hierarchy, is thehallmark of a good leader. And that canhappen only with a high degree ofemotional intelligence and personalhumility to be able to understand andappreciate one’s strengths and weaknesses.Unfortunately leaders feel that theircompetence is greater than others on everyaspect, but it may not be the case.Accepting that someone below maypossess certain skill that I probably lack, iscritical awareness.

A: Do you plan to write a book on leadershipyourself?

D: Yes, I am planning to write a book onsome of my experiences. The book is titledMali to Maalik. If you ask me what HR is allabout, it is being able to handle every oneright from the Gardner to the CEO. Itconcerns how you handle the entirebandwidth of employees from lower to thehigher levels. Managing diverse workforcefrom a global context is important, not onlyfrom an inter and intra-cultural context butalso managing different types of people inthe same organization, country orgeography.

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A: After so many decades in the industry, whatkeeps you going…

D: I think what keeps me going isemotional energy. I realize that there isalways scope to learn as long as one enjoyswhat one does. What I am learning at Maxas compared to GSK is entrepreneurshipskills, ability to take risks, make quickdecisions and the abililty deal with multisector business in a big conglomerate.These challenges keep me going.

A: Any message to youngsters who aspire tobe leaders some day.

D: Our country is fortunate to have atalented bunch of people. There are manywho are being groomed to be leaders.I think those who aspire to be leaders

should be focused. They should alsodevelop the ability to take decisions, oneout ten may be wrong, but the ability isimportant. Also, one may be able todemonstrate business acumen butgiving a human touch is equally important.I feel that a combination of mentaltoughness and personal humility withpersonal resilience is significant to be agood leader.

To sum it up, I feel that there are four kindsof people. First are those who watch thingshappen, second are those who don’t knowwhat is happening, third, those to whomthings happen, but the distinguishedminorities are those who make thingshappen.

Interview conducted by Amrita Vijay Kumar, Senior Consultant - Human Capital,Ernst & Young.

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CORPORATE “UBERMENSCH” – A VIEW FROMETHEREAL TO THE REAL…

ADIL MALIA

Abstract

Drawing from Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the “Ubermensch”, literally translated as“Superman”, the article attempts to define the characteristics of the ‘Corporate Super

Achiever’. It touches upon the unique strengths of the modern corporate leader who stands outfrom the others and energizes those who surround him. The article also suggests a way forward

to develop the ‘Ubermensch’ for the future times to come.

About the Author

Adil is the Group President - Human Resources at Essar. He has aBachelor’s degree in Commerce, a Bachelor’s degree in Law and aMaster’s degree in Personnel Management and Industrial Relationsfrom Tata Institute of Social Sciences. With 29 years of globalexperience spanning geographies in India, South-West Asia, MiddleEast and the U.S., Adil joined the Essar Group from Coca-Cola India,where for 9 years he handled different assignments, last of whichwas as Senior Vice President (HR) for India and South-West Asia.

Adil is a trained facilitator and a certified trainer. He has done extensive work inareas of Strategic Leadership and Organisation Development in multi-culturalbusiness environments with large MNCs and Indian organisations.

Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th centuryGerman philosopher and classicalphilologist, for the first time indicatedabout ubermensch in his book “Thus SpokeZarathustra”.

The book’s protagonist - “Zarathustra”,contends that “man is something whichought to be overcome”. All beings so farhave created something beyond themselves;mankind should not ebb this great flood andcontinue to strive to transform and createsomething higher than itself. This is thecentral philosophical theme.

“Ubermensch” literally translated means“superman”…the wholesome, mostcompetent, strongest and morally upright

figure of modern times. Jerome Siegelmodeled the central character of hiscreation, “Superman”, on the basis ofNietzche’s idea.

The racist villains in history haveattempted experiments in selectivebreeding, genetic engineering, cloning andnano-technology to create a superior race(Hitler et al). Their experiments miserablyfailed. In fact, such experiments werebound to fail as these short-cut attemptswere based on developing superiorperforming races through unnaturalengineering and birth rather than thelaborious alternatives of scalingcompetencies, endeavor, toil, efforts andtraining.

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The contemporary corporate universe hasdemystified this ethereal superman. Overthe last few decades, the corporate worldhas experienced the presence of many such“ubermensch” - wholesome and competentmen of blood - flesh and bones, who in theirown chosen fields of management practice,have excelled and performed incrediblybeyond the set thresholds of performanceknown to mankind until that time.

I have personally known and worked withsome of these ubermensch. I have alsoworked with some self-proclaimedcorporate supermen who claimed to begame-changers, but, who changed thegame such that they lost their winningadvantages.

Whilst it is true that no two leaders havethe same sequence of strengths fromamongst the zillion competencies andabilities required for success, what makesthe critical tipping point difference for thecorporate super achiever? His countrycousin may have studied in the sameinstitute, read the same books and yet,may not be able to match the samesuccess. Leaders may have identicalexpectations, but the way they reach theirgoals is always dependent on the uniqueconfiguration of their strengths. One seesthree clear trends and predictable patternsin their footprints, and therefore, anopportunity to learn by imitation.

Corporate ubermensch are endowed withthis ubiquitous relationship with theintangible. They see the invisible. Theyspot potential winners and faint trendsbefore their rivals or customers do. Theyare able to clearly see through a mirage,spot the distant land, smell the scent of anopportunity, read the unwritten messagesand lucidly read the personalities of peoplethey interact with. This intuitive perceptionis what makes them spot corporate talenteven on soccer fields and take decisions togamble their monies on dreams which earn

them “insane” sobriquets, until that barrenland transforms itself into a gold mine.Then they call him a visionary! Ability topierce through the superficial, senseunderlying signals and uncover hiddenvalue is their unique ability.

“Activation” in pursuit of dreams, as atheme, predominates the behavior patternof the corporate ubermensch. Assessing andmanaging accompanying risks is a naturalappendage of the activation process. Inmaniacal pursuit of their dreams, theyreflect consistent, conscious and energeticaction orientation, which they derive fromtheir will power. They do not get frenziedor distracted by the myriad of the day today. They are highly focused and energeticand come across as reflective and calmamidst chaos. Constraints can’t hold themback. And that at times, can get to be aworry…for such an action man could racefor fulfillment of his dreams, removing allfull stops. Superman, therefore, has to bemorally upright and controlled by strongcommitment to VALUES. That is whatmakes him an “ubermensch” – otherwise,maniacal action bias in vigorous pursuit ofdreams may make his marshal ways, notnecessarily scrupulous. Some Supermen Iknow failed this “Values” test and lickeddear earth beneath their feet.

Supermen emotionally influence peopleand mobilize resources behind theirdreams. To garner people support, they usetheir influencing relationship skills muchmore than their control and commandskills. They, however, do not hesitate fromusing them, when necessary. They have aunique ability to bond with and build long-sustained relationships, which could maketheir people walk even through firewallsfor them. They may be charismatic andmay have their own ambitions andagendas but they channel their ego needsand self-interest away from themselves,into the larger goal of building their dreamsand institutions.

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This piece is not about FriedrichNietzsche’s philosophy. “Ubermansch” is anicon of eclectic ideology. Contemporarycorporate management literature is repletewith traces of iconic men and women whoreflect these ubermanschque capabilities.These supermen are flesh and bone humanbeings like you and me. They are notanything resembling the super charactersout of science fiction movies representingsuch a futuristic super race.

Such a corporate super race is not going tobe born tomorrow. It will certainly not havean oversized brain or communicate insynthetic sounds resembling cacophonichigh-end electronic musical notes. Thequestion has always been: how do wemultiply this race?

The reality is that each generation ofprofessional managers coaches the nextgeneration. The next generation, therefore,has the benefit not only of their coaching

but also of exposure to better knowledgeand best practices through the world boomin communications. The informationtechnology revolution equips each newgeneration of managers with new cutting-edge tools.

The Neitchesque “super race” willtherefore not be born tomorrow. It is in themaking every day and each one of us ispart of a chain in the evolutionary processof the creation of the “corporateubermensch”. Therefore, each one of us iscast with a philological duty for thedevelopment of the next superiorgeneration of managers under us.

“Ubermensch” will look exactly like us andalso sound like us. It is through what theycan deliver in terms of quality, quantity,speed and creativity that their corporatefootprints will be differentiated. Silently,we are the makers of “ubermensch”.

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THE ITC LEADERSHIP PARADIGM: VISION,VALUES & VITALITY

ANAND NAYAK and L. PRABHAKAR

Abstract

This article recounts the story of one of India’s leading organizations that has evolved overclose to ten decades from ‘strength to strength’. Leadership at ITC has been focused onincreasing the organization’s longevity and enhancing its wealth generating capacity.

Moreover, ITC’s leadership has been cognizant of the fact that society constitutes an importantstakeholder of the enterprise and therefore contribution to society is seen as one of the primary

goals of the organization.

About the Author

Anand Nayak, Head of Human Resource Development for ITC,has been with ITC for 35 years. He has handled senior HRassignments in the Company’s various divisions. He is alsoresponsible for overall supervision of ITC’s Social DevelopmentInitiatives. He is a post-graduate in Personnel Management andIndustrial Relations from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He is also a Directoron the Board of ITC Infotech.

L Prabhakar, Corporate Human Resources Manager, has beenwith ITC for over 14 years. Prior to moving to Corporate, he hasworked in different divisions of ITC. A post-graduate in PersonnelManagement and Industrial Relations from XLRI, Jamshedpur,Prabhakar has 21 years of experience in HR.

ITC will complete a century of its existencein 2010. An organisation that has grownfrom strength to strength with the passageof each decade, an example of a livingcompany, inspired and led by generationsof visionary leaders, the quality of itsleadership best manifest in the longevityand sustainability of the enterprise.

The challenge for leadership in any livingcompany is multi-dimensional –transforming the enterprise through itsevolution and growth, whilst beingstrongly anchored in its philosophicalunderpinnings, ensuring their application

and practice, whilst leveraging the powerand capability that emerge from theiradoption. Leadership is expected to createand sustain the belief that the extent ofpeople engagement has not only a directimpact on both the top line and bottom line,but also has the most direct impact on thesustainable lifespan of the enterprise.

Successive generations of ITC’s leadershiphave, over the decades, been steadfast intheir desire to increase the longevity andsustainability of the organisation andenhance its wealth generating capability tocreate value for each of its stakeholders on

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a sustained basis. ITC’s leadership, overthe years, has been conscious of the fact thatsociety and the nation constitute importantstakeholders of the enterprise.

This commitment to a larger purpose wasbest articulated by the Chairman, Mr. YCDeveshwar, when he addressed theAnnual General Meeting of theshareholders of the company in 2006 –

“The potential of an enterprise forwealth creation is set apart by thedistinctive amalgam of its Vision,Values and Vitality. It represents a mixof constancy and change; of a timelesscore and constantly evolving strategiesand processes built around the core. Theeffectiveness of the interplay betweenthese complementary elementsdetermines the extent to which latentpotential is realized. The enlargementof enterprise potential thereforerequires Vision, Values and Vitality tobe continuously recharged throughpractice and insight, revalidated forrelevance and tested forappropriateness to the evolvingcompetitive context. It is the role ofleadership to nurture a uniquecombination of the 3Vs towardsensuring that the enterprise sustainssuperior wealth generating capacity inan environment of escalatingcompetitive pressures. Such leadership,in a multi-business context like that ofyour Company, needs to extend beyondthe corporate level to the strategicbusiness units and their constituents.Distributed leadership then engenderstransformation by enhancing adaptivecapability and sharpeningresponsiveness to change.”

Vision and MissionSignificant challenges, both external andinternal, call upon the leadership of anenterprise to reflect on the strategy in placefrom time to time. In ITC, at moments such

as this, the leadership goes back and asksthe fundamental question – What is thepurpose of ITC? Over the decades, the corepurpose has remained the same, althoughit may have been articulated differently.ITC exists primarily to fulfill its potentialand to become as great as it can be in orderto pursue its Mission with unflinching zeal.ITC’s Mission is ‘to enhance the wealthgenerating capability of the enterprise,delivering superior shareholder value andcreating value for society’.

Flowing from this purpose of its existenceis ITC’s Vision - a compelling Vision thatcreates and forges corporate identity. Theoverarching Vision that unifies thediversified businesses of ITC is ‘to sustainITC’s position as one of India’s mostvaluable corporations through world classperformance, creating growing value forthe Indian economy, society and thecompany’s stakeholders’.

The Vision imparts a larger purpose andmeaning to individual endeavour. It isaspirational, unifying and motivational.Envisioning a larger societal purpose hasalways been a hallmark of ITC, describedby the Chairman in the past, as “acommitment beyond the market”. ITCarticulated its Vision appropriate to theIndian context, tailored around the deeprural linkages that characterize ITC’s valuechain relationships. This compelling Visionof enlarging its contribution to Indiansociety has powered ITC over the pastdecades.

Such a Vision is manifest in multiple forms,significantly reshaping ITC’s profile. TheVision requires each of ITC’s businesses toattain leadership on the strength ofinternational competitiveness.Simultaneously, it has driven ITC to alsoconsciously contribute to enhancing thecompetitiveness of the larger value chainsbeyond its own operations. This broadercommitment has led to the creation ofunique business models that synergize

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long-term shareholder value enhancementwith fulfillment of a larger societalpurpose.

It has expanded corporate consciousnessin the practice of trusteeship to ensuresustainable wealth creation throughcontribution to the ‘Triple Bottom Line’.Towards this end, ITC has a clearlyarticulated Vision for sustainabledevelopment encompassing economic,social and environmental capital. Theleadership participates in the cascading ofthis Vision and helps in translating it intomeaningful and challenging goals andobjectives. Progress on these goals andobjectives on each of the three dimensionsof economic, social and environmentalcapital is audited by internal and externalauditors and then reported to stakeholdersthrough the Quarterly Results, AnnualReport and also the Sustainability Reportpublished as per GRI Guidelines. It is thissuperordinate purpose of creating growingvalue for Indian society that has inspiredITC’s human resource and aligned theircollective endeavor by providing unity ofpurpose across the organisation.

Values

Values refer to the institutional standardsof behaviour that strengthen commitmentto the Vision, and guide strategyformulation and purposive action. The coreValues of ITC are shaped around the beliefthat enterprises exist to serve society. Interms of this belief, profit is a means ratherthan an end in itself, compensation toowners of capital linked to the effectivenessof contribution to society and the essentialingredient to sustain such enlarged societalcontribution.

It is pertinent to highlight two uniquedimensions of ITC’s Group Philosophy.

· Trusteeship

ITC will act as a trustee for all itsstakeholders – consumers, dealers,

suppliers, associates, employees,investors, Government and society. Itwill harmonise their diverse needs andaspirations to achieve the greatestcommon good and equity.

Thus ITC has embraced an extendedrole of trusteeship that reaches beyondthe assets reflected in the balance sheetto encompass societal assets. For theleadership and employees at ITC,exploring the ramifications of managingan entity, which is alive, with the intentof handing it over to their successors inbetter health than when they receivedit, is a challenge on the one hand, butalso something that is deeply gratifying.

· Nation Orientation

The defining trait of ITC, is its deeply‘Indian’ character that aligns corporatestrategy to national priorities. Such acharacter flows from the Indianness ofits soul rather than the origin of itscapital. As a premier ‘Indian’ enterprise,ITC consciously engages across thevalue chains towards maximisingbenefit for Indian society. Such acombination of Values determineschoice of corporate strategy, orientssuch strategy in favour of Indian valuechains wherever feasible, and engagesthe organisation willingly inconfronting the larger societalchallenges of inclusive and sustainablegrowth. ITC’s abiding commitment tosociety provides depth of moral contentand infuses energy across theenterprise, thus elevating collectivecorporate effort to the fervour of amission for the ultimate benefit of allstakeholders.

This over-arching Vision of thecompany and a stated philosophy isexpressively captured in its corporatepositioning statement: ‘EnduringValue. For the nation. For theshareholder.’

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The corporate campaigns over the yearshave also reflected this ethos –

o ‘Let’s put India first’;

o ‘No stops for India, No stops for ITC’;

o ‘ITC – Working for you, Working forIndia’

Vitality

A compelling Vision and strong Values bythemselves could not have radicallytransformed ITC without the Vitality thatenables robust strategy formulation andworld-class strategy execution. Vitality inITC is manifest in many ways includingstrengthening its competitive capability,the deepening of its consumer insight,breakthrough innovations in products andprocesses, the ability to rapidly absorbknowledge and harness technology, thewidening bandwidth of distributedleadership, a growing nimbleness toproactively manage change and the abilityto adapt continuously to leverage marketopportunities.

The amalgam of Vision, Values and Vitalityis best demonstrated in the strategies ofgrowth, development and governance.

Growth Strategy

When the present Chairman, Mr.Y.C.Deveshwar, took over the reins of theCompany in 1996, it was a time when thewinds of liberalization and globalizationwere driving the expectations ofshareholders. It would have been temptingfor many an organisation to jump onto thebandwagon and look at the short-term tomaximize returns. Under the leadership ofMr. Deveshwar, however, managementopted to take the road less travelled andmade the more difficult strategy choice ofcreating multiple drivers of growth,leveraging opportunities in the emergingIndian economy that best matched proveninternal capabilities. It also meantrationalizing the business portfolio. It

required tremendous courage andconviction to adopt a strategy, whichseemingly was not in sync with the thoughtprocess of sticking to the knitting. Whatemerged was a ‘three-horizon growthstrategy’ –

• Horizon 1 - Defend and expand currentproducts, markets and capabilities andmaintain leadership status

• Horizon 2 - Blend skills andcompetencies residing in differentbusinesses to create new engines ofgrowth

• Horizon 3 - Create new capabilities forviable businesses in the future

Rationalizing the business portfolio poseda formidable challenge of enabling thevarious businesses make the transitionfrom competing in a relatively protectedenvironment to winning in an intenselycompetitive and rapidly globalizingmarket on the strength of superior valuepropositions.

Responding to this challenge meantengineering a paradigm shift in thecorporate mindset. The entire organisationhad to be realigned to a new focus, namelyacquiring international competitiveness incost and quality in each of ITC’s businesses.Such realignment was given shape to,through significant investments intechnology, processes, innovation andbrands; and crafting a strategy oforganisation based on the governanceprinciple of distributed leadership tounleash the entrepreneurial energies ofITC’s high quality human resource.

Strategy of Organisation

A strategy of organisation was put in placethat has enabled ITC to ‘focus’ and‘diversify’ rather than having to exercise achoice between ‘focus’ or ‘diversify’. Theunderlying principle of creating newavenues for growth by blending skills andcapabilities drawn from different parts of

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the ITC Group, has in turn spawned newercompetencies, thereby imparting amultiplier effect to ITC’s growth strategies.

The challenge, therefore, has been to ensurefocus in each business whilst facilitatingintegration at the appropriate level toharness Group synergy. Governance wasidentified as a cornerstone to manage thediversified portfolio. A three-tiergovernance structure was put in place,with well-defined focus.

• Strategic Supervision by the Board

• Strategic Management by the CorporateManagement Committee. This roleessentially focuses on mentoringbusinesses, mobilizing group andexternal resources, and monitoringperformance

• Executive Management by theDivisional CEO and DivisionalManagement Committees

This governance structure has enabled thecompany to pursue new avenues of growthwithout diluting the focus on its existinglines of business. The emphasis ondistributed leadership facilitates adecentralized strategy of organisation thatenables the executive management of eachbusiness to relentlessly pursue the task ofattaining international competitivenessby focusing on its unique skills,unencumbered by other priorities, butwithin a framework of effectiveaccountability.

This strategy of organisation also places topmanagement in the unique position ofbeing able to assume the character of aholding company with the mindset of aventure capitalist, mentoring existingbusinesses and engaging in strategicsupervision of the various businesses.

This has also called for Head Office andthe Corporate Management Committee torefashion their roles to ensure:

• A paradigm shift from ‘How can Icontrol’ to ‘How can I add value?’

• Not becoming the apex of a pyramidbut a Strategic Centre

• How each business can deriveadditional value from being part of theITC Group

• ‘Enabling’ and not ‘controlling’ andmoving from ‘centralization’ to‘empowerment’

• Alignment of each business withcorporate objectives through strategiclevers of control

Distributed LeadershipA time-tested belief in ITC has been “Thebest means of growth come from within”.This is best illustrated by the fact that theChairman, and most members of theCorporate Management Committee andChief Executives of different businessesstarted their professional careers with ITC.

The focus on quality recruitment and thesubsequent tiered approach to leadershipand management development has helpedbuild the leadership pipeline. Whilst theseinterventions facilitate the process, it isITC’s belief that leadership developmentcan neither take place in a vacuum, nor canbusiness leaders be created in ManagementDevelopment Centres. ITC believes thatbusiness leaders can grow and enhancetheir capability only in the context ofactually running a business. The strategyof organisation that supports a diversifiedbusiness portfolio provides a uniquemechanism to ‘incubate’ and growdistributed leadership. This enablesteaching and learning interactively andinstinctively, wherein leaders areencouraged to process what they havelearnt against their own experience andknowledge.

Over the years this strategy has beenfurther fine-tuned, wherein newer

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businesses are ‘incubated’ in establishedbusinesses, not just to ensure theavailability of a talent pool, but also toensure the seeding of ITC’s core values inevery new venture. And, each of thebusinesses are encouraged to sculpt theirown three-horizon growth strategies,thereby ensuring several such horizons ofgrowth across the organisation. In essence,this approach looks at leadership not as aposition, but as a process of inclusive,collective and inter-dependent decisionmaking aligned to the super-ordinate goal.It is this approach that has enabled ITC todemonstrate a high degree of resilience andenabled it to deal effectively with momentsof turbulence.

In a recent interview, when asked on whatkind of succession planning process he hasput in place, Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar said:

“At ITC, each business has a ChiefExecutive. So in terms of opportunity,there is lots of it. What better successionplanning can there be than peoplerunning their own businesses? In othercompanies there is only one ChiefExecutive and unless you become aChief Executive, you cannot run yourown business. In my own company,there are so many people gettingexperience as Chief Executives”

A key success factor has been the charterbased on which potential leadership isidentified and developed in ITC acrossdifferent levels. The process focuses on thedemonstration of adherence to the‘abiding’ factors. And, these ‘abiding’factors in turn ensure that the organisation:• Is sensitive to the environment, which

sustains the organization’s ability tolearn and adapt

• Is able to build a community andpersona for itself

• Is aware of its ecology and is able tobuild constructive relationships withother entities, within and outside itself

• Is able to govern its own growth andevolution effectively

The Integration

The integrated strategy of Growth andGovernance on the foundation of Visionand Values provides the Vitality forsustained growth.

If one were to reflect on what leaders atthe helm did to transform the organisationduring their respective tenures, four keyaspects emerge:-

• They go to extraordinary lengths forcauses they believe in, for the valuesthat the organisation stands for. Theymake the transformation personal,relentlessly and openly engagingothers, and work towards highlightingsuccesses as they emerge, for others togain belief.

• They demonstrate their commitment tothe transformation by being consistentand resilient about their goals andpassionately encouraging stakeholdersto support the same.

• They build a strong and committed topteam, and in the process they take toughdecisions about who has the ability andmotivation to make the journey.

• They relentlessly pursue the impact oftheir goals and strategies and roll uptheir sleeves by getting personallyinvolved when significant financial andsymbolic value is at stake.

The true test of ITC’s leadership paradigmwould be when the next generation ofleadership demonstrates its ability topreserve the core values and purpose withthe same gusto and commitment, whilstadapting business strategies and operatingpractices to a changing world. It is thischallenge of ‘preserving the core and yetstimulating progress’ that will inspire andalign future generations of ITC.

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As Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar passionatelyarticulated in one of his addresses at theAnnual General Meeting –

“To be able to stand tall amidstadversity, to live your convictions andknow that your actions and beliefs havetransformed the lives of millions, is atonce a humbling and enriching

experience. ITC is indeed privileged tobe able to make a difference, and berecognized for the contribution itmakes. Our abiding Vision, the strengthof our outstanding human capital, andour commitment to creating enduringvalue will continue to inspire us as westrive to achieve even greater successin the future”

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DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIPVIVEK PATWARDHAN

Abstract

Successful leaders are not just born, but can also be made - this is the very foundation of thisarticle. It further explores possibilities of learning leadership, and how a defining moment cankick-start a leadership journey. It takes a fair mix of a compelling vision, continuous focus on

reality- in terms of numbers and hard facts, ethics which means being driven by principles andnot by expediencies, courage- doing what we believe is the right thing to do and the ability to

influence forms the bedrock of successful leadership.

About the Author

Vivek Patwardhan, Vice President – HR of Asian Paints heads theHR function for the organization and its group companies includingits international subsidiaries in 22 countries. He was appointed as‘TISCO chair professor of Industrial Relations’ at Tata Institute ofSocial Sciences, Mumbai 2006-07. Vivek has published severalarticles on various subjects which include positive psychology,industrial relations, travelogues, and pen sketches. He has edited abook [“Kunchale un Kalam”], meaning paintbrush and pen. Vivek

Patwardhan is a science graduate from Bombay University and he read for his Master’sdegree in Labour Welfare at Bombay Labour Institute, now called MILS.

Leadership is a subject of interest to peopleof all ages and walk. Many books havebeen written on the subject of leadership.Most of these will make you feel thatleadership is what Nehru, Gandhi,Kennedy and Mandela practised; that youcan be called a leader if you have changedthe course of events; and that great leadersare born. This is only half true. These booksdo not tell you that leaders can be made. Iam not saying this but research in HR saysit. And this is immensely reassuring. Thismeans that it is possible for you and me tolearn leadership and be good leaders. Wecan create great organisations; we caninspire a dozen people around us to begood leaders. It is not necessary that allleaders have to leave an indelible mark on

world history. We can make quite animpact on the world around us.

LEADERSHIP CAN BE LEARNT

So the first point I want to make is thatleadership can be learnt. Recently I read abook in Marathi called ‘Kharkhure Idols’,meaning ‘The Real Idols’, which coversstories of many persons not in the limelight,yet who have made an impact in the worldaround them. Have you heard of NaseemaHurjuk? Naseema was a simple next doorgirl till she was about 15 or so. Then atragedy struck. She was paralysed and hadto move about in a wheel chair. This girlwho loved to dance, now had to be literallycarried by others. But she was encouragedby another paraplegic who was working

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for others. She participated in the mindwheelgames in London. By now, somethinginside Naseema had changed. She decidedthat she had to be independent and cannotbe a burden to the family and the society.

Today, Naseema runs an NGO called‘Helpers of the Handicapped’ that hasprovided livelihood, independence andenormous pride to more than 550 disabledpersons. She has so far been felicitated andgiven 32 awards. How did this happen?Did Naseema have a big target in mind?It all began with a small determinationand effort. As she tasted success, shebecame increasingly ambitious. Thisseems to be the pattern in the case of many aleader. A defining moment kick-starts theleadership journey.

VISION

The transition from a common person to aleader is often gradual. There is a goodamount of building up. The build-up isof ambition, of ability to see newopportunities and of credibility. Myunderstanding is that the process ofdeveloping a vision itself is fuelled bypassion or what one feels strongly about.So, Naseema Hurjuk felt that somethingmust be done about the plight of disabledpeople. She began in a small way andcreated eventually a big enough way tohelp 550 disabled persons. We seem tothink that vision is something that happensto us, like enlightenment. I have alwaysfelt that biographers tend to be unrealisticin showering praise and attributingpurpose to their subjects. And that givesus such wrong notions. Developing visionis not akin to enlightenment, it is moreakin to building a structure; you build itbrick by brick.

If we read biographies of Dhirubhai orRahul Bajaj, it becomes clear that they toohave followed this route. There are, ofcourse, those who are exceptionallygifted and they are outstandingly

entrepreneurial. But then they are very fewin number, though more visible. Vision, Iam told, should be defined only in termsof intangibles. We unfortunately limit thisto our professional life. We tend to thinkwhat kind of department I would like tocreate or what kind of institution I wouldlike to create. How many of us pause tothink what kind of family or culture athome I would like to create? I am sure thatthe number will not be large. The starkirony is that it matters to us more thananything else.

Be that as it may. Research is increasinglyshowing us a way of defining and attainingthe intangible targets. In his recent book‘The HR value proposition’, Dr Brockbankdiscusses a step-by-step process ofenvisioning the desired culture within andcreating it. The book talks about a processin which a large number of people can beinvolved in defining and shaping culture.GE says their statement of culture is speed,simplicity and self-confidence. Disney wantsus to see their organisation as ‘Friendly’.Deutsche Bank prides in calling itself a‘disciplined risk-taking organization’. This ishow they wish to give theirs a persona. Ifthis is not vision, what is it?

There are others who follow what they callthe ‘Obituary Exercise’. In this exercise youwrite down how you would like yourobituary to be written. This exercise bringsmany questions to our mind. What is it thatI would like to achieve? And rememberedfor? You are never remembered only foryour achievements. You are alsoremembered because you stand forsomething and you do not stand for someother things. These are what we call values.This summation of your dreams aboutyourself as a champion of certain valuesand your goals is what vision is. When wetalk of vision I am tempted to quote HelenKeller. You will recall that Helen was ablind person. She asked ‘Is there anything

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worse than being blind?’ And she answered‘Yes, a person with sight and no vision.’

Is leadership individual in nature or is it acollective process? Many of us think “I amthe leader, and these are some of myfollowers.” We often tend to think ofleadership as an individual performance.War films, for instance, glorify this angleof individual leadership. All this goes toshape the image of a leader in our mind asa passion-charged individual who has beenable to direct a group of followers. Thereis no denial that there are situations inwhich individual performance has a place.

Trouble starts when you enter industry andcarry that picture in your mind. In industry,the nature of process is more oftencollective and not really individual.Decisions must be made after allowing anelaborate process of consultation, anopportunity to influence others and finallyby gaining the ‘buy-in’ of the majority.When my department works on any policy,many employees are spoken to, manymanagers are consulted and their views areincorporated on the proposal before it isannounced as a policy. This is essentialbecause the best decision is the bestimplemented decision. But a newcomer toindustry discovers that the flamboyance of‘I say and they will follow’ is non-existent.

We must reflect therefore as to how weunderstand leadership. For it has aprofound effect on how we practise it.Martin Wilcox has put it crisply, ‘If youview leadership in the conventional way,as a set of characteristics, or behaviours,that you need in order to influence peopleto follow you, then you will probably focuson your own individual resources whenconfronted with an all challenge. If,however, you think leadership as acollective process, one that individualswith particular skills can facilitate, but thatmust fundamentally involve manymembers of the organization then you maywell be able to access far greater resources.’

Koestenbaum, a great philosopher andthinker, says that leaders operate in fourdimensions – The first is vision, which wehave discussed. The others are reality,ethics and courage. These are four formsof perceiving that are required to delivermeaningful result. A leader envisions, butthe realist in him tells him the ‘as is’situation and the distance to be travelledto realise the vision. He must show a greatunderstanding of ethical behaviour. Manycorporate managers fall when they do notrealise that their short cuts to glory aredamaging to both themselves as well as theorganization. And he requires courage andconviction to carry his team and influencepeople around him.

REALITY

The ‘reality’ part looks at hard facts,numbers etc. It is in that sense exactlyopposite of vision. A realist knows whatcan be achieved, and has no illusions, is notspeculative about anything.

Asian Paints was established in 1942. Allthe major paint companies then had foreigncollaboration. They marketed theirproducts in cities neglecting smaller townsand villages. The leaders at Asian Paintsrealised that there was a big opportunityfor business by moving to that neglectedarea. So, Asian Paints built a strongdistribution network to reach there. In 25years, in 1967, the competitors realised thatthey had lost the numero uno status to AsianPaints. Nobody has been able to reclaim itfrom us so far. All this appears simple andobvious in retrospect, but it takes a realisticleader to make such a decision and to breakaway from the mould.

This game of having a vision and alsofacing the reality actually tears leadersbetween two extremes. It is like keepingone eye on telescope and the other onmicroscope. Many a great leaders have losttheir jobs because they bungled up this

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aspect. Hitler is one of them. You have toread a book called ‘Until the Final Hour’by Hitler’s personal secretary TraudleJunge to understand the extent to whichleaders can lose sight of reality. Somepeople believe that when Indiraji declaredelections in 1977, two years afterdeclaration of emergency, in which she lostso hopelessly, she had misjudged reality.

We are able to perceive the reality if wekeep our minds open. And that is not easywhen you taste success; because successleads to forming hard, unchangeable viewson ‘What works here’. Then we base ouraction on such views irrespective ofchanging context. Why does this happen?Why do men in leadership positions whoare well educated ignore facts staring atthem? When people ignore the facts it isvery often not intentional. People have adeeply ingrained habit of starting with thefacts they want to believe, and thenworking backwards to find the evidenceto support them. I have heard a socialscientist say that half of the research isunreliable for this reason! There is a kindof carelessness associated withdisregarding facts. And this carelessness isdirected often at increasing one’s personalprestige, at proving that he knew best. Thisthen is the problem to overcome - the sheervoracity of our appetite for recognition andself esteem.

ETHICSThe third dimension is ‘ethics’. Thisdimension is one about which many wouldwax eloquent but very few realise its truemeaning. When we say we are ethical, weare talking about being driven byprinciples, not by expediencies.

When we talk of ethics the immediatethought is that of corruption. These dayspeople also remember the Enron case. Butethics should not only tell us what not todo, it should also tell what to do. In thatsense, a leader must have a view about how

he is going to achieve the result, he musthave a clear view about how he is going todeal with people, whether they are hisfollowers or customers or even membersof public.

Our factory at Bhandup had a majoraccident in which the entire buildinghousing paint-making facility was lost tofire. About 150 workmen used to workthere. There was no question of giving themany job as the factory itself did not exist. Weapplied for permission to retrench from theGovernment and got it. It would havefetched a compensation of about a crore ofrupees to those workers. These were duesas payable by law and they could not haveasked for anything more. After a discussionwith the workers, our leadership paid acompensation of five crores. About fivetimes the legal dues. In case you would liketo verify, this is documented in that year’sannual report. Why? Because the leadershipbelieved that though separation wasinevitable, we owed them a bettercompensation; our workers’ hardship hadto be mitigated to the extent possible. Ourleadership felt that their responsibilitytowards workmen extends beyond what isdefined by law. The response was ethical inthe sense we made a choice of what was theright thing for us to do.

When Mumbai had torrential rains on 26thJuly, 2005, dozens of families weredistributing eatables, tea, and coffee to thestranded people. Mind you, they were notselling it. It is believed that in spite of beingin a completely disorganized state,leadership rose in pockets everywhere inMumbai to handle the crisis. Imagine alarge number of people making the samedecision: they felt they ought to be helpingpeople in distress and not making money.Such incidents show the true character ofthe people. It was a correct ethical responseto an unusual situation. This would nothave been possible without a leadership atwork, however invisible it may be.

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COURAGE

The fourth dimension is that of ‘courage.’Aristotle believed that courage is the firstof the human virtues because it makes theothers possible. Script writers usually relyheavily on this aspect to create dramaticsituations in films. Amitabh Bachchanperhaps symbolizes this best in films likeZanjeer. Jaya Bhaduri is an eyewitness toan accident in which school boys die, butrefuses to identify the culprit. Rememberthe scene when an angry Amitabh dragsher to the morgue, shows her dead bodiesof those children and then tells her to goaway? She turns up at the identificationparade and identifies the criminal. It is notat all an uncommon tendency to run awayfrom police. And it is also not at all anuncommon tendency on the part of policeto give up. In spite of that, acts such as theone in the film happen in actual life too.

Such acts like the one in the film happenbecause we believe that’s the right thing todo. We have to recognize that there aremany situations in which we can turn theproverbial Nelson’s eye to events. It is suchcontrasting situations that make youunderstand that we are what we havechosen to be from the depth of our being.We are a product of our will.

INFLUENCE

A leader is constantly under watch bypeople with whom he works. They alsonotice the lack of coherence in knowing anddoing. I would now like to talk about aleader’s ability to influence. Much has beenwritten about charisma, about leader’soratory skills. There are many writers whothink that Mahatma Gandhi was neither acharismatic leader, nor a great orator. Buthis influence over people could not becalled anything but exceptional. Hisinfluence came from his vision, ethics,courage and his authenticity. Today, theworld is thinking in terms of ‘authenticity’.There is no better example of authenticity

than Mahatma Gandhi. He did what hesaid. And he said what he thought.Complete congruence! The knowing-doinggap which is also described as thedistinction between espoused and enactedvalues is what sets an authentic leaderapart from those otherwise.

Dr. Zakir Hussain, our former illustriousPresident was distributing prizes to schoolchildren when his peon rushed to him. Thepeon whispered to Dr. Zakir Hussain anurgent message. Dr Zakir Hussain’sdaughter, perhaps of the age of theschoolgirls in front of him, was ailingand had just passed away. Dr. ZakirHussain continued to give away presentstill that job was done. ‘The children wouldhave been disappointed if I were to walkaway’ he said. Biographer of Dr. Hussainrecords that for several mornings thereafterthe housekeeper used to discover very wetpillow covers.

So this is what authenticity is all about. Youaccept yourself as you are. And you declareto the world what you are. And thisrequires self awareness. Awareness comesout of reflection; reflecting on one’s ownexperiences. If we want to be a good leader,we must develop this habit of reflection.

This also means that you reflect on yourroles. Each one of us plays multiple roles.With changing times and growing agethese roles change. Think of our parents’expectations from us when they are in theirforties and we are in the teens. Think oftheir expectations from us when we are inour forties and they are in their seventies.This changing expectation is felt in ourprofessional roles too. Thinking about ourmultiple roles makes us more effective inthose roles. It helps us practise the valuesconsistently in those roles. And that makesus authentic.

Leadership is now being viewed as aprocess. This is not mechanical but it is very

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organic. And that is precisely the reasonwhy coaching helps. Knowing oneself,constantly increasing self awareness,espousing and practising values, andmoving courageously towards the goal areimportant steps in that process. But it is abit like swimming. Knowing the steps isjust not adequate, mastering the process isimportant.

Nobody asked Naseema to work for thedisabled, but she did. Nobody askedChandrashekhar to transform the wayThane city looks, nobody asked him torepeat that splendid transformationalperformance in Nagpur. Nobody askedDr. Madhav Chavan to return to India andlaunch the NGO ‘Pratham’ when he hadeverything going for him in USA.

Naseema, Chandrashekhar, and Chavandecided to take charge of their lives.They created for themselves a purposeto live. They held themselves accountablefor making their dream come true.Nobody imposed it on them; it wastheir choice.

Some people realised what they missed inlife only when they had a near deathexperience. There are a number of storiesof cancer patients or heart patients whodiscovered a purpose to live. We need notwait for a visit to the hospital to discoverour purpose! Koestenbaum says it well.‘Unless the distant goals of meaning,greatness and destiny are addressed, wecan’t make an intelligent decision aboutwhat to do tomorrow morning’.

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LEADERSHIP - THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE WECHOOSE TO LEAD

SATISH PRADHAN

Abstract

This article brings forth a critical analysis of leadership and the requirements of a leader. Itbegins by stating that some aspects of leadership are emerging while others are set in stone. Thearticle outlines that a good leader must be honest, accountable and authentic. The leader must

be a visionary but at the same time must have foresight and should not lead people by fear.Lastly, a leader is always expected to deliver. There is a thin line to tread for leaders and they

must maintain the balance while walking the tightrope of business.

About the Author

Satish Pradhan is the Executive Vice-President, Group HumanResources of the Tata Group. Prior to this he was with ICI Plc.London. During the last 26 years, He has worked with SAIL, CMC,ICI India, Brooke Bond Lipton, in various capacities in HR areas.He is on the Board of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and memberof the Technical Advisory Committee on HR of RBI.

Leadership has many facets and isprobably the most written about subject.Equally, it is a subject on which we all havean opinion. Looking at aspects ofleadership as I have experienced them overthe years, and their relevance to theemerging times, has thrown up severalinteresting thoughts. Drawing on theseobservations of leaders and emergingleaders over the past years acrossgeographies and businesses, I attempt todistil some insights for us to ponder.

As we walk into the emerging realities thatare taking shape around us there is aparadoxical sense of the enduring

relevance ofsome of thecharacteristicsof leadership

and an emerging set of characteristicswhich seem to become increasingly more

important then perhaps they have beenhitherto. We judge ourselves by ourintentions, but we judge others by theirbehaviour. Leadership is experienced andassessed by others through the behaviourof the leader. The only way our intent canbe experienced by others is through ourwords, deeds and thoughts. Working onthis premise, lets look at some of thebehaviour that leaders demonstrate, whichseem to be effective and powerful.“Authenticity”; “integrity of thought, wordand action”, are expressions commonlyencountered as requirements from leaders.The coherence, alignment, and authenticitybetween our thinking as we express it, thewords we speak, and what we actually endup doing is stunningly clear to the outsider.The economic down turn triggered in theminds of many by the greedy andunscrupulous acts of “fat cat” leaders who

When leaders speakpeople watch their feet

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pay themselves billions in salary andbonus, has lead to the loss of jobs andpersonal crisis of many people and is abackdrop in which this particular aspectassumes great centrality.

The single most important requirementfrom leaders is candour. Being trustworthy

demands that peoplewho follow can beconfident that you will

give them the truth. Almost like aminimum threshold requirement, this isalso the most vulnerable aspect ofleadership. The dilemmas that a leaderfaces in reflecting a realistic sense of theoutside world to the organisation andcreating hope and energy in engaging theorganisation in difficult and challengingtasks, highlights this. The gloom in theoutlook and search for a “bottom” fromwhere the journey to recovery can beginmakes this a challenge. This permeatesthrough to giving candid and even-handedfeedback both at business and personallevels.

People want the leader to take ownershipof and accountability for the agenda, the

means, thechoices andm o s t

importantly the people. The need forexperiencing “felt fair” and equitableleadership, living up to commitments areimportant. Leadership behaviour andholding oneself accountable especially inthe “bad times” heightens the expectationshere. People also want their leaders tosupport and bat for them when they are“right”. Keeping promises are as importantas demanding promises and their delivery.When the Chairman of Tata Motors,Mr. Ratan Tata promises to give the worlda small car at Rs. 1 lakh and keeps thatpromise, it is expected that he will do so!Behaviour like the statement made by him–“if you put a gun to my head, either movethe gun or pull the trigger – because I will

not move my head” - and the actions toback that up – a willingness to pay apersonal price for the super ordinate goalyou urge others to follow has more effectthan anything else. It is powerful whenleaders demonstrate that the superordinate cause which they are urgingothers to give their “all” to is somethingwhich they themselves are willing to giveup some personal benefit for. This becomesevident and has an inspiring effect even inday-to-day matters, when for example, acost cutting exercise is lead by the leaderherself – taking a cut in perquisites orvisible elements like economy class travel.People need to experience a cause whichis larger than “you” on which you and theycan hang their commitment and for whichyou are seen making some sacrifices at apersonal level.

People need the leaders to paint an excitingpicture of the future but equally don’t wanta complete gift wrapped package that theycan’t add themselves too! There is a tightrope walk between the visualisation of thecontours, coordinates and hues of aninspiring enough future and giving peoplethe space to add their own mountains and

rivers oreven smallflowers andblades ofgrass to thepicture to

create a powerful shared vision of adesirable future that has a compelling pullfor the people. “I want to understand howI and what I do fits into the big picture”.“Think with me”; “include me in yourthinking through this” are refrains onekeeps hearing. When a fledgling TataCompany called CRL wanted to develop asuper computer with a 120 teraflops ratingwhich would make it the number 4supercomputer in the world, an Irish friendof mine said “I wouldn’t start from here ifyou want to go there!” Leaders need to help

Tall it like it is

Stand up and be counted

Tell me a story that I canwrite myself in as one of

the heroes / heroines

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people suspend their “disbelief” and thesense of being overwhelmed by theconstraints of the present to allow thepotency of a powerful vision of the futureto wash over their souls. This needsworking through the journey to arrive atthe vision together.

A related dimension to visioning that wekeep coming across is about being able to“see around corners”. Prescience and forethought are experienced with great impactnot merely in envisioning the future but infolding the future into the thinking fortoday. Framing issues and focus witha thoughtfulness and wisdom ensures

that the peopleare persistent inpursuing the

direction and drivers that build tomorrowwhile delivering today’s results.Judgement in the face of the unknown,given the increasing volatility anduncertainties that confront most of us, hasbecome an even more critical need. The useof questions and enabling the people towork out for themselves the way forwardrather than giving a solution, often leavespeople with more. Making patterns –connecting apparently unconnected thingsto bring new insight along with the abilityto amplify “weak signals” emerge as awinning combination. Bringing to bearboth width of perspective and depth,detail and rigour build enduring andinstitutionalised approaches and processesas well as capability in people to handlecomplexity and the unknown moreeffectively. It is in this space the ability tomanage innovation emerges as a greatchallenge of leadership, especially today.One of my colleagues describing a leadersaid “it is amazing how he can de-clutter aconversation or an issue! It is really veryhelpful” – the ability to simplify complexissues is how effective leadership can bringtheir width and sagacity to bear on a subjectas well as meet the needs of the people.

The heart of leadership is the heart of thepeople you lead. When Napoleon said “let

them hate as long as theyfear” he stated the recipe forfailure. Followers have choice– they can comply based on

authority, hierarchy, fear, greed and so on;but they will “commit” to what they see asleadership. Grace and humility are musesto the gods of business smarts and thinkingprowess. This becomes essential not onlyin dealing with people but in nurturing thestrengths and developing the leadersherself. When dealing with people, giving“face” along with the credit andrecognition when due are essential. Peoplewant to be reinforced when they do goodthings and built on that rather than be onlyupbraided for shortcomings. There is alsoa palpable need for help in doing theirwork when they need help. This is not tobe confused with taking over their role,interference or micro management and ifnot watched can end up with other people’swork being done on your desk!

People expect the leader to deliver.Whether it is the Katrina disastermanagement or the economic crisis or abusiness situation, leaders need to deliver.Demanding and setting high expectations

and standards forthemselves andothers, attendingto issues with

rigour and depth, demonstrating passionand zeal for quality of outcomesdistinguish the ones who people want torespect and follow. Being tough withyourself is a precondition to credibly beingtough with others. And believe me beingtough is needed and will be needed evenmore in the future!

The above is neither exhaustive norcomprehensive but a selection of aspectsthat seems to jump out as important in thelight of the world we are in and walkinginto. As with many other things, what we

Framing the issue

I matter

Getting things done

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are hearing from anecdotal and researchstudies that in leadership too – what isdone and how it is done are bothimportant. Neither is it acceptable to

people thatthe leader is a“ w a r mcuddly teddybear” nor that

she rides over the blood and bones ofpeople towards a very laudable objective.The balance has to be calibrated fromfeedback and listening to voice of thecustomers of our leadership behaviour.

There is the flip side too – what doesn’twork too well. Many of us occasionally blurthe distinction between the appearances

and appurtenancesof leadership withleadership itself.We may find

ourselves preoccupied with trying toappear to be “leaders” rather than actuallybeing leaders. We, perhaps, at times mixup the leadership requirement to manage

Who tells the emperorthat he has no clothes

leadership?

The Minefield

innovation with “ideation”. We confuse“popularity” with leadership; “tellingpeople off” with candid and even-handedfeedback; “nitpicking” with depth anddetail; “check with me” or the otherextreme of abdication with delegation. Wecould also be vulnerable to the fashionindustry in the leadership business and getcarried away by the latest “fashion” or fadbecause our peers or other are doing thesame. We possibly do occasionally have apropensity to revert to our earlier roles andstop learning and re-inventing ourselves.

While this is the potential minefield, mostleaders recognise and build reality checkmechanisms to avoid the traps of delusionsof grandeur, megalomania and other suchleadership pathologies – but then these areoccupational hazards for those of us whochose to lead. At the end of the day there isonly one rule – how you behave is the onlytangible connecting mechanism betweenyou and the people you lead and the wayto hell is paved with good intentions.

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ALL ABOARD! - THE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY AT HALSANJEEV SAHI

Abstract

Human capital is the tool through which strategy manifests itself in an organization.A dedicated workforce, fueled with energy can enable the organization to realize ambitious

goals and climb the ladder of success. This article traces the leadership story of India'slargest Defence Public Sector organization, which developed a comprehensive LeadershipCapability Development model across the organization. The model served as a key enabler

that channelized people energy in the right direction and led to enhanced growthin the organization.

About the Author

Sanjeev Sahi is Director, Human Resources and a member of theBoard of Directors – HAL. He completed his Masters in ManagementStudies in Engineering and Technology from the prestigious BirlaInstitute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS) in 1977. Since then,he has gained extensive experience in leading Indian public sectorundertakings such as steel major SAIL, power majors NTPC andNJPC, before joining HAL in 1995. In addition, he holds high levelpositions in the apex body of public sector undertakings in India -Standing Conference of public enterprises - SCOPE. He leads HAL’s

people strategy and has been driving leading-edge HR initiatives, with a focus onleadership development, improved productivity and global competitiveness.

If you observe the runway during a takeoffafter sunset, you see the runway lightsprominently at first and then as a rapidlymoving blur of dots as the aircraft lifts off.Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),India’s largest defence public sectorundertaking, is passing through this “rapidblur” as it takes off towards its destination.Having gained Navratna status in 2007, wehave now set course to become a leadingglobal aerospace organization. Ambitious?Certainly! This ambition is our fuel.

In the same way that the wheels, whichenable the aircraft to move on the ground,are retracted during takeoff, HAL accordsdue recognition to capabilities which havetaken us thus far on our sojourn since 1942

HAL has developed as an integratedaerospace organization and has spread itswings to cover various activities in thefields of avionics, design, development,manufacture and maintenance of advancedfighters, piston and jet engine trainers,helicopters and associated aero-engines.Opportunities of a burgeoning order bookare complemented by vast experience indesign, development and production,robust infrastructure, a culture of integrityand respect for people.

Time to strap on the G-SuitFour years ago, as we introspected on thedestination at hand, there was totalunanimity that reaching our destination

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will require a completely differentorientation – in terms of structure alignedto manage soaring expectations,streamlined lean-based processes to steerour organization and above all, preparingour crew and passengers for a safe andsmooth journey. An appropriately capableworkforce, when provided with the rightinfrastructure, will be in a position tooperate effectively and in a manner thatwill delight customers, hence creatingprofitable growth. We recognize that ourchallenge, as custodians of the peoplestrategy at HAL, is to kick start and sustainthis virtuous sequence, and unleash thepower of our workforce.

Concomitant with rapid ramp-up of ourexecution ability to deliver a mammothorder book, is the challenge of managingthe growth imperative. We haverecognized that while top-class executionis necessary, it is not a sufficient guaranteefor long-term sustenance of anorganization, especially with opening upof the defence sector in India and thephenomenal global opportunities acrossthe entire value chain. Our people wouldneed to make this journey, to reach ourdestination…but were we ready as anorganization? How were we to proceed?We had a large pool of technically well-qualified personnel, but how were we toprepare them to lead our transformation?What would be the basis for the individualand hence organizational capabilitydevelopment? These were the burningquestions for which we needed to findanswers quickly. The Board of Directorsand the Chairman deliberated on the needto embrace the leadership agenda andreached a consensus that a robust modelof leadership development was required,to ensure sustainable progress towards ourorganizational goals. HAL as anorganization with nine R&D Centers wasalways willing to experiment. We turnedto Ernst & Young’s Human Capital

Practice, our advisors through theconceptualization and implementation ofthis journey.

Our Calibrated Leadership GaugeThe pieces of the jigsaw puzzle confrontingus slowly began to fall in place, withcompetency-based people strategyemerging as a foundation. Our firstsignificant step in this journey was thedevelopment of a leadership competencymodel - a homogeneous blend of our vision,SWOT, success stories within HAL andrelevant inputs from the best in classorganizational competency frameworks.Our competency framework focused onthree broad themes:

a. Building business

b. Getting results

c. Organizational and individualdevelopment

The Leadership Competency Model serves asa standard for definition/identification ofleadership potential and a commonlanguage for communication of leadershipexpectations at HAL – irrespective of thefunction, level or location that our peopleare part of. At the role level, we focused onimproving clarity through development ofstructured job descriptions andcompetency profiles, across all ourdivisions and departments.

The Flight Announcement - Loud and ClearThe Chairman was convinced about theefficacy of competencies and ratified a verysignificant decision – Utilizing leadershipcompetency proficiency in promotiondecisions. The emphasis, however, wasclearly on individual-led organizationalcapability development. This bold decisiongenerated significant interest in theorganization about competencies and howthe proficiency was to be ascertained. Bythis time, we had a structured assessment

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mechanism in place, for competencymapping.

The Leadership Altimeter

Over a three-year period, we haveconducted assessment centres (AC) formore than 800 officers across middle andsenior-level officers and another structuredprocess for junior officers. As part of theAC, each participant received individualfeedback, structured written reportssummarizing the demonstratedproficiency levels of the candidate andpersonalized individual developmentplans. Results of the AC were analysed

Business strategy

Vision & Mission

Leadership Competency Model

Recruitment and Selection

Future Capabilities; Market Place &

Competition

Best Practices

HAL

Competency Based People Strategy

Key Success factors

Performance Management

Training and Development

Reward Management

Career Management &

Succession Planning

Leadership Capability

Development

BUSINESS RESULTS

across competencies, levels and locationsthrough an e-enabled dashboard. Allparticipants were mapped into a nine-blockperformance-potential matrix through thedashboard.

We also initiated an e-enabled 360-degreefeedback to obtain multi stakeholder inputsfor development. These initiatives haveprovided us with specific information oncompetencies, which require focuseddevelopment, and the extent of gap – bothat an individual level and an organizationallevel. Our team has been renamed fromPersonnel and Administration (P&A) toHuman Resources (HR). This is a strong

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indicator of our conviction that ouremphasis needed to be on strategiccontribution to HAL’s transformation andno longer remain pre-occupied withadministrative tasks.

Breaking the (Static) BarrierRunning and communicating this initiativein an organization with HAL’s level ofcomplexity and legacy-based elements hasbeen a mammoth task. It required solidsupport from the Chairman and othercolleagues on the Board, improvedawareness of our HR team and extensivecommunication at an organizational level.The challenges have been aroundgenerating buy-in, managingapprehensions and sustaining momentum.We anticipated this and made transparentcommunication a mantra.The Chairman directly communicated withall employees at HAL regarding thedevelopment initiatives being undertakenin the organization. Internal assessortraining workshops were conducted for theHR team at HAL to increase awareness ofthe entire transformation taking place andto ensure that the HR team is conceptuallyclear and adept in communicating theresults of this initiative.In order to ensure the success of thedevelopment initiatives and garnersupport for the same, we used acombination of formal and informalmechanisms to communicate ourCompetency Based LeadershipDevelopment Program. Seniorfunctionaries from HR travelledextensively to various locations of HALand used all possible forums to highlightthe importance of the need to bring aboutthis change. We ensured our presence ineach AC. We had “ice-breaker” discussionswith all participants, to set the expectationsat the beginning, and detailed feedback atthe end of the centre. Transparency andopenness were maintained whileconveying reports to the participants.

Managing TurbulenceDespite our efforts, we have had our fairshare of challenges. Communication ofleadership expectations to a predominantlytechnical workforce involved a mix ofconceptual education and breakdown ofskepticism. Large competency gaps wereidentified through the ACs, whichreinforced the urgent need to undertakedevelopment initiatives. The importantdifference between performance andpotential needed to be conveyed andreinforced, as there was an implicitassumption that high performers and highpotentials were the same. When high-performers were presented with data oncompetency gaps, there were challenges inconvincing them about the implications ofthe same and associated developmentimperatives.

Step ClimbHaving reached thus far, we now realizedthat now the lateral journey had just begun.We had a good grasp of the competencygaps and development needs. We also hadcertain development initiatives in place,with more being launched. There is now acase to stitch all these efforts together intoa comprehensive program, which wouldcater to the leadership imperatives of HAL.This is when we conceived an organizationwide Leadership Capability DevelopmentProgram. This is our attempt to align talentmanagement, career management andsuccession planning.

We envisage that this program will helpus fill the vacuum created due tosuperannuating critical resources andprepare a leadership pipeline to deploy aprogram-based strategy and improve theoverall organization capability index. Wewill employ a requisite blend of experience,feedback and education-based initiativessuch as coaching, action learning,mentoring, shadowing and targeteddevelopment initiatives in association with

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leading management institutions such asthe Indian Institute of Management. Weintend that line managers don the mantleof leading this program for their teams andchalk out development plans forthemselves and their subordinates. Furthertestimony of our commitment to leadershipdevelopment is our decision to revise ourexisting functional organization structureand align it to leadership tiers ranging fromvisionary to operational. I strongly believethat leaders exist at all levels.

Our competency-based leadershipcapability development program will bethe focal point of our HR initiatives in thefuture. While we have made significantinvestments in strengthening our peoplestrategy over the last 3-4 years, we realizethat our leadership journey has just begun.We are also upgrading our infrastructurethrough a state-of-the-art ManagementAcademy, which will serve as our in-houseleadership development playground.

We also see our Leadership CapabilityDevelopment Program as a vitalinstrument to transforming our culture; itwill enable delegation of responsibilities tolower levels, breakdown of silos, optimalutilization of specialists and generalists andmake us agile as an organization.

HAL’s complex stakeholder map and theimpact of every individual’s actionmandate a need to rise above the crassmaterial considerations, which guide theaverage transactional relationship betweenemployer and employee. “Yogah KarmasuKaushalam” [1] is a message that I intend todrive across this program. This simplytranslates to “Yoga is skill in action”, a

corollary of Karma Yoga’s essence – Dutyfor Duty’s Sake.

Under Mighty Wings – The Power of OneLike any organization, we have ourconstraints, but to reach our journey, wewill focus on the positives, whileconsciously eliminating any stall. I amreminded of Helen Keller’s famous words[2]

– “Keep your face to the sunshine and youwill not see a shadow”. We recognize theneed to be patient, as individualdevelopment is about assimilation andintrospection. Our journey will have itspockets of turbulence and we are open todynamic course correction.

Stretch Goals

Shadowing

Programme-specific Learning Action Learning Projects

Competency-based Learning Coaching

Mentoring Job Rotation

LeadershipCapability Develop-

ment

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This following short story conveys theimpact that the positive attitude ofindividuals can have in changing mindsetsand leading transformation.

Three stone-cutters were engaged inerecting a temple. “What are you doing?”was the common question posed to allthree. Their responses have a simple, yetprofound message:

“I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family.I am making a living here,” said the first stone-cutter with a morose face.

“I work because I want to show that I amthe best stone-cutter in the country,” saidthe second one with a sense of pride.

“I want to build the most beautiful temple inthe country,” said the third one with a visionarygleam.

Their jobs were identical but theirperspectives were different. This visionaryperspective among our workforce willmake HAL a temple of modern India[3].Individuals who are possessed with thisvisionary zeal and energized by theprospect of their own holistic developmentwill be nurtured by HAL’s emphasis onleadership capability development. Thiswill lead to the creation of a critical massof leaders who will supercharge theirteams and ensure safe, smooth and timelylanding at our destination.

Notes:

(1) - Derived from the Bhagavad Geeta (The Song Divine) – Chapter 2, Verse 50

(2) - Attributed to Helen Keller, inscription in autograph album of Lafayette E. Cornwell, Yonkers, New York.—Walter Fogg, OneThousand Sayings of History, p. 17 (1929)

(3) - India’s first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, while dedicating the Bhakra Nangal multi-purpose project to India on October22, 1963, termed these large projects “temples of modern India”.

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THE NEW LEADERAN EMERGING BUTTERFLY

T.T. SRINATH

Abstract

Modern day organizations are complex entities that are ever evolving. Therefore, managingthem successfully calls for 'extraordinary ingenuity' and requires investment of immense

'human energy'. In such a system, leaders play a critical role and exercise great influence onthe organization's environment. This article presents a leadership framework and explains the

key behaviors that efficient leaders already do or need to exhibit.

About the Author

T.T. Srinath Ph.D., is a sensitivity trainer who uses ‘T’ Groupprocesses. He has undergone intensive Gestalt Therapy Trainingsupervised by Steve Vinay Gunther, Director, The Northern RiversGestalt Institute, Lismore, Australia. He is a certificate holder in‘Playback Theatre’ from Action Methods, England, accredited schoolof Playback Theatre. He has been trained by Francis Batten and RonWiener, both senior trainers with the British PsychodramaAssociation, in Sociodrama and Action Methods. He has trained

with Jenny Biancardi and John Casson, both of The Northern School of Psychodrama,Glasgow, UK, in Psychodrama. He is an alumnus of XLRI one of India’s foremostschools of management and has spent 27 years as an entrepreneur and over 16 yearsas a programme facilitator.

As winds of change sweep the world,leadership must awake and rise. Theclarion call is to take charge.

Organizations today can be defined as a‘complex, adaptive, symbiotic systems’(Olson, 2001). Their functioning, therefore,requires ‘self-organizing.’ A complexadaptive system renders visible, legitimateand significantly a great deal more livehuman behaviour than old bureaucraticstructures allowed. It is an entity that isconstantly changing. It evolves, adapts,develops and exhibits extraordinaryingenuity in the process. All kinds of formsof human energy that are invisible andoften taboo in older structures presentthemselves and are available for continuedengagement.

Given this truth, three principles need tobe recognized:1. Order is emergent as opposed to

predetermined2. The system’s history is irreversible3. The system’s future is often

unpredictable.

Leaders in such a self-organizing systemplay three distinct roles:1. They set the container2. Focus on significant differences3. Foster transforming exchanges.

Setting the container means influencing theenvironment that shapes the behaviour ofa system. Leaders must set generalrequirements for the outcome, but

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decisions on how to proceed are left to theplayers of the organization. Control isdistributed, yet leaders generate a sense ofurgency. They stretch boundaries; they alsoshrink boundaries and finally decide onwhat business we are in.

When focusing on differences they explorecontradictions, accept contention andadversity, raise tough questions, encourageworkforce diversity and understandsignificant differences in the externalenvironment.

In fostering transformational exchanges theyencourage feedback, reconfigure (loosen ortighten) networks and encourage learning.

A model of leadership demonstrationpresents itself for consideration:

they are by the internal dialogue thatencourages an understanding of theleadership role. Intention thus reflects theleader’s willingness to pursue a givenbehaviour. Significantly, when WaltDisney made vocal his intent to provide hisclients with a ‘Fun experience’, heprogrammed himself to demonstrate suchbehaviour. The display of intent isgoverned by the leader’s personal history,abilities, stored information, belief and self-dialogue.

Thus the leader in response to his/herintent establishes the context within whichhis/her people can act. This can beexplained through the examples ofluminaries such as Azim Premji whomoved from vegetable oil making toInformation Technology, setting clearly thecontext for his people to act. WhenDhirubhai Ambani declared to the worldthat he wanted a telephone call to becheaper than a post-card, he set the contextfor a new business. Therefore a leadersets the context in which his/her followerscan act.

Mere context setting does not allowleadership demonstration. This is followedby the leader’s courage to demonstrate risktaking, seizing opportunities and showinginitiative. Leaders do this in many ways.Some are:

1. Through structuring resources2. Maintaining flexible focus3. Develop temporal agility4. Behavioural flexibility5. Influence others to commit to resources.

a. Through structuring resources: Thisis linking existing resources such asmoney, invention and hard work tofuture outcomes. The leader exerciseschoice in directing the organization’sefforts. Structuring resources is alsoaffected by timing of events and thistimetable involves expectations,

4C Model of Leadership Demonstraton

Clarity of Intent Context Act

Container to Practice Courage to Demonstrate

Intention has been conceptualized as beinga function of beliefs that provide a linkbetween thought and subsequentbehaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).Bird’s (1988) model of entrepreneurialintentionality illustrates intention as alinear process moving from beliefs, toattitudes to intention to behaviour. Therelationship between intention andbehaviour is also influenced by such factorsas skill, ability and will-power. The freedisposition to play a leadership role isimpacted by contextual factors. It is acombination of these factors, affected, as

Clarity of intent

4C Model of Leadership Demonstration

Context to Act

Container to Practice Courage toDemonstrate

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business plans and motivations ofthe leader.

b. Maintaining flexible focus: Flexibilityof focus and clarity of vision helps theleader assume responsibility for thedetails of daily operation as well as thebig picture. The ability to move betweendetails and vision is like a strategiczoom lens, remaining focused bychanging the frame of reference.

c. Develop temporal agility: The abilityto comfortably move between multiplefuture time horizons. Long-runthinking is important to formingrelationships with others and tostrategically position the firm. Agilityrequires a cognitive reframing ofexpectations when solving problems.

d. Behavioural flexibility: Developingbehavioural flexibility along with theshifting frames of reference requires theleader to be able to shift from functionto function and from role to role.Leaders who remain in control of theirventures as they grow, mature, andchange go through significant roletransitions. Behavioral flexibility andwillingness to learn characterize thoseleaders whose firms are likely to remainand grow.

e. Influence others to commit resources:Leaders must exercise substantialinfluence over others to realize theirintentions. Leaders must marshal facts,analyze data in support of their effortsand use persuasion to influence others.Successful leaders draw on non-traditional emotional resources toinfluence the behaviour of others.

Leaders must make use of widerange of other’s resources and talentsto develop exchange-orientedrelationships both inside and outsidethe organization. Inside theorganization growth motivated leadersbuild a team with necessary skills.

Outside the organization they developand use a network of associations.The use of experience, observation,dialogue, discussion and feedback aremethods that can help a leader inexamining structuring resources,maintaining flexible focus on businessissues, developing temporal agility,developing behavioural agility andinfluencing others to commit resources.

Clarity of intent, context to act, courage todemonstrate cannot happen withoutboundary definition. Thus setting theboundary or the container becomesparamount. The recent example of‘Aravind Eye Care System’, India, whereDr.G.Venkataswamy establishedunequivocally, that he wanted to eradicateblindness, set the boundary for everyophthalmologist who joined the hospital,to operate within. It was not a hospital forgeneral surgery but for eye care.

While leadership can be a lonely journeythe challenge is for leadership to foster thebelief, particularly at a time like this thatthe people we have are the best. Seedingexcitement, commitment, ownership andmotivation are required to urge thebusiness forward without compromise orconflict.

If thoughts such as these are available to aleader’s instinct he/she must, given his/her clarity of intent, operate through fivesimple principles (Cooperrider, DL 1990):

1. The constructive principle: recognisethat all reality is co-created.

2. The poetic principle: recognise thateach person interprets reality one’s ownway and that must be factored in.

3. The anticipatory principle: recognisewhat is going right than what is goingwrong.

4. The simultaneity principle: recognisethat all processes happen concurrently.

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5. The heliotropic principle: recognisethat all human endeavours are towardsgrowth.

These five principles coupled with clarityof intent, context to act, courage todemonstrate and container to practicewhen recognized, act as the new leader’sdictate; the philosophy to embrace then is:

1. Emphasize collaboration andparticipation of all voices in the system;generating inclusion

2. Approach the whole process as ajourney

Reference• Bird B. (1988), ‘Implementing Entrepreneurial Ideas: The case for intention’ Academy of Management Review, Vol.13, No.3,

pp.442 - 453.

1. Cooperrider, DL (1990), ‘Positive Image, Positive Action: The affirmative basis of organizing’, in S.Srivastva & DL Cooperrider[Eds], ‘Appreciative management and leadership’, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.

• Fishbein M. and Ajzen I. (1975), ‘Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research’, Reading, MA:Addison-Wesley.

• Olson, Edwin.E and Eoyang Glenda H (2001), ‘Facilitating organizational change: lessons from complexity science’, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA.

3. The organization is learning and istherefore in infancy, and needs constantnourishment

4. Core values do not alter with time

5. Build on life-giving forces byremembering moments when thesystem has performed optimally inhuman, economic and organizationalterms.

If the model that has been presented andthe approach resonate with you ‘intelligentreader’, please commence a dialogue forhealth restoration in your role as leader.

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LEADERSHIP AT BHARTIINDER WALIA

Abstract

Individuals make groups and groups make organizations. As elaborated in the given article,leadership is about energizing and developing all the categories as they are intrinsically bound

together. The article explains leadership philosophy and the various leadership developmentactivities undertaken in one of India's youngest and fastest growing organization - Bharti.

The article also illustrates that leadership is not just about increasing the revenues/profits butabout passion and making the right decisions.

About the Author

Inder Walia joined Bharti Enterprises Ltd in August 2007 as GroupDirector- Human Resources and Integration of Bharti Group. He isalso a member of the Bharti Management Board. Prior to joiningBharti Enterprises, Inder was the Executive Vice President- HumanResources and a member of the Group Management Committee ofArcelorMittal for over 8 years, where he was responsible for Group-wide HR and post-merger Integration. Prior to working withArcelorMittal, Inder was with Modi Corp/Modi Xerox and HCL

Hewlett Packard Ltd. Inder is an Economics and Accounting graduate with PostGraduate Degree in HR from TISS, Mumbai.

Something ignited in my soul,Fever or unremembered wingsAnd I went my own way,Deciphering that burning fire.

— Pablo Neruda

Very often do we find ourselves thinkingabout what a leader does that makes him/her stand out. How is it that some peoplebecome leaders doing the same things aswhat their colleagues do?

An individual with a few years of experienceand doing fairly well in his job decides to take arisk and joins a company all of 3 years old; acompany trying hard to make an identity foritself; a company in search of professionals whowould work for passion and not for money. Hejoined as the head of a state level business andwas given the task of taking the business to

leadership - a big ask. While the company wasactively involved in growing big, he workedpassionately leading his team to do the jobassigned. Impressed, the company decided tomake him the head of an entire region. For sure,the success bug had bit him. He led the regionto dizzying heights of achievement in a shortspan of time proving his mettle yet again. Thecompany realizing his potential well in timeprovided the right inputs to him. Within 5 yearsof him joining, he had reached the seniormanagement at the company. What happenedthereon was almost predictable. He hit the rightkeys each time and was given the right insights.Soon enough he ended up being a part ofthe leadership team of the group which had bynow had grown to enormous’ proportions. Heand the group fed of each others success.Both are leaders.

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This is just one of many success stories atBharti. He is just one of the many leadersat Bharti. The group has grown and derivesits strength from such leaders. While at thehelm of affairs is a transformational leaderin Sunil Bharti Mittal, it ought be pointedthat the group has been successful inmaking a leader out of a many anindividuals – many of whom are still withthe group while some others who havegone ahead and made successes elsewhere.It is also essential to point that this wasmade possible only because of theauthenticity and the drive to do better thatBharti demands not only from its leadersbut from each of its employee.

It is the attribute of a real leader to leadauthentically with conviction.

• Conviction of Purpose – It is essentialto know the purpose of leadership forwithout a sense of purpose, leadershipwould be at the mercy of its ego andvulnerable to narcissistic impulses. AtBharti, the group shares a commonvision and the purpose of leadership isto provide able guidance to achieve thevision

• Conviction in Values – Values defineleaders and are the real moral compass.They lead you in the right direction.As a leader it is essential to know the“real direction” you want to be headedin. While values are often shaped bypersonal beliefs, Bharti stronglybelieves in certain core values. Often,the stepping stone for success for manyhas been a matching of these with theirown values

• Conviction of Heart – Leaders need tohave an ability to ignite the souls of theirfollowers to achieve greatness farbeyond. Bharti believes in engaging thehearts of the employees through thesense of purpose and shared values andthat is what it expects from its leaders

too. Their positive energy oftenconvinces the employees that theirwork has a deeper purpose

• Conviction in Building Relationships– The mark of a real leader is his abilityto develop close and enduringrelationships. Bharti lives this statementand has inculcated this in its leaders andemployees alike. Be it relationships withvendors, business partners or maybejust with colleagues. Bharti believes inbuilding collaborative long lastingrelationships

• Conviction through Self-discipline-Self-discipline is the most essentialingredient in making a successful leader.It helps in gaining respect. While a leadermay have the values, the heart and therelationships, it is most important toensure that he/she has the discipline toconvert them into consistent action. Thisdistinguishes the good leaders from thegreat one’s. This value is most evidentin Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman andGroup CEO. While the leaders at Bhartihave been competitive always, it is to bealways expected that they do thatthrough a clear sense of purpose, valuesand discipline.

Leadership Philosophy at Bharti

“Leadership is what the leader does”That’s the philosophy at the Bharti group.Never to be constrained in the boundariesor realms of what has been done but to takethe path never taken and to make a successout of it. Bharti has always focused ontransformational changes that have apositive impact all around.

The group has demonstrated thisphilosophy by leading India’s telecomsuccess story, with entrepreneurial spirit,innovation, and strong partnerships beingthe pillars of growth. Not limiting to thedomain of telecom – the area of expertise,

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Bharti set out to gain leadership in newbusinesses in agriculture, financial services,real estate and retail. The group has laidthe foundations to be the best conglomerateof future. Sunil was always driven bybuilding something grand. He still is…andso is Bharti! “A lot of people confuse what wehave built so far as a great edifice. My personalbelief is that what we have built so far are thefoundations on which to build a truly greatedifice.” says the achiever himself.

The brand essence “Big Transformations,brave actions” is indicative of the pervasivethinking in the group. The actions anddrive to achieve has lead it to leadership.Bharti already has a world class telecombusiness (in Bharti Airtel), which isrespected for what it has achieved in theshort span of time. The group now aims atbuilding transformational businesseswhich would be the future growth engines.This is indicative of the leadership trait ofnever resting on one’s laurels. The newbrand logo of the group also reflects thedesire to seek and lead new avenues togrow. It signifies depth, bountiful energyand movement that extends beyondboundaries through swiftness, precisionand accuracy – something which has ledthe group to where it is today andsomething which will lead it to achievingthe shared vision.

As per Sunil, “The ecosystem that we havedeveloped around us is so positive and enablingthat it has the potential to become a globalbenchmark.”

DNA of a Bharti Leader

There is a strong belief at Bharti that it isessential that people feel empowered.There is huge impetus around makingpeople aware of their qualities and makingthem responsible to nurture and buildthose qualities. Empowerment is expectedto be taken through display of skills andcompetencies. Sunil recalls that when thecompany was rather new, very few peopleactually came forward to join him. But out

of those who did, very few left.“Empowerment was very high, to the pointwhere people felt like owners; like it was theirbusiness. Being a part of that whole passionatemachine was what kept them with thecompany.” This has been in the DNA of thecompany.

An overriding feeling in whatever thegroup does is being flexible to adapt tochanging environment and the evolvingneeds. There is a constant challenging ofthe status quo and continuous emphasis oninnovation and energized new ideas withstrong passion and an entrepreneurialspirit. Bharti loves to make it happen. EachBhartian is expected to have an innatedesire to do good being open andtransparent all the time. And finally, it hasand will always be about creating a positiveimpact in whichever field we operate in.This is what we believe is the DNA of aleader at Bharti.

While these values propel an individualtowards leadership, it the Bharti culturewhich builds the character of a true leader– Always being nimble footed when itcomes to decision making, always takingeveryone along while making strongformal and informal relationships, beingaccountable for what you do and above allalways acting like an entrepreneur whilethinking like a professional. Sunil talksabout this often. He says, “Today thecompany has grown and moved from being anentrepreneurially led and entrepreneuriallydriven (EE) to being professionally led andentrepreneurially supported (PE). Today we areflexible and responsive and if some fire gets litwe can feed it or extinguish it fast. That’s theadvantage we have.”

While there are definitely those innatequalities which set apart the great leadersfrom the all so ran, yet it is often the casethat an individual might be unaware ofthose qualities. Here is where theorganization comes into picture

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Leadership Development at BhartiThe Leadership Development approach atBharti is committed to delivering ourbusiness focus of building a best in classleadership team that nurtures talent &leadership at every level. The purpose issimple – to keep the leadership pipelinealive and buzzing all the time.

Bharti believes in nurturing talent acrosslevels with disproportionate investment onour top talent. The group prospers from itspresence in the diverse industries to giveadequate opportunities for individuals togrow. Individuals are encouraged to takeon cross industry, cross functional rolesacross regions for their overall growth.

Additionally, Bharti has leadershipdevelopment programs for each levelwhich aim at building a leadership pipelineto meet the future challenges.

Developing the capability of our managersto blossom into leaders of tomorrow is theprimary thought behind all the externalinputs that Bharti provides. For the senior

management, there are training programofferings from the best-in-class institutese.g. partnerships with institutes like CCL& INSEAD where we have createdcustomized programs to deliver trainingsbased on our requirement. For the Middle& Junior Management, the group hasdeveloped programs with premier B-schools for building general managementskills in our high potential managers anddeveloping competencies. Additionally, e-learning has been used very effectively ingiving the right direction to individuals.There is huge emphasis given on theemployees making and sharing their selfdevelopment program (SDP) each year.This ensures that there is incrementalgrowth in terms of capabilities as per theexpectations of the individuals as well asthat of the organization.

Focused development of High PotentialEmployees across Levels

At each level, Bharti has key developmentareas identified which focus on individualleadership, leading teams as well as ondriving business growth.

Empowering People

Making it Happen Openness & Transparency

Being Flexible Creating a Positive Impact

Achieve‘Professional-Entrepreneur’(P.E.) Balance

Buildingstrong format /

informalrelationships

at work

Empowermentwith

accountabilityat all levels

Retain thenimble-

footednessDNA of a Leader at Bharti

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If Bharti has to go global, it would beessential to have the right leadership onboard. Almost 30- 35% leaders at the apexlevel are either expats or Indians who haveconsiderable experience working acrosscountries. The seasoned hands will help inhandling the complexity of business notonly in India but also in global market,whenever the opportunity arrives. “Bharti’sprinciple to proactively look at future has helpedthe company improve on productivity andefficiency. The company is no longer dependanton a single person as we have managed to builda leadership pipeline.” Says Bharti Airtel CEOand JMD Manoj Kohli.

Conclusion

The Deputy Group CEO & ManagingDirector for Bharti, Akhil Gupta, puts thetrue meaning of a leader in perspective. “Atrue leader to us (Bharti) is one who leads andencourages transformational changes whichothers may either not have the authority or thecourage to do on their own.” says Akhil.

Bharti believes that a leader should beable to provide strategic direction byencouraging all experts in demystifyingcomplexities of all aspects of business andmaking them so simple that the entire teamunderstands them. Akhil further states thatthe true mark of a leader is that, “He/She isalways ready to take the blame for failures ornot so successful initiatives and liberally passeson the credit to others – individually andcollectively and spreads positive energy withevery action and speech.” This applies to allindustries and irrespective of the scale andlevel of maturity.

Bharti has reached where it has throughsheer hard work, passion, far sightedstrategy, sound execution, ability toinnovate constantly and strong leadership.

The success of a leader goes way beyondrevenues, profits and bottom lines. A leaderis about providing sound governance,igniting the hearts of the employees andbuilding a succession line for years to come.

LDP (CCL)

Leadership inAction (INSEAD)

Future BusinessLeaders Program

(ISB)

JuniorManagement

MiddleManagement

SeniorManagement

Integrated high Potential Program

Young Leaders Program

Emerging LeaderProgram (CCL)

Business ManagerProgram (IIMs)

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Leadership is about passion, making theright decisions for the common good,taking everyone along on a journey andmaking a success out of it. It is aboutchallenging the status quo and improvingeach time. Bharti, through its culture,values and its DNA, ensures that theenvironment and the ingredients are right.It’s just a matter of how one uses this tomake an authentic leader out of oneself.

Peter Drucker said about leadership,“Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It isnot “making friends and influencingpeople”—that is flattery.

Leadership is lifting a person’s vision tohigher sights, the raising of a person’sperformance to a higher standard, thebuilding of a personality beyond its normallimitations.”

Acknowledgements

Our profound thanks to all the contributors of articles and book reviewerswho have taken time off from their schedules out of their passion forthe field.

We would also to thank Mr. N.S. Rajan, guest editor for this issue for hisdedicated contribution at every stage in bringing out this issue.

Our special thanks to Amrita Vijay Kumar, E&Y for her tireless contributionand also to Komal Jalan and Akshay Chadha, E&Y for their help.

Our thanks to Rachel Tharian for her support.

— Editorial Board

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BOOK REVIEWS1. LEADERSHIP BRAND

(Developing customer-focused leaders to drive performance and building lasting value)

Author : Dave Ulrich & Norm SmallwoodPublished by : Harvard Business School Press (2007), Price : USD 29.95, ISBN-13 : 978-1-4221-1030-0.

HR guru Dave Ulrich and his colleague at RBL group, Norm Smallwood,have come out with yet another unputdownable masterpiece titled“Leadership Brand” in 2007. It is an absolute intellectual delight andtreat for institution builders in general and more particularly for thoseinterested in the field of Human Resources and Leadership Development.This book is a true treasure for many reasons. Firstly, it takes the evolutionof leadership to a different and higher orbit; secondly, it provides a verycompelling framework for organizations to elevate leadership focus tomaking it an organizational capability; thirdly the approach authors havetaken represents a refreshingly outside-in perspective as opposed to thetraditional approach to leadership frameworks that has, for decades, beeninside-out; and fourthly, the authors have given a very systematic approachto building a leadership brand rather than merely conceptualizing the needfor the brand.

In introducing the book through its preface, the authors make many powerful observations. Whilereinforcing that leadership matters, they clarify the need for shifting the focus from studying leadersto studying leadership. “Good leaders just do not build their personal credibility, but build leadershipcapability or the capacity of the organization to sustain future leaders” say the authors. Buildingsuch a capability then represents an invaluable investor intangible for the organization and therebythey build lasting value for the organization.

Simply defined, leadership brand is the identity of the firm in the mind of the customers made realto employees because of customer-centric leadership behaviours. A leadership brand translatescustomer expectations into employee behaviours and that outlasts the individual leaders! Leadershipbrand also represents a higher orbit in the domain of our understanding about leadership. Ulrichand Smallwood highlight that the focus of most organizations so far has been one or more of thefollowing:

• Individual leaders exposed to external environment as brands by themselves. They are theexternal face of the organizations and appear often on the front cover of business magazines.This is often understood as the case of “celebrity leaders”

• Individual leaders are identified and groomed internally to become more competent oftenwith a help of a well-defined competency framework. This produces a situation of “competentleaders.”

• Organizations also shift the focus from individuals (leaders) to capability (leadership) bybuilding internal systems and processes for creating a leadership engine. This delivers whatmay be called as “leadership capability”

But lasting value is built for the organization only when there is an “orbit change” and organizationsmove the focus to capability and external customers and investors. This delivers an organizationalidentity of leaders throughout the organization that bridges customer expectations and turns these


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into employee and organizational behavior. This is when “leadership brand” is produced. Likeproduct brands and firm brands, leadership brands, when accomplished, provide lasting competitiveadvantage for the organization. Authors explain this in the very first chapter with the examples ofCanadian Tire company, Bon Secours Health Systems Inc. and Drugstore.com.

Authors also provide a six step process for building a leadership brand. These steps in brief are:

1. Build a case for leadership brand

2. Create a leadership brand statement

3. Assess leaders against the brand

4. Invest in leadership brand

5. Measure leadership brand investment; and

6. Build leadership brand awareness to key stakeholders.

In chapters 2 through 7, authors detail out the foregoing steps and provide key insights and ideason how to accomplish each of these steps with several examples. For example, chapter two helpsin linking the leadership brand to business strategy through 6 compelling reasons such as workforceplanning, achieving right results the right way, strategy shits, geographic expansion, deliveringboth organic and inorganic (M &A) growth and finally matching high-potential leaders with criticaljobs in the organization. Likewise, chapter 5 clarifies how to go about making investments inleadership brand. The key messages here include: branded leadership investments recognizethat not all leaders are equal; these investments are personalized; they form an integrated systemand are not isolated events and finally these investments are tied to the business. Throughout thebook, the authors provide illuminating examples and checklists for measuring progress.

Chapter 8 is focused on preserving the hard-created leadership brand, while chapter 9 providesexcellent guidance on creating a personal leadership brand statement. The book concludes withtwo appendices. First one helps with brand criteria for product and firm brands as well as theleadership brand. The second appendix throws light on how to spot firms with leadership brandanalyzing the examples of GE and McKinsey.

I call this book as “unputdownable” because of the very fresh and impressively different perspectiveto building leadership capability that Ulrich and Smallwood offer in terms of leadership brand. Thefuture competitiveness for the firms will move far beyond their product brand or firm brand to yetanother intangible called the leadership brand. In my professional experience watching howcorporations approach leadership, I distinctly notice a spectrum with the far extremes characterizedby two major camps: First ones (and arguably better) talk about their “building leadership” withsystems and processes; and the second ones brag about their “leadership building.” Most of thefirms are of course somewhere in between. And that is the reason why I consider the “leadershipbrand” as a master craftsmanship by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.

I recommend this book for organizational leaders and HR professionals as the wisdom offered inthis book together with the roadmap gives them a lifetime opportunity to create lasting value andgame-changing competitive advantage.

Reviewed by

C.Mahalingam (Mali). Mali is currently the Executive Vice Presisent and Global Chief PeopleOfficer for Symphony Services Corporation.

He can be reached at [email protected]


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2. BOOK APPRECIATION

LEADERSHIP IN THE ERA OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY The New Rules for Getting the RightThings Done in Difficult Times

Tata McGraw-Hill Rs.300

Ram Charan, a thinker and coach, who lives out of a suitcase, travellingfrom country to country and across continents offering his message toleadership, has captured succinctly and meaningfully the role of a leader,particularly a business leader in these times of economic uncertainty andturbulence.

Ram Charan is a noted expert on business strategy and has helpedbusinesses and leaders steer through the minefield of business problems.

In his latest book ‘Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty’ , he offersseveral lessons to cope with the current scenario.

The book is presented in 9 chapters as follows :

INTRODUCTION-CORPORATE CRISIS!

CHAPTER 1 THE CHALLENGE OF MANAGING IN A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER 2 AT THE HELM:What CEOs and Business Unit and Country Managers Must DoCHAPTER 3 ON THE FRONT LINES:Sales and Marketing

CHAPTER 4 MIND OVER MONEY:The Chief Financial Officer

CHAPTER 5 MAKING IT ALL WORK:OperationsCHAPTER 6 REFOCUSING INNOVATION:Research and Development

CHAPTER 7 TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:The Supply ChainCHAPTER 8 SUPPORTING THE TEAM:Staff Functions

CHAPTER 9 THE VIEW FROM THE TOP:The Board of Directors

MOVING FORWARD

While the book has specific messages for CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CTOs, it also has messages forevery business leader who aspires to make a difference. Briefly his messages are as follows:

1. Leadership must recognise that only by synchronising people as a companywide team, canwe obtain ‘focus, speed, urgency and flexibility’ making and executing decisions faster

2. Leadership derives its authority not from omniscience but from its ability to facilitateunderstanding

3. Inspiration comes from incremental successes. These are high energisers that build furthersuccess. Leaders must therefore celebrate small successes

4. While a realistic assessment is required to understand and accept the magnitude of a problem,the fact is that few problems are insoluble. Leaders must focus their people on the vision ofwhat is possible

5. It will take imagination and guts to place strategic bets with no guaranteed payoffs when thereis little money available and so much uncertainty about the assumption a plan is based on. Yet such bets are critical. Leaders must invest with faith

6. Questions leadership will be asked by subordinates are:

i. ‘Are we going to make it?’ii. ‘What do I have to do?’

Leadership has to provide reassurance as well as guidance to everyone in the company.


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7. The leader’s job is one of leadership and operations. The first is about inspiring and motivatingpeople to go beyond their fears and painting a believable future that is waiting after the storm. The second is about the daily nitty-gritty of doing business successfully in a very tough andunpredictable environment.

8. The leader’s actions have to be bold, not tentative, if we have to convey confidence.

9. Leadership must identify the constituents and things that are at the core of their company andprotect them from loss or damage during the crisis.

10. This is a time that requires superb horizontal cooperation among people. Leaders mustencourage cross-pollination.

11. Leaders have two major responsibilities that must be met through communication: informationflow and motivation. It is essential to repeat it time and again to be sure everyone gets it.

The need is for leadership to have clarity of intent, create context for people to act, demonstratecourage of conviction and establish the container or boundary within which people can practice.

S.SADASIVANResearch Associate, Dr. T.T. Srinath & Associates.

3. THE GAMECHANGER: HOW EVERY LEADER CAN DRIVE EVERYDAY INNOVATION

Author : A.G.Lafley & Ram Charan

Published by : Penguin India (Portfolio), 2008; 336 pages, Rs.399.

Oh, well, what is it here that we haven’t heard about before? We’ve allheard about how business must be ‘close-to-the-customer’ for it to beconsistently successful. We know that innovation – by whatever name youcall it; Market Research, R&D, suggestion schemes, kaizen or brainstorming– is extremely critical if we have to find new ways of doing things, or even ifwe have to look for new markets and new products. So why has‘The Gamechanger’, co-authored by A.G.Lafley (Chairman and CEO,Procter & Gamble) and Ram Charan (Business Advisor and author) createdso much of excitement among business leaders?

Procter & Gamble (P&G) ended the 1999-2000 fiscal with results that wereembarrassing to everyone in the company. Lafley, as the newly appointedCEO, had his team focus on a few key areas. Of the five areas they identified(customer-centricity, opening up, sustainable organic growth, organize around

innovation and thinking differently about innovation), two were exclusively around innovation whileone another was based on using innovation. The insight that innovation must be integrated intoevery aspect of the organization was the biggest reason for P&G’s stellar performance in the sevenyears since. The insight itself may appear simplistic; Lafley’s detailed explanation of how P&G did it,combined with Ram Charan’s complementary examples from several other organizations provide arich lode of ideas and practices that we can draw from – and that’s the core appeal of this work.

But for HR practitioners, there are some deeper insights. Although there are many references to‘business leaders’ and ‘leader in charge of P&L’ using innovation in a game-changing manner, thedrivers for this come from a very basic value system of accepting that innovation does not needany special skill. Very early on in the book, the authors acknowledge that “...innovation is a socialprocess. And this process can only happen when people do that simple, profound thing – connectto share problems, opportunities and learning. To put it another way, anyone can innovate, butpractically no one can innovate alone.” Isn’t that a challenge for the HR Manager, more than foranyone else? How does the HR Manager provide the tools for the business to harness innovation?


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Thankfully, Lafley & Charan do not leave us completely clueless. The section on ‘Organizing forInnovation’ provides a set of criteria that can serve as a guideline in designing an appropriate structurefor your organization. Examples of structures from organizations like Hewlett-Packard, 3M, Microsoft,DuPont – and very detailed descriptions of different enabling groups within P&G itself help us get anidea of how the set of criteria were evolved, which will then help us grow our own.

Clues continue in the section on ‘Innovation is a Team Sport’; the creation of a culture which ismore courageous, more connected and collaborative is almost a prerequisite for game-changinginnovation. The elements of team building which are exhibited at P&G’s ultra-innovation ClayStreet group create a set of ‘connecting behaviours’ which are populated across the organizationby those using the services of the Clay Street group. Detailed descriptions about roles to beconsidered when building an innovation team help stimulate the HR Manager’s thinking aboutwhat it really takes to build a team for innovation. A breakdown of the elements of an InnovationCulture gives us a handy reference to check against.

All of these make ‘The Gamechanger’ interesting for a HR Manager. Despite some old chestnuts(like ‘Rules of Brainstorming’ or a description of the stages of team formation in an innovationteam), there are enough new approaches to make the book a very worthwhile read!

Review by:R.Shantaram, Vice President - HR, Prasad Corporation Ltd., Chennai.

4. STRENGTHS BASED LEADERSHIP

Author : Tom Rath and Bary Conchie

Published by : New York: Gallup Press. p.265.(2008)

This is yet another Gallup publication based on decades ofresearch in scores of organization across the globe.

A study of more than 10,000 followers around the world who wereasked why they follow the most influential leader in their life,resulted in the following key findings: The most effective leaders

• are always investing in strengths;

• surround themselves with the right people and then maximizetheir team and,

• understand their follower’s needs.

About one third of the book is devoted to explaining the above in three parts. The next 140 pagesare devoted to provide a guide to the 34 themes (around various strengths).

34 StrengthsFinder Themes

Achiever Deliberate LearnerActivator Developer Maximizer

Adaptability Discipline PositivityAnalytical Empathy RelatorArranger Focus Responsibility

Belief Futuristic RestorativeCommand Harmony Self-assurance

Communication Ideation SignificanceCompetition Includer Strategic

Connectedness Individualization WooConsistency Input

Context Intellection


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The last 20 pages explain the research behind the StrengthsFinder, introduce the team workingon Work Team Engagement and summarize the reasons why people follow their leaders.

The research behind strengthsfinder is backed from the Clifton StrengthsFinder (CSF), which is anonline measure of personal talent that identifies areas where an individual’s greatest potential forbuilding strength exists. It helps individuals discover how to build upon their talents to developstrengths within their roles. The authors acknowledge that CSF is not designed or validated for usein employee selection or mental health screening. The strengths philosophy means that individualsgain more when they strive to build on their strengths. Strengths are viewed as extension of talent.The strength construct combines talents with associated knowledge and skills and is defined asthe ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance in a specified task. Though the instrumentis labeled Clifton (has had a long -50-year — career at the University of Nebraska) StrengthsFinder,the authors assert that the instrument actually measures talents that serve as the foundations forstrengths development. Clifton considered success to be closely associated with personal talentsand strengths in addition to the traditional constructs linked with analytical intelligence. The CSFevolved, over the years, into a 180 item one covering 34 themes. CSF is available in 24 languagesand is appropriate for administration to adolescents and adults with a reading level of 10th grade orhigher. In 2006 Gallup researchers undertook a comprehensive review of CSF psychometrics,which led to some revisions in the instrument (version 2.0). Several studies were carried out toinvestigate into the CSF’s continuing reliability, validity and applicability to both the general populationand college students in particular (some of the recent studies were listed on pages 243 and 244).

The CSF is often used as a starting point for self-discovery in Gallup strengths-based developmentprograms. After a respondent has completed the assessment and talent feedback is provided, aset of developmental suggestions is customized to the idnividual’s Signature Themes for a moreinformed view of self.

Gallup’s research of over 10,000 people also examinies leadership from the follower’s perspectiveand came out with the following key themes (or basic needs):

• Trust (other words cited by followers included: honesty, integrity, and respect)

• Compasion (other words cited by followers included: caring, friendship, happiness and love)

• Stability (other words cited by followers included: security, strength, support, and peace)

• Hope (other words cited by followers included: direction, faith, and guidance)

More than 85 per cent of respondents selected the leader who had the most impact ass someonevery close to the person answering the survey.

This is a research based book which uses psychometry to facilitate personal development andgrowth through self discovery, feedback and discussion with colleagues, managers and friends.

For those who buy the book, there is a bonus: There is a packet at the end which contains thepurchaser’s unique access code to take the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment. IF you are buyingthe book, after you complete the assessment, you will receive a personalized strengths-basedleadership guide. www.strengths.gallup.com provides more insights and gives the research link.The marketing trick is that the access code is valid for one user only. Do not buy the book if thepacket is missing or has been opened.

Reviewed by:

Dr C S Venkata Ratnam, Director, International Management Institute, New Delhi.

The author can be reached at [email protected]


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NHRD Network Journal

Leadership

Volume 2 Issue 2 April 2009

NHRD Network Board MembersNational President: Aquil Busrai, ED-HR, IBM India Limited,

Past National Presidents: Dwarakanath P, Director-Group Human Capital, Max India

Dr. Santrupt Misra, Director Aditya Birla Group

Regional Presidents:

East: Prof. Madhukar Shukla, XLRI, Jamshedpur

South: Gopalakrishna M, Director Incharge, A.P. Gas Power Corporation Ltd.

West: Satish Pradhan, Executive VP Group HR, Tata Sons

North: NS Rajan, Partner, Human Capital and Global Leader – HR Advisory,Ernst & Young

National Secretary: Dr. P VR Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants

National Treasurer: Ashok Reddy B, VP-HR, Info Tech Enterprises

Executive Directors: Satyanarayana K (Hon.)

Mohit Gandhi

Editorial Board NS Rajan, Partner, Human Capital and Global Leader – HR Advisory,Ernst & Young, [email protected](Guest Editor for this issue)

Dr. PVR Murthy, Managing Editor,CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,[email protected]

Aquil Busrai, Executive Director, Human Resources, IBM IndiaLimited, [email protected]

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay, VP-HR-Asia Pacific, Perot Systems,[email protected]

Publisher, Printer, Owner Satyanarayna K, Hon. Executive Director, National HRD Network onand Place of Publication behalf of National HRD Network, 506, Sai Siri Sampada, 7-1-29/23 & 24,

Leela Nagar, Ameer Pet, Hyderabad 500 016. Tel: +91 (40) [email protected]

Printed at Nagaraj & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 156, Developed Plots Industrial Estate,Perungudi, Chennai 600 096. Tel : 044 - 66149291

The views expressed by the authors are of theirown and not necessarily of the editors nor of thepublisher nor of authors’ organizations

Copyright of the NHRD Journal, all rights reserved.Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproducedwithout copyright holders’ express permission in writing.

NHRD firmly believes in and respects IPR and we appeal to thecontributors to strictly honour the same.

For any further clarifications, please Contact :

The Managing EditorDr. P V R Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,#8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600 018.

[email protected]

ABOUT THE JOURNALThe National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal-each issue dedicated to atheme. Publications so far include on the themes “IT in HR”, ”Performance Management”, “Attractingand Retaining Talent”, “Career Management”, “Organizational Change”, “Global HRM”, “Women inCorporate Leadership Roles”, “Organization Development” and “Learning and Development”.

The current issue is on the theme of “Leadership”

The plan for the ensuing issues is as follows:

The journal publishes primarily three categories of articles:

• Conceptual and research based

• Contributions from thought leaders including a limited number of reprints with due permission

• Organizational experiences in HR interventions/mechanisms

Editorial Board Members :

Dr. P.V.R. Murthy, Managing Editor is a product of I.I.T., Kharagpur and IIM, Calcutta with close to thirtyyears experience in H.R. field. He is founder and runs an executive search firm Exclusive SearchRecruitment Consultants. He is associated with a number of academic institutions. He is trained inTQM in Japan and in human processes from ISABS and NTL, U.S.A., He is the National Secretary ofNational HRD Network.

Aquil Busrai is Executive Director Human Resources with IBM India. He has over 36 years HRexperience, both in strategic and operational HR with blue chip organisations like Unilever in Kenyaand India, Motorola in Asia Pacific and Shell in Malaysia. He is the National President for National HRDNetwork.

Dr. Pallab Bandyopadhyay is the Vice President & Head, Human Resources - Asia Pacific, PerotSystems. A doctoral fellow from XLRI and AHRD. He is trained in OD and Human Processes from NTL,USA, he believes in applying HR concepts to practice to make it more meaningful and effective. He isa mentor and coach to many young HR professionals.

Date of Publication Theme Guest Editor

July 2009 Work-Life Balance Dr. C.S. Venkataratnam

Oct. 2009 Institution Building Mr. S. Varadarajan

Jan. 2010 “HR for, and of Gen Next” —Leveraging Demographic Dividend Dr. S. Chandrasekhar


NHRDNetwork

Journal

Leadersh

ipApril

2009

Leadership

ISSN - 0974 - 1739

NHRD Network JournalApril 2009 Volume 2 Issue 2

www.nationalhrd.org

A quarterly Publication by The National HRD Network

John Adair

Arvind Agrawal

Stewart D. Friedman

Paul Hersey

N.S. Rajan

Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood

Gary Yukl and Rubina Mahsud

Anu Aga

Sandeep Bakhshi

Jaspal Bindra

Peter Capelli et al

Jim Collins

B. Santhanam

Vijay Bharadwaj

Aquil Busrai

Rajeev Dubey

P. Dwarakanath

Adil Malia

Anand Nayak and L. Prabhakar

Vivek Patwardhan

Satish Pradhan

Sanjeev Sahi

T.T. Srinath

Inder Walia

www.nationalhrd.org

National HRD Network

The National HRD Network, established in 1985, is an

association of professionals committed to promoting

the HRD movement in India and enhancing the

capability of human resource professionals, enabling

them to make an impactful contribution in enhancing

competitiveness and creating value for society.

Towards this end, the National HRD Network is

committed to the development of human resources

through education, training, research and experience

sharing. The network is managed by HR professionals

in an honorary capacity, stemming from their interest

in contributing to the HR profession.

The underlying philosophy of the NHRDN is that every

human being has the potential for remarkable

achievement. HRD is a process by which employees in

organizations are enabled to:

• acquire capabilities to perform various tasks

associated with their present and future roles;

• develop their inner potential for self and

organizational growth,

• develop an organizational culture where

networking relationships, teamwork and

collaboration among different units is strong,

contributing to organizational growth and

individual well-being.


nhrd apr 2009

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