LEADERSHIP Prof Krishnan T N BEYOND COMPETENCIES · National President, NHRDN and Director - HR, NTPC Immediate Past President Mr K Ramkumar Founder Leadership Centre Pvt Ltd Director

www.nationalhrd.orgISSN - 0974 - 1739

JOURNAL QUARTERLY

Volume 10 Issue 4| October 2017

Key ContributorsDr Pritam Singh

Mr S Y Siddiqui

Dr Anand Prakash

Mr K Ramkumar

Prof Vasanthi Srinivasan

Prof R Srinivasan

Mr Ankur Jain

Mr Prashant Pandey

Mr S V Nathan

Mr Bimal Rath

Dr Meena Wilson

Dr Cathleen Clerkin

Prof Krishnan T N

LEADERSHIP BEYOND COMPETENCIES

Dr Pradnya Parasher

Mr Gurucharan Singh Gandhi

Mr Devapriyo Ghose

Mr R Anand

Dr Kamal K Jain

Ms Roshni Das

Dr Deepa Mazumdar

Dr Veena Vohra

Mr Deepak Hota

Mr Rajesh Uppal

Dr Sanjay Srivastava

Dr Jyotsna Bhatnagar

Leadership Beyond

Competencies

Volume 10 | Issue 4 | October 2017

NHRD Network JournalLeadership Beyond Competencies

Volume 10 Issue 4 October 2017| |

NHRD Network Board MembersNational President Mr Saptarshi Roy

National President, NHRDN and Director - HR, NTPC

Immediate Past President Mr K Ramkumar

Founder Leadership Centre Pvt Ltd

Director General Mr Dhananjay Singh

Editorial Team Dr Asha Bhandarker, Guest Editor Distinguished Professor of Org BehaviourInternational Management Institute Delhi

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Managing Editor

Leadership Architect & Career Coach, HR PLUS

Email: [email protected]

Dr Arvind N Agrawal, Managing Partner

Lead Associates

Publisher, Printer, Owner and Mr Dhananjay Singh

Place of Publication Director General, NHRDN On behalf of National HRD Network

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About the Journal

The National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal where in each Issue is dedicated to a

theme.

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.

� Organisational experiences in HR interventions / mechanisms.

About this Issue

The theme of the current Issue is �LEADERSHIP BEYOND COMPETENCIES�.

Editorial Board Members

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Managing Editor, is a Leadership Architect, Career Coach, Change and Transition

Specialist with thirty years of successful professional experience in managing entire gamut of Human

Resources Management with proven expertise in managing multicultural globally distributed knowledge

professionals. He has rich experience in companies like Citrix, Dell Perot, Cambridge Solutions, Sasken and

ALIT. He is a doctoral fellow in HRD from XLRI, a product of NTL, USA and provides HR consulting with many

large Indian and MNCs and start-ups in the area of Leadership coaching, Organisation development, Long-

term capability building, Strategic change and Organisation alignment.

Dr Arvind N Agrawal is Managing Partner at Lead Associates. He was the President and Chief Executive of

Corporate Development & Human Resources and Member of Management Board of RPG Enterprises. He held

senior positions in Escorts and Modi Xerox. He was the past National President of National HRD Network.

Dr Agrawal is an IIM, Ahmedabad and an IIT, Kharagpur alumni, and also holds a Ph.D. from IIT, Mumbai.

NHRD firmly believes in and respects IPR and we appeal to the contributors and

readers to strictly honour the same.

For any further clarifications, please contact:

The Managing Editor

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Leadership Architect and Career Coach, HR PLUSnd thSri Nrusimhadri, Flat No 303, Third Floor, No 12, 2 Main, 7 Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-560070


Contents

S. No. Title of Article Author Page No.

Editorial Note

About The Guest Editor

1

4

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay

Dr Asha Bhandarker

Articles

1. Leadership Development: Dr Pritam Singh 7 Issues & Challenges

2. Issue and Challenges of Leadership Development Mr S Y Siddiqui 10

3. Leadership Development : Issues & Challenges 14Dr Anand Prakash

4. Inspiration-The Magic Potion in Your Leadership 17Mr K Ramkumar

5. Future-Ready Leadership Competencies Prof Vasanthi Srinivasan Prof R Srinivasan 21Mr Ankur Jain

6. Changing Paradigm of Leadership 30Mr Prashant Pandey Development in Human Age

7. The What and How of Leadership Development 37Mr S V Nathan

8. Leadership Beyond Competencies - What Really 48Mr Bimal Rath Defines Top Leadership Outcomes

9. Elevating Women�s Leadership in India: Dr Meena Wilson 55 Issues and Insights Dr Cathleen Clerkin 10. Career Progression of Female Talent: 66Prof Krishnan T N Issues and Challenges 11. Navigating Leadership Transitions: 72 Dr Pradnya Parasher Helping Leaders Successfully Transition into New Roles

12. Lost in Transition 81Mr Gurucharan Singh Gandhi

13. Why Leadership Development Efforts Fail Mr Devapriyo Ghose 85

Guest Editorial 5

Contents

S. No. Title of Article Author Page No.

14. Facilitating Development of the Leadership Pipeline: 96 Mr R Anand Issues and Practices for Consideration

15. Risks of Results Oriented Leadership: Dr Kamal K Jain A Perspective in Need of a Re-evaluation 104Ms Roshni Das

16. Leadership Competencies for Good Governance 111Dr Deepa Mazumdar Developing Leaders for an Uncertain World 119Dr Veena Vohra 17. How Appreciative Inquiry can help

18. Talent Management Initiatives in BEML Limited 126Mr Deepak Hota

19. The Journey of a LEADER- Making and Becoming One 131 Mr Rajesh Uppal

20. Building Leaders through Learning and 136Dr Sanjay Srivastava Teaching Organization

21. The Leadership Odyssey 144 Dr Jyotsna Bhatnagar

NHRD Network Journal October 2017 |

Dear Readers,

Whether or not leadership development �works� has been a topic of hot debate

and it indeed had been the subject of many research studies, literature reviews,

and organisational case studies for last two decades. Yet it remains a top priority

for many organisations even today. When you ask head of L&D in any organization

to list their biggest challenges, �Leadership Development� still features as one of

the top priorities.

In 2017 Workplace Learning Report Linkedin reported that when asked, �What

are the most important skills that you/your team provide training for?� Leadership

/People Management skills topped the chart with Fifty �Two per cent among all

the L&D professionals who participated in the survey.

According to a Global Human-Capital Trends report last year Deloitte reported that companies across

globe spent nearly $31 billion on leadership programs.

They also reported that in 2016,

Ÿ Eighty-Nine percent of companies saw leadership as an important or very important Issue (up from

Eighty-Seven percent in 2015)

Ÿ Fifty-Seven percent cited leadership as very important (up from Fifty percent)

And yet

Ÿ Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported weak or very weak leadership pipelines in their

respective organizations.

It might be worthwhile to quote Global Human-Capital Trends report for 2017 where the Deloitte

Researchers found �Disrupting Leadership� as one of the top ten trends across the world.

Interestingly they summed up their findings as follows:

“Leadership development continues to be a significant challenge for companies around the world,

as the transition to the new digital organization creates even larger leadership gaps. High-

performing leaders today need different skills and expertise than in generations past, yet most

organizations have not moved rapidly enough to develop digital leaders, promote young leaders,

and build new leadership models.

The leadership gap has become larger; organizational capabilities to address leadership dropped by

2 percent.

Forty-two percent of companies cite “leadership development” as very important.

The percentage of companies with strong or adequate experiential programs for leaders rose by 2

percent this year.

So we thought to focus our current Issue on �Leadership Development: Issues and challenges.� I am glad

that Prof Asha Bhandarker, a renowned Leadership Researcher and Distinguished Professor of OB at IMI-

Delhi readily agreed when I requested her to be the guest editor for this Issue. Thanks for accepting our

request and doing a great job in guest editing this Issue.

Editorial Note

1


There is no reason to believe that India is not following this global trend. Indian companies are becoming

more global than ever and investing heavily in exports and overseas acquisitions to become powers to

reckon with. Most Indian Organisations� like their global counterpart are investing in leadership

development and believes that the enhanced leadership capability will be a key to improved organisational

performance.

This context of growth provides unique challenges related to leadership development in India. These

challenges require that organizations grow leaders faster and work to build the capabilities needed to drive

growth among their leaders.

Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning partners as a part of their research and work with their

clients conducted a study of forty-three organizations with more than 1,000 employees in India and

identified four key trends for leadership development in India. These are as follows:

Ÿ Leaders in India have to mature faster.

Ÿ Leaders in India have to learn strategic skills to manage growth.

Ÿ Organizations need to accelerate leadership development through innovative action learning.

Ÿ Organizations in India need scalable and effective leadership development solutions.

It may not be out of way to mention very contemporary study conducted by Centre for Creative Leadership

(CCL) and ISB. This study aptly captured how organizations in India can develop a robust leadership

pipeline with a global mind-set, while making sure the value alignment of the interventions that are best in

class and also unique about India�s socio-cultural context and emergence of next generation leaders.

A deep dive into this report brings about a very interesting aspect of leadership development process in

India. This report found that in balancing the contradicting needs of business and emerging socio-cultural

perspectives, the next generation Indian Leaders will need to manage five distinct sets of paradoxes that

are described below. These are described as below:

Ÿ Slow Down to Catch Up

Ÿ Accomplish More by Doing Less

Ÿ Embrace Uncertainty to Ensure Growth

Ÿ Strive for Agility but Take Everybody Along

Ÿ Go Global but Remain Authentic to Self

Research across globe proved that there has to be a synergy between the individual aspiring to become a

leader, organization and the HR team need to make sure leadership development programmes become

successful. In order to do so, every stakeholder needs to play their roles that are complimentary to each

other. In this context I would like to quote from the CCL-ISB study where it is aptly described as follows:

“She must own her development journey, and enhance her capabilities by taking on ambiguous and

sometimes risky career moves, developing meaningful networks, getting global experience under

her belt, and spending time on self-reflection. Her manager, or the incumbent leader, must play the

role of a mentor, orchestrating the “right” opportunities. The role of human resource leaders is that

of a facilitator—to set up processes and systems for talent identification and accelerated leadership

development. Finally, the organization, on its part, collectively must create a culture and community

for learning and empowerment”

2

Before I end this editorial, I must also thank Nisha Kurup from National Secretariat of NHRDN, Gurugram who

worked tirelessly to support Prof Bhandarker in bringing this Issue. Thank you Nisha, for your timely support.

As always, contribution for this Issue came from both fronts: the practitioners as well as academics making the

Issue contemporary, though generating as well as reference for leadership researchers, students and

practitioners. I am sure that our readers will enjoy reading this Issue and would like to preserve it as a reference

for their future use.

As always, in line with our continuous endeavour of touching upon important HR Issues, I am happy to inform

you that the very first Issue for next year (January, 2018) will be dedicated to the theme of “Education,

Employability and Employment Landscape of India”.

Keep reading and send us your feedback at [email protected] .

Happy Reading!

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay

Managing Editor

NHRD Network Journal October 2017 | 3


About the Guest Editor

Dr Asha Bhandarker has over 3 decades of rich teaching experience. She has

worked actively in the corporate world across Industries conducting training,

research as well as consulting for the last 28 years. She is amongst the few Indian

professors of business management who has the opportunity to conduct

workshops at the board level of leading public sector organizations like Western

Coal Fields, SAIL, Power-grid and IFFCO; Banks like Canara Bank, Indian

Overseas Bank, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India; MNCs like Siemens India, Bayer

India, Du Pont, New Holland Tractors, Maruti Suzuki, FIAT etc. She has been

invited to serve as an HR expert on board level HR committees of banks like Bank

of Baroda and Corporation Bank.

She is a member of various professional associations like the Academy of

Management, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Indian

Society for Training and Development and National HRD Network. Dr Bhanderkar

has also held various positions of academic administration. She has served as

Dean International Relations and Consulting at IMI-Delhi; Dean Research,

founding Chairperson of 2 post graduate level programs � PG-HR and PG-IM and

Area Chair at MDI-Gurgaon. She has also tried at her hand at running a consulting

firm for a few years. Her teaching as well as research work has been recognized

and rewarded, the most notable one being the Senior Fulbright Fellowship (for

Research). She has experimented and brought innovative pedagogy into teaching

in the classroom and also for training in industry (Out-Bound Experiential

Learning). She has been responsible for successfully mentoring six Ph.D�s.

Dr Bhanderkar has published 8 books (2 of them award winning) as well as 40

Research Papers (1 award winning paper) and Teaching Cases (1 award winning

case) published in peer reviewed national and international journals. She has

made significant contributions to the field of Organizational Behavior and HR in

India as a Scholar, Trainer, Consultant, Researcher and Administrator and has

displayed a high level of academic leadership in the field of management

education in India. She is a widely travelled person who also gathered deep

insights of international culture and organizational behaviour having lived in

different parts of the world.

Dr Asha Bhandarker

4


Guest Editorial

ccording to a recent global survey, one of the enduring concerns of CEOs worldwide has been the scarcity Aof leadership talent. In fact the study brought out that economic opportunities have not been seized by

organizations to the extent possible because of this scarcity of talent. The challenge for all organizations is to

develop people who can successfully lead organizations into the emerging future. Leaders are very much

created through a steady process of learning and shaping through enriching opportunities and hence the

relevance of Leadership Development.

In all my years of working with organizations, I have seen that many people have leadership capability but it is

either not recognized or it is ignored, or it is actively discouraged. Reasons for such stifling of talent may be

many including the psychodynamics and acute competition that characterizes organizations. Superiors, who

feel threatened by brighter, younger people, squelch their self-confidence and even go out of their way to

demoralize and side-line them.

Another likely scenario is one where the lions are surrounded by corporate sheep and in turn begin to believe

they are sheep and behave like sheep. The story of the lion and the sheep beautifully illustrates this principle: A

lion cub rolled off the cliff and fell into a herd of sheep. The kind hearted shepherd took the cub home and

brought it up along with other sheep. The cub played with the sheep, ate grass like the sheep around him. One

day a mature lion out on his hunt, spotted an amazing sight � a tame lion cub moving with a herd of sheep. It

began to chase the herd. Finally, the lion caught up with the cub and was aghast to hear it plead, �Please spare

me sir, and I�m a poor sheep�. It tried to convince the cub, �You are not a sheep, you are a lion.�

Finally, the older lion took the lion cub to the nearby pond and showed the cub its reflection in the water and

said, �Can you see your paws and my paws are alike?� can you see my mane and your mane look similar?; And

it began to roar with its head held high. The cub followed suit and as it roared like the older lion, it found its lion-

hood.

Mentors have an important role to play in nurturing and developing leadership talent and a formal system of

mentorship when practiced genuinely will be of immense help. A culture which respects and values its people

is equally important to develop leadership talent. This will aid organizations to develop a culture which provides

scope for talent development. Organizations need adequate systems and processes to ensure that leadership

development takes place and a decent pipeline is available to supply talent for taking on leadership at senior

levels. In the long-run, this is the best investment which companies can make to safeguard their own future.

Leadership does not operate in a vacuum. The needed competencies change over time and as the context

shifts, leaders have to align and realign themselves accordingly. To reach their true potential leaders have to

overcome the unique challenges facing them and forge a new path. The type of challenges may be unique for

women leaders. Although leadership is beyond gender, the bias faced by women, are uniquely different.

This edition of the NHRD journal brings to you an interesting mix of thought pieces from practice, papers from

consultants as well as by researchers around the broad theme of leadership and leadership development.

We start with thought leader interviews of gurus like Dr P Singh former Director IIM-L, MDI-Gurugram and IMI-

Delhi; followed by Mr SY Siddiqui Chief Mentor Maruti; and distinguished thinkers like Dr Anand Prakash. Each

one brings unique thoughts to the table and raises questions on the subject from the philosophical as well as

pragmatic perspectives. K Ramkumar�s article, Inspiration - The Magic Potion in Your Leadership focuses on

the importance of an inspiring leader who can in turn enhance followers� commitment and free will through the

power of self-belief and excellence in standards of performance.

5


Needed leadership competencies in the corporate sector have been presented by three authors, Vasanthi

Srinivasan, Future - Ready Leadership Competencies, Prashant Pandey, Changing Paradigm of Leadership

Development in Human Age and SV Nathan, The What and How of Leadership Development. Reading these

three papers gives the flavour of how the changing context � brought about by the disruptive changes of the

VUCA world � is making some competencies more important and relevant than others.

Bimal Rath�s thought provoking paper Beyond Competencies - What do Top Leaders Need takes the reader

beyond standard leadership competencies and highlights core attributes like Judgement, Balance, Resilience

and Trust for effective leadership..

The papers by Meena Wilson, Elevating Women�s Leadership in India: Issues and Insights and Career Progres-

sion of Female Talent Issues and Challenges by Krishnan explicate the challenges faced by women leaders and

solutions which can enable their development.

Pradnya Prashar�s article Navigating Leadership Transitions: Helping Leaders Successfully Transition into New

Roles as well as the article by Gurcharan Gandhi, Lost in Transition highlight the challenges of transition into

leadership roles. They have clearly highlighted the need for transition management to enable leaders to settle

down and begin to deliver performance. The sink or swim approach is considered to be a less than optimum

worry of ensuring leader onboarding. They raise some vital questions which corporate India needs to focus

upon to ensure leader success. Mr Ghose, Why Leadership Development Efforts Fail, clearly brings out why

leadership development fails in organizations. By recognizing these factors organizations will be in a better

position to pre-empt leadership failures.

R Anand�s paper, Facilitating Development of the Leadership Pipeline: Issues and Practices for Consideration

dwells on the process by which leadership development can be done in organizations through a set of games

and activities. The major focus is on practical activities and simulations as the means to identifying leader

competencies.

There is a close connection between leadership and good governance. Papers by researchers like Dr KK Jain,

Productivity Tools: Fitness Band for Workplace Engagement? and Dr Deepa Mazumdar, Leadership Compe-

tencies for Good Governance under raise Issues for discussion.

Dr Veena Vohra�s paper, Developing Leaders for an Uncertain World: How Appreciative Inquiry can help throws

light on how the technique of appreciative inquiry can help leaders continuously develop and fine hone their

leadership capacities.

Deepak Hota CMD BEML,Talent Management Initiatives in BEML Limited and Rajesh Uppal Head HR of

Maruti The Journey of a LEADER- Making and Becoming One have given insights into the Leadership Develop-

ment process which is in place in their organizations.

The last write up is a review of the book Leadership Odyssey: Darkness to Light by Dr P Singh, A Bhandarker

and S Rai. The review has been written by Dr Jyotsna Bhatnagar of MDI-Gurgaon.

I take this opportunity to profusely thank colleagues and friends who have risen to the occasion and put pen to

paper to record their ideas and make them available for the larger HR community.

6


In the contemporary academic world, Dr. Pritam Singh is considered as one of the

global gurus in the area of leadership. As a scholar, he effortlessly integrates

occidental thought with oriental wisdom. He is a profound thinker with great

mastery at integrating thought with action. He is an outstanding scholar-leader

combining both the wisdom of architecting strategies as well as executing them

excellently. He is a �Midas-touch leader� having the distinction of shaping the

fortunes of IIM-Lucknow, as well as giving direction to schools like Administrative

Staff College of India (ASCI) and IIM-Bangalore to become holistic Business

Schools. Above all, he is a turnaround director and this was demonstrated

admirably in the case of both MDI- Gurgaon and IIM-Lucknow.

In his 45 years of career as a Management Professor, he has mentored around 200

CEOs and organized 50 board level workshops. While working at ASCI he had the

rare honour of organizing and directing retreats for the Central Ministers and

Secretaries Government of India, as part of the initiative by the Late Shri Rajiv

Gandhi, to inculcate the passion for transformation among Ministers and

Secretary Level bureaucrats. He has worked on the boards of more than 100

companies and academic institutions.

Dr Singh has authored 7 books of which 3 are award winning. He has published

around 70 research papers in both national and international journals. He is the

only Asian who is on the board of Association of MBAs (AMBA) which is one of the

most prestigious accrediting bodies for management schools globally. The

breadth and depth of his contribution to the field of management and

management education were acknowledged by the Government of India in 2003

by conferring on him the prestigious Padmashri. In 2006, MIRBIS (The Moscow

International Higher Business School)-the No.1 management school in Moscow, thhonoured Dr Pritam Singh as the 19 Global Thought Leader. He was not just the

first Indian, but the first Asian to have walked into this global hall of fame.

Dr Singh is the epitome of relentless quest and searches for excellence in every

endeavour. He is a great humanist, loved and respected as a friend, philosopher

and guide by his numerous students, corporate executives and faculty

colleagues.

Dr Pritam Singh

Leadership Development Issues & Challenges

7


Why Leadership development?

First of all, congratulations to the National HRD Network journal for identifying the most critical issue facing the world � Leadership Development. Today every domain � whether government, political arena or

academic world � there has been a tremendous crisis of leadership. In fact, in an earlier research, we asked executives in our MBA programs to identify five most important crises facing the world. Ethical governance, leadership, environmental degradation and water scarcity emerged as the most critical crises facing the world.

In fact today, I am alarmed at the crisis of leadership I see in Infosys as well as TATA group. I question the basic leadership competency of Vishal Sikka as well as Cyrus Mistry in terms of their emotional competency, social skills, environmental sensitivity as well as capability to manage the board.

In the public sector, it has been a sad story where many companies have not been able to throw up candidates at the Director level to occupy CMD level positions. In some of the Companies, PESB resorted to appointing people at Executive Director Level as CMDs. The recent alarming example has been of Coal India which has thirteen subsidiaries and a large volume of talent and yet, not a single person was found to be suitable for the CMD�s position. In another study, we asked our students in the executive program as well as regular MBA program to name at least five leaders whom they admire. We were dismayed to find that they could barely find 3 � 4 names of Indian CEOs. A recent NHRDN study on leadership in the academic world threw up an even more dismal picture. 97% students and faculty are quite cynical about the quality of their directors. They question their commitment, value system, academic credibility as well as strategic thinking to grow the institution.

I have sketched the above scenario primarily to diagnose the prevailing ills, with a view to understanding the issues in depth before making recommendations.

Q. In your view what can be done to develop leaders specifically in the corporate world?

A. First of all, the corporate world must identify and understand the emerging business scenario as to the needed competencies, mindsets and skills to build sustainable competitive edge for their organizations. In other words, they must look beyond, look around and look at using an alert antenna to identify challenges and then strategize and architect action plans. However, let me also venture to articulate a few things about the emerging global business world. It is a world of war, bordering on the rule of the jungle where the fittest will survive. Business history has demonstrated that of the many companies in fortune 500 lists in 1915, hardly 15 % still in that list in 2017.

Those who survived clearly believed in grooming and developing their leadership talent, preparing them to take on the challenges of corporate war. Out of the 7 levers of Competitive edge � cost, quality, customer sensitivity, innovation, people power, corporate culture, ethical governance � these companies especially pursued people power, ethical governance and culture building. In fact, in my opinion, innovation, business growth, and R&D are the resultant factor emanating from building robust people power and corporate culture.

I strongly believe in the ancient Indian dictum,

There is no sound that is not a mantra, no plant that is not medicinal

There is no person unworthy, what is lacking is an 'enabler'

In other words, all are competent human beings and can be groomed.

I also believed in the statement, �Janmaya Jayate Sudra�,

12 8

Leadership Development

Issues & Challenges

Interview with Dr Pritam Singh


indicating that all of us are sudras (ignorant) by birth and that we take rebirth and become Dwij ( twice-born) through learning and self- transformation.

When I see organizations, I find an odd reality � we tend to ask rabbits to fly and birds to run. This is tragic as people may be poorly rated without giving them jobs which they are good at in the first place. What a sheer wastage of talent. It is important to know who is who; we need to ask some basic questions, do we know our own people? Do we understand them? Do we help them overcome their blocks and constraints? This is the big dilemma in organizations today. People have more knowledge of the machines they operate. Do we know human beings? An important belief to cultivate is in the dictum, my height as a boss depends on �the height of my subordinates�. Many leaders don�t allow subordinates to develop their talent and grow, for fear of becoming dispensable.

I am raising these issues because when as a leader, I am going to play the role as a coach; I need the mindset of the Acharya and Guru, not only in terms of mindset and skills but also in terms of values. I find this spirit sadly missing in the corporate world. In fact, this is a global phenomenon not limited to any one country. These basic paradigms are essential before we can embark on the leadership development journey. Leaders in organizations will have to be cognitive, emotionally, philosophically and spiritually committed to the above paradigms for people development.

In fact, before we embark on the leadership development journey, we must ask the following questions and answer them authentically.

1. Do we know our people holistically?

2. Are we passionately committed to the odyssey of leadership development?

3. Do we have the appropriate culture to support and sustain a people development strategy?

4. Do we see this as a great investment for the future?

5. Have we developed the internal capability for leadership development or has this activity been outsourced?

Let me now come back to the strategic action plan which organizations can initiate:

1. Identify the needed competencies to win the corporate Olympiad by the internal people along with outside experts, rather completely outsourcing it. I am recommending this collaborative model of co-creation because every organization has its own nuances which only internal members are aware of. To get a broader perspective of problems and contextualize the organization can take the help of outside experts.

2. Stage 2 is focused on assessment. Assessing people as per their competencies are required to be done. It is like asking the right people to sit in the right seats and asking the bus driver to move (to borrow from Jim Collins). After identifying the needed competencies and assessing the individuals across divisions, departments and organization (both vertically and horizontally) building needed competencies comes into focus. This may be done through workshops, training, extensive mentoring, coaching and counselling both by internal members and external experts/corporate Gurus/corporate priests.

A lot of discussions is happening regarding the emergence of Millennials with different mindsets, competencies and value systems. To handle these third generation Millennials, we have to reorient our systems and processes and mindsets. Unfortunately, I have seen in companies that third gen people are handled by systems and mindsets of the first gen which creates its own problems. I, therefore, strongly recommend mentoring from top-down as well as bottom-up (reverse mentoring).

I would like to raise an important point � who is primarily responsible for ensuring that leadership development takes place? This is where the role of Human Resource (HR) comes in. No doubt while managers across domains and levels need to be involved, the primary responsibility lies with HR and therefore, I would say that they must develop the mindset of the Acharya or Guru. Apart from mindsets, they have to develop the requisite knowledge, emotional competency, value systems and conduct. HR leaders are watched very carefully by line people. Many times I hear managers say about HR � whatever they say, they don�t mean.

These are some of the challenges for leadership development. Through this piece, I have raised some fundamental questions and provoked the minds of the readers.


� Presently working directly with the Managing Director on Key Business &

People Strategies

� Also heading MSIL Realty Business Vertical

� Special Invitee on the Board of MSIL since 2006

� Part Time Director on The Board Of Suzuki Motorcycles

A Post Graduate in HRM, Mr Siddiqui has a career track of around 37 years in the

HR & Business Roles of good Indian Corporates as well as MNCs such as:

� Escorts Limited

� DCM Group - DCM Toyota Limited; DCM Daewoo Motors Limited and DCM

Benetton India Limited

� New Holland Tractors India (FIAT GROUP)

Widely traveled abroad, he has handled global and multi culture HR Issues in

highly competitive business environment in India & Europe. He has the unique

experience of working in multi cultures & multi nationalities.

Handled a broad Management & Leadership role from quite an early part of career.

Was inducted at the Company Board level at Maruti since 2006.

Passionate about cricket, Mr Siddiqui played cricket at the North Zone Inter

Varsity level from 1974 to 79 representing Jamia University, New Delhi.

Mr S Y Siddiqui

Issue and Challenges of Leadership Development

10


Q: Based on your rich experience, can you share with us your observations and insights on this topic?

What type of top-level leadership development efforts have you seen?

Ans: Indian companies have made varying degrees of efforts for Leadership Development. Unfortunately, there

are few sustained initiatives in organizations. Efforts� generally tend to be limited to isolated, stand-alone

training inputs, a one off initiative. In my view leadership training efforts should be sustained over a period of at

least three years and should include the whole cycle including assessment, coaching, feedback and

counseling.

Some companies are making the effort to nominate their talent to open programs, where they get to meet and

interact with leaders from other companies. This in my view is somewhat better for development of leaders as

employees get multiple perspectives from different organizations. In-house training and development is a

model used by some companies where consultants are involved and training efforts are made by the peer

group.

Many companies make no effort to develop senior talent. People keep growing in terms of their position in the

hierarchy but development of leader competencies does not take place. People are steeped in the company

culture and without timely inputs for development they get into a �Style Fix� and �Style Rigidity�, shaped by

years of using the same approach day in and day out. People reach top levels but are unaware of their

competencies and their strengths/weaknesses because neither does the company have a particular

competency framework, nor have assessments been done and feedback given to these people in preparation

for occupying senior roles.

Q: What is the impact of this on the organization?

Ans: The organization becomes more individual-dominated rather than system dominated. As a result talent

management, retention and most importantly, succession planning will be affected badly.

In contrast, I would like to share that in Maruti Suzuki, Dr. Pritam Singh and Dr. Asha Bhandarker helped us

immensely from 2004 to 2010 with our leadership development process. As a company we are reaping the

benefits even today. Development of the MSIL competency model, global exposure and training for our top

talent, counselling and feedback as well as annual meetings contributed significantly to talent development for

the top levels of MSIL.

We need to now rethink Maruti 2020 by which time almost all the current leaders would have retired� we have

to recommence the development process by design.

Q: Can you compare the Western models of leadership development to that of Japan?

Ans: Some companies in US, Europe (Fiat, Coke) and in India (Mahindra and AVG etc.) have diverse postings,

periodic 360 degree or use Caliper; they provide training inputs three-four times. At every level of positional

growth there is screening and some employees are dropped from the pool selected for their potential for higher

growth. Above all executive coaching is provided to support the leader development process. The entire

process lasts from three to five years. It commences when employees are around the age of 40 to prepare them

for leadership roles by the time they reach age 45.

Interview with Mr S Y SiddiquiChief Mentor Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

Issue and Challenges of Leadership

Development

Interviewer: Dr Asha Bhandarker, Distinguished Professor of Org Beh, IMI-Delhi

12 11

Q: Based on your rich experience, can you share with us your observations and insights on this topic?

What type of top-level leadership development efforts have you seen.

Ans: Indian companies have made varying degrees of efforts for Leadership Development. Unfortunately, there

are few sustained initiatives in organizations. Efforts� generally tend to be limited to isolated, stand-alone

training inputs, a one off initiative. In my view leadership training efforts should be sustained over a period of at

least three years and should include the whole cycle including assessment, coaching, feedback and

counseling.

Some companies are making the effort to nominate their talent to open programs, where they get to meet and

interact with leaders from other companies. This in my view is somewhat better for development of leaders as

employees get multiple perspectives from different organizations. In-house training and development is a

model used by some companies where consultants are involved and training efforts are made by the peer

group.

Many companies make no effort to develop senior talent. People keep growing in terms of their position in the

hierarchy but development of leader competencies does not take place. People are steeped in the company

culture and without timely inputs for development they get into a �Style Fix� and �Style Rigidity�, shaped by

years of using the same approach day in and day out. People reach top levels but are unaware of their

competencies and their strengths/weaknesses because neither does the company have a particular

competency framework, nor have assessments been done and feedback given to these people in preparation

for occupying senior roles.

Q: What is the impact of this on the organization?

Ans: The organization becomes more individual-dominated rather than system dominated. As a result talent

management, retention and most importantly, succession planning will be affected badly.

In contrast, I would like to share that in Maruti Suzuki, Dr. Pritam Singh and Dr. Asha Bhandarker helped us

immensely from 2004 to 2010 with our leadership development process. As a company we are reaping the

benefits even today. Development of the MSIL competency model, global exposure and training for our top

talent, counselling and feedback as well as annual meetings contributed significantly to talent development for

the top levels of MSIL.

We need to now rethink Maruti 2020 by which time almost all the current leaders would have retired� we have

to recommence the development process by design.

Q: Can you compare the Western models of leadership development to that of Japan?

Ans: Some companies in US, Europe (Fiat, Coke) and in India (Mahindra and AVG etc.) have diverse postings,

periodic 360 degree or use Caliper; they provide training inputs three-four times. At every level of positional

growth there is screening and some employees are dropped from the pool selected for their potential for higher

growth. Above all executive coaching is provided to support the leader development process. The entire

process lasts from three to five years. It commences when employees are around the age of 40 to prepare them

for leadership roles by the time they reach age 45.

The Japanese do not use the classroom models, preferring to develop employees through different types of

exposure in the organization. Japanese companies start the leadership development process slightly later - 45

years of age, so that employees are ready by the time they are 50 years old to take on top positions.The

Japanese expect leaders to take up their own self development. In Japan employees are given key postings to

develop their leadership competencies. All leadership development is job oriented. Promising talent is invited

to the management committee so that they can observe strategic discussions.

Q: How do the two approaches, Western and Japanese compare?



Ans: I think the best of both approaches should be incorporated. The biggest advantage of classroom training

is the opportunity to step back and reflect in a safe environment. On the other hand, there is no substitute for

work assignments which can immediately prove employee credibility. There should be greater diversity in the

pool including both the young as well as the experienced employees. Rich learning happens in diverse groups

and this must be nurtured .

Q: Do you think it matters whether top leadership development is started at 40 or 45 years of age?

Ans: Yes, it does. Firstly, the older one grows, without developmental training and exposure, the more they

develop �Style Fix�, and the person is unable to develop �Style Flex� based on the type of subordinates, their

level etc. Secondly, having grown positionally without helpful feedback, such leaders develop an overinflated

sense of their leadership and their ability to accept feedback is low. Forty years is a good age to start

developing leaders. This will help increase sensitivity, increase flexibility and develop new leadership

competencies. Once �Style Fix� happens, people are unable to change. They become defensive and rationalise

their behaviour and reject all feedback which they disagree with.

Leadership development should take place over a three to five years� time to make it impactful.

Q: What is your take on gender and leadership?

Ans: I have observed that many top US companies for example, Coke, Pepsi etc., and top Indian companies

have done great work across the board to develop female talent. This is not the case in typical Indian

companies which are still male-dominated. A sustained initiative is needed in companies, to throw up more

women leaders at senior levels.

Q: In addition to a multitude of competencies which are commonly talked about, what would you

recommend as essential for leaders in the VUCA world?

Ans: Volatility has been directly experienced by us in Maruti and today it has increased six to seven fold. For

example, two years ago diesel cars were most sought after by the customer, and yet today the demand has

plummeted.

Many environment related Issues are emerging for the first time. By 2030, all vehicles will become electric.

Dealing with ambiguity, complexity, envisioning the future have now become core requirements for the top

leadership.

I recommend the development of capability to compete ferociously, manage every kind of diversity including

multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-national. Further, strategic exposure and identifying potential

opportunities will become critical as pressures to perform become crucial, in response to cut-throat

competition, ethical governance will assume even more importance than before.


Dr Anand Prakash is a renowned Professor at the Department of Psychology at

University of Delhi. A Ph.D. from University of Allahabad, as part of thirty-seven

(37) years of teaching experience, he has taught courses on Organizational

Behavior, Psychology of Human Resources, and Qualitative Research

Methodology, Applied Social Psychology, Appreciating Diversity & Psychology at

The Margins. A proud recipient of several honors and awards such as Young

Scientist Award - Indian Science Congress - 1987, Career Award - University

Grants Commission - 1993, Convener, National Academy of Psychology - 1996 t0

2000, Treasurer, National Academy of Psychology - 1990 to 1996, President,

National Academy of Psychology, (India) 2009 - 2010, Fulbright-Nehru

Educational Administrators Seminar, 2013, etc., he has also participated in

several International and National Conferences and Workshops. With several

research publications to his credit, he has supervised 25 Ph.D. scholars for their

successful completion of Ph.D. degrees in the area of Organizational

Socialization, Cultural Change and Value Orientation, Meaning of Work, Well-

being and Success, Leadership in Education, Change management and People

Issues using both Qualitative and Quantitative Methods.

Dr Anand Prakash

Leadership Development :Issues & Challenges

14


Q. Dear Prof Prakash, What are your initial thoughts on leadership development?

Ans. Should leadership be seen from an ideological perspective, or as a skill or as a personality preference or is it the outcome of a situation � person interaction? To my mind, the last option above has the most explanatory power. Another way to view it is as a transformative experience, what Tichy calls self-leadership. It has its challenges� Leadership should be viewed from a deeper ideological perspective and it can sustain and last only when it is deeply ingrained and embedded in the minds of people.

The general trend in the corporate sector however, seems to be to develop leadership skills which are linked to the current task or set of tasks. This is not enough when we talk of sustained leadership development.

Another concern is regarding the placement of leaders. There are some leaders who are best in the driver�s position. Others are good navigators. They work best when there are well defined territories and maps. If everyone is fighting for the driver�s position, then there is a problem. Leaders also need to take up positions according to their competencies. Can someone be driver and another is navigator depending on the requirements of the organization? They should be willing to play complementary roles. Such flexibility is essential for the organization. Unfortunately few companies pay attention to this nuance in the organization.

Q: Can you share some of your concerns based on your experience in the corporate sector?

Ans: I am concerned about how people are treated once they are rejected by the promotion committee. In some companies owing to fixed percentage or quotas for promotion, only some people are promoted. The rest though recommended are not promoted. This is extremely painful because it results in a public loss of face. Matters get worse when a person is rejected twice for the same quota reason. This surely results in institutional depression and has negative effects on the motivation and morale of the officers. Those who have some spark are demoralized by the organization and turn them from leaders to something else. Institutions become increasingly diseased.

Sometimes I wonder, what is the objective of leadership? Is it to create converts, bhakts or the focus is on organizational outcomes? Many leaders confuse these Issues while the reality of the work place is that leaders should facilitate the organization towards achieving the vision. Leaders can easily become toxic and hence comes the question, should such leaders be encouraged? Virtuous leaders on the other hand may be less visible, give others more space and owing to the style and other factors may be more sustainable. It is possible for a leader to virtuously toxic and toxically virtuous. This depends on the goal and the type of outcomes.

Institutions have no self-correcting mechanisms. Things have to reach a crisis point before attention is paid to bring the organization back to health. The classic example is the recent Ryan International School debacle. The school probably had developed many of its inadequacies over the years and they were carried forward because of lax leadership. A thinking leader would develop a self-correcting mechanism rather than waiting for some extreme event to occur.

The other important aspect is our fascination with charismatic leaders. The Ram � Rahim story is an example of the type of cult following which charismatic leaders evoke among their followers. There is no doubt that working with such leaders block one�s creative capacity and we need to discourage such leadership from proliferating.

Interview with Dr Anand PrakashProfessor of Psychology, & Dean, International Relations at Department

of Psychology, University of Delhi

Leadership Development :

Issues & Challenges

12 15

Q. Why are we so fascinated by Gurus and charismatic leaders?

Ans. People see the complexity of the present and the likelihood of this increasing in the future makes them fearful. Gurus are the ones who are expected to mitigate fear about an uncertain future, In the Ram- Rahim case, the followers were from the lowest strata of society and were attracted to someone who symbolized their aspirations and gave them a unique identity. This helps them beat their societal level marginalization.

In this country anyone leading a non-normal life � be it by fasting, living simply or dressing ascetically � has been viewed as an extra-ordinary person for the capacity to sacrifice the normal way of life. The value attached to sacrifice emanates from the archetype of Ram who lived an ascetic life in the forests for fourteen years before he was crowned king of Ayodhya. During elections even politicians try to mine this archetype through some form of visible personal sacrifice � clothing, food, stay and so on. Gurus and sages not only live differently from others but also try to look different from others and this evokes and perpetuates the archetype in the collective psyche of Indians.

Q. What are the lessons out of this for corporate leaders?

A. Cultish or individual centric leadership is dangerous because it is personality centric. All cults tend to suppress more and liberate less to the detriment of the followers.

Q. Can you speak about some other leadership archetypes in India?

A. Krishna is the prominent culturally embedded leadership archetype. He is the one with the capacity to handle paradoxes. He is the one who changed the rules without sacrificing the principles of justice. Ashoka and Akbar are other names that come to mind � people who could handle diversity and manage paradoxes.



Mr K Ramkumar is Founder, Leadership Centre Pvt Ltd, former Executive Director

on the Board of ICICI Bank and the President of ICICI Foundation.

Mr Ramkumar has completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management

from Madras School of Social Work in 1984. He has joined the Board of Directors

with effect from February 1, 2009.

Prior to joining ICICI Bank in 2001, Mr Ramkumar has served companies such as

Hindustan Aeronautics, Brookebond Lipton India Limited (now Hindustan

Unilever Limited) and ICI India Ltd. His work in these companies has mainly been in

the areas of Human Resources Management and Manufacturing.

Leadership Development, Succession Management, building a supply chain for

the Bank�s human resources requirements, leveraging technology to innovate,

and driving operational excellence for world-class service quality, is his passion.

Institute of Finance, Banking & Insurance and ICICI Manipal Academy for Banking

& Insurance were conceived and nurtured by him. The partnership Initiatives with

SEBI � National Institute for securities management and with NIIT - the NIIT

University, were also nurtured by him. He led the CSR project of ICICI Foundation

on skilling youth and promoting livelihood. This is done at the ICICI Academy for

Skills, which has 9 centres offering 7 skills to 7500 youth per year.

He writes extensively on a range of topics on his blog www.theotherview.in He

invites you all to be an active contributing member of this blog.

Mr K Ramkumar

Inspiration � The Magic Potion in Your Leadership

17


Napoleon the Bonaparte escapes from Elba in February 1815; sets foot in southern France; a defeated General without an army, an emperor without a country and an exile who sneaked back. On March 5, 1815,

nine months after his exile and two weeks after his escape, he is at Grenoble. Let me narrate the magic in the words of Malcom Higgins from his article: �Napoleon’s return from exile; Rallying an army with his words

alone’:

�The people of France welcomed back their leader with open arms; men flocked to his cause. His army had grown rapidly and, until Grenoble, no one had stood in his way.

thNow, however, royalist troops barred the way. The 5 Infantry Regiment had taken their positions as the enemy (Napoleon) approached, and as the vanguard of Napoleon�s forces came to a halt, a tense silence fell.

As the sun set, lighting up the western horizon, Napoleon strode out into the open.

He was unarmed, yet he showed no fear as he surveyed the line of gleaming rifles before him. For a moment he stood quite still, his face inscrutable. Then, without taking his eyes away from the royalist regiment, he seized the front of his coat and ripped it open.

�If there is any man among you who would kill me,� Napoleon declared, �Here I stand!�

After a moment of silence, voices within the ranks of the 5th Regiment began shouting;

�Long live the Emperor!�

As the cry spread, it was taken up by more and more of the royalist soldiers. Before long they had lowered their weapons and, en masse, the entire regiment joined Napoleon�s army.

The following day, the 7th Infantry Regiment joined the cause �.�

On May 26, 1940, the British Expeditionary Forces were trapped in a pocket of 60 miles to 15 miles at Dunkirk. Nearly half a million officers and soldiers were doomed to be annihilated by the Germans. Winston Churchill, the newly elected Prime Minister of Britain was barely two weeks into his job. Churchill was ignominiously sacked as the Officer of the Admiralty, after the rout of the Allies at Gallipoli, in 1915. He was in political exile for a full 25 years, before returning back as the Prime Minister. Here, he is again faced with his worst nightmare. Another rout of the allied forces even before the battle had begun.

Churchill defied the advice of his Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax and most members of his war cabinet, refusing to open talks with Hitler. He set a daunting objective of rescuing at least 40,000 fighting fit troops from Dunkirk. The rest as they say is history.

Inspired by his defiance to capitulate, the Navy and the ordinary British people put together an armada of yachts, trawlers and fishing boats along with 42 destroyers of the Royal Navy and rescued nearly 400,000 British and French troops in a magical week-long operation. These ordinary men and women; yes, I am correct, women; defied the screaming Stuka Bombers and the diving Messerschmitt fighters. Churchill was back again in the early 1950�s, to inspire Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) his old WWII Supreme Commander in Europe, now the US President, during the Korean war. Ike delivered a moving eulogy at Churchill�s funeral, recalling the inspiration that Churchill was to him and many others.

But what made Napoleon or Winston Churchill to inspire ordinary people to commit their resources, whole heartedly and unconditionally? One was a revolutionary democrat-turned-imperialist and the other a democrat who was striving to save an empire. Albeit, both were consigned to the dust bins of history, yet they rose back, like the Phoenix with popular support. Neither suffered self-doubts, even when in exile. Neither settled for anything other than for the outcome they had set their eyes upon. Both could sense the pulse of the average person. Both effortlessly spoke the voice of the common man on the street and made the common person believe that even the most daunting outcomes could be achieved. They instilled self-belief in everyone they came into contact with. They uplifted the emotions of the people they came in touch with. Eternal optimists!

Inspiration � The Magic Potion

in Your Leadership

12 18

In 1915, the Bombay docks witnessed the docking of SS Arabia, a steam liner from South Africa. A frail 46-year-

old man set foot on the pier; Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi went on to inspire not only Indian masses, but

every freedom fighter, in every country. The weapon he chose was non-cooperation and civil disobedience.

Lakhs of ordinary men and women were prepared to sacrifice their personal freedom, knowing that they will be

jailed, in response to the call of one leader. For the next 30 years, his word was the mission of every freedom-

loving Indian. Gandhi to all of us was you and me. There was unison of purpose, identical thought and

emotions, between Gandhi and most Indians, which mobilised action in everyone who came into touch with

him. A supreme humanist!

I can regale you with endless anecdotes from history. You may even rationalise that you are not Napoleon,

Churchill or Gandhi, and may even not believe you could be. Yet to bring alive a theme like inspiration and

leadership, we need to pick up people and events that have captured our imagination.

We should remember that before they became the Napoleon, the Churchill and the Gandhi, they were ordinary

people like us. To quote Napoleon, �Courage is not the strength to go on. It is going on when you do not have

strength.� In fact it is this courage, which made all three of them inspiring and tall leaders, whom we now see as

out of the ordinary.

Does that mean ordinary folks like you and me, who from time to time exercise leadership, cannot inspire

people?

My physical education teacher Narayanaswamy Sir, at Avichi High School, in Chennai, inspired a generation of

young boys and girls to take up sports and excel in it. He would be up at 4:30 am every day, picking-up us boys

and girls from our homes, forcing vegetarians like me to have raw eggs for nutrition, putting us through gruelling

training, accompanying almost all of us to our matches, sleeping with us on the floor of a school�s class room

(our 5 star lodging), applying turpentine oil on the aching limbs to relieve our pain before the next game,

screaming at us when we faltered, shoring us up when we cried after a loss (often with a tight slap!), celebrating

with us by taking us to the much awaited English movie (neither he nor we understood a word in these movies!).

Once our batch passed out, starting it all over with the next batch. He did this for 30 years until his untimely pre-

mature death. Our, no, my Narayanaswamy Sir, my leader, continues to inspire me to this day.

Decades later, it was the turn of K.V.Kamath to inspire a generation of ICICIans to go on and become leaders in

their own right. Kamath not only inspired us, he inspired the whole banking Industry in India to find its place

under the Sun and not feel second to the multi-national banks. He taught us all that world-class was possible

by Indians and in India. He did what Gopichand has done to Indian badminton. He instilled self-belief in our

capabilities, demanded excellence in everything, refused to accept mediocre thoughts or actions, pushed us

over the cliff to find our wings, yet was the net beneath to prevent us from crashing. He never answered a

question but challenged us to find the answer, put us on the stage and in the lime light and celebrated our

success. But above all, he showed greater faith in us than we had in our abilities.

In my book: Leveraging Human Capital: A Practitioner�s Perspective, I have narrated the story of Sg. Matt

Busby, who inspired Manchester United to 60 years of excellence. He instilled in the club the second to none

spirit. He built the Manchester United team from scratch thrice, once after he lost 23 players and trainers in an

air crash on February 6, 1958 at Munich. The legend has it that when you played for Manchester United you

actually played for Busby. It mattered to all the players that Busby approved of their efforts & skills, on the field

and outside. If you were 2 goals down and there was five minutes to go for the full time, Busby�s babes, as they

were called, believed that a win was still possible. The fabled United�s prowess of scoring last minute injury time

goals to win is founded on the back of Busby�s inspiration. The ethos lives on, decades after Busby is no more.

Inspiration is the quality that matters when the outcome looks improbable and beyond our abilities and when

self-doubts plague the people. Inspiration mobilises free will and whole-hearted commitment to action.

Inspiration eggs us to go beyond the call of the ordinary; it lifts our abilities and even surprises us on what we

can achieve. Inspiration is rooted in both thought and emotions. Thoughts that everyone can identify with,

emotions which are experienced as authentic and outcomes they believe that they have a stake in. An outcome

framed as an achievement inspires; while an outcome framed as numbers and performance goals feels banal.



How does this magic happen, again and again with some leaders, while most plod on to banality, even when

they occupy their high offices, with all the panoply of power?

Trust brings credibility and authenticity to both thought and emotions. It is when leaders lose trust, inspiration

becomes intimidation or exploitation. We should differentiate awe and admiration that are inspiring emotions,

from intimidation, which is a controlling emotion. Often we confuse these.

When ambition of the leader is beyond his and when it reflects that of the collective, it moves the collective.

Inspiring leaders are able to articulate the ambitions of the collective, as if theirs is drawn from it. They craft

propositions which are anchored on perspectives which make the outcomes vivid and desirable for the

collective.

They use simple messages to articulate even complex outcomes. Like Churchill�s, �We will fight at the Beaches

�� address or Dr. Martin Luther King�s, �I have a Dream�� address or Tilak�s, �Swaraj is my birth right�. This is

not about speech making, yet it is about compelling and clear articulation of the means and the ends. Inspiring

leaders tell stories from the past; frame the opportunities and challenges of the present in a compelling manner

and make the future come alive. Obama or John F. Kennedy did this in ample measure.

Inarticulate people and reticent leaders struggle to inspire others. While it is popular to say actions inspire, the

truth is credible words when backed by actions, inspire even more. That is why Higgins highlights this aspect of

Napoleon�s leadership in the title of his article quoted at the beginning of this article.

We are not talking about empty and high sounding words. Having said this, history is replete with demagogues

briefly charming, if not inspiring people, until their unauthentic emotions betrayed them. Hitler inspired and

dazzled the Germans for a decade. Putin, Trump and Erdogan are doing it now; we do not know for how long?

Emotions, like thoughts, play a critical role in inspiring others. Power is the potent emotion for inspiration.

Power instils confidence; Power reassures; Power attracts, Power binds; Power energises. Make no mistake

about the power of Gandhi or Mother Theresa. I am not referring to charisma alone. Charismatic power does

add an extra bit. Even when a leader�s power is not charismatic, it has to be manifest for others to feel it and

experience it. Power ambivalence is an inspiration dampener.

Care and compassion inspire as much as power does. Nurturance is a powerful emotion which drives

inspiration. Power with care, compassion and nurturance is a potent combination of emotions, which you will

find in most inspiring leaders. Inspiring leaders build an emotional bond, on which the call to action travels.

High standards, pursuit of excellence and duty consciousness trigger emotions linked to values, liberty,

equality, justice, right to life, egalitarianism, courage etc. are values and when demanded and exemplified by

leaders, they inspire. Every call for change, movement for freedom from oppression or the march into the new

world of tomorrow was born out of this kind of clarion call.

The risk appetite which leaders display has material impact on leadership. Daring leaders inspire people.

Demanding leaders inspire people. Defiant leaders inspire people. Decisive leaders inspire people. Optimism

is the magic potion of inspiration. Ownership for outcome and willingness to take accountability for outcomes,

no matter what they are, inspires others.

Napoleon, Churchill, Gandhi Busby, Kamath and Naryanaswamy Sir exemplified most of these inspirational

leadership behaviours.

Clinical, self-centred, inarticulate, incremental, activity-obsessed, power ambivalent, vacillating and risk-

averse behaviours induce banality and hence are uninspiring to others. Dr. Manmohan Singh for all his erudition

and duty consciousness could not inspire anyone.

Inspiration seeks value creation and hence believes in pursuit for success. Banality obsesses with value

protection and is fearful of failure. In the end inspiration is driven by belief of success. Any doubts, why we

remember leaders who inspired us and forget the banal ones?

Search for the inspiration in you. Gain insights on how you may deploy it to inspire others. That is what matters.

Do not use this article to judge others. That is uninspiring.

12 20


Prof Vasanthi Srinivasan is a Professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human

Resource Management Area. Currently, she is the Chairperson of Alumni

Relations. Author of several Journal Publications, Book Chapters and Research

Reports, her research interests are in the field of Multi-generations in the

Workplace, Women in Management and Boards, Ethics Teaching in Business

Schools, HRM in Rapid Growth Organizations and Ethics, and CSR in Micro, Small

and Mid-sized enterprises. At IIM Bangalore, she teaches the core course on

Managing People and Performance in Organizations and also offers an elective in

Human Resource Management. She has designed and delivered sessions on

leadership development and career management on Executive Education

programmes.

She was an Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chair Professor for Corporate

responsibility at the HHL Graduate School of Management Leipzig, Germany for

the period 2012-13 on deputation. She was also a British Council Visiting Scholar

at the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at the Nottingham

University Business School.

She has consulted extensively for both Indian and multinational companies in the

field of leadership development. She has designed, developed, and delivered

programmes to build the leadership pipeline for organizations. She has worked

with technology and R&D organizations to build their technical leadership talent.

She has also designed and delivered �Tanmatra: Women in Leadership� � a

leadership development programme exclusively for senior women leaders in

business in collaboration with Catalyst India and IBM.

Prof Vasanthi Srinivasan

Future-Ready Leadership Competencies

21

Prof R Srinivasan is a Professor in the Strategy Area. He received his doctoral

degree (Fellow Programme in Management) from the Indian Institute of

Management Ahmedabad. He worked for about eight years at IIM Lucknow before

joining IIM Bangalore. His areas of research include strategies of multi-sided

platform organizations, strategy processes in rapid growth organizations, and

competitive, corporate and international strategies.

Prof Srinivasan has co-authored a textbook on strategic management and a

research-based book on knowledge management in the Indian context. He has

published papers and cases in several international and national journals. He has

authored a number of cases on Indian organizations on platform business models,

rapid growth, strategy, and knowledge management. He teaches competitive

strategy, corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and strategies for platform-

mediated networks at the post-graduate level; strategy classics and strategy

process research at the doctoral level.

He has designed and coordinated executive education programmes on strategy

for senior managers. He has conducted customized workshops on visioning,

strategizing and strategic planning, and strategic performance management for

various multinational, government, public and private organizations. He has

undertaken consulting projects for various large organizations on strategic

planning and restructuring.

Prof R Srinivasan

About the Authors


Ankur Jain is a doctoral student in the OB & HRM Area. Possessing approximately

a decade of work experience, Ankur is a qualified engineer possessing a post

graduate degree in Business Administration.

All the authors belong to Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

Mr Ankur Jain


22

Introduction

In a world characterized by disruptive change, a reduced time to market for products and services, rapid

technological changes and risks posed by environment challenges, new and different approaches to leading

organizations will be required. The Conference Board study on CEO challenges 2017 highlights attraction and

retention of top talent as among the top challenges they face. To cope with talent shortage and demands of

alternate ways of leading, firms have resorted to hiring talent from the external labour market to fill internal

positions. This is not a sustainable option for the long term given the challenges of socialisation and culture

building. Some of the questions that confront leaders as they look in to the future are:

Does investing in individual leaders de-risk the organization from leadership pipeline shortages in the long run?

How do we anticipate the kind of leaders we will require in the future? How do we identify leaders who can secure

the present and build a future for the organization? How do we go beyond leader development and examine

ways to ensure leadership development in organizations?

Vasanthi Srinivasan is a Professor in the OB & HRM Area. R Srinivasan is a Professor in the Strategy Area. Ankur

Jain is a doctoral student in the OB & HRM Area. All the authors belong to Indian Institute of Management

Bangalore

In summary, the organizations of tomorrow require "future-ready� leaders. By future-ready, we refer to a set of

competencies that ensure that the leaders endowed with them can adapt and learn new competencies as the

environment changes. Similar to the idea of dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano and Shuen, 1997), these future-

ready competencies are second-order competencies that enable a rapid and efficient assessment of the

environment, needs for change and the competencies required therein, and the ability to acquire those

competencies.

We argue that future-ready leadership as a framework holds potential as a research stream as well as provides

practical insights to the world of leadership development practice, in increasingly volatile and rapid changing

environments. We contribute to the literature on leadership development by introducing and refining the concept

of �future-ready� competencies as second-order competencies; and lay the foundation for development of

these competencies in leaders.

The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the changing context of leadership development and help

identify Future-Ready Leadership Competencies. This article is divided in to three sections: in section 1, we

explore the changes in the external environment that require organizations to adapt; in section 2, we examine the

implications of these changes for leadership development; and finally, in section 3, we present future ready

competencies and the manner in which leadership development practices can be designed to develop the

competencies.

Changing context

The last two decades have been characterized by volatile changes in context. There are four mega trends that

characterize the current context � Technological, Regulatory, Environmental and Social. Recent reports from the

World Economic Forum on the Fourth Industrial Revolution mentions that the rate of disruption that is occurring

in the environment is difficult to understand and often takes decision makers by surprise. (Schwab, 2016). The

digital revolution, indicated by a fusion of technologies in the field of artificial intelligence, genetics, robotics and

3D printing are together creating a complexity that makes it difficult for leaders to understand and predict future

changes. Three key features define industry 4.0: digitalization, automation of routine processes, and reliance on

23


Vasanthi Srinivasan is a Professor in the OB & HRM Area. R Srinivasan is a Professor in the Strategy Area. Ankur Jain is a doctoral student in the OB &

HRM Area. All the authors belong to Indian Institute of Management Bangalore



big-data for decision-making. All the three directly impact the nature of work design and structure which form the

edifice of current organizations. As the nature of Human-Machine interface changes, and cyber-physical

systems interact with human processes, the role of human judgement and its application in decision making will

change. The recent debate on the future of artificial intelligence between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg

reflects the uncertainty that marks the future and predictions pertaining to technology of the future. This

fundamental technological shift has far ranging implications from a learning and development point of view.

There is a traditional assumption that leaders in hierarchical organizations acquire the necessary knowledge and

skills pertaining to their domain over a period of time, and that other employees in the organization can

supplement or complement the expertise and specialised knowledge that will be required through rotation and

movement across jobs in the organization. In today�s technological context, a novice might well make an

informed assessment of the future, when compared to the assessment of an expert with years of experience in

the organization. The building blocks of future-ready competencies lie in this dimension which is lack of expertise

yet existence of a capacity to sense the future.

As our natural resources become scarce and environmental crisis seems imminent, identifying opportunities in

new industries, or in a circular economy where waste is eliminated, and in alternate energy sources and

responsible consumption of scarce resources, it is becoming critical for leaders to affirm their commitment to the

triple bottom line through responsible innovation. In fact, Social Responsibility initiatives which a decade ago

were seen as philanthropy and charity projects, are now turning into a social enterprises and valuable business

model challenge. The changing geo-political context with increasing protectionism related to jobs and visas has

a direct impact on operating models of businesses and the manner in which organizing has to be done. Finally,

the sweeping social and demographic changes arising out of an emerging middle class in the developing

countries, aging in the developed countries, widening inequality between the haves and the have-nots in most

parts of the world are all putting pressure on organizations to engage with new realities which were never

envisaged in the role of a corporation.

Changing Conceptualization of Leadership and Leadership Development

Against the scenario outlined in the previous section, placing leadership development as a talent management

imperative assumes significance. Leadership is a widely researched topic, with work spanning a century (Avolio,

Reichard, Hannah, Walumbwa, & Chan, 2009). Yet, the contribution of leadership theory and research to

leadership development has not been significant. The dominant focus of the leadership theories has been in

identifying traits/behaviours/characteristics that are relatively enduring. Such a premise is antithetical to the

discourse on development of human potential. Further, leadership development is inherently longitudinal and

multi-level (Day et al., 2014) and rests on the premise of growth and learning. Scholars in the field of leadership

development have been more eclectic and have drawn on a range of theories from adult development (Day,

Harrison, & Halpin, 2009), constructive development theory (McCauley, Drath, Palus, O�Connor, & Baker, 2006),

and individual leader and follower attributes leading to team development (Day, Gronn, & Salas, 2004).

Leadership development literature has tended to focus on the set of practices that enable the growth and

development of leaders and has largely been informed by consultants and practitioners. Much more needs to be

done in integrating leadership theories and leadership development practices. Since, leadership is a dynamic

process occurring longitudinally, there is a need to focus on process theories to explore the phenomenon more

meaningfully. Gathering empirical evidence on the development of an individual is complicated. The call for

research in the field of leadership development is towards a focus on personal trajectories of leaders, broadening

the range of leadership development methods studied and identifying the outcome variable that is impacted

through this process (Day et al., 2014). Another challenge in the field of leadership development historically has

been the lack of distinction between �leader development� and �leadership development�. Leader development

focuses on developing individual leaders whereas leadership development focuses on a process of

development that inherently involves multiple individuals, for instance, leaders and followers or among peers

(Day et al, 2014). Moving the discourse on leadership development from being centered in a �person� to being a

�collective capacity� of a group of individuals or across several individuals within an organization challenges the

12 24

dominant assumptions of the relatively long history of leadership theory and research (Avolio, Reichard, Hannah,

Walumbwa, & Chan, 2009). Given the limitations in existing leadership theory, some authors have called for

alternate lenses to understand the new, complex and unfolding realities of the context. Osborn et al. (2002) argue

that leadership is �socially constructed� and �embedded in a context�. They propose a more contextually driven

theorization of leadership by drawing attention to macro-factors like stability, crisis, dynamic equilibrium, and

edge of chaos that shape leadership behaviour. In the VUCA environment, concerted action in organizations is

seldom by a single individual; it is usually by a collective of individuals. The growing interest in teams and

networks is indicative of the emerging reality. Collective and network approaches provide important theoretical

lens to improve our understanding of leadership under uncertainty. Gronn (2002) discusses how �spontaneous

collaboration�, �intuitive working relationships� and �institutionalized practices� work as mechanisms of �conjoint

agency�. Adopting a social network theory approach (Carter et. al (2015)) shifts the focus of leadership from static

traits and situational variables to leadership emergence as �patterned relational processes�. Future ready

leadership needs to be conceptualized as an interaction of the contextual and relational aspects in concerted

action.

While conceptually, these shifts indicate a trend towards a more systemic, holistic and inclusive

conceptualization of leadership, the pedagogy of leadership development that will enable building contextual

and relationship leadership characteristics needs more attention.

Identifying leadership competencies for the future

As a part of the Executive Education programs, since May 2017, we at the Indian Institute of Management,

Bangalore, have been conducting structured workshops to engage participants about the future of work

organizations. A total of 186 respondents participated in 8 workshops that were conducted at the Institute. Out of

this, 112 respondents belonged to 5 organizations from retail, insurance, automotive, precision engineering and

construction. 20 of the participants belonged to the social sector, another 21 were from the banking sector and

33 were from Government departments. 130 out of 186 participants were senior managers with about 18 years of

average experience. The remaining were top management and board members.

Each workshop had three questions � What changes do you expect in your organizational environment in the

next 5 years? What are the barriers within the organization to manage these changes? What competencies will

these changes demand from you personally?

The five changes that emerged across different groups of participants were technological changes, regulatory

changes, business model changes, customer expectation changes and environment/climate related changes.

Most of them mentioned that the organizations had internal discussions on customer and technological

changes, but business model changes and regulatory changes received much less attention. In fact,

environment and climate related changes were still discussed as �risk� rather than altering the business models

of the future. Even in industries like insurance, where environment and climate changes could fundamentally

impact their business, these Issues were not seen as strategic. While leaders acknowledged that changes will

impact their business, a sense of urgency and a bias to engaging in concerted action were missing. There were

wide variations within the group on time frames associated with the various environmental changes. While the

need to innovate and create new business models was mentioned consistently, the lack of clarity on the

agreement about the future (however the future is conceived) appears as a challenge. In fact, participants

actively chose to speak about the present and the immediate future as opposed to the path to long term future

which was complex. Research from construal theory could provide some insights here. Construal level theory

explains that levels of construal vary with psychological distance, with greater distance leading to higher-levels

of construal. For instance, if you are thinking about an event which will happen 3 years from now, you will feel

greater psychological distance than if the same event took place today or tomorrow (Trope & Liberman, 2010).

Given this understanding, developing future ready leadership competencies is likely to require alternate ways of

development.



The barriers within organizations to manage the changes and shape the external environment were the following:

Silos within the organization which make it difficult to harness the synergy ; measurement systems that drive

behaviours that do not promote collaboration and sharing; lack of organization-wide engagement to promote

innovation and change; belief that the external environment can be managed through incremental changes as

has happened in the past. The respondents also acknowledged that stakeholder facing roles were the hubs of

innovations, change and best practices. They recognized that the excellence that was seen in pockets within the

organization needs to be more pervasive across the different lines of businesses.

The final question focussed on the competencies that were required to remain relevant in a changing context.

The four key competencies that emerged as important for both personal and organizational success are

described below.

Sensing the environment and managing paradoxes

As complexity in the environment increases, leaders will be required to engage with multiple and differing

perspectives from different stakeholders. The perspectives are likely to be paradoxical. Some of the

tensions that were discussed by the participants pertained to freedom and control; creativity and rigor;

vision and action; voice and power, sensibility and structure; form and substance; process and structure. All

the respondents mentioned that while the tensions provide opportunities for organizations, they also require

a constant scanning of the environment, engaging and managing differences and conflict with a clear vision,

finding ways of resolving tensions that enable several stakeholders to see a winning proposition. As one

respondent who handles the strategic planning portfolio said �the traditional mantra has been about

converting problems to opportunities; the new mantra is to proactively identify dilemmas and manage them

effectively�. Appreciating complexity in the environment requires that leaders are able to perceive the

environment and make decisions that shape the environment. Respondents felt that leaders need to

cultivate an �and� mind set, instead of an �either/OR� mind-set.

Agility in Response

Given the high degree of uncertainty, most respondents felt that speed in decision making is critical. It is

important for individuals to make decisions, do quick prototypes which allow them to experiment and fail;

recover from the failure and be ready to make the next decision. This quality requires both resilience and

agility. As the board member of a bank mentioned �we need the capacity to execute changes in smaller

iterations and continuously carry a �Beginners mindset�. Another respondent mentioned �Getting used to

being uncomfortable. Resist the temptation to cling on to outdated, inadequate processes and behaviours�.

Most respondents spoke about the need for rapid prototyping, which is not just about knowing what to

build, but more about being able to building something new, destroy or reshape it and then rethink a

completely new idea. This continuous capacity to destroy and recreate the new processes requires capacity

to leverage networks and depend on others to support you in this endeavour.

Collaboration Mind Set

Almost all the respondents mentioned collaboration as a key capability that leaders require for the future.

Any environment which requires continuous value creation for stakeholder requires a collaborative mindset.

Respondents recognize that collaboration is currently also a required competence, but the capacity to

collaborate relentlessly both within and outside the organization is the difference. Such collaboration

requires leaders to co-create, engage with and nurture purposeful business and social networks through

social media and in-person communication. As interconnectedness increases and complex regulatory-,

technological- and environment-related challenges begin to surface, employees need to acquire the

capacity to build credible networks quickly and to be effective. Networks provide different and multiple

points of view; they provide an opportunity to test out ideas with a variety of stakeholders; they allow

exploration of ideas in a safe zone. This ability to collaborate in turn allows for rapid prototyping and can

reinforce several decisions that need to be taken under time pressure and with limited information.

12 26

Examining biases in oneself

It is well established that self-awareness is an important element of leadership behaviour. What dimension

of self-awareness is needed in a future ready context? Self-awareness is about a conscious and immersive

learning which is contextual and relational in character. In a world characterized by collaboration and

building relations, self-awareness is to be conscious of possible blind spots that one carries which prevents

people from bringing their authentic selves. Most of the participants mentioned needing to examine their

fundamental assumptions, a willingness to challenge things that have worked in the past, to be reflective

about those behaviours which occur by default; to make sure that new behaviours are internalized as habits

and finally to continuously find alternate ways to frame and engage with any problem.

Figure 1 below captures the key future ready competencies that are needed for leaders namely sensing the

environment and managing paradoxes, agility in response, collaboration mind set and examining biases in

one self. Within this, there are key behaviours that are more critical � these behaviours include perceiving,

responding, self -awareness and co-creation. If employees in organizations have to remain relevant and

effective in the future, the four key behaviours have to be developed at an individual level and at the level of

teams. The challenge is that not much is known about how to build these behaviours in collectives and

leadership teams.

Self Awareness

Co-creation with stakeholder

RespondingPerceiving

Sensing the environment

and managing paradoxes

Examining biases in one

self

Collaboration Mind Set

Agility and need for quick

Prototyping of solutions

Figure 1: Future ready competencies



Several scholars who study the future have identified other future ready competencies. Bob Johansen, the

futurist looks at the following - maker instinct, clarity, dilemma flipping, immersive learning, bio-empathy,

constructive depolarising, quiet transparency, rapid prototyping, smart mob organizing and common creating.

In their paper titled, �Leading Now: Critical capabilities for a complex world�, authors Axon, Friedman and

Jordan, identify 8 key capabilities that leaders require to manage the complexity. They are systems thinking,

managing global business, acting strategically, fostering innovation, leveraging networks, inspiring

engagement, developing personal adaptability and cultivating learning agility.

It is evident from the above discussion that the future ready competencies are not just a linear extrapolation of

current competencies. Acquiring the future ready competencies, when there is such high uncertainty in the

present often means that organizations may not be able to invest in building the future ready leadership

competencies. Another challenge is also that the future ready competencies require fundamentally different

ways of development. In the last section, we will examine the implications of future ready competencies for

learning and development professionals and the way forward.

Opportunities for Learning and Development professionals

It is evident that the new paradigms of leadership require much more than the traditional leadership

development approaches. Leaders need to find ways to immerse themselves in the future in a low risk

environment to experiment. As the scale and intensity of the VUCA world increases, becoming comfortable with

the uncomfortable could help one lead more effectively than before. All of us know that when human beings

experience discomfort, they tend to act and make positive shifts happen. How then can such shifts be made to

happen deliberately?

Internet and digital technologies have become the go-to place for learning for professionals. However, overload

of information along with long search processes make search and information processing routes for leaders

more and more difficult. The 2012 ASTD study on mobile learning shows clearly that mobile usage is pervasive

and that learning content delivery through mobile would be a preferred mode of taking in information. Social

networks as a collaborative learning tool is again growing in importance. Several organizations are investing in

intra-organizational collaborative platforms that can help in employee knowledge sharing and also as a peer to

peer learning that can be harnessed effectively. Leaders can respond to queries on the platform thereby

providing opportunities for virtual mentoring. Self-awareness requires being authentic to oneself; perceiving the

environment requires one to suspend judgment, consciously manage the biases and a willingness to be open

minded to Issues and problems. Responding requires deliberate thought and action while making decisions on

the future. Finally, co-creation requires the capability to work in an alliance. Alliance requires that one is able to

see the positive in a partner, the willingness to play to the strengths of the partner and also a willingness to

complement their weakness. All of this call for actions that require significant change or transformation at a

personal level. Learning from unfamiliar contexts in the fields of dance, theatre and sports need to be integrated

in to knowledge enhancing contexts. Taking participants farther away from the familiar, exposure visits to

transformation projects or social landscapes where human imagination is challenged could be some ways to

build the future ready leadership competencies. Use of Virtual and augmented reality along with gamification

could be a route to simulate the future and thereby provide experiences which are near close to an expected

future. Leadership development therefore needs to be more learner-centric, experiential, non-linear and

providing investments that are about thinking differently rather than knowing differently.

Conclusion

Leadership in a complex and interdependent world is relational and contextual. The Future ready leadership

competencies of sensing the environment and managing paradoxes; a mindset of collaboration; agility and

quick prototyping, and examining biases in oneself require alternate methodologies for development. Future

research needs to focus on how these competencies can be developed both in individuals and in collectives.

12 28

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Changing Paradigm of Leadership Development in Human Age

About the Author

Mr Prashant Pandey is the Country Manager for Right Management (India) the

global leader in Talent and Career Management workforce solutions within the

Manpower Group. Prashant is responsible for driving business growth and

delivering talent management solutions that help organizations align their

workforce strategies with business goals, in the India region.

Prashant has a rich and extensive experience of around two decades in Human

Resource Consulting. Throughout his career he has consulted and been a trusted

advisor for leading Corporates, Family Businesses in India and abroad. He has

spearheaded the design and implementation of large scale Talent Management

and Organizational Transformation projects in multiple countries across the globe.

Prashant is recognized for his senior-level consultation in Talent Assessment, Leader

Development and Executive Coaching for C-suite leaders. He has worked across

industries including Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals,

Manufacturing & Engineering, Power, IT / ITES, Telecommunications and FMCG.

Prashant is a CFA and a Masters in Commerce. He is a certified Coach and Master

Trainer for American Management Association. He has a passion for mentoring

talent and regularly delivers talks at various Management Schools.

Mr Prashant Pandey

30

Abstract

The dynamism and interdependencies of market, politics, environment, society, ecology, technology etc.,

impact businesses across the world. Strong leadership is the only factor which can help organizations

have a sustainable growth. However, organizations across globe feel there is a paucity of good leaders and

talent. The war for the right talent has intensified more than ever before. Access to human capital at the right

time, in the right place and position can make a huge difference. The ability of the organization to identify,

nurture, and retain talent makes the whole difference. However, the earlier leadership development programs

may not be relevant today.

The article pin points the Seven Truths which impact any leadership development program, especially in the

Human Age. Most of the leadership development interventions do not yield the expected results because it

does not enable its leader to deal with all the Seven Truths. The success of any leadership development

intervention lies in first, making its leader aware about these truths, second, by making them accept the need to

change and third by empowering them to adopt the changes in their way of working.

Keywords: Talent Management Leaders, Human Age, Sustainable Leadership Development, High Potential,

Manpower Inc.

Today, no business leader can dispute that we are living in, what Jeff Joerres, of Manpower Group called � �The

Human Age�. The factor that differentiates organizations from their peers is their ability to attract, manage and

retain talent.

Changing Paradigm of Leadership Development in Human Age



What is the Human Age?

We are on the cusp of a new reality. The world is experiencing a global readjustment in which powerful forces

over the last few years are converging to create a new reality where business models will have to be redesigned,

value propositions redefined and social systems reinvented. In this new reality, human potential will become

the major agent of economic growth. In the Human Age, people will take their rightful place at center stage as

the world�s only source of inspiration, passion and the driving force behind endeavor and enterprise.

What has caused the Human Age?

The world has experienced a series of tumultuous shifts over the last

decade, and the velocity of change is increasing. Manpower Inc. has

been tracking World of Work megatrends which are changing the face

of the labor market � and business � globally. It is the combined

impact of these changes (Figure 1) and the speed with which they are

transforming the world that has conspired to bring about the dawn of

the Human Age:

� Demographics/Talent Mismatch

The demographics and talent mismatch is the conundrum that both individuals and companies are feeling

right now. As the working age population declines and companies are looking for talent, they�re looking in a

much more specific way, yet individuals are also being more selective when they can. Demographic and

economic shifts are accelerating the talent mismatch. The pressure to find the right skills, in the right place

at the right time, will increase as working age populations decline, economies rebound, emerging markets

rise, and the nature of work shifts.

� Individual Choice

Individual choice is creeping in wherever possible. Individuals are exercising their choice as they realize

they have the power to opt for or against a given job, which in turn is requiring companies to think differently

about how they attract, retain and stay relevant to an ever select group of talented individuals. Individual

choice is eliminating the one-size-fits-all approach, and elevating the need for one-size-fits-one.

Individuals are exercising the power of choice in all situations, choosing for and against opportunities. The

increased specificity of skills that employers are seeking, coupled with the increased confidence in choice

that individuals are exercising, is impacting governments, organizations and individuals worldwide

profoundly.

� Rise of Customer Sophistication

Rising customer sophistication is happening across the board. The transparency and velocity of

information exchange throughout the entire value chain is creating innovation and tension at every level

within that chain. Customers� expectations around price and value is rising, shifting the key competitive

differentiator from a company�s access to capital, to access to talent. Customers have more access to

information, experts and lower cost channels which increases visibility and subsequent pressure on

companies to deliver value. Employers have become more sophisticated in assessing their workforce and

are looking for specific skills that enable their companies to do more with less to meet ever-rising consumer

needs.

� Technological Revolutions

Technological revolutions are at the heart of almost all of this. Having the power to change where, when and

how we work, enabling organizations and individuals to be agile and innovative is happening daily and

we�ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Technological revolutions facilitate new ways of working. Rapidly

changing technology and greater global arbitrage increases individuals� and organizations� choice of

where, when how and with whom work is performed.

Figure 1: Cause of Human Age

12 32

Figure 2: Manpower�s Talent Shortage Survey

Implications for Organizations

According to Manpower�s most recent Talent Shortage Survey (Figure 2) of 35,000 employers across 36

countries, 40% of global employers are struggling to fill jobs they desperately need in order to succeed.

The bottom line is - Talent is emerging as the New �IT�. The pressure to

do more with less has awakened employers to human potential.

Talent - as capital once was - is becoming a scarce resource in the

economic world. A nation or corporation�s means of attracting,

mobilizing and liberating talent will be a key competitive differentiator.

Human potential will be the major agent of economic growth, and how

to unleash then leverage that potential will be the key question

organizations will need to answer.

Implications for Leadership

In this new reality, talent is probably the only differentiator for an organization, and it�s an increasingly scarce

resource, the implications of how leadership responds and behaves is getting impacted. Leaders need to

show-up with a new mindset and skillset in case they need to navigate through the maze of challenges of the

Human Age. Some of the shifts that the leaders will need to make are as under (Table 1):

Table 1: Paradigm Shift in Human Age and Its Implications for Leadership

Yesterday Tomorrow Implications For Leadership

Companies dictate terms

Workers living near (or from) place of work

Talent glut

Job for life

Corporate opacity; secretiveness

Work for an organization

Size matters

Hire for power

Command and control

Employees dictate terms

Workers living (or from) anywhere

Talent Mismatch and Talent Shortage

5 � 10 jobs by age 38

Corporate transparency; openness, human approach

Work with an organization

Agility matters

Hire for passion

Flexible frameworks

Personal engagement not organisational engagement

Remote working, remote management, integrated cultures, emotional agility/adaptability, acceptance

Need to identify talent from within and unleash potential to drive competitive advantage

Career focus not organisation focus

Reimagining the language of �high potential� to ensure is it inclusive, yet-demanding, and sending out the right messages

Individual choice and mass customization of careers

Need for learning agility, cognitive agility, organizational agility to navigate in a modern, global company

Due focus on individual drive, aspiration, purpose

Self-insight and adaptability



The silver lining is that leaders are now quickly awakening to this reality and are becoming increasingly

integrated and truly becoming customers for the Talent Management function in the organization. However,

this has increased the pressure on the Talent Management leaders to deliver. This has led to adding new

dimensions to the science and art of Talent Management. There is a need to revisit both the �What� and �How�

of Talent Management, especially leadership development. The biggest Talent Management challenge in the

Human Age is Predicting, Developing, and Measuring Leadership Effectiveness.

Globally, organizations are sending multiple billions of dollars on developing their leaders. However, are the

huge investments delivering the results? Right Management did a study asking leaders on the effectiveness of

their current leadership development practices. This was part of the annual study done by Right Management

for the past six year during their High Potential week. Right Management also surveyed 400 global business

leaders to get their unique perspectives on the biggest challenges facing their industries, including leadership

pipeline.

The results were worrying to say the least. More than half (51%) of the respondents mentioned that less than

25% of their high-potential employees go on to fill leadership roles in their organization. To top it up, 57% of the

respondents accepted that less than half of them actually are able to deliver on the job. It was hence no surprise

that almost 60% of the respondents expressed that their leadership development initiatives have delivered

limited or no ROI.

This brings us to the moot point. Where lays the challenge? Are we focusing on the right competencies? Are we

approaching development in a structured and logical manner? Are the participating leaders themselves seeing

the relevance, or are the just passive travelers on a journey that does not excite them? Is the design flawed or

the execution?

To find the answer, we first need to zoom out and relook at leadership development in light of the Human Age.

Layer it with some fundamentals of what drives human behavior and change. This will help us articulate some

fundamental truths that are relevant to leadership development.

Seven Truths Impacting Leader Development

Leadership operates within a dynamic business context

The business environment in which a leader operates is very dynamic � best described by the often used

acronym � VUCA (Volatile - Uncertain - Complex - Ambiguous). Every change, be it political, social,

environmental, technological or financial, triggers a chain of events with a varying degree of implications. Any

leadership development intervention needs to appreciate this and prepare to anticipate and deal with this

dynamism. A successful leader is one who anticipates changes in the business environment, interprets the

ramifications of changes and takes the necessary strategic calls to respond to them. The leader's

developmental journey must operate within this dynamic environment, and hence also needs to be dynamic.

Sustainable leadership development is integrated and systemic

A development program that is not integrated -both drawing from and feeding back into- other organizational

systems and processes will not sustain itself. To establish ROI that will excite the business, this interlinkage

needs to be established. For example, how does a leadership development initiative pick data from an

organizational C-SAT process and then feeds back into its CRM will make the development initiative live and

real. This will ensure participation from leadership across levels and functions. An effective development

journey is for the system, and hence needs to live within the existing systems. Sending leaders to executive

leadership development programs in management schools may prove to be a good engagement tool but with

limited effectiveness in terms of development.

12 34

Leadership requires a global mindset

Even if an organization�s business is restricted to one or two geographies, it is important for leaders to

appreciate the changes in the global environment and the impact it has on their business. In an interconnected

world, no business is completely insulated from global events (political / social / environment / economic). The

impact may be direct and immediate; or indirect and latent. Look at how minimum wages in Europe get

impacted due to a famine in the Middle-East

Successful leaders need to be aware of global events and can decode the dependencies and interlinkages to

assess the impact on their business.

Leadership development starts with the current organizational reality

Leaders need to operate in their current context. As they plan to take the organization to the next growth phase,

they need to be aware of the current realities. Appreciation of the prevalent culture, values and inherent

capabilities are strong insights for a leader. A leader development initiative needs to ensure a leader is able to

chew and absorb the current context and reality of the organization. This reality is rarely absolute. It is largely in

relation and relative to the environment (including competitors).

Leadership is interpersonal

A key aspect of the leadership role involves influencing and inspiring large groups. They need to get people

aligned to the vision of the organization, manage conflicts within teams, and help people deal with change. A

leader�s ability to effectively engage with people in one-to-one or one-to-many scenarios will largely affect

his/her effectiveness. However, this should not be confused with a leader�s sociability. A highly social leader

with limited interpersonal sensitivity may not be able to generate the active alignment needed for driving a key

initiative.

Leadership is learned through on-the-job experience, not taught in the abstract

Leadership development is all about a delta in the demonstrated behaviors. The delta can be to demonstrate

more of the desired behaviors, or less of the limiting ones. A good question to ask is how does one get to reflect

on their demonstrated behaviors? Moreover, how does one get to implement the delta one is expected to

make, and make adjustments based on real-time feedback? The answer is straight forward. It needs to happen

on the job. A simulated environment will at best create an opportunity for sensitization, but for sustained

change one needs to move from the abstract to more tangible.

Leaders are developed most effectively in their business environment

In continuation to the above point, we need to appreciate that leaders have real Issues to solve within their

complex business environment. They have real people to deal with. They need to drive real changes. Leaders

need to appreciate how a behavior change is relevant and applicable in their context and environment.

Acceptance and adoption of any change is best when leaders do not hide behind the often unspoken defense

of �my industry is different� and �this is not relevant to me�. The best test of sustainable leadership

development is how a leader applies a newly acquired skill in his / her actual business environment, and

ultimately buys into the change. An effective leadership development program will allow leaders to operate and

implement changes in their real world and as close to their business environment as possible. This allows them

to see how the changes implemented are driving results for them and builds their confidence in adopting the

changes to make them part of their DNA.

In a nutshell, for any leadership development journey to be sustainable, one needs to be cognizant of some

fundamentals about what drives change of behaviors. While designing the initiative, one needs to be asking

themselves a set of questions (what I call �The 3A Questions�), and design the initiative around the answers.



� How does one build Awareness in leaders about the global business environment in which they are

operating; and the impact that various changes (social / political / ecological / economical etc.) have on

their business? How do leaders become more aware of the interdependencies of the above factors and

how to navigate their organization through this rapid and constant change?

� What will make leaders more amiable towards the Acceptance of the changes needed in their approach

towards their business? How does a leader become more aware of the newer competencies that they need

to acquire? How does a leader stop resisting change?

� Post acceptance, ask yourself what drives a sustained behavior change which becomes ones DNA? How

does one drive Adoption of the new way of working? How does one get leaders to experience wins that will

make them to completely buy into the change? How does one make the change systemic?

If one closely ponders over the above question, one will realize that most of the answers lie in the seven

truths. One needs to accept that implementing and executing an effective development initiative is very

different from designing one. And their lies the fun and challenge for the Talent Management leader in an

organization. But speaking from personal experience, more and more organizations are asking for an

initiative that will deliver, and will not shy away from investing in one, provided they are convinced about its

efficacy.

12 36


Mr S V Nathan is Partner and Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte India. He serves on the

Executive Leadership of the firm and is a member of Deloitte's Global Talent

Council.

He has over 30 years of professional experience in Human Resource Management

across businesses such as Manufacturing, Services, Telecom, Information

Technology and Professional Services. He has vast experience in building and

leading high-performance teams in both multinational and Indian organizations,

developing leaders across levels, and serving as a trusted business advisor

focused on transforming Talent as a strategic growth enabler.

Nathan has been serving the Deloitte firms for over 12 years and he has played a

crucial role in architecting the rapid growth and transformation of the US Deloitte

Firms in India into a truly global organization. Nathan led the team that helped build

the U.S. India Region from a humble beginning of 1,000 people to the large firm that

it is today. He also helped establish Deloitte as a key destination for top talent in

India.

He is a Behavioral Specialist in Sensitivity Training, and is acknowledged as one of

the top HR leaders in India. He is a mentor and an advocate of ethical leadership

and invested in developing future leaders. Nathan speaks regularly at several

national and global forums on contemporary HR matters.

Nathan has been conferred several awards including the LinkedIn Power Profile

2017, Digital Thought Leader by SAP and the recognition as a Distinguished

Alumnus of XLRI, a top business school in India is the one he values the most.

Till recently, Nathan served on the Board of the National HR Development Network

(NHRDN) as its National Secretary. He also serves as the Chairperson of

Sumedhas, a not for profit education and research body on Organisation

Development.

He is fond of reading and writing, and enjoys cooking for family and friends. He

blogs regularly on matters pertaining to life in all its many splendored hues and

wonderment.

He graduated in Mathematics and did his post-graduation in Human Resources

from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Mr S V Nathan

The What and How of Leadership Development

About the Author

37


Keywords

Ÿ Leadership Development

Ÿ Leadership Theories and Evolution

Ÿ New Age Skills for Leaders

Ÿ Facilitating Leadership Development

Ÿ Best practices in Leadership Development

Ÿ Great Leaders are made

Abstract

The paper encourages a discussion around the concept of Leadership Development and the goal is to

simplify this concept and propose a framework using which organizations can foster new age skills in their

future leaders. The paper relies on research of published articles by leading online journals to drive this debate.

The first section of the study seeks to explore the evolution of leadership and examines the existing leadership

theories. The second section drives the discussion from history to current context and we examine the

changing talent landscape and the resulting impact on key skills which future leaders need. We identify 8

competencies that every leader should develop to thrive in the future. The study then seeks to propose a simple

framework which can be leveraged upon to impart these skills. The framework has leadership support at its

core and incorporates four elements on setting defined goals, focusing on organizational context, providing on

the job experiences and measurement of impact. We also delve into some leading leadership development

practices and draw parallels to our framework.

Finally, we conclude that organizations need to take greater responsibility in developing the future talent since

great leaders are made.

Introduction

“All of us do not have equal talent. Yet, all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talent” —Ratan Tata

This quote by Ratan Tata perfectly articulates what we should do in areas of learning and development at an

organizational level � provide equal opportunities to develop our talent and leaders.

The value of great leaders in organizations has been documented and researched widely. A leadership study

was conducted by Deloitte to measure the impact of effective leadership by interviewing leading market

analysts across 5 countries, including India. The results showed that, on average, the analysts placed �an

equity premium of up to 15% for organizations with perceived effective leadership and a discount of as low as

19% for organizations that were perceived to have ineffective leadership�. Hence, these results reinforce an old

saying: leaders make and break organizations every day.

Great leaders directly impact the perception of organizations and their bottom line and it is critical to develop

leaders in our organizations. Great leaders are not born, but they are identified, developed and groomed to

become great.

This paper seeks to explore a debate on this topic � developing leaders in our organizations by looking at the

evolution of leadership theories, current context and the evolving expectations of new age leaders, leadership

programs and some leading practices of various organizations.

HR Playbook � A Higher Order Analytical Tool

12 38

Leadership Theories

While leadership has been a topic of interest since the dawn of mankind and can be dated back to as early as

4th century B.C., leadership and management studies were taken up in earnest in the early 20th century.

Back in the day, a philosopher and statesman known as Chanakya wrote the first few principles of

administrative management:

�In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare, his welfare; whatever pleases himself, he

shall not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good.�

As per Chanakya, successful leadership meant thinking about the people around oneself and always working

for the welfare of others.

Another historical figure who has had an impact in the world is Niccolò Machiavelli � the medieval Italian

philosopher. Around 499 years ago, he had defined leadership in his book �The Prince�, a book which is still read

widely by many successful modern businessmen and political leaders.

In a nutshell, he has asserted that a good leader should have the support of the people because it’s difficult

to act without their support. He had defined the concept of followership without calling it out.

In the modern era, leadership studies focused on what have been referred to as �Great Man� and trait theories.

Great man theory of leadership proposes that certain men are born to lead and when crises arise, these men

step up to take their natural place. It assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic. That simply means that

great leaders are born.

Between 1930s � 1940s, the trait theories pushed the boundaries further and included the aspect of developing

leaders. It stated that people are either born or are made with certain qualities that will make them excel in

leadership roles. That is, certain qualities such as intelligence, sense of responsibility, creativity and other

values puts anyone in the shoes of a good leader.

By 1960s, the discussion moved towards the concept of Charismatic leadership. House (1976) published a

theory of charismatic leadership within which he described the personal characteristics of this type of leader as

“being dominant, self-confident and having a strong desire to influence others.”

Differences between leadership styles began to emerge in 1970s and 1980s, with a clear demarcation between

‘Transactional Leadership� and ‘Transformational Leadership’.

Transactional theories, also known as exchange theories of leadership, are characterized by a transaction

made between the leader and the followers � it could be in terms of rewards or negative consequences. This is

the typical carrot and stick form of motivation.

Transformational leadership refers to the process whereby an individual engages with others and creates a

connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the followers. It is the art of

motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal, where the leader is the source of

inspiration. He/she is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and skills that

make others want to follow his/her direction.

One of the most impactful transformational leaders we have seen is Mahatma Gandhi. His followers were

influenced by his drastic method of nonviolent protests and he instilled trust, loyalty, admiration and respect

amongst his followers. He also transformed his followers in a literal sense - changed them in mind and heart,

enlarged vision and clarified purposes to make behavior congruent with his beliefs, principles and values.

The pitfall of some of these theories was a constant emphasis on a larger than life leader. From a business

perspective, this would typically be a CEO of an organization - who single-handedly makes a company

successful.



However, in our companies, over time, we have seen thick layers of middle management, over-managed and

under-led departments, and structures which have not been designed to develop leaders. The hierarchy of

bosses organized into ranks, with each superior exercising authority over subordinates who do exactly what

their boss wants, has long been the dominant form of corporate organization.

But recognizing that they are handicapped by their current systems, many companies are now questioning the

way they manage themselves. They are striving for better effectiveness and flexibility to cope with and

capitalize on the fast-moving, ever-changing competitive conditions they see ahead. In today�s age and time,

we need to focus on developing new competencies to build a pipeline of new age leaders.

But can we really develop our leaders? As reflected in leadership theories, modern research also indicates that

while some skills are inherited, environmental factors play a big role in development of leaders and hence great

leaders are made. The single, most powerful way to grow as a leader is to become self-aware of one�s

strengths, weaknesses and moral compass. It requires deliberate practice consisting of feedback, coaching

and experimentation.

With changing times, and a fast-paced growth, modern day organizations need to provide this framework of

feedback, coaching and experimentation to groom our future leaders.

Current Context and New Age Skills Needed

Organizations are undergoing massive shifts and the business world is changing. These have a direct bearing

on the competencies and behaviors required of our new age leaders.

The coveted leadership qualities of the past - being experienced, decisive, authoritative and focused on

command and control -don't work with the changing world and an increasingly diverse workforce. At the same

time, key qualities required in every leader remains the same � fairness, ability to listen, sensitivity to people

and situations.

What this paper seeks to demystify are the additional critical competencies every leader needs in this age.

Hence, it is important to first understand these shifts:

1. New Generations at the workplace: There is an increase in the number of Gen Y and Gen Z

professionals in our workplaces, especially in India. The country's more than 400 million

Millennials�those born after 1982�already account for a third of India's population and 46% of its

workforce. Data suggest that this demographic group will form 64% of the workforce by 2021.

The new workforce has different expectations from organizations and their leaders than their

predecessors. They want to work in organizations that provide them with career advancement

opportunities and a sense of purpose. Over 80% millennials aspire to become leaders at senior

executive positions. As per a Deloitte report, Millennials in India ranked �opportunities to progress and

take on leadership roles� as their strongest reason (when excluding salary) to work for an organization.

However, as many as 69% of those surveyed believed that their leadership skills were not being

fully developed. This remarkable absence of allegiance represents a serious challenge to any business

employing many Millennials, especially those in markets�like India�where Millennials now represent the

largest segment of the workforce. This presents an opportunity to invest and innovate the way we develop

our future leaders.

New age leaders who manage them will have to manage these expectations. The new generation of

workers demand the following competencies:

� Courage: this ability is the one that will make a leader stand up for what is right and the way to go ahead

regardless of the obstacles foreseen. It also carries in it a certain conviction that goes alongside it.

12 40

41

� Humility: Humble leaders are accessible and initiate dialogue with them. The days of the CEO sitting in a

corner office with the door closed is a thing of the past. Today the more accessible a leader is, the more she

becomes a beacon for her organization�s culture and people, and the more loyal employees will be. A

people-first culture is what the new generation of workers is demanding.

� Regular feedback: Millennials thrive on acknowledgement and affirmation that what they are doing makes

a difference. They require regular feedback to develop their own leadership potential. New age leaders

should get their Millennials involved in projects that foster experiential learning and development.

Organizational Shift

Gen X and Gen Y

Leadership Shift

Humble leadersRegular feedback

2. Hierarchy will be out, agility will be in: A shift away from hierarchical organizational structures toward

models where work is accomplished in teams is taking place.

As organizations make this transition from process based work to project based work, they will find that

smaller teams are a natural way for humans to work. For a company to stay agile, teams must be formed

and disbanded quickly. This ability to move between teams without risk is a critical attribute of today and

tomorrow�s high-performing companies.

The new agile organizations require:

� Decentralized controls and leadership through networks of people at all levels.

� Empowerment of new age leaders across all levels. A successful business should be run by a network of

leaders positioned right through the organization.


Agility in organizations

Leadership Shift

Decentralized leadershipEmpowerment across levels

3. Freelancers and flexibility to be on a rise: In the past five years, the gig economy has become a major

trend impacting the global workforce, and has created a new kind of diversity, with full-time permanent

employees working side-by-side with freelancers.

Organizations will not be reliant on permanent staff to the same extent as they used to be, as work can be

contracted to an individual operating on the other side of the world. Therefore, the new norm might be for

organizations to have a small in-house staff, completed with virtual networks of freelancers and other

contractors.

Additionally, India has an interesting mix of millennials, baby boomers � for whom 80 is the new 60 for

retirement and women returning to the workforce. One common factor that links them is flexibility. For

millennials, flexibility and well-being are as important as financial rewards.



With many professionals working remotely, the following new skills will be required of our leaders:

� Ability to manage without borders.

� Shift in mindset, both in terms of communication and expectation setting. �They�re at their desk� is not a

valid measurement of productivity anymore, especially when employees don�t share an office space.

Instead, expectations need to focus on goals and outcomes, and workers need to be equipped with a suite

of tools that make communication and collaboration simple, whatever the distance.

4. Technology will continue to cause disruptions: After waves of automation�the Industrial Revolution,

mechanization, computerization, we are now moving toward the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We have seen remarkable advances in technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and

machine learning. Automation now has the potential to change the daily work activities of everyone, from

miners to CEOs. The impact of such advances will be multi-fold, ranging from increased output to higher

quality and improved reliability, as well as the potential to perform some tasks at superhuman levels.

In a future that incorporates more artificial intelligence in the workplace, leaders will need to be

• Emotionally intelligent: Traits that cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence anytime soon will need t o

be focused on. These include skills in accountability, transparency, fairness, honesty, and an ability to

design systems and processes for humans.

• Leaders in digital space: While the leaders of the future won't necessarily need to be the ones writing a

code, experts suggest that they will at least be required to demonstrate a robust understanding of the

capabilities, applications, and future potential of emerging technologies. All new leaders will need to be

digitally proficient.

New generations entering the workforce pose major challenges for those in leadership positions holding on

to outdated management styles and hierarchical position thinking. The impact of an open talent economy,

the power of social networks, and increased access to knowledge and information have freed many

employees from autocratic management styles, leading to a new social dynamic between leaders and

followers.

What the digital age has facilitated is the notion of openness, dialogue and flexibility � something which is

expected of leaders as well.

Therefore, the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum model of leadership theory will be the new norm. The

model explores the relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a team, and

the level of authority used by the manager.

With time, as the team's freedom increases, the leader�s authority will decrease. This is a positive way for

both teams and managers to develop.


Flexibility

Leadership Shift

Managing across bordersFocus on goals and outcomes


Automation and technology

Leadership Shift

Emotional intelligenceDigital leadership

12 42

Facilitating Leadership Development

Developing leaders in the new world is a critical need for any organization to flourish. For years organizations

have lavished time and money on improving the capabilities of managers and on nurturing new leaders. As per a

Deloitte report, US companies in 2015 spent almost $13 billion on leadership development.

While leadership programs help ease the chain of succession, make employees feel more connected to the

business, and can transfer good ideas from one section of a company to the whole organization, surprisingly,

many organizations fail to develop leaders since the programs fail to address the Issue of helping leaders to learn

and they do not deliver measurable impact and results. Research has indicated that just having someone do a

keynote presentation on leadership at a training program is not sufficient to create an army of leaders who can

effectively develop, communicate and execute a powerful vision.

The problem is that with even well-trained and motivated employees, they are unable to apply their new

knowledge and skills when they return to their jobs, which are entrenched in established ways of doing

things.

For example, the goal of a training program may be to help new leaders empower their team members. However,

if the existing basic processes require approval from a senior leader at every stage, then the goal of

empowerment will not be met. In short, the individuals have less power to change the system surrounding them.

Thus, best-in-class leadership development programs need C-level support to change the systems.

In addition to leadership support, a successful leadership development program should incorporate the

following elements:

1. A definitive goal: In the earliest stages of planning a leadership initiative,

organizations should ask themselves a simple question � what is the goal of

the leadership development program?

For example, if the answer is to support digital innovation in an organization,

the company will probably need leaders brimming with ideas and those with

a track record of developing new technologies. Solely relying on past

performance indicators rather than demonstrated behaviors may lead to the

incorrect selection of candidates for the program.

2. Focus on the context: Context is a critical component of successful leadership program.

A brilliant leader in one situation does not necessarily perform well in another.

Too many training initiatives rest on the assumption that one size fits all and that the same group of skills or

style of leadership is appropriate regardless of strategy, organizational culture, or CEO mandate.

Focusing on context inevitably means equipping leaders with a small number of competencies that will

make a significant difference to performance. Instead, what we often find is a long list of leadership

standards, a complex web of competencies, and corporate-value statements embedded in programs.

3. On the job experiences: When it comes to planning the program�s curriculum, companies face a delicate

balancing act.

On the one hand, there is value in off-site programs that offer participants with time to reflect. On the other

hand, even after very basic training sessions, adults typically retain just 10 percent of what they hear

in classroom lectures, versus nearly two-thirds when they learn by doing.

Hence, it is essential to tie leadership development to real on-the-job projects that have a business impact

and improve learning. This is the ideal environment, where the learning and the work are seamless.

For example, new age leaders can be taught to manage talent across borders by giving them global projects

to lead teams remotely rather than delivering a classroom style session on managing talent across

geographies.



4. Ability to measure program effectiveness: When businesses fail to track and measure changes in

leadership performance over time, they increase the odds that improvement initiatives won�t be taken

seriously.

Mere collection of participant feedback does not help. There are numerous approaches to track the success

of leadership development programs:

a. Conducting a 360 degree�feedback exercise at the beginning of a program, followed by another one

after 6 to 12 months to track behavioral change.

b. Monitor participants� career development after the training: Looking into aspects of how many

participants were appointed to more senior roles one to two years after the program ended.

c. Monitor the business impact, especially when training is tied to breakthrough projects.

Thus, the best leadership programs incorporate the following elements:

Thus, best-practice organizations develop an integrated system of leadership development that includes a

specific leadership strategy, detailed pre- and post-program assessments to measure effectiveness, and

blended learning programs with stretch assignments, intensive coaching, and continuous opportunities for

leadership development.

Best practices in Leadership Development

Organizations in India are investing in developing the leadership potential in talent across all levels and stages of

career, especially in the young talent. Some of the leading practices from the Indian industry are:

1. Deloitte: In India, Deloitte has initiated a long-term journey milestone program, for its top performing senior

professionals. It incorporates various blended learning formats like workshops, online certifications and

one on one coaching by senior leaders over a span of 8 months.

2. Hindustan Unilever: HUL sends young managers to live in Indian villages so that they can understand the

needs of rural consumers � a leading example of integrating on the job experiences with learning.

3. IBM: IBM in India has set up a reverse mentoring program that allows a team of hand-picked young people

to be part of a shadow board. A similar work-related situation is given to both the young employees and the

senior leaders to analyze how differently they deal with it. This brings a better understanding between the

top leaders and the young employees and aids in their development.

4. Infosys: Infosys managers are assessed based on how many of their groups� recent hires achieve an �A�

grade on tests of their new knowledge, how many achieve various competency certifications, and how

many lateral hires are rated as �good� in their first review. In addition, senior managers are evaluated on their

employees� job satisfaction and the percentage of leadership positions that have an identified internal

successor. This helps in bringing about more accountability within the leadership team as well.

12 44

5. InMobi: Keeping in mind the flexibility which is required by the millennials, InMobi introduced the concept of

a �learning wallet�. The wallet of each employee is pre-loaded with Rs. 50,000 every year and can be used

for professional training of their choice, like taking tutorials in coding and attending technology

conferences.

6. Mindtree: Mindtree�s co-founder Subroto Bagchi, whose title is vice chairman and gardener, spends much

of his time coaching the company�s top 100 leaders.

7. PepsiCo: PepsiCo has an international leadership development program called �PepsiCorps�, which was

launched in India as well. It is a one-month, on-the-ground program that leverages an employee�s business

skills to make a positive impact on the world. It provides employees with an international business

experience that encapsulates PepsiCo�s �Performance with Purpose� agenda. Being part of a cross-cultural

and cross-functional PepsiCo team, these employees come away from the program with enhanced

leadership skills and on-the-ground insights into societal challenges across the world. This is an excellent

way to mesh leadership development opportunities with providing a purpose to professionals.

8. Wipro: In Wipro�s program, each of roughly 1,000 managers and executives is scored on 12 leadership

measures, and individual scores are compared with company averages. The top 300 leaders are reviewed

by Wipro�s chairman, Azim Premji, in a process that extends over five days. Following those reviews, the

company draws up a development plan for each candidate that includes coaching, training, and rotational

assignments. The process creates a pool of candidates to fill anticipated vacancies.


Organizational Shifts will require Leaders to adapt Leadership Development Program framework

Gen X and Gen Y

Agility in organizations

Flexibility

Automation and

technology

Humble leaders

Regular feedback

Decentralized leadership

Empowerment across levels

Managing across borders

Focus on goals and outcomes

Emotional intelligence

Digital leadership

Conclusion

As organizations grow flatter and more diverse, and as the global operating environment becomes increasingly

more complex, there is a stronger demand for people who can lead at all levels of a company.

This paper proposes that given the changing landscape in the business world, the key attributes which leaders

need to develop are humility, providing regular feedback and coaching to the new generation of workers along

with empowering their teams, managing teams across borders and being digitally proficient with a strong base of

emotional intelligence.

While the traditional leadership development programs help develop some of these attributes, a deeper focus is

required on the way we develop our leaders. Besides leadership support, every development program should

incorporate elements on program goals, business context, provide the participants with on the job experiences,

and finally develop a way to measure the effectiveness of the program.

NHRD Network Journal October 2017 | 12 46

Leading companies recognize that developing leaders is the joint responsibility of the people and the

organizations. From an era of expecting leaders to take responsibility for their own learning, the best companies

now recognize they must be proactive and long-term in their approach to building skills their leaders will need in a

global, interconnected environment. I have a strong conviction that when people say, �either you have it or you

don�t�, I respond by saying �When someone does not have it, can we make it a priority to build leadership skills in

them?�.

Thus, referring to the quote on development of talent by Ratan Tata, an organization must take a proactive and

long-term approach to developing a future pipeline of leaders who in turn can grow others in an organization to

succeed because “Great leaders are not born, but they are made”.

References:

1. http://blog.bersin.com/a-look-ahead-at-leadership-2016-2017-redefining-leadership/

2. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/about-deloitte/predictions-for-2017-

final.pdf

3. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/dttl-hc-

leadershippremium-8092013.pdf

4. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/human-capital/us-cons-culturepath-

culture-or-leader.pdf

5. https://www2.deloitte.com/in/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennial-survey-2016.html

6. https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/focus/behavioral-economics/gaming-away-leadership-gap-

developing-leaders.html

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leaders-leadership.html

8. https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/future-workforce-changing-

nature-of-work.html

9. https://www.fastcompany.com/40420957/five-skills-youll-need-to-lead-the-company-of-the-future

10. http://www.financialexpress.com/jobs/adapting-to-the-millennial-workforce/142305/

11. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2017/03/27/the-future-of-leadership-and-management-in-

the-21st-century-organization/#404c23b8218f

12. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2016/11/01/workplace-trends-2017/#2da8e16556bd

13. https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/11/21/are-leaders-born-or-made/#2c324bfb48d5

14. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2015/06/04/why-leadership-programs-fail-its-not-what-you-

think/

15. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wesgay/2016/09/29/how-these-millennial-executives-say-to-effectively-

lead-their-generation/#6089363204d8

16. http://www.georgeambler.com/leaders-are-not-born-theyre-made-leadership-develops/

17. https://hbr.org/2010/02/leadership-development-secrets

18. https://hbr.org/2010/03/leadership-lessons-from-india

19. https://hbr.org/2013/07/why-so-many-leadership-program

20. https://hbr.org/2016/09/what-science-tells-us-about-leadership-potential

21. https://hbr.org/2016/10/why-leadership-training-fails-and-what-to-do-about-it


22. http://www.harvardbusiness.org/only-7-organizations-believe-their-leadership-development-programs-

are-best-class-according-harvard

23. http://www.haygroup.com/bestcompaniesforleadership/downloads/Best_Companies_for_Leadership_

2014_Executive_summary.pdf

24. http://www.haygroup.com/en/our-consulting/develop-your-people/for-leaders/

25. https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/07/how-to-create-a-leadership-development-program.html

26. https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/managing-millenials-how-to-lead-connect-and-engage-millenial-

employees.html

27. https://www.inc.com/laura-garnett/if-you-are-these-5-things-you-are-destined-to-be-a-leader-of-the-

future.html

28. https://www.inc.com/laura-garnett/what-gen-z-is-thinking-about-today.html

29. https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/how-to-develop-leaders-in-house.html

30. http://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-can-you-learn-machiavelli

31. http://joshbersin.com/2011/02/todays-new-models-for-leadership-development/

32. http://www.leadership-central.com/leadership-theories.html

33. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-five-leadership-lessons-from-chanakyas-sarbojit-mishra

34. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-millennial-indians-matter-michael-spencer

35. http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ZxgufEOH9saYXk5RsmuhIP/The-rise-of-the-millennials.html

36. http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/leadership/developing-leaders-in-a-business

37. http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/leadership/why-leadership-development-programs-fail

38.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/companies/1111/gallery.top_companies_leaders.fortune/7.ht

ml

39. https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/India-millennials-growth-sectors

40. https://www.saybrook.edu/blog/2012/06/29/humanizing-machiavelli-and-his-concept-good-leader/

41. https://talentculture.com/the-future-of-work-how-the-workplace-is-changing-in-2017/

42. https://talentculture.com/the-future-of-work-is-here-are-your-managers-prepared/

43. https://toughnickel.com/business/The-History-of-Leadership-Studies-and-Evolution-of-Leadership-

Theories

44. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/leadership/tranformational-leadership-and-mahatma-ghandi-

leadership-essay.php


Leadership Beyond Competencies -What Really Defines Top Leadership Outcomes

Mr Bimal Rath is the founder and Managing Director of Think Talent Services, a

boutique firm specializing in leadership development, talent management and

culture change, operating since 2010. He is the Chairman of Braahmam Net

Solutions, an e-learning and localization company.

Prior to his consulting career, Bimal had over two decades of experience across

different industries, across geographies including the USA, Middle east, Africa

and APAC. His last corporate position was as HR Director for Nokia-Asia Pacific,

supporting the massive growth for the company. He had previously held senior

positions in Eicher, British Telecom and Tata Sons. His credentials lie in an

extremely business focused solutioning and providing insights and methods

which are both business and people friendly.

Bimal�s experience has been across different areas in HR including building and

maturing management teams, M&A integration, HR system and process

implementation, large scale change interventions, and setting up high performing

factories and R&D centers. He has been part of several projects across his

assignments dealing with corporate strategy, growth decisions and management

partner choices. He currently consults and coaches across industries as wide as

High Technology, Chemicals, Banking and Engineering. He is also associated with

Center for Creative Leadership, USA as a executive coach and with Duke

Corporate Education as an educator. He sits on the boards of several small to mid-

size young entrepreneurial companies.

Mr Bimal Rath

About the Author

48

Leadership Beyond Competencies -What Really Defines Top Leadership Outcomes

Key Words: Leadership, Behavioral Competencies, Leadership Development.

Companies have been using competency models over many years now, using it as the basis for selection,

managing performance, and leader development. Talking to over 3000 managers in different contexts,

industries and market situations�four elements have emerged�which could potentially explain why

successful leaders are what they are, taken in conjunction. It may also explain their effectiveness and their

impact on others around them. These four factors are how others seem to feel their impact and results.

Judgment: the ability to use past information and decisions/outcomes, advise and have the courage to make

and action decisions in a new and unfamiliar territory.

Balance: The ability to balance seemingly opposite forces, priorities, demands and creates meaning for all

stakeholders in that context. The other aspect of balance is around personal balance, the ability to manage

one�s inner world of values, interests and motivations with the outer world.

Resilience: The ability to come out of setbacks, reflect on past successes and failures and use the learning to

ones advantage without losing purpose.

Trust: the ability to trust oneself and others to make sound decisions and take action based on time, cost,

quantity and quality parameters. Generating trust among stakeholders about oneself, as an outcome of the

above.

Conversations show that these four elements may be made up of smaller portions of many behavioral

competencies, but defy definition in pure behavioral indicator terms. You can feel them very strongly though,

when you experience them. We can almost �see� leadership ability quite early by observing the above elements

in leaders.



ompetency frameworks provide a structured guide enabling the identification, evaluation and Cdevelopment of behaviors in individual employees and managers. Companies have been using

competency models over many years now, as the basis for selection, for managing performance, and leader

development. While it has given results, companies still lament the lack of a leadership pipeline and true

leadership talent. In fact, around the world, there is a general clamor regarding the lack of leaders, almost in all

fields.

Competencies applied as a basis towards various people development processes are expected to help build

leaders for an organization. The link between usage of competency frameworks and leader development is

tenuous at best. In contrast HR and line managers can see clearer links between (use of) competency

frameworks to performance management, training efforts or managerial skills development.

Over the years, working with practicing managers, organizational leaders and hi-potential employees across

organizations, three realities emerged.

a) While competency frameworks may provide a minimum standard of selection, performance management

and development in people, it does not encourage excellence�at best it is a lowest common denominator

to benchmark top talent, perhaps all talent.

b) The intangibles of leadership are really the more important aspects�almost like the space between the

spokes in the Zen story, where the spokes themselves do not make the difference, the balance in a wheel is

created by the space between the spokes. These aspects are felt but are difficult to measure in isolation,

which is often what competency based systems tend to do.

c) A good leader relies as much on experience (which is largely the basis of developing personal compasses

for decision making and action) as on prescience�the ability to �see� beyond the curve. This is what makes

great leaders and it is almost difficult to define the set of abilities which allow this phenomenon.

Competency frameworks rarely enumerate or measure aspects related to this.

Over the last ten years, talking to over 3000 managers* in different contexts, industries and market

situations�four elements have emerged, and taken in conjunction, could potentially explain why successful

leaders are what they are. Each of these factors has an interplay with others and with purpose and values, as

explained later in this note.

While these factors may be (arguably) built on a bed of competencies, they have been defined here in a way

which focus on others �experiencing the leader in action�.

Judgment: the ability to use past information and outcomes, advise from others and have the courage to make

and act decisions in a new and unfamiliar territory, using intuition as much as past references.

This is expressed by others as �s/he consistently applies good judgment� or �s/he seems to make the right calls

more often than not�.

Balance: The ability to balance seemingly opposite forces, priorities, demands and create meaning for all

stakeholders in that context.

This is often expressed by others as �he has taken all factors into consideration� or �all constituents will gain

from this decision�. Very often, this factor in leaders is also expressed as being fair, equitable and/or managing

contradictory interests better than most.

The other aspect of balance is around personal balance, the ability to manage one�s inner world of values,

interests and motivations with the outer world.

Resilience: The ability to come out of setbacks, reflect on past successes and failures and use the learning to

one�s advantage without losing purpose.

This not expressed as often in words but clearly felt by others as a� long standing leader�, �is successful in a

variety of situations�, �bounces back�, and is seen as �is really able to play more innings than one�.

12 50

51

Trust: the ability to trust oneself and others to make sound decisions and act based on time, cost, quantity and

quality parameters. Generating trust among stakeholders about oneself, as an outcome of the above.

This is best assessed by a creed of followers, and being able to make some unpopular decisions or to drive

tough change agendas, still taking people along. This is one factor where the impact is very clearly felt and seen

more than talked about.

The link to competencies

Clearly, the above four factors cannot be made to fit into the dictionary of classical competencies. However,

there are many competencies which be like these, or at-least adjacent. Conversations show that these four

elements may be made up of smaller portions of many behavioral competencies, but defy definition. You can

feel them very strongly though, when you experience them. We can almost �see� leadership ability quite early;

even though we may not be able to point out exactly how we have come to that conclusion. The current

experience and the trend of conversations show that these four elements are what we experience, based on

which we make that call of �good leadership�.

In working with organisations and in the conversation with leaders and managers, one other central element

emerged. This appears to be the fulcrum around which these four factors interplay and interact in the real

world. That fulcrum is the purpose fulcrum. Leaders apply the factors of judgment, trust, balance and

resilience while living up to a purpose. Each leader�s purpose may be different based on their values but the four

factors together help work towards achieving that purpose and the play of the factors is consistently around

that.

Interestingly when asked about how �purpose� would be defined as a competency, there were often answers

that went back to the four factors e.g. she has great resilience in driving her agenda. Also, answers around

purpose were expressed as a mix of many traditional competencies, e.g., achievement orientation, strategic

thinking and drive for results.

Examples that speak

Judgment: A Harvard Business Review article notes �When a leader makes a good judgement, nothing else

matters�. Most of the revolutionary decisions made by leaders have some sort of judgement in them. For

Example-Samsung�s decision to launch a sabbatical program that sends top talent all around the world,

continues to be the secret behind Samsung�s success as a global brand. They probably wanted to build an

organization which places more importance on learning by exploration which defines innovation in their

products.

Balance: The case of the Tata group and actions taken with respect to Tata Finance and people involved is well

documented. At a significant cost the Tata group chose to make good the money owed to investors in Tata

Finance at the time. For more details, the case study Grime and Salvation** is worth a read. While, this is a great

example of building trust, it also exemplifies the personal balance of the leaders, lending courage to take action

relevant to various stakeholders and players in this corporate saga.

The whole area of work in mindfulness, now the new buzzword, has been practiced as a road to personal

balance by leaders always. As Socrates said, �I call myself a Peaceful warrior, because the battles we fight are

on the inside�.

Resilience: Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, shares insights on resilience and facing adversity (in her

book), and how she came out from her personal loss and grief. This insight helped her not only in coming out of

the adversity, but also building a culture around the organization which places an emphasis on training people,

on building resilience and providing employees a comfortable environment where they can feel valued and

steer out of difficult times.

Trust: In a well-known corporate story, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey forfeited $46,000 of a larger bonus

when he realized that his total compensation violated the company�s policy that a CEO cannot make more than



Behaviors impacting perceived leadership outcomes

Ÿ Importance of team members vs.

customers

Ÿ Not feeling let down by team

members

Ÿ Values in line with organizational

goals

Ÿ Rapport building with team and

encouraging team spirit

Ÿ Sensitivity towards team members

Ÿ Importance of leisure and

encouraging creativity in team

members

Ÿ Motivated and loyal team members

Ÿ Full utilization of organizational

resources

Ÿ Dismissal of personal attacks

Ÿ Confidence in a senior�s judgment

Ÿ Association with like-minded

individuals

Ÿ Absence of negative emotion at

work

Ÿ Judging values of new employees

Ÿ Motivation and determination

Ÿ Ability to deal with stress

Ÿ Flexibility while making decisions

Ÿ Thinking a lot before taking

decisions

Ÿ Anxiety in the workplace

Ÿ Control over destiny

Ÿ Making time for family and leisure

Ÿ Inflexibility in thought and action

Ÿ Flexibility and determination to

overcome challenges

Ÿ Self-confidence

Ÿ Collective decision-making

Ÿ Sensitivity to stress

JU

DG

EM

EN

T

JU

DG

EM

EN

T

RESILIENCE

TRUST

14 times the average employee�s salary. Mackey�s action reinforced employees� belief that he served the best

interests of the company, not just his own. Degree of trust is an important parameter by employees/follower in

making a perception about both qualities in a leader and style of leadership. In the year 2002, the University of

Chicago surveyed 800 Americans and discovered more than four out of five had �only some� or �hardly any�

confidence in the people running major corporations.

Overall, the interplay between the four factors identified and the context of the individual leader needs

consideration. Trust, Judgment, Balance and Resilience are impacting an outcome or decision. In simplistic

terms, these come to play when choices are to be made. In many decision-making models, wisdom has been

quoted as the highest level of understanding. Leaders who exhibit behaviors associated with all four factors

somewhat consistently could be closest to this definition of �wise�.

The behaviors identified the four factors and the interplay between the four are given below:

Ÿ Decisions driven by intuition

Ÿ Reflective thinking to improve

oneself

Ÿ Importance of timely and good

decisions

Ÿ Commitment on the job

Ÿ Organized and systematic style of

working

Ÿ Fairness and absence of hasty

judgements

Ÿ Timely and well executed decisions

Ÿ Basing decisions on experience

52

53

The behaviors above are associated with more than one of the factors, as is evident in the diagram. For

analysis, these behaviors were linked to two of the four factors where respondents expressed strongest links.

However, some of these may well be seen having link to other two factors apart from the two evident in the

intersections in the diagram. Example, timely and well executed decisions is seen by most as closely linked to

judgment and resilience links to trust and balance.

More considerations for practitioners

As the study continues there are additional underlying findings which are emerging.

Trust, Judgment, Balance and Resilience seem to be highly valued as leadership behavior outcomes. The

absence of these are detrimental to good leadership. Humility (linked to Trust and Resilience) also seemed to

come across strongly as a fifth element.

Ÿ There are several underlying behaviors linked to these outcomes-some with more impact than others (33

specific behaviors have been identified and quoted consistently by respondents). These underlying

behaviors (Refer table above) impact more than one of the four overall outcomes as perceived by others. All

the behaviors impact two dimensions at least among trust, balance, judgment and resilience.

Ÿ There is also an interplay between these four (judgment, trust, balance and resilience) and while they can be

�experienced� in isolation of each other, the overall impact of leadership is felt when all the four are present

(as seen by demonstration of the many underlying behaviors of the leader).

Ÿ There is a rub off from one leadership outcome to the other, e.g., resilient leadership may also be perceived

as trustworthy. However, there are no clearly established causal outcomes at the behavioral level- i.e., more

display of behaviors which denote �balance� will lead to increased display of behaviors linked to �resilience�.

Ÿ In focus groups, one finding was: Clearly, some behaviors are valued more by senior managers (in

themselves and by implication in other leaders). There is a clear contextual link here as well. For example,

some behaviors are more valued in some contexts, say resilience in time of a downturn or apparent failure.

Ÿ This potentially implies that leaders with increased display of the higher valued behaviors are more

acceptable and likely to be more successful, or seen to be more successful. The higher ranked behaviors

are also potentially behaviors others would emulate or follow in their leadership journey.

So, what do we focus on for Leader Development?

Managers experience and explain leadership effectiveness in terms of Judgment, Balance, Resilience, Trust,

and additionally humility and purpose. When questioned deeper, they are basing these evaluations of leaders

on specific behaviors exemplifying these factors, therefore the identified 33 behaviors.

� There is a strong correlation of the 33 behaviors to the four primary outcomes seen as critical to good

leadership - Trust, Judgment, Balance and Resilience. Leaders will be experienced through the display of

behaviors and consequently judged to have �more balance� or �more resilience�. In that context, measuring

specific behaviors is a good way to check leadership, as against a generic competency with a mix of

several behaviors.

� All the behaviors have a correlation to more than one leadership outcome, but a stronger correlation to

some. For example, a specific behavior may have a stronger linkage to a leader perceived as having �Good

Judgment�, but the same behavior would also have an impact on other outcomes, namely balance, trust

and resilience.

� It is not clearly established whether all the behaviors impact all the four leadership outcomes. However,

some evidence indicates an interplay of multiple behaviors will go into establishing any one leadership

outcome. i.e., no single behavior out of the 33 can by itself be said to directly depict either of trust, balance,

judgment or resilience. One interpretation of this is also that leaders may need to display and master

multiple behaviors to be seen as (for example) trustworthy.



� There may be other leadership behaviors on display as well by leaders, but these 33 identified through the

study appeared to be covering the vast majority of those that �mattered�.

� While the ranking of behaviors is not presented in this paper, clearly there are less and more valued

behaviors in different contexts. Behaviors that were ranked higher are more critically examined in leaders.

i.e., in the absence of behaviors that are more highly ranked, a leader may be seen as relatively more

ineffective. Absence of some of the lower ranked behaviors may be more acceptable.

� A majority of the sample Indian, and as such no cross cultural data is available for comparison. However, in

conversation with experts, it appears that some behaviors were perceived to have higher correlation to

cultures. i.e., rankings could go significantly higher or lower based on the local culture.

In Conclusion

There are already studies and even instruments to measure the four factors. Trust (Steven Covey), Resilience

(See Rosabeth Moss Kanter�s �Resilience is the new skill�), Judgment (see the Hogan Judgment test and

related research) and Balance (check out all the research on mindfulness and decision making). The current

ongoing study is more focused on the interplay between these and purpose. It is increasingly clear that

examining and developing these in leaders, all of them together, may be a more improved path to leader

development.

*the study has been ongoing and the author has been conducting enquiries for the last 9 years. It is still

ongoing.

* www.tata.co.in/pdf/COH_2009/coh_investor_relations_grime_salvation.pdf

Select References

Ryan.J(2009), �The Three Fundamentals of Leadership�, Forbes

Mangurian.G(2007)),�Realizing What You�re Made Of�, Harvard Business Review

Sandberg.S, Grant. A (2017), �Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy�, Published by

WH Allen

Margolis.J and Stoltz.P(2010), �How to Bounce back from Adversity�, Harvard Business Review

12 54


Dr Meena S Wilson is the Founding Executive Director, Genpact Center for

Women�s Leadership (GCWL), a first-of-its-kind corporate-academia partnership

between Genpact and Ashoka University. A versatile 25-year veteran of the

leadership development industry, she is also author of Developing Tomorrows�

Leaders Today: Insights from Corporate India (Wiley, 2010) and numerous book

chapters and articles.

At GCWL, her responsibilities included promoting women�s leadership and gender

equity in India through original research and seminal leadership programs for

corporates, the social sector and university students. At the Center for Creative

Leadership (CCL®), she worked in the U.S., Singapore and India, directing

strategic start-ups � such as opening CCL�s first Asia-Pacific campus in

Singapore; launching the Asia Pacific unit for research, innovation and product

development (RIPD); and designing the Asian Women�s Initiatives and Network

(AWIN) and The Woman Leader® (tWL®) program.

Meena is the primary developer of the Experience Explorer� card deck � an easy-

to-use tool that applies decades of research on the 70-20-10 framework to make

talent development rapid, systematic and intentional. She delivers popular

conference keynotes and workshops on fortifying talent pipelines and developing

leadership in organizations, with a special focus on the needs of professional

women.

Meena holds a Ph.D. in adult and organizational development from the University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.S. degree from Syracuse University in

television-radio journalism, and a B.A. from Mills College in Oakland, CA.

Dr Meena S Wilson

Elevating Women�s Leadership in India: Issues and Insights

About the Author

55

Dr Cathleen Clerkin, PhD, is a senior faculty member in Global Research and

Evaluation at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®). Cathleen is a thought

leader in the field of leadership development, and a popular public speaker. Her

current role at CCL includes designing and executing new research studies and

facilitating leadership development workshops. Her research interests include

women�s leadership, social identity and diversity, creativity and innovation, and

applying neuroscience, mindfulness, and well-being in the workplace. Cathleen

has won multiple awards and honors for her research, including recognition from

the National Science Foundation, the American Association of University Women,

and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Cathleen holds a BA

in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MS and PhD

degrees in psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dr Cathleen Clerkin


Abstract

This article outlines the status of women in India and proposes that gender balanced decision-making can

improve problem-solving, innovation, employee engagement, employee well-being, and the financial

performance of organizations. Research and anecdotal evidence is combined to explain how traditional socio-

cultural norms and practices in India stall professional women�s careers. The constructs of collectivism and tight

cultures, and the Five M�s that afflict their careers, are used to illustrate how women�s professional advancement

gets suspended. The authors advocate that organizations help female employees to power-up their leadership

talent by using three tactics. These are to: craft leadership purpose and identity; forge relationships with allies;

and design career opportunities intentionally. Next practices � that is, well-considered and systematic

organizational interventions � must be fashioned in partnership with Indian businesses. We contend that this will

enliven the quality of organizational leadership and take economic and human productivity to visionary altitudes.Key Words: Women�s Leadership; Leadership Development; Women�s Careers.

In countries where benchmarking studies have been conducted, research on trends on women�s advancement

show slow or stagnant rates of progress. For more than a decade, the percentages of women reaching senior,

top, and director-level positions is frozen at under 24% on average (Catalyst, 2014; Grant Thornton International

Business Report, 2016; KPMG, YSC, & 30% Club, 2016). Against this backdrop, the backward situation of

women in India is intense.

India�s Landscape for Women�s Advancement

The World Economic Forum�s annual benchmarking report measures gender parity in four areas: educational

attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment. Sadly, India ranks a dismal 87

out of 144 countries on the indicators above. India. ranks in the Top 10 countries for political empowerment, but a

disgraceful 113 on educational attainment, 136 on economic opportunity and 142 on health and survival. This

index measures the gap between opportunities available to men vs. women: it is not related to a country�s

economic development level. For example, Rwanda, Philippines and Nicaragua are all developing economies

but rank 5, 7, and 10 respectively and are thus among the Top Ten on the Global Gender Gap index.

The World Bank�s 2017 statistics indicate that India�s female LFPR (Labor

Force Participation Rates) rates are among the lowest in the world; only a few countries such as Afghanistan,

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia rank lower. Less than one-third of working age women are in the workforce.

Surprisingly, while the Indian economy is booming, women�s LFPR has declined 10 percentage points over the

last decade.

India ranks last in Asia after - China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore in representation of women at

different levels, across multinational organizations, according to Community Business (2014), a leading non-

profit thought leader on Diversity and Inclusion in Asia. Professional Indian women give up on their careers,

sooner than their counterparts in Asian countries; almost half (48%) of employed women under 30 years old drop

out due to maternity and childcare.

This is not good news. The glacial speed of women�s advancement is frustrating for two reasons, one idealistic

and the other pragmatic. Idealistically, these numbers tell us that Indian women face unacceptable levels of

social and economic inequality. Pragmatically, social science suggests that the failure to develop and utilize

women�s leadership capabilities will ultimately weaken India�s political, legal, economic and social institutions.

Elevating Women�s Leadership in India: Issues and Insights

12 56

The Pragmatic Case for Achieving Gender Balance

There is anecdotal evidence that women and men frequently approach problem-resolution differently. For

example, male mullahs often sanction triple talaq due to stilted social norms; but female qazis consider marital

Issues more realistically and deeply, thus restoring fairness in family relationships (Times of India, August 2017).

In a very different example, consultants from a U.S. firm were brought in to evaluate a merger. While the men on

the team analyzed the profit-loss statements and Annual Report, the sole (early-career) woman on the team

observed that the Presidents of both companies appeared caustic with each other. At the time, she was

reprimanded by her team leader for not focusing on useful details. But a few years later, the merger failed due to a

falling-out between the two Presidents (Helgesen, 2017).

Scientific evidence supports these observations. Page Scott, a U.S. Professor of Political Science, and

Economics, research indicates diverse teams are better problem solvers than like-minded experts. Established

experts are more likely to approach problems in similar ways, but diversity of thought leads to novel insights and

solutions.

According to research studies, women on work-teams improve the financial (Joy et. al., 2007) and psychological

well-being (Fitch & Agrawal, 2015) of the group. For instance, a 2014 Gallup Study (Badal, 2014) found that

among over 800 business units in two different industries, gender diverse groups had better financial outcomes

compared to groups dominated by one gender. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership, found that people

who worked in organizations with a higher percentage of women felt more job satisfaction and organizational

dedication and less work-related burnout (Clerkin, 2017).

These findings suggest that by balancing female and male points of view, we increase our collective capability to

overcome challenges faced in every sphere of human activity. The end-goal is not to supplant a masculine

approach with a feminine one. Rather, the practice of accessing multiple points of view opens a wider range of

options. Families, teams, organizations and policy-makers are likely to make decisions that are prudent and

powerful.

We live in a global village where technological achievements are accelerating material progress; but human

connections continue to be fragile and fraught with conflict and obstruct human progress. We argue that a

balanced representation of women and men, working shoulder-to-shoulder in the workplace, at home and in

their communities, will enable us to act with wisdom and make a difference to human advancement.

Why Indian Women�s Careers Stall

In this section, we summarize insights concerning women�s careers in corporate India. These observations are

based on delving into the popular and academic literature and interacting with men and women who are

employees, managers or senior and top leaders in Indian businesses.(We have focused on describing Issues that

impact women�s careers in for-profit organizations; but many of our points provide relevant insights into

challenges that women face in the non-profit and other sectors in the Indian work environment). Viewpoints and

explanations -- for why women fail to advance up the career ladder � are discussed next.

Societal Norms

Societal norms are unspoken and informal rules about what is acceptable. Every culture has its own norms. For

example, in some societies, people are always punctual but in other societies people are excused for delays of

minutes, hours and even days. Similarly, in some cultures it is rude to address people with status and authority �

such as leaders or elders � by their first names; but such salutations are customary in Scandinavian countries.

There are myriads of examples of these types of differences.

There are a few norms that are particularly relevant to Indian women�s challenges in the workplace. Firstly, India

has traditional views of gender roles and the status of men relative to women. It is expected that men are the

bread-winners and head of household, while women attend to housework and child-rearing. Secondly, India is a

�collectivist� culture (Hofstede, 2001). Collectivist cultures place more importance on the goals and needs of


social groups (such as families and work-groups) over the needs and desires of individuals. Finally, India is also a

�tight� culture, ranking among the top three tightest countries in a 33-nation study (Gelfland et. al., 2011).

�Tightness� means that social norms are strong and that deviant beliefs and behaviors are less likely to be

tolerated. Family, extended family, peers, neighbors, and even workgroups feel that imposing their views on a

person affiliated to them is justifiable.

Taken together, these key features of socio-cultural life in India have an adverse impact on the career ambitions

of Indian women. Traditional gender roles dictate that women must fall in line with restrictions on their personal

autonomy; married men are entitled to higher compensation in the workplace; a woman�s primary role is to be a

mother; and she cannot be a good mother and a professional at the same time. Collectivist norms pressure

Indian women to put aside personal aspirations in favor of fulfilling their roles as sisters, wives, mothers and

daughters (and pressure men to prioritize providing for their families over personal pursuits). Finally, cultural

tightness allows friends, family and coworkers to intervene and chastise women who aspire to deviate from such

norms.

One vital indicator alerting us to emerging trends and a turning point in the status of Indian women: women�s

expectations about their role in society are shifting. Thereby rising urban lifestyles, higher connectivity through

global social media with other women (and men) who argue against the status quo, and exposure to a world-wide

call for a change in women�s standing.

Next, we look more closely at how tradition, collectivism and cultural tightness have constrained the professional

and personal lives of Indian women, keeping them out of the workplace (and in their homes serving their families).

Our objective is to provoke reflection and collective dialogue in families and social groups. This alone can make

the woman�s life and career choice more intentional. Societies are dynamic and evolving; we are optimistic about

what the future holds for women in India.

The Five �M�s�

Ladders, labyrinths, and lattices are metaphors commonly used by western social scientists to describe career

progress. In contrast, the careers of Indian women is described as a game of �snakes and ladders� with marriage

and motherhood depicted as snakes that swallow the woman and delay her from finishing the game. What do

such metaphors tell us about on-the-ground realities that professional Indian women must tackle?

In her book �Can I Have It All?� (2015), Anuranjita Kumar (a top Human Resources leader in India), points to three

career stallers: marriage, mobility, and motherhood. In our experience, these stallers, and two more �M�s� --

mothers-in-law and men � often grip the lives of women searching for successful careers.

To substantiate the �Five M�s� we use themes from focus group discussions, interviews, and dozens of informal

conversations with career women (carried out by one of the authors) as source material. Our observations are

grouped into two career stages: early and middle.

Early career: leaving the home and entering the workplace, till recently, pervasive socio-cultural gender

norms pressured women, to get married and have babies, and discouraged them from having careers. The

expression, �log kya kahenge� or �what will people say?� is commonly used to curtail independent thought and

action in young women, to corral them into marriage and parenthood.

Once married, the two M�s of Marriage and Motherhood encumber women with even more career-related

liabilities. After marriage, a woman �belongs� to her husband�s family, and must align with her husband and in-

law�s expectations about whether to work; this is accompanied by not-so-subtle queries about when a

grandchild can be expected, which is another obligation to fulfill.

These scenarios occur because sons often continue to live in their parents� home (in the same dwelling or on a

different floor in the same building) unless they find a job with a multinational company and move out. Within this

setting, the daughter-in-law assumes her role-related responsibilities and is expected to serve the needs of the

elders of the family and her husband. If she is fortunate, her husband and his family will support her career



ambitions. Now-a-days women in their 20s and 30s are advised by friends to investigate whether a suitor�s family

is traditional, or progressive in their views about daughters-in-law being employed outside the home. Further,

women who value their autonomy are choosing to stay unmarried.

When the third M � Mother-in-Law -- enters the picture, she can make or break a woman�s life choices. The

mother-in-law and daughter-in-law (�sas�bahu�) relationships portrayed in television serials have a ring of truth.

However, every family situation is unique, and successful women report having stellar support and

encouragement from an unconventional mother-in-law.

The absence of attention and support for a woman�s aspirations and dreams shows up as the fourth career-

stalling M: Mobility. Because social sanctions prohibit her from showing more commitment to career than family,

a career woman is unable to adjust lifestyle or location for a career opportunity; or she experiences considerable

guilt when she does so. Yet, her own career progress halts abruptly when she and family move to accommodate

a wonderful opportunity offered to her spouse.

Regardless, a majority of young women from conventional homes are still excited about joining the world of

work. During their first seven years of employment, they congratulate themselves on prevailing over family and

social norms. They are pleased by the attention they earn from male and senior colleagues; and they shrug off the

benevolently protective attitudes that disbar them from working in the field or taking on jobs that involve night-

shifts or travel. But their exhilaration soon dissipates. Women�s job satisfaction levels dip significantly during

their mid-career phase of work-life (Wilson, 2015).

Mid-career: encountering obstacles and ordeals in the workplace. Approximately between their 7th and

15th year of formal employment, women begin to sense that men and women in their organization are treated

differently. At the workplace, people seem unable to separate women from the home; in turn, women become

increasingly cynical and frustrated that their family lives and gender roles are used as a reason to downplay or

dismiss their organizational performance. These disparities stand out as unwarranted. This brings us to the fifth

M: Men. Once women make it out of the house and into the workplace, it is often their male colleagues that

contribute to the continual stalling of their career, although female managers may do so too.

Here are examples of typical comments made by mid-career women when it comes to gendered differences in

career development.

Performance appraisal ratings. ‘Why are biological realities not recognized?� asks the returning mother. Her

query concerns the reflexive and unthinking practice of giving lower performance ratings to women who have

been out on maternity leave. The question is a logical one: how is having a child connected to on-the-job

performance? Childbirth does not diminish talent or dedication and effort toward professional achievement.

Special assignments and promotions. Another common grievance relates to managers questioning female

subordinates about plans to marry or have children--often during performance reviews or career planning

conversations. These intrusive enquiries about her private life feel unjustified, there is no logical connection

between the questions and the woman�s eligibility for a plum assignment or promotion based on her proven

competence.

Similarly, female employees assert that �nobody asks women whether they are willing to get shop-floor

experience. It is just assumed that they are not interested. So, they are not even given the opportunity.� Instead,

women are expected to perform �office housework� (e.g., upgrading office decor, coordinating social events,

fetching coffee, taking notes), which demean women and damage their career prospects (Frankel, 2004).

Productivity and dedication. According to women who are on double-shift managing career and home, �face

time at work does not equate to productivity.� Female employees who leave their office at the designated time are

frequently seen as uncommitted and disloyal to their organization. This is simply not true. After attending to

domestic and maternal responsibilities, these employees usually return to their laptops when the children are

asleep and work late into the night.

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But organizations often fail to recognize their female employees� double-duty commitments, colleagues make

snide remarks when she leaves at the officially sanctioned office-closing time, and managers impose penalties

through lower pay increments and the absence of opportunities for career growth. For women, this situation is

galling, wearisome and disappointing.

Interactions with male colleagues. �I don�t know how to say this. Some of our seniors � not the ones from

western countries obviously � are not too happy with females. They are more comfortable with men folk. They

take men out to lunch. My boss has seldom asked me. The feeling I get is that he is not comfortable.�

Males from earlier generations, who have been socialized in India, are often uncomfortable interacting with a

woman as a peer and equal. In the past, men and women have been segregated from each other � for instance in

their families, in educational systems and on social, ceremonial and other occasions. Women have been viewed

as goddesses, sex objects or servant-like caretakers. So, the skills and habits of relaxed and egalitarian

interactions between the genders are under-developed.

As a result, crucial conversations between males and females do not happen. Even though women are admitted

to organizations as employees, the inter-gender relationships that will contribute to women�s career progress,

and help them to become leaders in their organization, are not likely to take place.

Based on conversations about the five M�s, and our earlier review of relevant literature, we assert that the

hardships that men and women experience in their workplaces are dissimilar; and it is critically important to

reflect deeply on these differences. Men report hardships in handling crises, recovering from operational

mistakes, and reaching ambitious targets and business goals; on the other hand, women�s hardships are

personal and involve the struggle to be recognized, rewarded and access to opportunities to advance their

careers (Clerkin & Wilson, 2017). In our view, the hardships experienced by men incite them to work more

tenaciously for career success; but the hardships experienced by women lessen their interest in continuing to

work in organizations.

Powering-up Women�s Leadership Talent

Can the shackles of social norms and restraints from the five career-stalling M�s (marriage, motherhood,

mothers-in-law, mobility and men) be cast off? Although corporate workplaces are a man�s world, we believe

that women can do well and flourish in organizations on their own terms. Women do not have to become like men

to achieve career success.

We advocate that organizations use three keys to unlock women�s leadership potential. The first is to help

women craft a leadership purpose and identity. The second is to work with them to forge relationships with allies.

The third is to design women�s career opportunities intentionally. (These keys are also applicable to boosting

men�s leadership learning and performance).

Leadership Purpose and Identity

People evolve as leaders by having a leadership purpose and identity and not just by holding a formal leadership

position. Internalizing a clear leadership purpose and identity is an important tactic that can help determined and

ingenious women maneuver careers past their early career euphoria and mid-career exasperation and

despondency.

Leadership Purpose. Despite many obvious and subtle barriers to advancement, women who wish to follow a

leadership path must start by discovering a personal purpose for leading others. For example, Indian women

who are taught that reticence and modesty are desirable qualities may still choose to step into the glare of

publicity to advocate the welfare of a marginalized community. Purpose must be based on one�s own values �

such as the desire to promote the progress of a team, group or community of people (Ely, Ibarra & Kolb, 2011). To

hone women�s leadership ability, organizations are well-advised to help them to unearth which values are most

dear to them.

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One aspect of leadership women find motivating is relationships and connecting to others. Women are

socialized to connect with people. When given opportunities to represent the interests of their team or

organization, women are driven to overcome personal insecurities and fears and become formidable advocates

and role models for other women. However, on the flipside, women who would be leaders need to let go of their

socialized drive to please others and win approval. This requires them to focus on their own expectations of

themselves, and not just on other�s expectations, and makes them more authentic and trustworthy as leaders.

Leadership Identity. A person is seen as a leader- by others and by her or himself � through repeated social

interactions. Leadership identity is constructed through back-and-forth verbal and non-verbal messaging,

between leaders, their peers and subordinates. For women, the task of constructing a leadership identity

(through social interactions) is loaded with impediments.

Since masculine values permeate our perceptions of leadership, feminine expressions of leadership do not

attract recognition or respect, and women�s exercise of leadership is often disparaged, making it more difficult

for them to form a leadership identity. For example, if an assertive young woman respectfully states a point of

view different from that of a person in a position of authority, she may be seen by others as arrogant, rebellious or

cute. However, if a young man behaves in the same way, he is a bright spark with leadership potential. When

men are dominant and outspoken, they are considered leaderlike; but women behaving similarly are penalized

for breaking a gender stereotype.

The continual affirming messages males receive, bolsters the man�s self-confidence, strengthens his leadership

identity, creates motivation to lead, and fuels his search for opportunities to grow as a leader, attracts

organizational validation, and reinforces his interest and fortitude for practicing complex leadership skills (Ely,

Ibarra, & Kolb, 2011). The disconfirming messages that women receive creates a downward spiral for them,

making it less likely to see themselves as leaders or in leadership roles. Leadership identity becomes central and

enduring for men, but not for women.

To reverse the downward spiral, and to support women in forming a sturdy leadership identity, organizations

must orchestrate events and processes for female employees to find allies at work.

Allies: Role Models, Mentors and Sponsors

Interpersonal relationships play a meaningful role in leadership development. To break through traditions and

socio-cultural norms, women need allies. The Free Dictionary defines ally as �an associate who provides

cooperation or assistance.� Role models, mentors and sponsors are all indispensable allies who can boost

women�s career trajectories.

Role models. For women, female role models stimulate personal ambition. The noticeable presence of senior

women in the ranks of top management increases female employees� belief that they too can lead. Top and

senior women are living proof that leadership can have a female face.

Role models can come from one�s immediate environment or from books or social media. Consciously or

unconsciously, role models are powerful motivators because they arouse individuals to become the best

possible version of themselves. Though necessary, role models are not sufficient for helping ambitious and

talented women rise within their organizations.

Mentors. Mentors, including bosses who are willing to be mentors, can give professional women the gift of

coaching, honest and constructive feedback on many aspects of career success such as: self-presentation,

communication, building a personal brand, working with difficult peers, influencing senior management,

networking, negotiating effectively, and so forth. Mentors can also help women overcome feelings such as guilt,

inadequacy, and self-criticism. These habits of mind are often informally dismissed as biological differences, but

are more likely learned through early-life socialization.

Honest relationships are crucial to a woman�s advancement. Research shows that people give women vaguer

feedback (Correll & Simard, 2016). In some cases, this is probably well-intended. There is evidence that



managers who want to support women do not want to discourage them by sharing negative feedback (King et

al., 2012). Even when women are given critical feedback, it is less developmental and more personal, such as

telling women to be less �abrasive� (Davis, 2014, para. 7) or �bossy� (Clerkin, Crumbacher, Fernando, & Gentry,

2015, p. 5) or that maybe this role is too hard for them. This unconstructive, positive and negative feedback,

leaves women unsure of what to do to improve their leadership skills.

Sponsors. Sponsors are a special subset of mentors who not only listen to, support, and advise their protégés,

but use their power and influence to advocate for them. Research shows that people are more likely to sponsor

men than women (Ibarra et al., 2010). Yet, women are more likely to need sponsors. Indian women need male

sponsors. Ron Burt, in The Gender of Social Capital, (1998) suggests that in organizations in which power

holders are men, women must �borrow social capital, not build it� (p. 2). In other words, women need men�s help

gaining access to the �boys club� of existing social networks. Especially in India, where workplace norms tend to

dismiss or undervalue women�s contributions, women may fail to be recognized without the help of sponsors to

vouch for them.

Therefore, ally relationships heighten self-assessment and self-insight. By guiding women to continually learn

and take on new challenges, and helping them gain self-confidence and credibility, role models, mentors, and

sponsors become a pivotal source of career momentum.

Creating Career Opportunities

One of the reasons that women have a hard time making it to the top of organizations is that they struggle to

obtain the �right� experiences at the �right� career juncture (Clerkin & Wilson, 2017). Studies have demonstrated

that challenging assignments are vital to leadership development and career advancement. Across cultures,

both men and women report learning their most critical leadership lessons from challenging assignments (Yip &

Wilson, 2010). However, women are given fewer, less important and less impactful assignments.

Male managers� job experiences involve higher stakes and external pressures (Oflot, Ruderman, & McCauley,

1994). According to a study from Catalyst, men are more likely to get �hot jobs��jobs that are highly visible,

mission-critical, and international (Silva, Carter, & Beninger, 2012). The same study showed that men are given

more monetary and human resources during these challenging assignments. These differences make a

difference, giving potential leaders more experiences and successes. Indeed, the report showed that having a

�hot job� was a strong predictor of future advancement.

In contrast, women are given more lateral moves and fewer opportunities to turnaround a business or travel or

work internationally. Studies suggest that this is because managers assume that women are not willing to travel

or that international businessmen want to meet with male representatives; however, empirical evidence shows

that neither of these are usually the case (Adler, 1984; Caliguiri, Joshi, & Lazarova, 1999; Silva et al., 2012).

Is it surprising that many �ideal� experiences that prepare individuals for top leadership (e.g., well-funded

challenging assignments, positions abroad, high-level sponsorships) still disproportionately go to men?

�Considering that modern leadership development pathways were largely constructed by men, with men in

mind, when opportunities come up, people implicitly and automatically consider men more readily than women�

(Clerkin & Wilson, 2017, pp. 396). This bias has long-term consequences for women who are passed over for

leadership later in their careers, having missed learning-loaded experiences earlier in their careers. These

scenarios need to change.

Gazing into the Future

We believe more women leaders are in our future. Female representation in leadership roles is linked to improved

financial performance and employee engagement. In

�Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future,� the authors found that

traits and abilities traditionally associated with women (e.g. communication, collaboration, nurturing) were the

same traits and skills that were highly valued in innovative organizations across eighteen nations (Gerzema &

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D�Antonio, 2013). In a survey of over 60,000 men and women in thirteen countries, including India, two out three

people agreed that the world would be a better place if men thought more like women. Their research findings

indicate that countries where citizens prefer a balance between feminine and masculine values have a higher per

capita GDP and a higher reported quality of life.

Further, evidence suggests women leaders bring something special to organizations. Sally Helgesen�s classic

study focuses on what women can contribute to the workplace, and not on what they lack or how they need to

change. Her collection of case histories found that organizations run by women tend to be less hierarchical;

instead these organizations take the form of �webs�, with leaders reaching out in all directions, and connecting

others to foster communities and collaboration (Helgesen, 1990). Similarly, academic research suggests that

women tend to have more relational and communal leadership styles (Buttner, 2001; Eagly, Johannesen-

Schmidt, Van Engen, 2003). Carol Gilligan (1982) argues that women see themselves in the context of

relationships with others; in contrast, men tend to focus more on individual achievement, hierarchy, and

autonomy. McClelland (1979) found that women were more likely than men to measure power as the ability to

care for others.

The ground-breaking question is: can we learn to blend these and other differences between the genders to

design richer and more productive organizational environments?

Next Practices: Using Multiple Levers of Change

While we believe more women will take on leadership positions in the future, we also believe that they can�t go it

alone. Much of the advocacy for women�s leadership is by women; yet, women need men as equal partners to

progress toward a gender-balanced leadership.

There is reason to believe that women might require more support than men to reach the top of their

organizations. Research shows that women are less likely to negotiate on their own behalf (Amanatullah & Morris,

2010), self-promote (Moss�Racusin & Rudman, 2010) or apply for stretch positions (Mohr, 2014). Those who do

so often face social and economic punishments for breaking gender roles (Rudman, 1998). Women will only

reach their full potential when we all work together to help change such restrictive norms.

Hindrances related to the career progress of women throughout the span of their work-lives must be explored.

Programmatic interventions must offer a mix of training, coaching, action learning, mentoring, forums,

organizational dialogue and strategic internal communications directed toward women and men. Women�s

initiatives should be integrated and promoted together with existing talent management practices, processes

and programs. Both men and women must be involved in devising gender-neutral practices �for recruitment,

retention, appraisal, engagement and leadership development. Validating women�s leadership should be an

enterprise-wide endeavor.

In conclusion, our examples, explanations and arguments showcase how the entire organization needs to invest

in creating a culture that removes career roadblocks � for the benefit of both women and men. The way forward

calls for partnerships with Indian businesses that are willing to commit to making women�s career advancement

one of their top priorities and to introducing game-changing approaches to 21st century leadership development

practices.



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Prof Krishnan T N is an Associate Professor in Organizational Behaviour and

Human Resources at Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. His research

interests are in the areas of Talent Management and Human Resource

Management. Recent research publications have been on the topics of talent and

human resource management in SMEs and organizational ambidexterity in the

SME context. His publication record focuses on a range of OB/HR Issues such as

employee relations, career systems, organizational ambidexterity and talent

management. He has published his work in journals such as Human Resource

Management Review, The International Journal of Human Resource Management,

Employee Relations, Career Development International, IIMB Management

Review etc.

Prof Krishnan T N

Career Progression of Female Talent: Issues and Challenges

About the Author

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Abstract

Talent management of women is an area of interest for organizations globally and specifically in India. This

article highlights the case for gender diversity and some of the barriers to women�s advancement through

both secondary and qualitative research findings. We also suggest initiatives that both organizations and

women managers can undertake to support and complement each other in facilitating career development of

women managers. We discuss practical steps that different stake holders can initiate based on research

findings.

Key words � female talent, career progression

Introduction:

Recently, it was heartening to read news in major dailies that women were fully manning assembly line

operations at a leading automobile manufacturer. Women�s presence in the core part of operations is not

surprising, but their representation in some jobs and in certain hierarchical positions is certainly newsworthy.

One such category of interest is the representation of women in executive positions in an organization.

According to a 2012 McKinsey report (McKinsey & Company, 2012), the proportion of women sitting in

executive committees and corporate boards is significantly lower in India and Asia, in comparison with many

European and American companies. The McKinsey report highlights that in India this figure is 3 and 5 percent

respectively. While this is a cause for concern, the gender representation at the board level is improving in

recent years due to the new Companies Act introduced in August 2013. The Act requires a certain class of

listed companies to have at least one woman on the board of directors. We outline below reasons for the lower

participation of women in the workforce in general, and in management.

Female participation in the Indian labour force has remained lower than that for males. Women account for

most of the unpaid work. Even in the paid work category, women are overrepresented in the informal sector.

The 68th National Sample Survey results indicate that a total of 20.5% women were employed in the organized

sector in 2011, with 18.1% working in the public sector and 24.3% in the private sector. This low representation

of females makes it more challenging for women to gain access to the management pipeline. The

management pipeline in the organised sector requires a graduate degree, it is important to note the

representation of females in the overall graduate population and more significantly to understand how many of

these female graduates are employed. According to the 2011 census, only 8% of the total population in India

are graduates, across the country (excepting Kerala and Chandigarh) the proportions of male graduates are

traditionally higher than the proportion of female graduates. In addition, though 42 percent of graduates are

women, only 29 per cent of entry-level professionals are female (McKinsey & Company, 2012). However, a

significant development is that the rise in proportion of female graduates in the previous decade is higher at

115% as against only 65% increase in male graduates for 2001-2011.

Female participation rates in the labour market are increasing significantly, however family related pressures,

traditional customs and work-related Issues constrain women employee�s ability to grow in the organizational

hierarchy (Rashid, 2010). Given the increasing proportion of women in the graduate population, rising

aspirations of women in the country is combined with the need for corporates to have gender diversity in their

management pipeline.

Understanding the barriers for women�s entry to the workforce and Issues effecting their growth once they are

employed are significantly relevant in improving the transition of graduate women to the workforce and in the

management cadre.

Career Progression of Female Talent: Issues and Challenges



The case for gender diversity in the executive cadre:

Visualizing the talent pipeline metaphorically, employees enter at one end of the pipe and gradually move to the

other end. The dropout rate of women employees is high and this gives rise to two different but related

challenges. One, women are unable to utilise their full potential. Second, the leadership team that emerges at

the top is less diverse. The world of business is increasingly more complex and very few business models have

long term stability. In such a scenario, the more diverse the set of minds that could be applied to a problem, the

more likely we find better solutions.

Performance benefits rise especially when companies pursue effective diversity policies which combine the

complementary competencies and ways of thinking of male and female employees (Linehan and Scullion,

2008). In an age of increasing competitive pressures and talent scarcity, having the best talent in strategic roles

provides distinct competitive advantage (Collings and Mellahi, 2009) and if half the population continues to be

significantly underrepresented in the talent pool from which senior management personnel are selected,

organizations could lose out on their competitive edge. Women do better in terms of innovative problem

solving, bring in variety in ways of thinking, beliefs, working style and consider alternatives from more

viewpoints. Personally, in executive development workshops having women�s participation brings in more

diverse view points and engagement.

Further, gender diverse leadership sends positive signals to external labour market. Gender Diversity at the top

could evoke greater awareness of work-life integration challenges. Women leaders are likely to be aware of the

Issues in managing both work and personal life challenges. In the context of the millennial workforce, having

developmental opportunities, and work-life balance are important considerations, and the presence and

understanding of women leaders, is going to be even more valuable. Highly placed women could also act as

role models for women down the ranks and have a powerful influence on aspiring younger women. Mellström

(2010) in her study found how Malaysian women dominated the IT profession, and the female respondents

interviewed in her study highlighted the importance of female role models who held senior positions in the IT

field both in the industry and in academia. Tlaiss and Kauser (2011) highlight the role of influential networks

within the Lebanese culture that impacts the career progression of women. One of the important challenges for

women to move up the hierarchy is the lack of informal networks and mentoring opportunities (Linehan&

Scullion, 2008). If an organization has a proactive policy on promoting gender diversity, it could create a pool of

women leaders who could act as inspiring mentors and leaders and eventually the organization could create a

positive employer brand amongst the female talent pool.

Barriers to Career Advancement of Women Executives:

Previous studies have revealed many barriers to women advancing to senior positions both organizational as

well as social.

Of the many, the following two critical obstacles are as follows:

An organizational culture which demands high face time as indictor of performance and commitment, could be

damaging to female aspirations for growth in the company. This is a significant barrier to women�s promotion

and career growth. One of the interviewees shared that quality and commitment are measured by hours of

presence at the office, this perception can limit women�s position and status in the workforce over time.

Unconscious biases can affect performance and potential assessments. Many consider leadership positions

as equivalent to unfailing availability and mobility. Appraisals and promotion decisions are sometimes largely

based on availability at the workplace, which acts as a barrier to vertical growth for women in the organization.

In a recent qualitative study, conducted by me and two other co-authors at two major IT companies in India, we

found that the hiring, reassignment, performance and promotion policies are all based on well-defined gender-

neutral terms. Hence, even in objective terms, there was no question of one gender benefiting at the cost of the

other. Talent management policies were positively perceived and evaluated by the women managers.

However, the implementation of certain policies regarding performance appraisal and promotions, are viewed

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as areas that could be improved. While policies are gender neutral, their implementation, especially the

appraisal process that help �categorise� talent and provide inputs for promotion, are perceived as key

constraints in the career advancement of women managers. The demands of the job in the IT industry often

requires employees to work late in the evening which conflicts with meeting family commitments. While

policies which required explanation from the superiors for late working hours for women were in place, some

women respondents felt that showing unwillingness to work late shifts would affect their image in the company

in terms of flexibility, and they felt that being left out of late night calls could damage their performance

evaluation and hence promotion and career prospects. A significant concern of the women managers was that

they did not want to be excluded or left out professionally due to family responsibilities, while at the same time

they did not wish to be neglectful of family responsibilities. In some cases, women opted to take a break from

work to fulfil their parenting responsibilities before returning to work and career aspirations. It is indicative of

the multiple roles the women play that affect their participation in management. Women re-joining work after a

break need to be oriented and fully supported in the �return to work� process. The empirical findings from our

study indicated that social and family support were major factors that influenced the women managers�

participation and career progression in the company. Hence perceptions played an important role in women�s

job distribution regardless of what policies are in place to support the employees.

Organizational support for Women�s Career Advancement:

The interviews and secondary data from the companies revealed that the support offered for the career

development of women in both companies were of three types: Inspirational, developmental and facilitative.

Inspirational programmes consisted of various events in which interaction with successful women leaders

either from inside or outside the organization are facilitated. The senior women leaders are invited to share their

experiences and challenges in integrating their personal and professional lives. These programmes help coach

and counsel aspiring female talent and to reflect on work life priorities. In practical terms females could draw on

the experience of senior female leaders in meeting the challenging work-life balance Issues. Motivational

lectures by female leaders could inspire and motivate them to think innovatively about these Issues.

Developmental programmes typically are aimed at developing women for leadership positions. Peer

mentoring and coaching, platforms for women to learn and exhibit leadership capabilities are important

avenues for these. Individual coaches and mentors are increasingly assigned to work with women of high

potential. Senior women managers acted as mentors and conducted workshops where female talent can

exchange experiences about the conflicting work-life balance challenges and learn from each other. This

increases the role of female voice in developing career opportunities for women.

Facilitative programmes typically are aimed at providing support, flexibility and care for all employees

particularly beneficial for women employees. This took several forms including: Work from home policies for

parents, opportunity to work from city based offices instead of the long commute to suburban offices,

telecommuting option and part-time work options where an employee could work 2 or 3 times a week. Family-

friendly policies may also make provision on some days when kids come to parents� place of work. Further, help

is provided across the various offices for engaging day care facilities. Voluntary affinity groups also function to

provide a platform for discussing challenges of parenting, women etc. Information shared on safety of women

helps women employees identify how and whom to reach out to in times of need and some of the precautions to

follow even when out of the office.

How can Companies Promote Gender Equity?

Research suggests that integrated policies and support can help in retention of female talent and these policies

should be part of a wider Talent Management strategy that seeks to take an inclusive approach (Scullion and

Collings, 2012)

Top leadership has two important roles: One, as role models, exemplifying the values and behaviours reflecting

women�s participation in management. Second, as strategic implementers that orchestrate the management

systems and culture to align with the identified values.



A well-articulated and widely shared set of values, arising out of a constant reflection of where we are as an

organization, and where want to be in the future with regards to women�s representation in leadership

positions. Values are aspirations that come to life based on behaviours. Studies have found that when there is

token representation of women at the top, the dominant group(men) tend to heighten cultural differences �

creating an �old boys network, other informal networks where important information is shared (Kanter, 1977).

This works against gender representation in the managerial pipeline. Hence, while commitment of top

management to promote women�s leadership matters, people down the hierarchy pick up important cues by

what the top management does and does not do about the matter. Hence behaviour of leaders/top

management counts significantly. Enlisting senior women leaders, as role models to openly discuss

challenges, and strategies the senior managers have used in balancing work and personal lives is important. A

systematised formal process where critical information is shared and decided upon becomes crucial.

The other important role for leaders is to ensure that management practices and culture match the stated

values. The role of the senior managers is to make sure that values are maintained, and constantly made real to

all the people in the organization. Hence, showing commitment by acting as role models, and constantly

setting up systems and processes, that capture and reinforce these values is important. Examine if there is

consistency across practices when implementing the core values. Being aware of how each core value is

implemented including things like who gets rewarded for what, who gets promoted, and what the organization

celebrates. Things such as work-life support, career flexibility are important practices that promote gender

equity. Enable flexible work such as telecommuting to work, institutionalise career flexibility such as return to

work after taking for example a long-term maternity break. The use of flexibility should not undermine career

prospects. Reflecting on the facilitative, developmental and inspirational programmes for institutionalising

gender diversity would be significant.

It is important to recognise some of the work practices, that could work against the stated objective of ensuring

greater gender participation. Reduce work practices that could create work-life conflict. Try to plan work

without scheduling meetings early in the morning or after regular work hours. The interviews have identified

that performance evaluation is a major concern that affects the fairness of the process and future career

prospects for women. It is important to fine tune Performance Management systems, and have a verifiable trail

of performance evaluations. Specifying what constitutes good performance, the process and outcomes in

measurable and objective terms, specifying how these are going to be evaluated, in what frequency and by

whom, having descriptive anchor points for subjective performance measures, sensitising line managers to the

unconscious bias, and doing justifiable evaluations to reduce ambiguities and concerns, that women face in

performance evaluations.

It is important to have a shared understanding of what constitutes talent in a firm and approaches to potential

evaluation and talent management. Companies vary a lot in the perception of talent and how they manage

talent (Krishnan, 2015). Talent management in companies that are top talent nurturers, perceive it as an

organizational capability-building exercise, where line managers play an equally important role. Formal and

transparent processes for performance and potential identification, are a necessary condition for success.

Rigorous analysis and open discussions help identify the best talent, help deploy it where it can grow

effectively, and then tracked on a continuous basis. This information should be used in identifying candidates

for T&D, developmental assignments and placement decisions. In companies which undertake talent

development seriously, 30-40% of the senior managers spend time identifying and nurturing talent.

Information about career goals and interests are tracked regularly. Line managers are held accountable for the

development of their subordinates, and employee development is viewed as a core responsibility of every

manager in the organization, not just a task managed by the specialized HR functional group.

How can Women Managers Progress to Leadership Positions?

Women managers can undertake many initiatives to support, and complement, organizational career

development practices.

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Becoming self-aware and actively managing one�s work and personal life. Not every woman is able to strictly

compartmentalize work and personal life, in fact that would be an exception rather than a norm. With higher

demands on time in the working women�s lives, it is important to recognise personal commitments that can

hinder their professional lives and vice-versa, and manage them proactively. As an example, a women

executive shared that when she worked late at office, she ensured that her school-going children were made

aware of the tasks they had to complete before they made a routine call to her. This approach allowed her to

focus on work when it was most needed, while ensuring active involvement of the children in managing their

own tasks. Women managers need support of colleagues and family members for this approach to succeed.

Properly planned activity both at home and work, and contingency planning when the need arises, are

important components that facilitate, and complement their efforts to integrate work and personal lives.

While companies may provide equal opportunities for career development, the lower proportion of women

leaders at the top makes it less feasible for them to get mentoring and role modelling. However, there are other

avenues that women can proactively look out for. Many career development assignments such as, job rotation;

cross-functional teams; task forces; and committees to address business problems are excellent platforms to

learn on the job and hone skills. Such opportunities are available for both women and men in most companies.

Career development and leadership effectiveness requires constant reflection and practice, self-analysis of

performance and awareness of activities that drive one�s passion and energy. The continuous process of

review and active engagement to facilitate the career decision process is as relevant when one is 51, as it is at

age 21. Experimenting with different learning, employment and voluntary activities gives a solid sense of

identity. Expect career choices and priorities to change through life. It is important to be aware of the wider

social circumstances when making career choices.

Conclusions:

Through this paper, we highlight some of the key challenges for career growth of female talent in the Indian

context. While India aspires to be an important driver of the global economy, having adequate gender

representation in the executive cadre is an important factor that would drive this growth. We highlight through

our research some of the initiatives that both organizations and women managers can undertake to facilitate

the career progression of female talent to leadership positions.

References:

1. Collings, D.G. and Mellahi, K. (2009) Strategic Talent Management: A review and research agenda, Human

Resource Management Review, 19(4), 304 313

2 Kanter (1977). Some effects of proportions on group life. Skewed sex ratios and responses to token

women, American Journal of Sociology, 82, 965-990

3. Krishnan, T.N. (2015). Need for and Perspective of Talent Management, National HRD Network Journal,

January 2015, 8(1), 124-128

4. Linehan, M. & Scullion, H. (2008). The role of mentoring and networking in the development of the female

global manager, Journal of Business Ethics, 18: 29-40

5. McKinsey&Company (2012). Women Matter: An Asian Perspective. Harnessing female talent to raise

corporate performance. http://www.boardagender.org/files/2012-McKInsey-Women-Matter-An-Asian-

Perspective.pdf

6. Mellström, U. (2010). New Gender Relations in the Transforming IT-Industry of Malaysia. In Gender Issues

in Learning and Working with Information Technology: Social Constructs and Cultural Contexts,25�47

7. Rashid, R. (2010). The battle for female talent in emerging markets, Harvard Business Review, 88(5), 101-

106

8. Scullion, H and Collings, D.G (eds.) (2012) Global Talent Management, Routledge; London.

9. Tlaiss, H. & Kauser, S. (2011). The impact of gender, family, and work on the career advancement of

Lebanese women managers. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(1), 8�36.



Dr Pradnya Parasher is the founder and CEO of ThreeFish Consulting

(www.threefish.in). She has 20+ years of experience in Strategic HR, Talent

Management, Executive Assessment & Coaching. An Industrial-Organizational

Psychologist by training, Pradnya has lived and worked in the United States and

India.

Instrumental in bringing Hogan Assessments to India, Pradnya has provided

Hogan feedback to hundreds of business leaders. As the Master Distributor for

Hogan Assessments in India, she is responsible for driving Hogan sales and

marketing in India and ensuring scientific rigor in the application of Hogan

solutions across clients, resellers and solution partners.

She has coached leaders from diverse industries and from different regions of the

world including China, SE Asia, Middle East, Europe and the US. Client

organizations where Pradnya has coached leaders include PepsiCo, AT Kearney,

Dolby, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Godrej, McDonalds among others. She has also

facilitated leadership development programs across US, Asia, and Europe.

In the past, she has held various HR leadership roles including Director � People &

Organization Capability for Microsoft India, Senior Director & Country HR Head for

eFunds, Director & Country HR Head for Discovery Communications, and AVP HR

for InterGlobe Enterprises. Her last role was as a Global Talent Assessment

Program Manager for Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, USA.

She brings rich experience across a variety of industries and deep understanding

of workplace behavior and organizational dynamics to her coaching and

consulting engagements. Pragmatic & result oriented, Pradnya believes in human

potential for transformation. At ThreeFish, she leads the design and

implementation of coaching, consulting and learning solutions.

Pradnya has a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of

South Florida and is a member of the Society for Industrial-Organizational

Psychology (SIOP). She is a regular attendee and presenter at the Annual SIOP

Conferences. She continues to be a Life Member of the National HRD Network in

India. In the past, she has served as the Vice President of the NHRDN Delhi

Chapter from 2004-2006.

Dr Pradnya Parasher

Navigating Leadership Transitions:Helping Leaders Successfully Transition into New Roles

About the Author

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Abstract

xecutive on-boarding is a critical and yet, often, overlooked aspect of hiring a senior leader into an Eorganization. Companies will engage top-notch Executive Search firms to find the right talent, and then expect the person to �hit the ground running�. Organizations often overlook the role that they play in helping a newly hired executive land successfully in their system. The challenge of successful transition is equally critical when leaders are promoted internally to take on critical roles. Organizations and individuals assume their chances of success because of their past track record. There are two distinct aspects of successful transition management � the individual�s integration and organization�s support for this integration. When derailment happens, it is due to unique interactions between individual�s failure to assimilate and the organization�s failure to provide support. In this article, I�ve tried to articulate my experiences from last 10 years of working as a Transition Coach with Senior Executives transitioning into new roles, review some of the research that has informed my work and share practices that I have seen help with successful transitions. Target audience here is HR professionals who can play a key role in supporting new leader success.

Keywords:Leadership transitions, leader on-boarding, leader assimilation

Leadership Transitions: A Success Story

Let me begin with a story of success -- how a thoughtful HR leader and a caring business leader facilitated

successful transition of internal talent into key positions. Some years ago, one of my clients, a successful

multi-national corporation in the food and beverages, decided to bet on their internal, home-grown talent, and

promoted four competent sales managers to lead each of their four regions � North, West, East and South. All

elevations happened in the same performance cycle, and hence, almost at the same time. All four candidates

had been with the company between 7-10 years, had joined the company as management trainees, and had

risen through the ranks. They knew the business well. They had incredible track records of making their

numbers, quarter after quarter, year after year. As Regional Managers, the transition was significant. This role

was a mini-general manager role � a role identified as a �crucible experience� for those on general management

track in the company. While making the numbers was still key, they had to begin to leverage all functions for the

first time � HR, Finance, Supply Chain. The HR leader and India Sales Leader carefully planned their transition,

hired an external Transition Coach, remained patient and personally available to coach these mid-career

leaders as they navigated this career stage transition. The process yielded results in terms of business growth,

accelerated development for the leaders, and smoother transition for the teams that they were going to lead.

Leadership Transitions: Reality

Most leaders don�t have the benefit of such carefully facilitated transitions; most people stumble through

leadership transitions. When asked to rank order a list of life�s challenges in order of greatest difficulty, making

a leadership transition was often cited as the number one challenge (Paese & Wellins, 2007). Leadership

development practitioners have cited failure rates for leaders hired from outside as ranging from 30-40% after

18 months (Ashkenas, 2010). Global leadership development consulting firm DDI has projected 28% as the

failure rate for internally promoted leaders (DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2014-15). Their estimates of

leadership failure rates rose alarmingly to 52% for externally hired leaders. These findings show that globally,

the leadership pipeline is �leaky� with �ready now� candidates available for less than half the positions.

In the same study, DDI notes that formal programs for leadership transition increased the percent of �ready

now� leaders by 7% and that formal programs for smooth leadership transitions at all levels had an impact on

the organization�s financial performance. Does the availability of formal transition management programs

Navigating Leadership Transitions: Helping Leaders Successfully Transition into New Roles



provide a safety net for both the organization and the individuals? Are both far more willing to take a leap of faith

knowing that there is a process to help ensure successful transition? If so, making these programs available will

have a direct impact on both availability of leadership talent and financial performance of the organization.

Managing Leadership Transitions

Leadership transition challenges are encountered at all levels of the organization, when a leader steps into a

new role, either from outside or promoted from within. �A successful transition is one in which both the

individual and the organization are transformed for the better and are able to leverage each other�s strengths to

achieve mutually beneficial goals.� (Downey, 2001).

Dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty, getting work done through others and navigating organizational

politics were listed as the top three challenges of leadership transition in a study of more than 600 leaders-in-

transition (Sinar & Paese, 2014). Engaging and inspiring employees, and creating a new network also made it

to the top 5 on the list of challenges.

Diane Downey, in her book Assimilating New Leaders, published in 2001, observes that it can take 18 months

and even longer for a new leader hired from the outside to become fully �assimilated.� In a recent survey

conducted by Egon Zehnder, a global executive search firm, of 588 senior executives from across Asia,

Europe, North and South America, 60% of the respondents said that it took them six months to have full impact

in their role and another 20% said that it took 9 months.

The challenge of assimilation is one of managing polarities and achieving the right balance � being patient vs.

being productive; setting your own pace vs. following the organization�s pace; drawing on experience vs. not

letting past experiences blind you; acting with authority vs. staying in a learning mode. Downey delineates four

distinct stages of Assimilation process � Anticipation and Planning, Entering and Exploring, Building, and

Contributing. At every stage of the process, a leader needs to shift her focus of activities and the organization

needs to shift the focus of support. Leadership transitions are most successful when individuals and

organizations share responsibility for success.

Downey�s book has been written for HR practitioners responsible for hiring and on-boarding senior leaders.

She recommends an ‘Assimilation Coach’ and a �HR Touchstone� to support the leader in transition. An

Assimilation Coach can be of tremendous value and support to the transitioning leader. The Coach can

collect or provide objective feedback, support the leader as she makes the necessary shifts, help her assess

the organization and culture, facilitate entry meetings such as a New Leader Assimilation meeting with the

team, and be a sounding board. Downey also recommends designating an �HR Touchstone� to partner with the

new leader through her assimilation process. This HR professional could come from a corporate HR group or

from within the new leader�s line of business. The �touchstone� role requires the HR professional to balance

being an advocate for the new leader and ensuring that organizational objectives are met. HR Touchstone is the

internal go-to person for the leader-in-transition.

Byford, Watkins and Triantogiannis (2017), also recommend shifting the focus from leader on-boarding to

leader integration for newly hired leaders. They describe leader integration as �doing what it takes to make the

new person a fully functioning member of the team as quickly and smoothly as possible.� It�s about integrating

fully into the company�s culture. They identify five major tasks that a transitioning leader must tackle in her first

few critical months � assuming operational leadership, taking charge of the team, aligning with stakeholders,

engaging with the culture and defining strategic intent. An organization can accelerate integration by

�orchestrating custom-designed experiences� that help the leader integrate more rapidly and fully.

One of my clients, a global strategy consulting firm, provides very structured support for the on-boarding and

integration of their new Partners. Most new Partners are internal promotions. The firm also selectively hires

laterally at Partner level. All new Partners undergo a structured development program, that also includes a New

Partner Forum where all newly promoted Partners come together for learning and networking. Other Senior

Partners and firm Executives are present at this forum for knowledge sharing. Each new Partner is also

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provided an Integration Coach. They complete in-depth personality profiles, using the Hogan Leader Forecast

Reports, to provide insights on their strengths and development needs. Reflecting on what it means to be a

Partner, what personal brand they wish to build as a Partner, along with a deep-dive view on their personality

strengths and weaknesses, allows the new Partners to successfully navigate this critical career transition. For

the lateral hires from outside the firm, reflection on the organizational culture, where they fit, where they need to

adapt and how they wish to influence for change, is also a critical aspect of the Integration Coaching.

First 90 Days

�The First 90 Days� by Michael Watkins is a �must read� book for transitioning leaders. Consolidating years of

research and consulting experience, Watkins has listed 10 key transition challenges and advocates building

a 90-day acceleration plan to deal with them. The book gives in-depth reflections and useful tips for each of the

10 key transition challenges: promote yourself, accelerate your learning, match strategy to situation, secure

early wins, negotiate success, achieve alignment, build your team, create coalitions, keep your balance and

expedite everyone.

Emotional Dips

Most leaders in transition report two paradoxical emotions � excitement and fear. While leaders are prepared

for the intellectual learning curve of taking on a new role, they are often unprepared for the emotional highs and

multiple dips that Downey (2001) says are predictable. The first emotional dip happens at around four weeks,

second around six months, and third dip around nine months. The �big dip� often happens around nine months,

when new leaders are beginning to build their organization and steer their organization in the new direction.

People realize the gap between their expectation and reality, they question their effectiveness, even their

suitability for the job, and start feeling like outsiders. Raising awareness of these difficulties when they arise,

helping the leader to be more alert and tolerant, to remain patient and supportive as new leaders navigate their

way past this difficulty is the most appropriate course of action during this time.

One of the most successful Leader on-boarding program that I have been associated with is run by a US

headquartered MNC pharma company. They recruit talented graduates from premium B-schools from across

the world, and offer them one year of structured, programmatic, on-boarding coaching support. This on-

boarding program has been running for more than 10 years. In my six years of association with this program as

an On-boarding Coach, I have witnessed what Downey calls the �Big Dip� happening at the six-month mark for

most of my graduate recruits. After the initial excitement and sense of achievement at being recruited to be part

of this global talent program fades, difficulties of navigating the organization to achieve results begin to dawn.

Gaps between expectations and organizational reality begin to appear huge. The hitherto high achieving

recruit begins to doubt personal competence, hits a low and sometimes begins to question his/her fit to the role

or organization. Acknowledging this dip and helping them understand that this is a normal part of the

assimilation process, releases much of the stress. A few specific questions to help them reflect on what has

gone well, and a few questions to help refocus on action planning and problem solving, re-energizes them and

helps them reconnect with their own resourcefulness.

Personality Assessment for Strategic Self-Awareness

Leadership transitions stretch and grow a person. This is a time to take stock of what one is naturally

predisposed to do given one�s personality, and how it is likely to play out in the new role and during the

transition. A good personality assessment, with a feedback coaching session, when positioned developmentally,

can be a big benefit to the new leader. Transition times are periods of stress, where natural coping mechanisms get

into high gear for most people. Coping mechanisms when over-used can in fact become derailers. Something like

the Hogan Challenge Report, a measure of personality derailers, can provide powerful �watch-outs� to the

transitioning leader and her organization. Even one coaching conversation, based on an insightful personality

assessment like the Hogan Leader Forecast Reports is sufficient.



A few years ago, one of my clients hired a senior leader into a critical function. We generated the Hogan Leader

Forecast Reports and I had the opportunity to conduct the coaching session. The reports showed many

leadership strengths, and the risks of overestimating capabilities, over-commitment and becoming attention-

seeking. The leader was coming in with a strong track record, and expectations were high. He would have

equally strong peers, and building strong relations with these peers was going to be important to drive the

changes that he needed to drive. Becoming aware of these potential �derailment� risks helped the leader

develop more realistic 90-day on-boarding goals and remain conscious about sharing credit with his peers.

One year later, the leader was promoted and given even more responsibilities.

New Leader Assimilation Meeting

Within the first 4-6 weeks of a new leader taking on a role, it is a good idea to run a facilitated New Leader

Assimilation meeting. In my experience, this is one of the quickest and most effective ways to break-ice, build

connection between the team and the new leader, and surface critical Issues / challenges facing the team. The

output from a New Leader Assimilation meeting often helps identify possible �early wins� that the leader can

include in her 90-day on-boarding plan. It also sets the tone for open communication and dialogue between the

team members and the new leader, and begins to foster trust.

This meeting is typically divided into two parts, and can be facilitated by an internal HR partner or by the

external Assimilation Coach. Once the manager kicks off the meeting, and encourages people to be open and

honest, she leaves the meeting and a facilitator takes the group through various questions such as:

� What do we know about the leader?

� What we don�t know about you as a leader?

� What we want you to know about us as a team?

� What are the greatest challenges facing our team that will impact our ability to deliver on expectations?

� What do we think the unit needs, to perform our jobs better in the next 30-60 days?

� What advice do we have for the leader to be successful in his/her role?

Group answers are noted on flipcharts. The leader then returns to the room and team takes a break. The

facilitator walks the leader through all the team comments and coaches the leader to prepare her comments,

clarificatory questions and answers to some of the questions. This is an opportunity for the new leader to begin

to set direction and have her voice heard. She begins to set the tone for the culture that she would like to create

in her team. The team is then called back and the manager shares her observations, comments, and answers to

some of the questions. Table 1, shows a sample agenda for a New Leader Assimilation meeting. Typically, this

session is run with the leader and her next level of direct reports; it can also get extended to one-level below in

the organization to include an expanded group of leaders in the process of leader on-boarding. Keeping the

core structure intact, the meeting is often converted into a 1 or 2 days of leadership team building retreat.

12 76

Leader Kick-Off 10 minutes

� Warm-up / ice-breaker activity, facilitator shares process and agenda

� Leader encourages people to be open and candid, leaves room

Facilitated Team Discussion 1.5 hours

� What do we know about the leader? What don�t we know and would like to know?

� What do we want the leader to know about us as a division/unit/team?

� What are the greatest challenges facing us as a division/unit/team?

� What does the division/unit/team need in the next 30-60 days?

� What advice do you have for the leader to be successful in his/her role?

Table 1. Sample New Leader Assimilation Meeting Agenda

Leader Overview: 20 minutes

� Excuse all the attendees from the room for 1:1 with the leader

� Give leader high-level overview of meeting, themes, Issues that had a lot of passion

� Review each question/comment with the leader providing coaching as appropriate

Leader Responses: 1.5 hours

� Participants return to room; Leader asks for clarifications, shares openly

� Leader can pass on a question/comment and state that she is not yet ready to respond

Meeting Closure 15 minutes

� Leader thanks participants; leader commits to converting insights into goals and action plans (working with her Assimilation coach)

Proven Best Practices

Transitions are challenging. However, there are a few straight-forward things that an organization and the

leader can do to ease the transitions process.

Plan for the On-boarding

Transition management begins even before the new leader steps into the role. This planning should be done

with the manager of the leader. Manager can plan the on-boarding process in terms of initial meetings, sharing

of information prior to the leader�s joining, as well as taking care of the basics like office resources for when she

steps in to the role. Critical stakeholders can be informed and enrolled in supporting the new leader integration

from even before the person joins.



Assimilation Coach can work with the leader to identify clear, actionable goals in these areas.

� Business Agenda - short/long term goals for the unit

� Leadership agenda - leadership style, core values/principles, org. savvy; 90-day on-boarding plan

� Relationship Agenda � positive working relationships with manager, peer, directs, building a network (key stakeholders list)

� Learning Agenda - strengths and development areas in new role; create a development plan

� Personal Agenda - manage time, priorities, balance work & family, maintain motivation and focus

Guide the Leader

Successful integration is a shared responsibility. Most transitioning leaders reported that a structured

development plan would have helped them immensely through the transition (Sinar & Paese, 2014). While the

organization provides support to the leader, the leader needs to actively manage the transition process. Over

the years, I have built a short check-list of what the transitioning leader can do to make her transition

successful. This is a condensed version of and draws heavily from Michael Watkins� list of ten transition

priorities.

Engage the Manager

Manager of the leader plays a critical role in setting up the new leader for success in her new role. More than

40% of transitioning leaders surveyed (Sinar & Paese, 2014) wrestled with lack of guidance from their manager

and unclear expectations. Thus, engaging the manager in the transition process is a best practice. Manager

needs to think through what are the key deliverables of the role, who are the critical stakeholders, and how

should the joining of this new leader be positioned with the rest of the organization. If there is a departing leader

whose vacancy is being filled by the incoming new leader, it is important to plan for hand-over/take-over.

Appropriate messaging around the earlier leader�s departure is also an important aspect of how the new leader

is perceived and accepted by the team. What information needs to be shared with the new leader after she

steps into the role, what forums/groups should the new leader be invited to join, and setting up a rhythm of 1-1

connection with the new leader to review, discuss, and offer support during the transition process needs to be

worked out by the manager of the new leader.

Assign a Transition Coach

An Integration or Assimilation Coach can help the transitioning leader manage himself through the change,

uncertainty and learning related to the transition. The transition coach can work with the leader to help her build

clear and actionable goals that will help accelerate her assimilation. Coaching also provides a safe place for

reflection and the coach can be a sounding board. Coach can collect stakeholder feedback and provide

insights for course-correction as needed. Coach remains connected to the manager of the leader-in-transition

and facilitates Manager Engagement. This can be an external, professional coach or an internal coach, with

experience in transition coaching.

Table 2. Sample Focus Areas for Assmilation Coaching Goals

12

Promote Yourself

� Make the mental break from your old job

� Negotiate clear expectations with old boss around hand-over (especially for internal transitions)

Build Momentum

� Build a productive working relationship with your new manager

� Gain agreement on your 90-day plan

� Identify key stakeholders and start building relations across the organization

� Keep your balance � transitions are stressful times

� Engage your support network � this could be friends, families, mentors, colleagues at work

Secure Early Team Wins

� Identify an early team win

� Create coalitions � supporters, opponents, those �convincible� vs. �convincibles�

� Communicate your team�s results

Table 3. Transition Success Strategies

Think in terms of what you wish to accomplish by these specific milestones: End of Day 1, End of Week 1, End of 30 days, End of 60 days, End of 90 days

Focus First 30 days on learning

� Discuss key responsibilities, priorities and objectives with the manager

� Agree on scope of role including �non-negotiable� and �not-to-do list�

� Get to know your team

� Generate questions that will help you learn about the past, present and future

� Seek information from manager and others who may have critical knowledge about your situation (e.g., direct reports, peers)

� Identify key stakeholders and begin to build your network of relationships

� Develop 30, 60, 90- day expectations and gain manager consensus

Focus 30 � 60 days on 1 - 2 key priorities where you can secure early wins.

During the 60 � 90 days achieve or demonstrate progress against the 1 - 2 key priorities

90-Day Plan

A 90-Day On -Boarding Plan is a most useful tool to guide a leader�s transition. Firstly, it ensures clarity and

transparency around what the leader is focused on. It also ensures alignment with the manager, so there are no

surprises. Finally, it allows the leader and her manager to have focused conversations around how the

transition is progressing.

Table 5. Building a 90-day On-Boarding Plan



CEO Transitions

CEO successions are the most publicly visibly leadership transitions. We have seen successful transitions for

CEOs like Satya Nadella at Microsoft (2014), Chuck Robbins at CISCO (2015), and closer to home, for Abidali

Neemuchwala at Wipro (2016).

Transitions to watch in the coming months are John Flannery taking over as the CEO of GE from Jeff Immelt,

and the recent announcement of Joe (Joseph) Jimenez retiring as CEO of the pharma giant Novartis and Dr.

Vas Narasimhan taking the reigns as the CEO from February 1, 2018. In both cases, the incoming CEOs are

internal promotions of long tenured leaders with a 5-6 month overlap for transition with the current CEO.

At the other extreme is the appointment of Dara Khosrowshahi on August 30th as the new CEO of Uber, after

the stormy exit of Travis Kalanick, who stepped down as Uber CEO under investor pressure in June of this year.

Khosrowshahi�s transition is going to be challenging, with high expectations for addressing known company

culture Issues, making the company profitable and possibly paving the way to an Initial Public Offering.

Closer to home, stormy exits of Vishal Seka from Infosys and Cyrus Mistry from Tata Sons would have created

both succession and transition management challenges for the two corporate behemoths of India. It is a rare

GE that plans CEO succession for 6 years and then carefully handles transition of the new leader into the role.

In India, most Boards don�t discuss CEO succession. Most of the corporates are family owned and reluctant to

discuss Issues of death and letting go of control.

Although some of the challenges at this level are unique, most of the research-informed principles and best

practices for managing leadership transitions mentioned above can and do scale across organizational levels,

with some uniqueness based on level and situation.

Conclusion

Today, leader transitions are more frequent and even more complex. Transitioning leaders are often left to �sink

or swim�. Research has shown that leaders in transition desire and benefit from a structured approach to their

on-boarding and assimilation process. Doing this is not complicated � in fact, most of it is quite

straightforward. What it requires is a mindset shift, commitment and disciplined execution. I strongly urge HR

colleagues to develop a systematic process to support leader transitions at their organization. Not only will

they receive thanks and appreciation from these leaders, but also, there will be financial payoffs.

References

Ashkenas, R (2010). Hire Senior Executives that Last. https://hbr.org/2010/08/how-to-hire-senior-

executives.html; last accessed on September 6, 2017.

Byford, M., Watkins, M. & Triantogiannis, L. (2017). On-boarding isn�t enough. Harvard Business Review, May-

June 2017.

DDI Global Leadership Forecast Report 2014/15

Downye, D. (2001). Assimilating New Leaders: The key to executive retention. AMACOM: New York, NY

Paese, M. & Wellins, R. (2007). "Leaders in transition: Stepping up, not off." Development Dimensions

International.

Sinar, E. & Paese, M. (2014). Leaders in Transition. Progressing along a precarious path. Development

Dimensions International.

Watkins, M. (2003). The First 90 Days: Critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels. Harvard

Business Press: Boston, MA.

12 80


Mr Gurucharan Singh Gandhi currently heads Learning & Development of a

leading Indian Conglomerate.

An MBA in marketing from the Institute of Management Development and

Research, he did his B. Pharmacy from Berhampur, Orissa. Along the years he

earned certifications in OD & Change management and in Coaching from the

NeuroLeadership Group. His current interests are individual and large system

change.

Guru, as he is known, is the author of a best seller called �Kabeer In Korporates�� a

book which explores an alternative management narrative, learning from the

famous bhakti saint and applying those learning�s in the corporate set up. The

book won the best debut manuscript award in non fiction at Lit-O-Fest in 2017. He

writes regularly through his blog www.mondaymusingsbyguru.blogspot.com and

a few other publications. Guru enjoys long distance running.

Mr Gurucharan Singh Gandhi

About the Author

Lost in Transition

81


Article in Brief: Organizations spend hugely for creating a pipeline of leaders. While many succeed, many

more struggle to transit to the new roles. This struggle may be rooted in the context, policies and the innate

personality of the incumbent. It is critical to understand deeply the phenomenon of transition and slice the

various types of the struggle during the process of transition even before we try to solve for the problem. This

article outlines the challenges of transition in detail and thereafter proposes some ways in which those

challenges can be solved for.

Lost in Transition

One of the most common conceptual errors of emphasis in Leadership Development is the area of development

during transition.

Most leadership development programs and initiatives are preparatory. The broad method involves picking up a

pool of potential future leaders and putting them through a journey of a cluster of developmental inputs. Some of

these inputs stick, others do not � depending upon the quality and relevance of those inputs and the assimilation

ability of the participant concerned.

This method is akin to preparing for a jungle trek � we plan, prepare, pack the bag with necessary tools and

equipment required for the journey. It is important to conceptually understand what the journey ahead is going to

look like, plan based on the literature available to us, basis based on what others in the similar circumstances

have gone through and finally based on our own estimate of what we are good at and what needs further

strengthening. However, as anyone who has been through a trek in a jungle will tell you that all that gets tested as

soon as there is contact with the �unknown�. The novice trekker needs most help during the trek � not as much as

before the trek, without underplaying the importance of the latter.

The big question while designing the leadership development journey is to ask if we have provided enough

attention for assistance during the transition as much as we have provided for before it � otherwise the journey

and the passenger may suffer from what I call �lost in transition�.

Transition challenges are of many types. A few archetypes are as follows.

The Comprehension challenge - The new roles, particularly a higher-level role is a qualitatively different one. The

nature of thinking and application required is different, if not higher. A new incumbent for reasons of

comprehension simply does not get the new terrain and the new game. The comprehension challenge is acute

when the transition involves a different business, a different product category or a different function. The

incumbent faces challenges in discerning the newness of the role. The new roles require new capabilities. These

capabilities may be at an operational level or at a functional level or at a behavioural level. The levers of the new

role and their interplay demands the new incumbent learn new skills and acquire new knowledge or master a new

technology � all of which might turn out to be a gap too big to bridge. The good news about comprehension

challenge is that once correctly identified, it is easy to solve, assuming intent on the part of the transiting leader �

both of which is easier said than done.

1. The Mindset Challenge: Every leader grows over his/her career and develops maps to manoeuvre around,

negotiate with problems and deal with Issues. Over time these maps also tend to become fossilised and

outdated. The rate of change of the map mostly trails behind the rate of change of the terrain. All of us have

an inbuilt SOP that has been honed over years that might have yielded results. We have our world views that

determine our default responses. Every transition is also a moment where such world views get tested for

relevance. A logical and technical person in a dominantly people related leadership role will struggle. A detail

oriented operational person will struggle in a strategic role. Despite technical brilliance and high IQ, leaders

Lost in Transition

12 82

in a new role may struggle if the temperament required for a new role does not undergo a transition. The

trouble with mindset transition is that it is not so easy for the incumbent to see his own failings in this light.

The Mindset challenge often comes camouflaged as a comprehension challenge �in the eyes of the

incumbent, observer and receiver.

2. The Relatedness Challenge: A difficult reality to confront and accept in leadership roles is that we may not

be cut out to do all kinds of roles. This may be for a variety of reasons but the one most difficult to ascertain is

associated with relatedness. Each role consumes us in a unique way � for example artists get consumed by

the greatness of art that is produced because of inspiration; a seller/sales leader is consumed by the

exhilaration of sales and growth at an envious level; a designer by the envy of its creativity and a product

specialist by the sweetness of having solved a consumer problem through its product. Each role has a

specific way of relating with its incumbent, just as each incumbent has a way of relating with its role. It�s a

perfect union. However, every transition for a leader represents a possibility for this unique relatedness to

change. If the change represents a loss of that unique relatedness so precious for the incumbent, he will

experience a void, a loss of mojo, an inexplicable loss of meaning. It is truly difficult to identify and solve this

one.

3. The New Work Rhythm Challenge: Every role demands a transition in the work rhythms. Some roles

involve micro management and others macro management � and both require a different work rhythm, a

different way in which the daily and monthly time allocation is managed. One kind of time allocation perfect

for one kind of role can be a disaster in another kind of role. The proportion of time allocated for managing the

team versus the stakeholder versus the market versus the regulator undergo a change as roles change.

However, the incumbent might still be stuck in a time warp, thereby creating circumstances ripe for a

transition challenge.

Solving the Transition Challenges

Each of the above transition challenges should be solved by the team which is responsible for crafting the

transition journey. While each archetype is broadly speaking a transition challenge, they do not have the same

topography; solving each one of them requires an approach which is geared towards solving the specific

nuance of the challenge. The same strategy for enabling the transition will not work in all the four types.

The comprehension transition challenge can be solved by formal and technical training programs or creating

conversations & buddy programs with senior members who have been there and done that. A slightly long

handing over phase with the previous incumbent often plays a significant role in minimising this transition risk.

Sometimes, it also helps by creating opportunities for industry visits with similar industry companies &

attending industry body conferences. If the basic intellect was present in the incumbent and has a track record

of success which provided him the new role in the first place � the comprehension problem usually, but not

always, will be the symptom of a deeper Issue such as the other three transition challenges outlined above.

Hence it is critical to diagnose the real transition Issue if we expect any success.

The Mindset Challenge is more difficult to solve. It is not a skill or capability challenge that is easy to identify or

even accept. The incumbent usually shall not be forthcoming to accept is as such � for it requires an awareness

and courage of very high order. The usual method recommended is providing a transition coach which might be

external or even a mentor from within the organisation. Irrespective of the choice between the two, this is an

aided process. It rarely solves itself on its own. The choice of the coach or mentor, their credibility and their own

abilities to deal with the Issues of mindsets must be tested before they are assigned. A wrong choice can cause

irreparable damage to the incumbent�s self-confidence and transition challenge. The process of transition help

involves many things vis-à-vis:

A. Making the incumbent see his own worldview and its impact on his choices

B. Reflection on his own personality characteristics, determining his attitude towards business challenges

and his preferred method of solving them



C. The impact of past experiences and particularly past successes on the incumbent�s perspective and blind

spots

D. The presence or absence of risk taking in decision making of the incumbent and reasons thereof etc.

The Relatedness Challenge is the next level of the transition challenge that few are prepared to confront,

because of our blind hunger for career growth. Many years ago, a senior colleague offered me a higher-level

assignment which I politely declined, I thought it would take me away from the �action� and involve me in

�administrative & coordinating. He smiled at me and said, �we call it strategizing and influencing�. Later, I

understood I was so attached to the �action and doing� part of my role, and I the possibility of moving away from

it was an anathema to me, even if it came with a promotion. The perfect way out of this challenge remains a

puzzle. A part of the responsibility lies with the incumbent and the other, with the talent team. The incumbent

must ascertain if he is emotionally prepared to deal with a change in the nature of work. He must accept the new

role only after he confronts his likes and dislikes, the roots of his mojo from his job and when he is sure that a

change will not leave him disillusioned. On the other hand, talent teams should be able to judge the candidate�s

likes and dislikes in equal measure. Given sufficient time there is a strong possibility a newer nuance may catch

our fancy. We must approach the new role with an open mind � to allow newer sources of mojo to strike roots.

The New Work Rhythm Challenge may be understood as a different version of the mindset challenge, except it

is often related to the time management aspects. The person should be provided him the benefit of an internal

mentor who has done the same or similar job in the past and is aware of the pitfalls. New roles expect new time

allocations, prioritisations and emphasis- and if not managed properly it has the potential of robbing the

incumbent of effectiveness even when everything else is in place. The above four archetypes can manifest

themselves in combination of each other, thereby complicating the form and shape of the transition challenge.

It requires some imagination for the talent management processes to estimate and foresee the transition

challenges in each case, and then provide for them well in time. It will however require a high degree of

awareness for the incumbent to be able to see which one or more of the above is causing a transition stress.

Role of Line Managers

It is not uncommon to lament the poor role in leadership development that line managers play in general. It is

astonishing that rarely is the ability of managing transitions a part of any leadership development program.

Managing transitions is a specific competence with very different conceptual and operational backbone.

Unfortunately, it is rarely accorded the importance it deserves in the leadership development journeys of

middle or senior management. It is left to the mercy of individual leaders to figure this process on their own and

approach it based on their experience and instinct. On the other hand, it is common to see the use of external

coaches to enable transitions, thereby perpetuating the conundrum.

Most transition creates stress, in small measure or large. Many of these take care of themselves over time as

the incumbent struggles his/her way through the blues. The question to ponder in matured and progressive

systems is - can we save the incumbent and the system from avoidable pain during this transition?

Gurucharan Singh Gandhi is the author of national bestseller �Kabeer In Korporates� and the Head of Learning

& Development with a leading conglomerate. The book was recognised in the Best first Published book

category at the LIT-O-FEST, a literature festival in Mumbai|| www.gurucharangandhi.com||

12NHRD Network Journal October 2017 |

As an independent leadership development expert Mr Devapriyo Ghose helps

organizations improve leadership performance with a view to enabling enable

effective execution of business strategy. Executive coaching, assessments,

feedback, and facilitation of learning / organizational outcomes for executive

teams are his specialty areas. Earlier Devapriyo led the Leadership Development

Practice at Mercer Consulting and was with the Infosys Leadership Institute

at Infosys Technologies for 5-6 years facilitating the leadership development of

�Tier -1� leaders. Devapriyo represented Infosys on the Leadership Development

Council of the Conference Board, USA. He has written and spoken on leadership

development in various national and international forums. He has over 30+ years�

broad multi-disciplinary experience in India/US in consulting and industry.

Academically, he has an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

and a Master�s in Economics from Calcutta University.

Mr Devapriyo Ghose

Why Leadership Development Efforts Fail

85


Abstract

Leadership development can be a significant contributor to organizational success and longevity. However,

there are a number of many flaws that often bedevil leadership development efforts. These happens when

not enough attention is paid to context; when ownership is missing either in the individual, the organization or in

executive sponsorship; when there is not enough clarity on leadership requirements; when a whole systems

approach is missing; and when some critical element of the development process is missed out or insufficiently

implemented. Based on the author�s long experience with leadership development and both primary and

secondary research the paper elaborates where and how these flaws are typically seen, resulting in the less than

satisfactory outcomes for many leadership development interventions. Conversely, through the identification of

flaws, the papers hope to help identify the critical elements that make leadership development efforts succeed.

Keywords : Leadership Development, Derailers, Context, Ownership, Leadership requirements, Whole systems

approach, Leadership experiences, Leadership journey.

Introduction

A January 2017 World Economic Forum report lists �Reimagining the leadership model� as one of the �The 4

concerns that keep CEOs awake at night.� Read any CEO interview about their major business challenges and

concerns and you�re very likely to find leadership listed somewhere near the top; or check out any airport

bookshop and you�ll find it chock full of books on leadership. Yet for a subject that is so talked about, the level of

real engagement in thinking about achieving meaningful value through leadership development is surprisingly

patchy.

It�s not that money is not spent on leadership development. It is. But equally, most often you�ll find the overall

impression ranging from mild disappointment about lack of tangible results to raging unhappiness about money

having been being wasted. The DDI/Conference Board Global Leadership Forecast 2014-15 says,

�Why is leader quality going nowhere fast? Apparently, because leadership development efforts have stalled,

despite the fact that it is estimated that some $50 billion a year is being spent on developing leaders worldwide.

As in the last two forecasts, only 37 percent of leaders in the current study rated their organization�s leadership

development program as effective, indicating no improvement over the past seven years. The An overwhelming

majority of leaders are still saying they are not satisfied with their organization�s development offerings. It�s no

wonder that, with leaders reporting a lack of improvement in their development, we aren�t seeing a vast

difference in overall leader quality.�

So, based on both research and personal experience of seeing both successful and failed leadership

development efforts, here are five of the most common flaws that typically derail such interventions.

Figure 1: Mind map for why leadership development efforts fail

Missing Out on Context:

Leadership development happens in a context. Without a deep understanding of why development is

important, any development effort runs the risk of being misdirected. Leadership development has most value

when there is a clearly understood causal link between what the organization wants to accomplish and the

changes that leaders need to make, individually and collectively, to achieve them.

The context of the industry conditions, the life cycle of the organization, the organization�s history and culture

and the bench strength among other things would make an enormous difference. These differences may not

call for a different set of leaders per se, but almost certainly call for different leadership with different mix of

Why Leadership Development Efforts Fail

86

87

leadership qualities. An organization facing a downturn would require different leadership than the same

company enjoying years of sustained growth. An organization in a mature industry with well-defined

Context...Whichmisses

out on...

Ownership...Which needs to

exist for ...

Leadership Requirements ..Which don�t incorporate ...

Whole systemapproach..,Which does not account

for....Elements of the Development

Process...Which don�t

include...

Why Leadership Development

Efforts fail. Because we

miss out on....

Strategy

Culture

Individual Leader

Organization

Executive Leadership

Clear and detailed

behaviour indicators

Mindset, beliefs and

skills

Systems/Policies

Structure

Teams

Reflectionaction loop-

Holistic approach/ multiple methods

Feedback

Metrics/ Milestones


characteristics, e.g. building aircrafts, would require different leadership than an industry on the brink of

disruption, e.g. automobiles. An organization focused on an acquisition led strategy would require different

leadership from another company in the same industry focused on organic growth.

While this seems obvious, it is surprising how often leadership development efforts are undertaken devoid of

context and instead based on some universal set of principles that may or may not apply in this particular case.

A variant of this approach is interventions based on off-the shelf products or based on the latest management

book that has become a fad. Not that this book may not contain great and very useful ideas, or that the product

does not have great attributes. Unfortunately, the question �what are we developing people for and does this

leadership development approach serve that objective� often does not even get asked, much less answered.


Along with executive education courses at leading global MBA schools, these types of interventions can be

very useful for exposing leaders to current thinking/theory, building perspective, helping them network and

signaling the organization�s appreciation of the leader�s worth. However, they are not necessarily do not help in

helping for changing behavior or perhaps even for in building specific capabilities and skills. Unfortunately, it

has often been seen observed that these forms of leadership development efforts are initiated with just those

kinds of objectives, behavior change or specific capability building, in mind. Eventually there is a clear sense of

disappointment in the organization that its objectives were not met. It could be argued that that the objectives

were mismatched but it is surprising how often people expect specific results through interventions completely

unrelated to the leader�s specific context.

Contrast that with the action learning projects undertaken by the India arm of a global electrical engineering

organization. The projects were considered relevant enough to be presented to the Board and subsequently to

the Global executive leadership and two of the projects were considered important enough to examine

whether they could be implemented globally. There was a palpable improvement in engagement, clear

business benefits and important opportunities for senior people to step up their game to influence peers at a

global level which they had not done before.

The other element of context that is critical is culture. Organization culture determines how strategy gets

translated into execution. An organization which prides itself on individual heroics to get things done and see

planning as somehow constraining needs a different approach to leadership development than one with

mature human capital processes embedded into. Unfortunately, many organizations are uncomfortable talking

about culture since it�s often ill-defined and hard to precisely pin down and therefore react to culture passively.

However, the implications for success of leadership development design to succeed are twofold. Firstly, in

evaluating how the culture might impact the leadership development process and what elements might work in

this culture versus what will be rejected (e.g. trying to do a 360-feedback assessment in a highly politicized

environment where people are very suspicious of each other or trying internal coaching in a �let me tell you what

to do� culture). Secondly, in baking into the design what in the culture needs to change to achieve its strategy.

At another level, changing culture is an exercise in leadership and every culture change initiative is an

opportunity to develop and deepen leadership abilities. If these elements of culture change are not included in

leadership development, as they often are not, there is a very real danger, as Peter Drucker is supposed to have

said, of �culture eating strategy for breakfast�

So, deep immersion in and connecting to the leader�s business context is critical to the design of any

leadership development thinking, to ensure that there is ensuring a strong felt need which satisfies the

questions of �why leadership development� before one get to the question of �what leadership development

needs to be done�. Understanding the organizational culture will help to determine the extent the design has to

be embedded in the culture or has to thread the needle on how to change that culture which will have an

important bearing on �how leadership development happens�.

Missing Out on Ownership:

The Issue of ownership operates at multiple levels.

The individual�s ownership of his learning is perhaps the most significant key to the success of the

interventions. Actively creating that ownership and setting expectations that any participant in a leadership

intervention is required to take ownership of and responsibility for their development journey is a very important

first step. However, this is more often than not overlooked and thus ensuring any intervention, even if well

designed, becomes a hit-and-miss affair � some motivated participants get a lot out of it; others wait for

learning to be poured into them without their having to engage with the process. This is seen most often in

industries with high attrition or these where there is a lot of investment in learning and development so people

don�t have to feel that if they miss this opportunity it will not come again. It�s important to be clear that

leadership cannot be taught; but it can be learnt.

12NHRD Network Journal October 2017 | 89

Individual ownership can work only when there is corresponding ownership at the level of the organization -

through organizational follow-up and link with organizational process; ensuring that line managers are thinking

about both potential and performance, identifying relevant development opportunities; providing linkages to

career stage and possible growth paths; through messaging that the a particular leadership development

intervention in question is both relevant and important

Finally, executive ownership sponsorship, though through messaging and demonstrated commitment goes a

long way towards successful leadership development efforts.

For example, at a mid-sized MNC, a global leadership development initiative pushed by an influential HR Head

got shelved 6 months later by the CEO citing revenue / margin pressure and the proviso that he had never been

convinced about the virtues of the initiative anyway. A few months later when it was sought to be revised under

the aegis of a new HR Head, a significant number of participants were very skeptical saying they didn�t believe

the organization was serious about people development.

Missing Out on Leadership Requirements

While the overall connect to the organization�s business context and strategy is critical, it is only the first step

albeit a foundational one. To make the development process operational there needs to be clarity on what

exactly is the intended to happen as a result of that particular leadership development intervention � what skills

or behaviours needed to be acquired, enhanced, modified or dropped. Without this clarity, interventions are

almost being set up to fail.

These changes in terms of skills, behaviours, beliefs and mindset therefore have to should be drilled down into

much more specific indicators � this drill-down typically happens through the organization�s competency

model.

Competency models have a couple of problems. One is its development in the traditional �what the best

performers do� approach � given the change in the pace of change and the multiplicity of continual but different

challenges that arise in today�s business context, this kind of a static approach is doomed from the start.

Traditional management theory of business growth held that organizations went through a growth phase and

over time emerged into a steady state. That no longer happens � very few organizations can cost coast along at

a steady state � either you�re growing or someone else is eating your lunch and you�re declining. In this

environment, competency models need to be a lot more future focussed.

Even when they are future focussed, it is useful to distinguish between traits like curiosity and empathy that you

probably need to hire for; versus behavioural practices like pattern recognition and being able to give feedback

which can be learnt and built on. These are in contrast to behavioural outcomes such as being a good strategic

thinker or being a trusted advisor that in turn helps you achieve better business objectives like getting more

business through better strategy or better relationships. The clarity between traits, practices, behavioural and

business outcomes not only helps business managers understand the required behaviours but also build their

beliefs on why they are important by linking to what they can do if they exhibit those behaviours. Obviously,

each stage is only a precondition i.e. curiosity is not a guarantor for being a better pattern recogniser but it is

certainly a good predictor. Likewise, being a good pattern recogniser certainly cannot ensure a great strategic

thinker but is it almost certainly enhances the probability.

Thus, rather than looking at the competency to be developed per se, it helps to focus on the strategic demands

being put upon the leader(s) as the starting point of any leadership development effort and work backwards

from the business outcome to the leadership challenges represented by those demands which can then be

further used to pinpoint behavioural outcomes to the practices that need to be developed.

Even where there is a level of clarity of outcomes, by definition a competency model has to be relevant to a large

range of people and therefore operates at a fairly high level of abstraction. To make it operational to a particular

set of people at a particular point in time, the competency indicators have to be narrowed down and grounded

anchored to specific behaviours that need to change, to be strengthened or to be elevated to �hygiene� level.


Hence narrowing which competencies and within those which indictors are relevant to the people/group being

developed clearly is important.

Another criticism of competency models is that in attempting to be holistic they become fairly complex in the

number of competencies, and extent to which people are expected to excel in each of them. A standing joke is

that if God (or Superman) were evaluated on a typical competency model they would almost certainly fail � if

they clear the standards for vision or setting direction, might they not clear the bar on execution or building a

second line?

Even at the level of a particular competency and a particular behavioural indicator, a further level of specificity

may be required. While many competency models talk about building relationship skills to be a �trusted

advisor� what constitutes trusted advisor-ship would be different across organizations, across functions,

across roles and across time.

Having a grounded understanding on what exactly that looks like at a particular time and location is a critical

requirement of driving successful leadership development. However, this level of grounded understanding

which requires a large investment in time and detailed questioning is not often seen.

Further, more often than not, Issues around mindsets and beliefs tend to get missed out. For one they�re much

more fuzzy and unclear than knowledge and skills; and for a second they�re much harder to change. However,

particularly at senior levels, it can be argued that the bulk of the development effort needs to happen in

precisely that space. For most if not all people at senior / executive management levels, development Issues do

not arise from knowledge and skills � even where skills gaps exist they can be traced back to mindset and belief

Issues. A CEO who fails, probably doesn�t fail because a lack of knowledge of Finance or Chemistry; but more

likely because they don�t listen to warning signs or because of hubris coming from being �super-successful� in

the past or because they are incapable of delegating and lands up doing everybody else�s work. Tracing back,

that inability to delegate probably doesn�t come from a lack of awareness of how or what to delegate but more

likely comes from beliefs about his own capability or from impatience to get results or from not being able to

move on from past success to recognising what was is most important in their current orbit.

Without diagnosing the Issues and setting realistic objectives accordingly any leadership development effort

runs the risk of tackling the wrong problem.

Missing Out on a Whole System Approach

Since we�re talking of leadership development, rather than leader development, it is important to take a whole

systemic view of what needs to change, besides the leader�s behaviour and skills, to achieve the organization�s

objectives. we�ve been talking about. Specifically, to look at what are the other structures and systems that

need to be exist to support changed leader behaviour; who else needs to be impacted to build the critical mass

� other individuals, team, organization; what organizational policies or processes affirm, reinforce and

complement the leadership development effort.

Some commonly seen examples of this are:

� What the organization measures and manages versus what the individual is being developed for e.g., ndleaders are developed for creating 2 line but rewarded for individual performance

� Providing on-the-job developmental assignments to support leadership development programs are very

useful to reinforce learning but woefully infrequently used

� Where the leader is going versus how his career is planned and managed and what he is developed for

(from a succession perspective) e.g., the organization wants him to be a holistic leader but keeps him in

sales delivery

� The set of capabilities looking to be built for individuals versus the set of leadership requirements across

the organization e.g. the organization needs adversity leaders but individual leaders are focused only on

operational leadership


� What a leadership development intervention is aimed at versus the material conditions the leader will go

back to e.g. leader is sent for a course on empowerment or delegation and comes back to being told by the

manager to get back to real work and that the program was a waste of time

Consider a leadership development exercise aimed at, among other things, bringing about better collaboration

in a professional services firm organized as a matrix. While there were clear benefits to the program, including

enhanced efforts at working across silos, post intervention analysis of the impact, lead to a realization that

some other scaffolding for the required behaviour change was needed. Building in structured forums for joint

planning and providing a means to give multiple groups revenue credit for joint work went a long way to support

the changed behaviour. Often, �soft� methods such as exhortations of the virtues of collaboration and

collaboration capability building through leadership interventions need to be buttressed by �hard� changes in

structure and incentives to have real impact.

A similar exercise intended at the India arm of a global technology major had to be called after the diagnostic

phase. Senior members of the leadership team of the group�s different line of business expressed their

frustration privately at what was seen to be as hobby-horse of the global leadership development function. As

someone succinctly put it �We talk about collaboration once a year in our leadership workshops � and forget

about it the year round�. The performance management system, even at senior-most levels, was clearly

oriented towards individual or silo�level results; and the incentive systems only reinforced them. There was no

attempt to explain why their collaboration would make a meaningful difference either for themselves personally

or for the businesses they headed; there were no formal touch-points where they had to come together; the

organizational mythology prominently celebrated the individual hero who stood alone and achieved against

impossible odds and the unstated culture was one of getting ahead and not compromising. Under the

circumstances it was deemed prudent not to have a collaboration themed intervention at this stage without

supporting actions in some of the above areas.

Lastly, take the case of an industrial manufacturing organization which put its middle-senior level leaders

through a leadership development initiative that includes an action learning component. One of the action

learning projects involved a cross-functional team designing an improved quality management system. The

project went so well and ahead of time that and the team was tasked with implementing it, as well. However,

there was no explicit organizational sponsorship and no one at anthe executive level intervened to rope in the

Head of Quality and the Head of Manufacturing and through them the rest of the function. Thus the action

learning team, even with senior representatives from both these functions failed to make much headway since

they are were able to influence only some people on their own steam but not enough of a critical mass. The

project failed and it was seen as a failure of the leadership development process rather than a failure to look at

other missing support elements.

Missing Out on Elements of the Development process

It is important to be clear that leadership development efforts are designed to facilitate the leader�s learning as

well as their ability to learn. It�s not that leaders would not develop without formal leadership development

interventions. People learn from their experiences, from being in the right place at the right time, from �crucible�

moments, from having someone given the perspective or feedback, from being able to process their

experiences and being able to garner lessons which they can apply subsequently.

Leadership development tries to do this by design and with purpose to replicate what might otherwise happen

by accident or serendipity. It reverses of process of undergoing reflection, from what it is that needs to change

and then providing the platform and resources to bringing about those changes and learn from it. NEEDS

REWRITE?

In a perfect world, leadership development would provide a continuing reflection � action loop. Reflection

would have the leader examine where they wants to go and identify the knowledge, skills, behaviours and

mindset required to get there; identify the current state of these and thus the gaps through feedback or self-

analysis; reflect on why that goal is important to reinforce the motivation. Action would entail filling in the gaps


through learning from a classroom, learning from others, learning from experiences. All the while ensuring there

is enough feedback to ensure they are learning, are on the right track, getting towards their intended goal and

ensuring the goal is still valid. Concurrently they would be reflecting on how to assimilate the learning and apply

it in the future and in the process, acquire the meta-skill of learning how to learn. Thus, this cycle continues with

the next orbit of personal growth and development and the next set of actions and so on.

Since the world is not perfect, the above paragraph also encapsulates all the flaws that creep into the

development process resulting in the less than stellar results that leadership development efforts often deliver.

Leadership development programs are often sold as a one-off exercise with the message being �do this and

you become a leader and you�re set for life� rather that �this is the first step on a long and ongoing journey�. This

comes from focusing on leadership development as an event and stems from short term organizational

expediency. It is perhaps a reflection of a �tick the box� approach rather than a process to build long term

engagement and benefits both to the organization and the individual. This is also reflective of the fact that

leadership development is often seen as either a reward for high performers or a way to fix erring behavior,

including fixing obvious derailers among otherwise strong performers. As an outcome, there is generally not

much attention paid to, and therefore insufficient preparation for, ensuring the leader is clear about how this

development is going to help them and are motivated; neither is there sufficient discussion on and or facilitated

reflection on career direction and where the development process fits in either to the current or future roles

Learning has to be holistic to have impact. While many interventions benefit from a classroom component it is

important to keep in mind that the classroom sessions, to be effective, have to be designed somewhat

differently from the traditional teaching approach - instructor-led, content-heavy, knowledge-imparting - and

instead focused on learning by doing. Without application of the learning and follow-up either through

development experiences or on-the-job, the full value of the classroom session is seldom realized. However,

since it is difficult to provide structured experiences that can be monitored or be able to influence line managers

to do the monitoring, this follow-up component often gets overlooked. Other ways of sealing in learning e.g.

through teaching / facilitating other�s learning in a �supervised� manner can also be effective both for the

teacher and the taught. For the teacher because the process of thinking through and being clear about what to

communicate itself is a great learning process and often helps to bring about a higher level of commitment to

the topic as well. For the taught, because the extent of connect to the business and practical day-to-day reality

can be high. �Supervised� since the first time, one teaches / facilitates to one�s peers or junior can be

intimidating, so scaffolding the process is helpful. However, this is very infrequently used because it�s usually a

hard sale to make internally.

Experience shows using multiple methods of learning over a period of time can be much more effective that a

single intervention because the multiplicity of touch-points allows the learning to be reinforced and deepened

in multiple, small, digestible doses rather than in one large chunk and thus made more impactful. A Pharma

research organization decided to run a year-long Leadership Excellence Acceleration Program (LEAP) for

about 20 people who were seen as potentially taking over executive leadership roles in the next 1-3 years. The

program was designed to start with a 360-degree feedback/development center, followed by structured

individual development planning, followed by 4 classroom sessions, interspersed with an action learning

project in 2 phases, conceptualization and pilot, supported by group and peer coaching and concluding with a

360 feedback to evaluate progress. At the first classroom session, which was focused on �Leading Self� two

thirds of the participants, 90% of whom held post-doctoral degrees in Chemistry, or Biology, decided to stage

a walk-out because they felt the session was adding no value. Instead they suggested that the �ideal� leader be

profiled, and since they had already been assessed through the development center, just told what they

needed to fix and they would fix it in one shot � why waste time and money over a year. Fortunately, the CEO

intervened and persuaded them to give the program a chance, talked about the struggles and joys of his own

leadership journey and stayed personally engaged in talking to and guiding the participants over the course of

the action learning projects and review sessions. A year later, when asked what their learning had been, various

people offered various benefits � strategic thinking, managing change, influencing others, developing others


and so on - but 100% of the participants said the key learning was that leading oneself was the hardest part of

leadership, that leading the self was the foundation to leading others. The continual reinforcement of the

learning through the projects and group coaching, sharing experiences through their peer coaching and the

role modeling of behavior by the CEO were critical factors in making the intervention work.

At the risk of making a sweeping generalization, most organization are much better at providing operational

feedback (�you did a terrible job of��) than providing timely, actionable and future focused development

feedback. This is a problem in general but gets exacerbated in the context of leadership development

interventions where such feedback is critical to understand where one is to start with, to support the process

and provide the means of making mid-course corrections. Compounding this is the fact that while performance

is measured, even if imperfectly, there is not much evaluation of potential in most organizations. In fact, many

organizations may not even have a shared understanding of what constitutes potential in their context. Thus,

there is likely to be little or no feedback on potential and how to develop that along with performance.

The other thing that helps to evaluate progress, keep people off?/on? track and understand where and when to

make mid-course corrections that are milestones and metrics. Not make-believe metrics like program

satisfaction scores but meaningful ones that tell a leader whether they�re moving in the right direction and

perhaps to what extent. Since leadership development objectives tend to be fuzzy and take time to be realized,

it is hard to stay focused and motivated without a sense of this. While it is almost impossible to come up with

specific, objectively measurable numbers to measure progress it is possible to engage with the question of

�what will we see different if I achieve my leadership development objective�. True, it is very hard work to come

up with these meaningful surrogate metrics and very few organizations or people do it, bet when they do, it

adds a lot of value to the process. Examples of such surrogate metrics are �How confident is the Board, that the

CEO�s appointed successor is ready�; has the decision making cycle reduced; have the number of customer

complaints reduced, have the number of escalations to the boss or the number of fires being fought come

down � they may be fuzzy and inexact but they are observable even if not precisely quantifiable and would still

help determine if progress is being made and in the right direction or for the organization / leader to decide that

the development methods or objectives need to be tweaked.

Conclusion:

This article identifies five elements that, when missed out by leadership development efforts, cause them to

fail. Conversely, ensuring that attention is paid to these elements goes a long way to ensuring they succeed.

These five elements are:

Firstly: Missing out on context � specifically ensuring that development is informed by the organization

strategy to ensure alignment of development with business objective; is embedded in organization culture to

ensure it is not designed to fail and / or can use organization culture change as a crucible to achieve develop

leadership which achieving strategic objectives

Secondly: Missing out on ownership � ensuring that expectations are set that individuals to own their own

leadership development, no one else does; organizations take ownership for follow through and organizational

alignment; ownership at the executive level for sponsorship and messaging to demonstrate commitment

Thirdly: Missing out on leadership requirements - ensuring that objectives are drilled down to

behaviour/mindset change and/or skill development that will make a material difference to the leader�s

performance and potential to impact organizational results

Fourthly: Missing Out on a Whole System Approach � ensuring attention to other organizational elements that

need to support the leadership development process � structures, systems, policies and people.

Finally: Missing Out on Elements of the Development process � ensuring a reflection-action loop to build both

learning and the ability to learn, holistic learning using multiple methods for mutual reinforcement, sufficient

feedback and appropriate metrics and milestones to keep the leader on track.


In summary, to be truly effective at developing leaders and a leadership pipeline organizations need to look

beyond a quick fix of a program or a workshop, to understanding their objectives clearly with all the

complexities of their current context, what needs to be achieved and why and design the intervention

accordingly. Organizations also need to understand what are the multiple levers that influence to help get there

� in additional to the personal development, the role of senior executive commitment and sponsorship, the

interplay of systems, structure, policies, processes and culture � that will enable or vitiate the development

effort. Integration with real work, holistic development methods, feedback and metrics all play a part in making

the development process more effective,

Leadership development is a long gestation journey for the organization and a lifetime�s journey for the leader �

however accomplished a leader, a different time and space will bring different challenges to be faced and

different qualities to be exhibited.

On the other hand, done well, leadership development can be the single largest differentiator between

organization�s that thrive and sustain over time and those that don�t.

References:

Carter Louis, Ulrich David and Goldsmith Marshall, �Best Practices in Leadership Development and

Organizational Change (How the Best Companies Ensure Meaningful Change and Sustainable Leadership)�

Conger Jay A., �Leadership Development Interventions: Ensuring a Return on Investment�, Handbook of

Leadership Theory and Practice (A Harvard Business School Centenary Colloquium) ed. Nohria Nitin and

Khurana Rakesh

Feser Claudio, Nielsen Nicolai, and Rennie Michael, �What�s missing in leadership Development?�, Mckinsey

Quarterly, August 2017

McCall Morgan W. Jr., �The Experience Conundrum�, Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice (A Harvard

Business School Centenary Colloquium) ed. Nohria Nitin and Khurana Rakesh

Profiles International Whitepaper, �Why Leadership Development Fails (And How to Make it a Success)�

Ready Douglas A and Conger J, �Why Leadership Development Efforts Fail�, MIT Sloan Management Review,

Spring 2003

The Conference Board and Development Dimensions International (DDI) Global Leadership Forecast

2014|2015

Williams Ray, �Why Leadership Development Fails to Produce Good Leaders, International Coach Federation

blog


Mr R Anand is presently Sr Vice President � HR at HCL Technologies Ltd, an IT

services company with an employee strength of 120000 and operating in 33

countries. In his professional life, he has focused on the study and practice of

organizational effectiveness and designing people practices that are fit for

business. He has more than 14 years of experience in the design and deployment

of leadership development and pipeline building efforts across multiple countries

and cultures. He has facilitated multiple organization re-design efforts at his

employers with very favorable business outcomes. He has also introduced leading

people practices using social technologies and the employees first customers

second philosophy for which he has received international acclaim by Workforce

Optimas, Human Capital Leadership Institute, Aon Hewitt to name a few. Job

readiness of youth is his other area of expertise and passion towards which he

published a book, �Job readiness for IT & ITES�, 2016, McGraw Hill. His expertise

in this area of job readiness and employability have been acknowledged and

recognized by the governments of Uttarakand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. He is

presently researching the impact that positive psychology, behavioral economics,

psychoanalysis, mind-body connections should make in addressing well-being

Issues of modern urban life. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras from where he did his

Masters in Physics and XLRI Jamshedpur from where he did his Post-Graduate

Diploma in Human Resources.

Mr R Anand

Facilitating Development of the Leadership Pipeline: Issues and Practices for Consideration

About the Author

96

Facilitating Development of the Leadership Pipeline: Issues and Practices for Consideration

Abstract

A healthy leadership pipeline is a definitive competitive advantage. The failure rate of newly acquired

leaders is as high as 40%, while the failure rate of newly promoted leaders from within, is much lower. In

this article the author argues that the act of individual development, i.e., the individual development input- is a

small part of the leadership pipeline building process. There are many �other� variables that take away or add to

leadership pipeline building but they are often not focused on with the same rigor. It is time to focus on these

�other� variables and for a bit it is important to focus less on the �exalted input� that a program or a coach claims

to give. Designing for these �other� variables need to be anchored on strong theoretical foundations. The author

of this paper offers an option that has been tested with encouraging results and is now open for consideration

and critique.

Key Words: Leadership pipeline, Leadership development, development stages, development design

Whether facilitated or not, leadership development happens in any organization or social system.

Development practitioners may like to imply that leadership development is possible only after leadership

development input is given. However, when employees start managing higher responsibilities or solving

complex problems, the organization has already indulged in operational or technical leadership development

respectively. Political parties do not provide formal leadership development but successions happen and

leaders do emerge when the situation demands.

Development of High-potentials often appear as an aside, and as a parallel track to work, business, or

employee processes in the organization. High-potentials hence do not relate to and often can�t draw a vivid line

between what is happening �here� in development and what should be done �there� on the field. The focus of

this article is on these �other� variables and how they add to the leadership pipeline building process.

The author and his team introduced several practices to create a leadership pipeline building system. Each

practice element or design element is hinged on certain theoretical foundations and the purpose of this article

is to describe the practice elements, the underlying theory, the method of deployment, the outcomes and the

learnings. The elements are listed below.

1. The reason why we must develop leaders

2. Gating development & bringing parity between build and buy

3. The Gates & Labs of development constituting stages in the development journey

4. Proof points: Anchoring the affirmation of development on pre-anticipated positive events

5. Lead labs that utilize the social system to state and hear on development journeys

6. Achieving Happiness not point B: Marrying Strengths, Identity and opportunity

7. Creating a system

8. Gamification of the retrospection phase

Why develop leaders in your organization?

While this looks like a no-brainer, the subtle differences in the answers have lots of implications for

development design. We use development design as a broader term for all the elements and how they come

together in the development and delivery of a leadership pipeline. It is not used in a bounded manner for the

individual development input.



We have long promoted performers whose leadership quotient is suspect. In order to get out of this syndrome

there is a need to develop a pipeline for growth and a pipeline for entering new markets. This approach

becomes relevant in a context where skills are changing and senior leaders are retiring. Each of these answers

call for definitive change in the development design prevalent in the organization.

For example, if leadership is being built to enter new markets, high potentials with adjacent exposure to similar

markets must be selected, the course curriculum must have content about the market and the practices. There

must be a cultural orientation to the new marketplace.

Similarly, if leadership is being built because the skills are changing, high potentials with high learnability are to

be selected. Those not afraid of making a transition, proved by their previous career record should be selected.

The current motivation of the high potentials to undertake such a transition must be validated.

When the pipeline is being built because senior leaders are retiring, the political aspect of acceptability of the

new leaders should to be examined thoroughly. Visible rituals in the development design to increase

acceptability of the new leader is important. The new leader must know how to negotiate space with the

transitioning current leader. These will have to be part of the counseling given to the emerging leader in the

development design.

Similarly, there is a need for a gap analysis of the current leadership capacity (do we have enough leaders?),

capability (do we have the right leaders?) and risk (will we retain our leaders?). This author has often found it

useful to characterize current leaders on capacity, capability and risk profile and to sketch an ideal

configuration of achievables two years hence. Discussing this with the CEO, the board and the business

presidents help sharpen the response to �why we must create a leadership pipeline at all?�

Build-Buy parity

When a leader is applying for a job outside the organization, there is enough introspection and psychological

mobilization. The candidate anticipates the required skills, motivations, the demands of the job, and is aware of

the risk of transition and has burnt the proverbial bridge to the past. There is no going back and the way forward

should lead to success. Such a leadership candidate not only takes responsibility for her actions but knows

that risk of failure is a possibility.

When high potentials are being developed, there is no such deep and urgent reflection. The selected candidate

feels secure and believes that �I am here because I am good�. Such an attitude prevents a candidate from

making the personal transition and accepting the personal costs of the journey. In the development process,

the bridges with the past are strengthened. To introduce a healthy discomfort and to build awareness of the

probability of failure, three elements are critical:

1. Orientation Session: This is where the organization could talk about similar journeys facilitated in the past,

which constitute the external benchmarks of leadership development success. The objective would be to

remove the idea that there is only upside and no downside. For example, this author always begins such

orientation by giving statistics from the previous development cohort. �55% of you will reach your point B,

25% will be good but for lack of opportunities will leave the organization and 20% of even this elite group

will drop out, unable to cope and having been pronounced as �not capable� of reaching point B�.

2. GATES: The development design must ensure candidates are able to track their own progress without

ambiguity. The first GATE is the commitment GATE. This is where the high potential has done all the

introspection and presents their journey to the leadership development board. When this introspection is

accepted as substantial and the journey is plausible and aligned to organizational vision, the high potential

crosses the commitment GATE. There are several other GATES as indicated in the diagram below that we

use in our development design. (Please note that the Leadership development program in this

organization is called �TOPGUN�). After demonstrating proof of development, they are let in to another

GATE, into another lab in which to perfect themselves. The concept of the labs is elaborated in the next

section

12 98

3. Selection: The process of selection and the parity between an external candidate and an internal high

potential is critical. This author has found that when the same team is responsible for leadership hiring and

leadership development, it ensures that the choice of internal and external candidate happens on an even

keel. The internal candidate has proven credibility but may lack exposure and acceptability of peers; the

external candidate is a new variable and hence can be set up to succeed but we are never sure whether the

short selection window is a credible one and if the external candidate will adjust to the culture of the

organization.

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GATES & LABS

At the first GATE of commitment, participants showcase their self-reflection. They sketch the trajectory of their

life thus far and describe their present. They present the knowledge and skills; the experiences and exposure;

and the competencies they have acquired. They also marry it with �who they are�, i.e., their identity. The

development board consisting of senior organizational leaders need to be convinced that the introspection has

been honest as well as substantial.

At the next GATE, they go through the physics lab. This is the lab, where they calibrate the distance to point B

(their destination). This point B is often a role that is different from their point A role or a level of mastery that is

higher than their current level. They demonstrate that this point B is a stretch but still at striking distance from

where they are today. The development board �verifies their calculations�, ensures that this is real, aligns well

to the journey of the organization itself and certifies that enough work has been done by the high potential in this

physics lab. The engine that the participant will switch on to make the journey from point A to point B is also

certified by the development board. The participant gets to point B and a development roadmap is given as a

take away in the physics lab. If this roadmap is not signed off, the physics lab is deemed incomplete. Once

perfected, the high potential has passed this GATE of calibration and dimension, he/she moves to the next

GATE.

The next GATE gets the person into the chemistry lab. This is 4 months after the physics lab where the high

potential comes back to present how the development journey has sparked certain internal reactions. This is



an early stage assessment that the development intervention is indeed valid for the individual. The struggles

and how they are being overcome is the discourse in the chemistry lab. The development board at this juncture

shares personal stories of their own struggle with development and who or what helped them. Where there is

no visible reaction, positive or negative, the journey of the chemistry lab is deemed incomplete and the high

potential is asked to substantially engage in the development process

The next GATE that the high potential passes and the next lab they enter is the �biology lab�. This is where the

high potential proves that all it takes to go to point B has been acquired by a �without a doubt� demonstration of

proof points. This is the proof that the person has now evolved akin to biological evolution. Almost all proof

points are signed off in this lab and the development board of the individual certifies that the person is ready for

point B.

This is not the end of all. There is one last GATE. Here the person enters the �psychology lab�. A personal

change uncomfortably accomplished will not sustain (2). Like a dog�s tail, one will spring back to one�s old self.

In this last lab, the individual is encouraged to achieve psychological coherence and fully accept the

consequences of the new self and the psychological costs of change that it has elicited. Once this self-image is

re-integrated, the development is complete and the threat of regression to the earlier state is minimized.

The proof of development

While externally recruiting, we ask candidates why they think their knowledge, skills, exposure, experience and

competencies make them fit for the job. If we were to collect proof points on which to admit a candidate into a

leadership position, in this design element, we are just asking our high potentials to generate similar proof

points.

It is important that we transfer the burden of proof of having developed on the high potential themselves. The

idea is to put them on the spotlight and hot seat and test their leadership qualities. A development board

comprising of line leaders cannot be expected to discern psychological change, but they can certainly verify

the proof points just like they do for external applicants. In the physics lab itself, agreements are drawn on what

constitutes proof of development.

This design element hence is fit for purpose. In addition to transferring the burden of proof, the development

process itself unleashes lots of success events in the organization thus bestowing competitive advantage even

as individual development is taking place.

There are two other advantages:

The development board comprising of senior leaders in the organization have a data based platform to agree or

disagree on what constitutes leadership. The level of fine tuning they achieve on the leadership model that fits

best with their current organizational juncture is a big take away for the development board.

The second advantage is that the heads of these businesses have a live opportunity to benchmark the quality

of leaders and the pace of development taking place in their adjacent business. Often, this author has seen

them inspired by the stories of leadership they now see in front of their eyes and when they go back, they expect

their own teams to raise to these benchmarks thus. This unleashes a �Pygmalion effect� (3) on the teams.

During the labs, the high potential explains their proof of development. We present an aggregated view of the

development board about the participant through gamification. This was done by asking the leaders to

distribute a finite number of coins amongst the high potentials they met that day. We then share this aggregated

score to the high potentials. For example, we gave 10 coins each to 3 development board members to bet on 6

high potentials. If all were equal, each high potential can expect 5 coins, but you have got 7, well done. This

provided the vital feedback link to the development process as there was now a competition with a standard of

excellence (4). This relative comparison of all high potentials is well received by the high potentials. This moves

the paradigm of development efforts into an opportunity mindset from an entitlement mindset. It is easy for a

leadership development participant to fall into the entitlement mindset as they are the exclusive few amongst

the many selected for development and receiving personal attention from the leaders of the organization. This

need for constant feedback amongst high achievers is well established in theory.

101

The Lead Labs

The day after their labs with the development board, all the high potentials assembled under the facilitation of

the program design team. The idea is to reflect on the inputs from the development board. Typically, the

process of facilitation was � all who need to work on �xyz� competencies and a few hands would go up. The

next question was � all who had this very same competency as their strength were accepted by the

development board. The facilitator asked the high potentials who are strong on these competencies to talk

about the following:

� Describe a situation you tackled recently that manifested your strength being worked upon by your

colleagues?

� How do you think you developed this competency?

� What are the mindsets, skill sets and tool sets that facilitate the expression of this competency and what

hinders?

The facilitator would then turn to the advice which the high potentials got from the leadership development

board. They would then ask them to integrate their learning from the recent discussion above to draw a

roadmap that is now more specific.

Throughout these conversations, the facilitator reminds them that they are good, and re-wiring one-self is hard

business and if they feel fully ready to undergo this personal transformation. The social proof (5) from fellow

colleagues about acquiring and expressing these competencies usually encourages the high potential to make

the first intrinsic commitment that this change entails and be ready to pay the psychological price for this

transformation

It is Flow, not Point B

In the first introspective presentation of the commitment GATE, everyone records a video about their peak

moments. This is when they were at their best. The development board is trained to locate the themes that

anchors the person�s career from these �peak moment� descriptions. Often, we see that the high potential is

presenting a point B that is not aligned to these career themes and even identity themes. The development

board spends plenty of time with the high potentials counseling them to do what makes them happy, not what

makes others happy.

At their peak moments, also called Flow (6), these individuals forgot themselves, time stood still, and they were

effortlessly masterful. This happened when they were pursuing a worthwhile objective with their core strengths

and skills. To be a leader is to aspire for many more moments of �Flow� or peak performance. The high

potentials receive the input that Flow is more important and point B is just an incidental step on the way

Creating a system

The author believes that creating a leadership pipeline is about creating a whole system and not a pre-

occupation with the development input or a classroom transaction. If the system has �integrity�, each of the

elements will reinforce each other and address the final outcomes. The system described above solves many

problems faced in the designing and deployment of leadership pipeline building efforts. Chiefly,

a) Harmonization of what the individual wants and what the organization wants

b) Using social proof to make development immediate and real for the high potentials

c) Providing feedback, an important expectation of high achievers throughout the process, thus creating an

opportunity mindset as against an entitlement mindset

d) By transferring the burden of proof of development, the system encourages the high potential to reflect

and convince their candidature much like an external candidate would do in a job application process

e) The GATES allow the system to evolve so that there is an exit out of the process in the most natural manner,

especially when the journey is long, the failure rate of development is non-trivial and the circumstances

may change



f) The 4 labs that impose a development structure is naturally aligned with real human development

processes which must first establish the �what� of development (the physics lab), whether the process

works for the individual (the chemistry lab), and if the adaptation to the new task is complete (the biology

lab) and if it is irreversibly secured (psychology lab)

Gamification as a tool

It is very hard to retrospect as a group on a recently concluded development intervention. The richness of

inputs throughout the process is high, the stakeholders have often seen parts of the process, the stakes are

high as they are talking about their very best talent and they are in the presence of a peer group where the need

to go �one-up� may prevent an honest retrospection of what worked and what did not and why. Any debate

based approach will lead to rhetorical questions and the central agenda of retrospection could get hijacked

Further the leadership program and design team, especially if they are internal have a lower status compared to

the development board and the CEO. This further necessitates that the retrospection happens through a

methodical but sensitive process. It is here that the gamification of learnings becomes useful.

In order to tackle some of these Issues, the author and his team created a card game. There were three types of

cards in three different colors. One set was the high potentials card. At one card per person, it had a brief profile

and photograph of each person. The second set was about opportunities. They contained all the leadership

vacancies that arose in the organization in the last 2 years, the third set of cards were the development plans

that the board recommended to different high potentials. The leadership group was divided into 4 teams and

each team had 5 members. There were 3 leaders who were pulled out to judge the game.

Each team was dealt with a set of cards, equal number of high potential, leadership positions and development

intervention cards. They had to create a match to close a position with a high potential. Once they close all the

positions, they win the game. They may or may not use the development intervention cards. For example, if

they think the individual with the development intervention is ready for the job, then the set of 3 cards form a

closure. When the individual is already ready, then the individual and the position card form a closure.

The facilitator then announced that each team give away that development intervention that they think is not

useful to them and in-turn receive the development intervention that their neighboring team does not want to

see if they improve their match. After 2 rounds, the development interventions that teams were willing to give

away were noted by the coordinators. These are the least efficacious interventions and must be discontinued in

the collective wisdom of the group.

Similarly, the facilitator asked to give away a high potential card that the group believes will not fit into the

opportunities they have. The coordinators similarly noted those individuals who are getting �passed around�

as least valuable. These were candidates whose characteristics are such that they ought to have been filtered

out while identifying potential in the first place

Thirdly, the facilitator asked for some position cards to be given out. All those position cards that got passed

around are those for whom our pipeline is not getting built and the corrective action was to either focus a

pipeline on them or decide to externally hire for those positions.

This way retrospection of the entire intervention was done and collective learning of the entire group was

captured and accepted in the most efficient manner

Conclusion

Leadership pipeline is about many other variables, while what receives wide attention is the development input

itself, the other variables that make the system of pipeline development deserve focused attention. How these

other variables work in conjunction with each other and towards pipeline building is the focus of this article, and

is being offered for consideration and critique. To put the other significant variables in play, they must be well

grounded in theory and well-integrated in design. A 55% success rate amongst the leadership cohort for

reaching their point B in 24 months, a high level of engagement and participation from both the high potentials

12 102

and the leadership development board (more than 75% scheduled attendance measured in planned vs actual

person-sessions on the date scheduled and the joy of seeing so many TOPGUNS grow and reminiscence

about their experience several years after the intervention were the happy outcomes of the leadership pipeline

building model described in this article. Three lessons were learnt. The first one was the expectation mismatch

between typical participant expectation of structured input vs. a thrown into the deep approach. The second

was that structural changes in the organization in the development timeframe that moved the point B�s of the

aspirants. The third was not factoring personal constraints like lack of mobility in the design.

The author wishes to acknowledge several colleagues who were part of the development design and

deployment across many high potential cohorts over the years. They are Heena Verma, Rajan Johri, Vasudha

Atreya, Deepali Khanna, Preksha Prabhakar, Srivathsan V M, Kannu Priya and Anand Noatay.

The views expressed in this article are the authors� individual views and may not be construed as those of his

current or former employers

Notes

1. Adaptation from Korn Ferry model on the possible reasons for developing leaders

2. �10 Factors predicting relapse: Common barriers to maintaining behavioral change�: Heshmat, Shahram,

2016, Psychology Today (psychologytoday.com)

3. �Pygmalion in Management�: Levingston, J. Sterling, Harvard Business Review, 2003, originally published

in 1969 Harvard business review

4. �The Achievement Motive�: McClelland, Atkinson, Clark and Lowell, 1953, PP 76-77

5. �A room with a view point: using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels�:

Goldstein, N, J, Cialdini, R, B & Griskevicus, V. (2008), Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 472-482

6. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Harper and Row, 1990, Copyright

© Global Learning communities, 2000



Dr Kamal K Jain is currently professor in the Area of OB & HR and Dean (Academic)

at IIM Indore. He joined IIM Indore in September 2007. Prior to joining IIM Indore,

he worked as Professor of Strategic Management/HR with University Tun Abdul

Razak (UNITAR), Malaysia. Besides teaching at IIM Indore, he has taught at

National Institute of Financial Management Faridabad, IIM Ranchi, Helsinki School

of Business Finland, and several other places.

Dr Jain is actively involved in corporate training programs.. He primarily conducts

training programs in the area of Negotiation, Leadership, Performance

Management, and Instructional Pedagogy. He has published around 60 research

articles in the national and international journals and his bio-data has been

included in Reference Asia - Asia's Who is Who of Men and Women of

Achievement, and Trainers and Training Institutions - Who is Who. He got

President's Special Mention award in 2006 by the President of UNITAR for his all

round meritorious contribution to the cause of university in general and the Faculty

of Business Administration in particular. He was awarded the best professor in

Human Resource Management in 2010 by World Education Congress Asia

Awards. He was awarded Agra University Gaurav Shree Award in 2013 by the

Global Network of Alumni of Agra University. He was given the best professor

award by IIM Indore in 2015.

Dr Kamal K Jain

Risks of Results Oriented Leadership: A Perspective in Need of a Re-evaluation

About the Authors

Ms Roshni Das

Ms Roshni Das is pursuing her doctoral studies in organisational behaviour and

human resource management at the Indian Institute of Management, Indore. Prior

to joining the program, she was working with the risk consulting division of Oracle

Financial Services Software Limited, Mumbai. Her area of expertise was

operational risk management and banking process analysis. Presently, she is

associated with the AON HR Think Tank Initiative as a Track II scholar.

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Abstract

The extant and dominant theory of results-oriented leadership has been challenged and severely criticised

in recent times, in both academic and popular culture, due to several cases of organisational misconduct.

We cite and discuss two cases of misconduct, one in academia and the other in microfinance to support our

assertion. We also submit that the antidote to these risks is to adopt a process-oriented leadership style. To this

end, we offer some forward looking recommendations that can be adopted by leaders to get better and quality

outcomes in the future. Implications for leadership development programs are discussed.

Key Words: Result oriented leadership, dark side of leadership, process oriented leadership, leadership

development

Introduction

To discuss something as serious as �Risk�, let us begin on a lighter note. A man was walking on the road.

Suddenly he saw Yamaraj standing in front of him. The man was frightened. Yamaraj looked at him and in a

reassuring tone said, �You have another 50 years of life so go and enjoy, nothing will happen to you for the next

50 years�. The man drove a car very recklessly, met with an accident immediately and passed away. On the way

to heaven he saw Yamaraj smiling mischievously. He asked Yamaraj, why did you lie to me? Yamaraj said,

�Sorry son, don�t you know it is the month of March and it is appraisal time. I have to meet my targets." We now

want to impress upon our readers that the risks of results oriented leadership are for real, we are not joking.

Results oriented leadership: A recap

Leadership theory has progressed along multiple lines of inquiry in the last fifty odd years. We outline four

prominent ones here. First is the study of leadership style of the individual as a manifestation of personality

related variables, i.e. understanding whether it is a trait, state or something external to the individual

(Antonakis, Day & Schyns, 2012). Second, study of leadership as a function of situations in the environment

and the consequent dynamicity of style within the individual corresponding to changing environments (Vroom

& Jago, 2007). The third stream studies leadership as a collective process and other alternate variants such as

�shared� or �distributed� leadership (Cullen-Lester & Yammarino, 2016). Finally, we have the perspective of

leadership as a multi-level phenomenon within the organization. It is this last view, contributed and developed

by Yammarino and co-authors (2001) that we subscribe to, in this article. What follows is that, we endeavour to

understand how particular kinds of environmental stimuli (read culture) within the organisation shapes the

leadership orientations of employees across the hierarchy. We advance the proposition that if one of these

stimuli happens to be a profit maximisation based culture; then what ensues is a results oriented leadership

style within the organisation and in turn, this leads to several consequences that are detrimental to the long run

continuity of the business.

What results-oriented leadership essentially implies is that results or �outcomes� are not just privileged criteria

in determining performance of employees across levels, but are the sole focus for the organisation, at the cost

of all the other four facets, and especially, the facet of �process�. Bazerman (2014, p 33) observed, �Leaders

often fail to notice when they are obsessed by other Issues, when they are motivated to not notice, and when

there are other people in their environment working hard to keep them from noticing.� Numbers-driven

managers often end up producing reams of low-quality data (Likierman, 2009, p 99). If an organisation�s culture

hinges itself on such a lopsided view of leadership, then consequences can be quite unpleasant. There are

several cases in contemporary times which support this assertion. We take up two cases in particular.

Risks of Results Oriented Leadership: A Perspective in Need of a Re-evaluation



The case of Research Misconduct

One case of scientific misconduct (Harvard Magazine), among many others, that gained considerable media attention was that of Marc Hauser�s, in 2010. Hauser was a psychologist at Harvard, researching the comparative evolution of cognition and language in monkeys and humans. Between, 2002 and 2007, he published a series of articles in some of the most renowned journals in the subject, with false data, false reportage of analysis and results and false method descriptions. After all these malpractices came to the fore following an ethics inquiry by the department, Hauser had to resign from his position and incur much professional discrediting. He later confessed, �I tried to do too much, teaching courses, running a large lab of students, sitting on several editorial boards, directing the Mind, Brain & Behavior Program at Harvard, conducting multiple research collaborations, and writing for the general public. I let important details get away from my control to achieve those numbers.�

In a recent, densely anecdotal and informative article, Herndon (2016) lists out almost the entire range of malpractices that have emerged in academic research owing to the �publish or perish� policy being adopted at several top institutions. The pressure to publish as a pre-condition to retention or promotion opportunities have led to an explosion of quantity or the numbers of research papers published, at the expense of quality. To cater to this demand, several unscrupulous publication houses have mushroomed which will print anything for a fee. Newly hired and seasoned academicians both, in a bid to maximise quantity, sometimes use the same dataset to generate multiple papers or worse still, manipulate the data if the results of the research are not favourable and there is apprehension of being rejected by editors. Distribution of authorship among multiple authors without commensurate contribution or roping in a foreign author, based on the latter�s familiarity with the editorial board, are some other malpractices that are being adopted. Bazerman�s (2014) observations in this regard merit attention. He quips, �How did we get to this state of affairs in social science research? To start with, in recent years academia has become more competitive. Quite simply, today it is much harder to obtain a prestigious university position than it was thirty years ago, when I was a junior faculty member. The quantity of publications produced by the top new PhDs on the job market is astonishing. In addition, scholars at the top universities have the best chance of receiving media attention, large speaking fees, and rich book contracts, so the stakes of winning coveted position are high.� All this calls for a serious look at whether scientific progression is being served or not.

The Micro-finance debacle

Micro-finance is a financial intermediary service between regular banking operations and the marginal and underserved population. Initially, it was hailed as a harbinger of financial inclusion for the global south, but there were several anomalies to come to the fore, later on. Microfinance has been referred to as a very operations-intensive business, which translates into the concern that the scope for human error and/or manipulation of processes is quite high. Given this scenario, the kind of leadership that is prevalent in such an institution, can have deep consequences with a ripple effect across the system i.e. it can also affect the end users or customers of the service.

There have been several adverse reports of many micro-finance companies and their executives indulging in profiteering oriented malpractices that have only made poverty worse, in many states of the developing world. In India, some companies have been known to charge upto 200 percent per annum interest on loans given to the poor. Many times, this was done in lieu of improper or inadequate documentation being provided by the borrowers. When the borrowers were unable to service these on time, extortion and shaming practices conducted by companies drove many to commit suicide. In the specific case of SKS Microfinance, unreasonable expectations and skewed management philosophy also lead to counter-productive behaviour and deviance at the workplace., there was employee embezzlement to the tune of 15.8 crore Rupees (Bandyopadhyay & Unnikrishnan, 2013), made possible owing to the fact that all transactions with customers are on cash basis. It was also reported that both authorised and unauthorised commission agents had extorted customers on the assurance of getting them loans. The Micro-finance institutions (MFI) bill of 2012, by the Andhra Pradesh government forced SKS to expunge it�s operations and withdraw from the state, which was once the leading state in financial inclusion.

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Remedies

It is obvious that there is a need for re-evaluating leadership within the organisational set-up. This in turn means that the criteria of judging and rewarding appropriate behaviors and performances must be re-looked at. The organisation must re-orient itself to look at long-term sustainability rather than short-term outcomes. In order to achieve this, we recommend a three pronged approach, consisting of: (1) Best Practice culture, (2) Compliance as a criterion in employee performance management, and (3) Risk based audit.

Best Practice Culture

Organisations must consider benchmarking themselves against the best practices in their sector and ensure that this culture and awareness percolates down to every employee. From the individual employee�s perspective, this will bring two outcomes. First, knowing that one�s organisation is classified among the best in their industry will lead to enhanced identification with the organisation and pride. Second, this pride might translate into employee engagement and several pro-organisational behaviors in turn. Essentially, a best practice culture has been shown to have several far reaching and previously un-anticipated spill-over effects, across the board, in terms of employee outcomes.

The idea of the best practice culture can perhaps be best understood in the context of the recently promulgated Corporate Social Responsibility Act, 2013. This act was a formal bid by the government to bring in private companies into the fold for sharing the responsibilities of social welfare by mandating a 2% contribution of their net profit to this end. The fact remains however, that most public sector companies in the infrastructure building sectors such as SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited), OIC (Oil India Corporation), CIL (Coal India Limited) etc. have been making substantial investments in the socio-economic upliftment of the backward regions in which they operate, for several decades now. These �Maharatna� and �Navratna� companies were already setting benchmarks long before their private sector counterparts were made aware of it. These companies not only generated both direct and feeder jobs in these remote regions, but also set up full scale townships with extensive amenities such as schools and hospitals, to benefit their own employees as well as the local populace, across the social strata. Among the few private sector companies that might be appreciated for taking a best practice stance in this regard, the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) deserves a special mention.

Compliance as a criterion in employee performance management

The idea of a �best practice� culture need not stay just at the principle level but can be advanced further into concrete performance appraisal criteria for employees. Compliance with process fidelity might be considered as one of the items to be evaluated alongside such things as �delivery time� and/or �relationship building�, for instance, among others. Moreover, it might be integrated in a seamless manner by breaking it up into parts overlapping with other requirements rather than just being a sore �box to click� kind of obligation. An illustration might be a mandatory �compliance� certification on one hand, and also including �compliance orientation� of the employee as a question to be asked from various stakeholders during the 360 degree feedback process.

An illustration of this afore-mentioned suggestion is visible in the information technology (IT) industry. In this sector, maintaining privacy of data shared by clients is of utmost importance for the vendor IT organisation. To encourage employees to be ethical custodians of this sensitive and confidential data, the organisation encourages them to take IT security and quality certifications, such as Six Sigma, CISA (Certified Information System Auditor; i.e. certifications from the international apex body in this area: Information Systems Audit and Control Association, ISACA) etc, the costs of which are re-imbursed. This is beneficial from the employee�s perspective as well because the latter�s resume is strengthened and future potential for landing such projects is augmented. An extant instrument that can be put to good use and thus deserves mention here is the Balanced Scorecard approach by Kaplan and Morton (1992). It is a technique that can be applied for quantification and measurement of performance at any level or of any function within an organisation by taking stock of indicators across five sets of parameters. These parameters are the customer perspective, employee perspective, internal process, financial perspective and societal perspective. Compliance is something that can be integrated into the employee perspective for a particular department. Meyer (2003) offers an excellent guide for practitioners on how this kind of integration can be achieved and implemented.



Recommended Shift in style across levels

Over-arching Organizational culture:

Prevailing Temporal outlookwithin organization:

Leader/manager/supervisor’smonitoring style:

Leader vis-’a’vis followerrelationship quality

Goal setting and Performancemanagement philosophy

Auditing styles followed at theorganizational and individual levels:

Results-orinted leadership Process-orinted Leadership

Risk based audit

Process audits must be integral to �cleaning house� in every organisation on a regular basis. A good example is the banking industry. This sector has served itself well by constituting and adopting a rigorous set of self-regulatory measures, across the board, in the form of the Basel accords. While risk management has been prevalent in other sectors as well such as project engineering and healthcare to some extent; the Basel committee�s contribution as applicable in the banking sector was devising a very thorough and rigorous version of risk weighting all possible documented risks of the banking process. It was a mammoth exercise in terms of compiling all these risks under three categories: credit, market and operational risks and recommending appropriate procedures, frequencies and statistical processes for quantifying each. The final step, after quantification, is asking banks to pre-emptively allocate a portion of their capital for covering these risks, should they occur. Central banks in the entire developed world and large parts of the developing world have actively implemented this system to better protect their economies against banking failures.

In a more localised regulatory context within the banking sector, most countries also have a banking ombudsman structure in place. This is the central bank�s way of pulling up a bank in case a grievance is filed by the public or by a private citizen. The insurance industry has time and again tried to come up with similar measures for actuarial organisations, in the form of both internal and external mechanisms; although the jury is still out on their effectiveness. One reason is the inherent complexity of the actuarial products which demand that process-oriented leaders must necessarily be extremely proficient in product and process knowledge if they must effect changes in the result oriented culture.

In government organisations, this idea pf public audit and public scrutiny has been operationalised by the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005. One must however bear in mind that external audits are a post-hoc measure only and do little to prevent a decline in organisational health. What must be the focus for the organisation instead are pro-active, internal checks and balances to deter any negative outcomes in the first place.

Essentially what the above three measures imply is that, there is a need to move away from the results-oriented leadership style to a Process-oriented leadership style. This entails incorporating several changes across levels from the organisational culture to HR practices in terms of the performance appraisal process and from coaching leaders to cultivate a different quality of relationship with their followers to ensuring that auditing mechanisms are augmented and made robust. We succinctly capture these differences in the two diametrically opposite leadership styles in figure 1 as given below.

Figure 1: What does going from a Results-oriented leadership style to a Process-oriented leadership style mean

Value maxinization (i.e. Best practice Culture)

Long term sustainability

Effectiveness based

Relational in nature. Leader monitors short term revenues earned as well as the long term developmental potential and needs of followers and the department.

Both quantity and quality (including compliance procedures) of goalsachieved are scrutinized and evaluated.

Risk-based Audit (Pre-emptive;prognostic in nature)

Profit maximisation

Short term profits

Efficiency based

Transactional in nature. Leaderis primarily concerned withrevenues earned by follwersas per targets set.

Focus only on accomplishmentof quantitative goals

Conventional Audit (Post-hoc;diagnostic in nature)

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Re-crafting leadership development programs

In order to realise a change in orientation of leaders from a results mindset to process mindset, careful thought must be given to re-crafting the organization�s leadership development programs. We agree with scholars (Day, Fleenor, Altwater, Sturm & McKee, 2014) who argue that leadership development is a large scale intervention that can only be realised over a medium to long period of time and to that extent, it tends to metamorphose into organization development (OD) programs. This assertion coincides with our proposition that systemic remedies such as the three illustrative ones outlined above, can be helpful to organizations. As far as individual outcomes are concerned, which are the easiest to observe and measure in such a broad-based program; it is recommended that the human resource department track the personal career trajectories of people who have attended these programs, to assess the latter�s effectiveness. The literature (Day, 2000; Day & Harrison, 2007) suggests inclusion of some more approaches within the program, which although generic, are complementary to the remedies proposed in this paper. They are: (1) providing �stretch� job assignments in varied forms such as in role, function or geography; (2) creating opportunities for project based learning corresponding to specific business problems, also called as �Action Learning�; (3) assigning the individual to a developmental relationship with a senior manager, also termed as �Mentoring�; (4) promoting intra and inter departmental collaborations and (5) promoting the culture of working across boundaries (both social/interpersonal and technical), among others.

Post-script

Singh and Bhandarkar (2015) in their article in NHRDN journal, have advanced an innovative and indigenous model for development of leadership capabilities with action points both for the individual and the organisation. With the current article and our thesis of process-oriented leadership, we attempt to build on their excellent contribution.

In Academic research, some correctional process oriented measures have been initiated, recently. An organisation, the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) which conducts a massive journal ranking exercise every three years, now also comes up with a separate list of �predatory� journals that is journals that indulge in �pay for publish� practices. The objective being to deter researchers from taking such shortcuts to publication. A journal, Management and Organisation Review, in their editorial, this March 2017, has declared that from now on, researchers must necessarily declare the entire dataset collected during the submission itself and if they are slicing it up to write multiple papers. Also there is provision for a separate track for authors who would like to take pre-publication approval of proposed theory and models for testing. This would dis-incentivise them against padding data and reporting fabricated results. There is a need for leaders of academic institutions to recognise the pitfalls in their prevailing culture, follow the aforementioned cues and implement similar guidelines within.

In micro-finance, the several lapses in process oversight by companies has attracted the promulgation of the �Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill�, 2012, crafted by the Malegam committee. Most of the recommendations of the committee including strict norms of registration for MFIs, imposition of caps on chargeable interest, direct liability of CEOs etc have been implemented. The Reserve Bank of India has emerged as the sole regulator of this industry. All these represent industry level process oriented measures which are liable to spawn compatible monitoring practices within the companies as well. If this re-orientation is accepted systemically by companies, then hopefully, with time, this industry will get back on track in achieving it�s original objective, which is sustainable eradication of poverty.

Conclusion

Growing number of cases of doping (The use of banned drugs to enhance performance) in athletic can be taken as a testimony to our assertion that a result oriented leadership makes organizations highly vulnerable. A little bit of warning in the words of Deepak Parekh, we hope, will keep leaders on high alert, �Always bear in mind that your reputation once lost, is almost impossible to earn back. There is no such thing as a temporary breach of integrity - you cannot make amendments later. So do not stay in any place where doing the right thing is not an option. Work honestly, make people trust you and let them depend on your integrity (Parekh, 2009).� When the tide runs out, you can see who is swimming naked, said Warren Buffett rather aptly (Parekh, 2009).



References

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2. Bandyopadhyay, T. & Unnikrishnan, D. (2013). SKS Microfinance: The Inside Story: SKS Microfinance�s S. Dilli Raj and M.R. Rao talk about what went wrong with the company. Livemint E-paper. Retrieved from link: http://www.livemint.com/Industry/hvWN2IbllrX5hXKj3keERL/SKS-Microfinance-The-inside-story.html

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8. Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 63-82.

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Dr Deepa Mazumdar is a multi-talented academician, trainer and counselor.

Presently, she is working as Associate Professor in HRM at the National Institute

of Bank Management, Pune.

She completed her Masters in Industrial Psychology from Bombay University and

Ph.D in Counseling Psychology from University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

She is certified in the areas of psychometric and competency assessment; such

as DiSC, MBTI, Culture at Workplace and Competency, Emergenetics, and is a

certified trainer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Her varied work exposure includes working with NIBM, S.P. Jain Institute of

Management & Research; Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (IILM);

University of Lausanne and Fonds National de Recherche Scientifique,

Switzerland. She has started her career by working as a lecturer in the

Department of Psychology at Mithibai College, Bombay.

At NIBM, she functions both as a teacher and a counselor for Post-Graduate

Student specializing in Banking and Finance as well as a trainer for the Banking

Sector. Her training specializations are on leadership and faculty development,

focusing on developing skills on team, communication, mentoring, coaching and

counseling, simultaneously assessing the trainees� career drive, intra/

interpersonal relationship and overall personality.

Her research interests are on Generations at Workplace, Employee Engagement,

Advocacy and Word of Mouth in Consumer Behavior. She has co-authored many

papers that have appeared in international as well as national journals like

Psychological Reports., Journals of Social Psychology, Journal of Applied Social

Psychology, Irish Journal of Psychology, Swiss Journal of Psychology etc., and

has also authored papers on leadership Issues; �Leaders with or without

Leadership� a concept based on Organizational Commitment and Psychological

Maturity in the Journal Management and Change, �Building Leaders for

Managing Change in Banks� for International Conference of Business, Hawaii,

and �Managerial Work Values in Public Sector Banks� published as a book

Chapter in Towards the Next Orbit. Has been awarded the Asia�s Best B-School

Award of best professor in HRM in 2013.

Dr Deepa Mazumdar

Leadership Competencies for Good Governance

About the Author

111

112

he Leadership Model tables a framework composed of three tiers. The tiers represents the three aspects of Thuman element of intentions, values and behaviors. The strength of one tier influences the strength of the

other two tiers. Outer tier represents the behaviors or expressions observed by the outer world, the middle tier

represents the values, beliefs and attitude instilled by education and exposure at the time of growth and

development and the inner tier represents the primary intention. The framework postulates that when the

leadership intention is in the application of institutional power used for larger good to benefit both employees

and organization, is likely to promote the middle tier containing of values and beliefs of learning, expertise,

altruism, openness, ethics and integrity; will reflect the observable behaviors like knowledge, skills, self-

actualization, confidence, exposure, feedback, trust, commitment, decision making, conscientiousness,

curiosity and growth. Similarly, from the observable behaviors one can determine the leader�s values and

beliefs directed by his/her intention. Efficacy of these competences is shaped by the individuals� capability and

willingness for good governance

Key words: leadership, governance, intention, values, competences


King Dasaratha lived in the age of truth, he was known to have been a happy and an undisturbed king. The

principle cause for a kingdom without strife was his selection of ministers. The characteristics and skills that

dominated the good-natured ministers who functioned as domain experts were humility that comes with

emotional intelligence, a willingness to learn, avidly following the practices of institutional power, decision

making influenced by commitment and integrity, and openness to censure and analyses. The teamwork of the

king and his ministers resulted in excellent governance. (Sudhamahi Regunathan, 2011)

The most relevant idea of leadership in the last century is Ravi Chaudhary�s, �a leader is a person whose

thoughts, words, and decisions to act or not to act, have a discernable impact on the thoughts, feeling and

behaviors of many people around him, as well as on the trajectory of their future lives and livelihoods� (2011);

underscoring the impact of a leader�s sagacity and prudence on the present and future state of the intellect and

emotions of followers.

The prevalent leadership practice, �Loquor Ergo sum� � I talk, therefore I am, ignores goals, values and needs of

the followers, and is oblivious to the �insecurity� prevailing in the followers. These followers-let�s call them

associates cannot emerge as �new� leaders by themselves. Associates will simulate the most �eye catching�

and �easy to adopt� practices, like substandard twins, because �em� never gets prefixed to �power�.

Worldwide, there is a scarcity of good leaders and few are known for their values and practices.

Developing leadership capacities should be an essential practice in VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity

and ambiguity) world. When leaders focus on values and beliefs of altruism, integrity, learning and openness,

effectiveness is ensured. These essentials are not suspended in isolation; they are connected to each other

such that if one quality varies in strength other qualities moves in the same direction.

This paper is an attempt to generate a model for leadership development process. Inspired by the leadership

qualities and behaviors evident in King Dasharatha�s ministers, that could have contributed to good

governance.

Leadership Model

The Leadership Model below charts out a framework into three tiers. The tiers explain three aspects of human

element of intent, values and behaviors. The strength of one tier will determine the strength of the other two tiers.




o The Inner tier represents the leader�s purpose and objectives, strongly influenced by one�s prime motive.

This tier is very potent as it drives the middle and the outer tiers

o The Middle tier represents the values and beliefs (which also shape the individual�s attitude) of leadership

instilled by his education and exposure at the time of growth and development. These values cannot

emerge without the support of the values found on either side, such as openness requires the support of

learning and integrity, or learning requires the support of expertise and openness, etc.

o The Outer tier represents the individual�s behaviors, skills or expressions of leadership as observed by the

outside world. They are the manifestation of the middle tier.

Example 1: Effective leadership is based on the followers� perception of the leader�s behavior (trust and

commitment), and his understanding of the leader�s values (integrity) which stem from his motive (institutional

power).

Example 2: Ineffective leadership is based on the follower�s perception of the leader�s behavior (distrust and

inconstancy), and his understanding of the leader�s values (dishonesty) which stem from his motive (personal

power).

Fig. 1. Leadership Model with 3 tiers of primary motive, values and behaviors

Prime Motives

David McClelland (1970) proposed that the need for power is bifurcated into two entities � personal and

institutional or social. Personal power represents the leader�s need to fulfill his personal desires at the expense

of the power held, this need is perceived as undesirable. Institutional power represents the leader�s need to

organize his followers� efforts to fulfill their goals and achieve the goals set by the organization. Analogous to

this, Chakraborty and Chakraborty�s (2008) refers to the ego and the self. Ego is directed by personal power

and self is directed by institutional or social power. Ego represents the lower identity of the individual who

strives to use power to enrich himself from the resources available in the organization. Kuber had built Lanka,

but he was driven out of his kingdom by his half-brother Ravana who desired to substantiate his identity

through his kingdom.

Institutional power is used for the larger good and extends beyond personal gain. The benefit of this power is

inclusive of the organization, employees, customers and other stakeholders. The leader is aware and accepts

this without dependence on external symbols and rituals. Ram was exiled to a forest for fourteen years at the

behest of stepmother Kaikeyi who wanted her son Bharat to rule Ayodhya. Ram accepted the verdict without

any rancor or resentment accepted. Bharat ruled Ayodhya as a custodian, keeping Ram�s wooden sandals on

the throne. The implication here is that Ram�s self, i.e. the higher identity, was so complete that he did not

require a kingdom to symbolize his identity; his individuality was independent of any observable

representation. Same was with Bharat, being complete, he did not need a kingdom to ascertain his identity.

Values and Beliefs

The middle tier represents the values and beliefs embedded during the individuals� growth and development

enabled by his/her education and experience. The values encircling the middle tier are interdependent, such

as, the extent of openness depends on the opportunity of learning and integrity, or volume of learning is

dependent on the scale of expertise and openness. Here, learning does not represent qualifications or degrees

attained, rather it represents the depth of meaning derived from learning. The quality of the core competencies

of expertise, learning, openness, integrity, altruism and decision-making, are reflected by the style of the prime

motive of power. Efficacy of these competencies is shaped by the individuals� ability, capacity and willingness

for good governance.

� Expertise results from the union of knowledge and skills adding to its definition of professionalism and

sophistication. It forms the basis of individual�s authority and credibility of a subject matter through his

expressions of knowledge and skills. According to Logan and Crump (2009), eliciting knowledge from

experts can be difficult as they �just do it�, not conscious of the rules and procedures.

o Knowledge is based on observation, reasoning or logic, and experience. It is the information and

facts that the individual has acquired from external sources and added to his already acquired

experience to form a meaning. This form of knowledge is known as propositional knowledge which

needs to be combined with procedural knowledge or skill.

o Skill is the procedural knowledge or know-how. It is implicit and permits task performance, although

the knowledge is not available at the conscious level (Logan and Crump, 2009). When cognitively

attained information or propositional knowledge is put into practice, then the domain of expertise

becomes more refined.

Expertise is the composition of both propositional and procedural knowledge, more commonly known as

knowledge and skills.

� Ethics plays a significant role in leadership, strictly speaking, leadership cannot function without ethics,

and is an integral part of the leadership process and content (Rost, 1995). It directs and evaluates moral

choices like right or wrong, seeks to institute principles and explores values appropriate for the

organization. The moral choices influence the outcomes like action and behavior; e.g. decision making

and conscientiousness. Ethics is a cognitive discipline that finds justification by moral reasoning. It is

important to note that the constructed principles that prevailed successfully at a place or time may not be

possible to introduce or continue with success at a different place or time.

o Decision Making acts as a key measure of effective leadership. Many heads have fallen because of

ineffective decision-making and many heads have risen because of effective decision-making.

Decisions are made in the context of fulfilling needs. We begin with �whose needs?� The leader in this

context will answer it as �people�s needs� as he is aware that when people are satisfied and accept

decisions, their motivation is roused for performance. It is important that in decision making, the

cognitive process should be combined with the emotive process, because the leadership concern is

principally people.

Both emotion and cognition are cerebral, where the seat of emotion, the limbic system is much older

than the seat of cognition responsible for self-control, reasoning, planning and other executive

functions centered in the frontal/occipital lobe. In other words, the frontal lobe plays a crucial role in

leadership behavior by taming the free use of emotion in the limbic system (Rock and Page, 2009).

The Emotion spectrum is large and expansive, ranging from superficial to deep emotions such as

annoyance to rage, serenity to ecstasy, acceptance to adoration, from pensiveness to grief, boredom

to loathing, apprehension to terror (Plutchik, 1991). In extreme emotional state the physical,

physiological, and psychological elements in human beings are stressed and the behavior expressed

can be offensive. On the other hand, it is better to experience emotion at a conscious level to

determine the management process enabled by the cognitive factor. Application of cognitive process

prevents reactive behaviors and promotes proactive behaviors. Cognition is the thought process that

includes information, knowledge, awareness, perception, problem solving, reasoning and judgment.

Leader�s decision-making ability depends on the extent of effective organization of these mental

facets. The effectiveness can be developed by connecting each of these facets in a constructive

manner that will facilitate the leader�s communication to the outside world.

o Conscientiousness consists of two distinct features - dependability and achievement. These

leaders reflect carefully before acting upon any obligations and responsibilities; they set the rules and

regulations of goal achievements in advance. Facets related to conscientiousness are fairness,

consistency and transparency which results in doing the right thing for themselves and others. The

leaders stand out as models and believe in communicating important information and data to

employees. Conscientiousness is highly related to achievement motive, where the leaders� need to

accomplish through maximizing their own effort instead of delegating responsibilities (Kalshoven et

al. 2011).



� Altruism. Altruism is an integral part of leadership virtues; it is selfless concern for others welfare. The

leader, like the philanthropist, helps others to develop and grow, and continue to be in the �giving mode�.

This virtue is present in individuals who feel that they are inherently secure; materially he has it all, and

seeks satisfaction from intangible actions and activities. This virtue is revealed through his self-confidence

and need for self-actualization.

o Self-actualization is on the top of the pyramid in Maslow�s hierarchy of needs (1954). The assumption

is that the lower order needs to be satisfied before experiencing self-actualization. The criterion of a

leaders� satisfaction of self-actualization is high self-esteem, which is inclusive of the knowledge of

his self-worth. The experience of self-actualization is based on his contribution towards the

enhancement in the growth of his dependent employees to becoming interdependent via the passage

of independence. He facilitates the development of others without expecting external rewards and he

treats them as challenges to be met.

o Confidence arises more from an individual�s feeling of security and not fear of failure. Knowledge of

one�s strengths and weaknesses is evident and not decided by others. In a critical situation, he is more

driven by the idea of finding out his ability and capacity to solve problems than avoid them because he

fears failure.

� Integrity is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the quality or state of being complete or undivided;

so much so that the differences or polarities can be connected to create a new meaning. It is a concept that

reaches out beyond �self�. Srivastva and Cooperrider (1988) aptly sum up the implication of integrity as an

inclination to the development of human values, having consistency between vision and action which

promotes trusts and represents the pinnacle of human development and intelligence. The authors make a

clear distinction between integrity and creativity, morality, intuitive capability and rationality. It integrates

any conflicting or opposing Issues to give a new meaning. Integrity needs to be present at both personal

and organizational levels because they are interdependent; if each one does not receive support from the

other, then the environment suffers from a lack of intellectual, moral and ethical capital. High integrity

fosters mutual trust and commitment between the leader and his environmental forces.

o Trust involves being trustful and trustworthy. A virtuous leader tends to trust others, and is

trustworthy. The leader�s relationship is based on co-creation of ideas and thoughts and adoption of a

transformational approach (Glaser, 2014). In case of low level integrity, the leader�s distrust of others

endorses transactional relationships. High trust relationships make the action or behavior predictable

and certain. The employees can rely on the leaders for distributive and procedural justice.

o Commitment refers to the coherence between beliefs/values and behavior. It relates to self in terms

of self-improvement, having a purpose and the determination to realize the purpose, and other

stakeholders, such as the organization, employees, and customers. A leader�s behavior to

commitment is constantly monitored by employees who watch for �what is not going right� rather than

�what is going right�. Vacillating commitment is the surest way of reducing leadership value.

Openness to experience is the willingness and readiness to receive information from both the external

and the internal environments of the leader. Openness to experience relates to the individual's range

of interests and fascination with novelty. It refers to the individual�s extent of creativity, curiosity, and

artistic sensitivity. Openness is the willingness to positively accept new and different ideas, which

may not align with established norms. It plays a critical role in changing management. The leader�s

extent of openness, influences the degree of openness amongst the followers and influences the

quality of his decisions. (Hutton, 2012). Openness encourages transparency, information sharing,

progress and overcoming errors. Noble Prize winner, Danish physicist had said in conversation with

Arthur Krantrowitz,, �The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a

democracy should be the weapon of openness�. (1992, p.303)�

116

o Exposure is an effective influencer for opportunities and ideas, they expand with the extension of

openness. This ability is well connected to the degree of self-esteem and eclectic experience the

individual has accumulated through the years; it also provides him with inputs and a balanced

sensitivity to realistically accept and reject ideas. The leader is predisposed to learning and thus

allows himself to be exposed to stimuli which in turn enhances his capacity. His insights and

observations will become more expanded.

o Feedback is the ability to evaluate information. It is the process of giving and receiving data on

performance. Here the emphasis is more on the leader�s ability to receive information related to his

behavior and performance of a situation (organization) larger than himself. His response to feedback

becomes the backbone of the organization�s performance. A system of anonymous, employee

feedback was introduced by J.J. Irani of Tata Sons. Subsequently action based on feedback was

taken for the next six months, after which feedback was sought for again. The leader can relate the

evaluated information to the past, present and future systems in the organization.

� Learning is a continuous process in our life. It happens unconsciously, subconsciously, and consciously.

Leaders ought to be able to enhance both explicit and implicit/tacit forms of learning, because explicit

learning takes care of �what� of knowledge in the form of information and data emerging from the

conscious level, whereas implicit learning is responsible for the �how� of knowledge and skill emerging

from the subconscious level. The aspiration to know and seek can be assumed from the individual�s

curiosity or �quest to know� and his need to evolve.

o Curiosity is a childlike quality, which unfortunately disappears in adulthood through control,

suppression and often discouragement. Curiosity is related to �wanting to know� about something, or

what�s happening or what�s the matter/problem. Curiosity is linked to what, why, where, when and

how. It is a form of seeking input, and enlarging one�s horizon. It has resulted in many discoveries,

inventions, creativity and expanding one�s goals.

o Progress refers to the leader�s desire for growth and development; his need to evolve prepares him to

bring changes when needed and it also facilitates organizational development. Progress contributes

to a futuristic mode of thinking, feeling and acting.

It must be affirmed that the concept of leadership can only function in the context of the people, for the

people and by the people. To be looked upon as effective leaders one needs to start from the most

important aspect of maintaining and sustaining the synchronicity of the mind and body in a positive

interactive mode, their functions influences each other. The mental condition is in negative mode

when plagued by anxiety, anger, guilt or depression, the body is postured downwards, head

downcast, shoulders slouched, slow gait etc.; and when the mind is in a positive mode, such as

happiness, confidence, joy or pride, the body is postured upward, head held high, erect shoulders and

fast gait. Similarly, the body influences the state of mind, a healthy person is in a positive state of

mind, and a simple illness like fever can make us temperamental.

Leadership lessons start from the core area of the inner circle � the intent of leadership. Clarification

and strengthening of the primary motive through assessments, introspection, questioning,

understanding the meaning and finally the acceptance of the goal is the first step to be taken. The

question that arises in the intent or primary motive can range from personal to social

- is it for Me only? Or

- is it for Me through others? Or

- is it only for Others? Or

- is it only for Others through me?

Thus, the clarification of the intent or motive is the first necessity.



When the social motive is intent, the middle circle of values and beliefs become easier to adopt and

practice, developing emotional, social and spiritual intelligence through the means of neuro-linguistic

programming, self-assessment of underlying needs etc.; as for the outer circle competencies, i.e. the

expressions of values and beliefs can be refined with appropriate skill, developmental processes,

improving upon intrapersonal, interpersonal and conversational skills. These three skills are interactive

and not independent.

Intrapersonal Skills

Intrapersonal skills are related to individual�s relation with self. The process applied in emotional intelligence

helps in being aware of the leaders� level of self-esteem and self-worth, identification and mastering of

complexity of emotions that varies in both range and depth, (Plutchik, 1980). This process results in self-

confidence and proactive behavior, without it the individual is risking being reactive.

Interpersonal Skills

The interpersonal skills are mostly influenced by the individuals� needs and perception of others; their

perceptions guide their thought process, and the pattern that is created in the brain is expressed through

verbal and non-verbal communications, such as words, expressions and body language. Often the visceral

(unconscious) speaks louder than the cognitive (conscious) language. Both will be in sync in a value-based or

authentic leader.

Conversational Skills

Glaser (2014) refers to this skill as intelligence, which is one of the the top five management skill requirements.

Conversational skill is composed of three dimensions and three types. The dimensions of biochemical,

relational and co-creational are brain functions. The biochemical process functions in the limbic system, in a

negative state the amygdala (emotions) can hijack the conversation into an emotional state, the individuals are

in a �I� state, at this stage focus is on liking or accepting the other; relational function happens when the

individuals focus on investing further in the relationship, here the individuals are in �I�/�We� mode, and finally the

co-creational function is purely cerebral, where the individuals are in a �We� mode to co-create an objective or

goal together. The types of conversations can be explained thus: transactional and purely seeking data or

information, positional indicating the individual is testing or assessing the other and transformational focusing

on moving from a position to a better position of development. The dimensions and the types are incremental

processes, the aim is to attain the final dimension and types. Leadership fails when the process remains

underdeveloped.

Conclusion

It is best to understand that leadership practices are a continuing process. Although leadership values are

static, the expression of these values emerging as behavior needs to be innovative and matching with time,

culture and generations. The predominantly benevolent leadership style that worked during the time of baby

boomers, is no longer effective with the present generation. The present generation is looking for challenges,

mentoring and frequent feedback from their leaders. The long-sightedness of past leadership behavior has

been replaced by short-sightedness in meeting immediate goals and achievements. In the past, leaders have

built institutions that have outlasted them for many generations (Tata, Godrej and Bajaj), and stand tall and

proud to this day. Their leadership vision and strategies have evolved down generations to meet the industry�s

present and future needs. Today, we continue to have leaders like Azim Premji who have moved beyond the IT

business. He is an altruist who created a university and foundations for a greater good for mankind. The doubts

of the merits of the Panaya Deal, constrained N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, to take the decision to

let go of CEO, Vishal Sikka as he could not compromise with his ethics of corporate values (Economic Times,

2017).

118

The presence of leaders is temporary and short-term, and the existence of leadership is almost always

permanent and long-term, leaving behind a legacy of values, ideas and continuity. Centuries old leaders like

Ashoka the Great, Alexander the Great, Chanakya, Jamshedji Tata and many others, are remembered for the

leadership and their legacy. The leadership model cannot be looked upon as an ultimate, because leadership is

evolutionary. The model is intended to get the leaders to introspect on their intent and values and question the

existing attitude of leaders on leadership � do we continue to perceive the world from a magnifying glass? Or

are we ready to search out those who are lifting the world and can be seen only through a telescope? Maybe we

can use the telescope initially to search for the suitable leaders (Fig. 1), and then take the magnifying glass for

an appropriate placement.

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Jossey-Bass, pp. 1-28



Developing Leaders for an Uncertain World: How Appreciative Inquiry can help

Dr Veena Vohra

119

Dr Veena Vohra is Associate Dean and Professor � Human Resources and

Behavioral Sciences at the School of Business Management, NMIMS University.

Veena is an MBA with specialization in HR and has completed her doctoral

dissertation in the area of Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Appreciative

Inquiry. She has previously been Chairperson of the MBA Programme and the

MBA HR Programme at SBM.

Veena has research interests in the areas of change management, trends in human

resource management, leadership, emotional intelligence and qualitative

research paradigm. She has published a number of research papers in national

and international journals. Veena�s recent publications span the areas of

organizational environments and response mechanisms in India (Journal of Indian

Business Research), critical HR practices during times of change (Journal of

Organizational Change Management) and using multiple case study design to

study leadership behaviors (Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods).

Her case studies have been published by Ivey Publishing and Emerald Emerging

Markets Case Studies. She has co-authored the Indian adaptation of the book

Behavioral Science Interventions for Organizational Improvement with French and

Bell. She has also co-authored the Indian adaptation of the book Human Resource

Management with Snell and Bohlander by Cengage Publications.

Veena has presented research papers in the area of leadership, causal texture of

environments in India, Lokasamgraha, internationalization of SMEs and

pedagogical innovations in the MBA and MBA HR programmes amongst others in

various International and national conferences. Currently she is working on the

revised editions of her co-authored books, as well as research studies on diversity

and inclusion practices, and leadership. She delivers courses in the areas of

organizational behavior, change management, emotional intelligence and

appreciative inquiry. She has received the Best Faculty Award in 2015, 2013 and

2009, as well as the Best Department Award in 2011 when she chaired the Area of

HR and Behavioral Sciences. On behalf of the School she also received the Best

Academic Institute of the Year Award for contribution in the field of HR at the

SHRM Annual HR Conference in 2014 as well as the Gold Award at Indian

Management Conclave, New Delhi for Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovations in

MBA HR.

120

Abstract

Emerging economies are being studied like never before. The world has begun to view countries like India and

China as emerging global powerhouses, where myriad opportunities co-exist with the fight for survival. The

churn of the markets and recent global events have brought into sharp relief the chaos that leaders at the helm

of business affairs have to deal with. How these leaders make sense of their environments and facilitate change

may reveal interesting insights to design and deliver effective leadership development processes. Assuming a

new leadership role can often be daunting and individuals generally may not receive much training to help them

succeed in the new leadership roles.

The paper looks at how Appreciative Inquiry, through its very design as a method of bringing about positive

change, holds the promise of providing leaders and leadership development processes with a new language

rooted in positivity for the future of the organization. This paper also maps the lens that have been used to study

leadership so far while attempting to articulate the challenges that future leaders will face especially in the

context of uncertain environments. Appreciative leadership has been the subject of various studies aiming to

define the leadership styles that facilitate the Appreciative Inquiry approach in organizations constantly facing

turbulence. This paper suggests that Appreciative Inquiry based leadership development may serve to

effectively deal with the leadership challenges of the future.

Keywords

Leadership; Leadership development; Uncertainty; Appreciative Inquiry

Introduction

A study of organizational environments today indicates that unstructured, distributed work is becoming

increasingly prevalent. Technological advancement is changing how we work and live by leaps and bounds.

Organizational teams are more distributed than ever before. The employer � employee relationship has

become fluid and therefore requires more attention and management. In a fast paced economic scenario, the

Indian markets throw up various challenges for leaders at the helm of business organizations, providing them

with early leadership opportunities. How these leaders lead, and what are the behaviors they exhibit in order to

make sense of as well as manage the environment they are in, is the question driving several research projects.

India is fast becoming a source of managerial talent for the rest of the world, as Indian managers and leaders

are groomed and developed in one of the most dynamic markets of the world.

Chui, Manyika and Miremadi (2015) have argued that leaders across all organizational levels would have to

continuously redefine jobs and processes in a bid to ensure organizational longevity. Mr Manvinder Singh

Banga, then CEO of Hindustan Unilever stated in the March 2010 Issue of Harvard Business Review, �Indian

leaders�..have been trained or groomed in extremely fluid, dynamic, uncertain environments. Thus, they have

a much greater ability to cope with uncertainty, they don�t get disturbed by uncertain events, they keep an even

keel. �they also tend to be more creative as a result, because they have to face these sorts of untoward

situations almost on a daily basis.� Seven years later, the variety and pace of uncertainty in our world has only

increased. With constantly changing contexts, organizations are constantly reviewing future leadership

challenges in a bid to design and deliver effective and relevant leader development processes.

Industry experts and Human Resource Leaders are clear that leader development will be a core focus area for

organizations going ahead. The context of flatter organizations and disruptive environments would require a

deeper understanding of driving and managing change by leveraging data as well as diversity. Leaders would

Developing Leaders for an Uncertain World: How Appreciative Inquiry can help



have to become comfortable with failure, while drawing lessons from it. Leaders would face increasing

amounts of physical, spiritual and mental strain while having to make decisions under uncertainty.

What we know about Leadership so far

Leadership can be defined as the �interpersonal influence exercised in a situation �.and directed towards the

attainment of a specified goal or goals��(Tannenbaum, Weschler and Masarik, 1961). Leadership has also

been defined by a person�s ability to influence and motivate others in order to accomplish organizational goals

(House and Aditya, 1997).

Bass (1990) postulates that the focus of leadership theory and research has either been the great man theory,

or an inherited trait. Several earlier leadership studies have concluded that individuals are able to lead when the

situation demands them to, owing to being biologically advanced (Dowd, 1936; Wiggam, 1931). Stodgill (1948)

called for the consideration of these leader traits in relation to the environment. Although the earlier trait

theories lacked empirical support and reliability, the later studies of McClelland, House and Kenny and Zaccaro

addressed this Issue. Personality, mental and physical assessments were stated to be the leadership

differentiating factors according to later trait theories. (Bernard, 1926; Bird, 1940; Dowd, 1936; Jenkins, 1944;

Kilbourne, 1935; Kohs and Irle, 1920; Stogdill, 1974).

The New Paradigm models viewed leadership from the perspective of managing scenarios of constant change

and relate to concepts like Charismatic leadership (Conger 1989, House, 1971), Visionary leadership(Sashkin,

1988) and Transformational leadership(Bass,1985). Modern notions of leadership place a lot of emphasis on

the power and importance of followers in ultimately legitimizing and enabling leadership (De Pree,1993;

Lee,1993). These studies eventually led to the differences being captured between managers and leaders

(Kotter,1990).

Burns (1978) defined leadership as influencing followers towards pursuing common purposes based on

common values and motivations of both leaders and followers. Burns(1978) also defined and distinguished

between transactional and transformational leadership, stating that transformational leaders can become

further self-actualised by engaging with the higher order needs of followers. In doing so, transformational

leaders ensure that their followers become aligned with larger causes rather than remaining motivated by

individual self- interest.

Due to the increasing complexity being faced by organizations, their information processing requirements to

enhance decision making and make it more effective have also increased (Huber, 1984). House, Spangler and

Woycke (1991) stated that leaders are more important now, than ever before since organizations exist in a

complex and uncertain environment. Organizations depend on leaders to solve complex and unclear

organizational problems and to be able to navigate the challenges of the external and internal environments

(Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs & Fleishman, 2000).

Khandwala (2004) in his study of senior Indian managers found that in an ever changing situation, senior

managers have to display leadership far more effectively than in a sheltered economy (Khandwala, 2004).

Given the turbulence in the business environments, it has become critical to view and understand the nature of

leadership navigating the organizations in this turbulence. Singh and Bhandarker (1990) tried to give the theory

of transformational leadership an Indian spirit.

During the last decade interpersonal skills have become more integral to effective leadership (Goleman,

1998a.). Hogan et al. (1994) articulated that the roles of leaders have changed from simply controlling, planning

and inspecting the organizational functions to motivating and inspiring others, creating a positive culture and

emphasizing the significance of contributing. With these changes in the leader�s roles, leadership development

programs are tasked with the development of such skills and identify candidates with such potential (Fulmer,

1997).

House and Aditya (1997) have postulated that several leadership functions may be universally expected,

accepted, and effective across organizations globally. However, developing leaders remains a challenging

problem to date. Leadership development processes in organizations bear the responsibility of creating a

pipeline of leaders with relevant skills and perspectives to lead the organization in uncertain environments.

Leader development involves expanding an individual's leadership capacity. Recent research suggests that

Appreciative Inquiry may help in bringing about such a change.

Bushe and Kassam (2005) have proposed that Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has transformative potential due to its

focus on changing how people think instead of on what people do. Further they also highlighted that AI focuses

on supporting self- organizing change processes flowing from new ideas. AI researchers have concluded that

leaders need to create an appreciative context, listen for what is hopeful and positive and change the

conversation in the organization to what is possible. Appreciative leaders themselves are extremely self-

aware, have positive hopeful belief systems and continuously incorporate new learnings. In an uncertain

environment, a hopeful vision of the organizational future may serve to energise employees.

Leadership challenges for the future

Amongst the several challenges being signalled for leaders to lead in the organizations of the future, include the

ability to develop foresight and build strategies as also have execution excellence. Industry leaders point to

rigid mindsets and poor change management skills that limit the capacity of leaders to deal with uncertain

scenarios.

Leadership performance is assessed in the light of business results and organizational health, and these would

remain imperatives for effective leadership stints in the future as well. A deep understanding about the context

and sense making skills have become a must. Sensemaking skills enable a leader to quickly read a situation for

effective decision-making, formulating an appropriate context for communication and bridging with others.

These skills help leaders make better sense of complex, uncertain environments and also enable employees

to quickly understand these environments better.

A recent survey covering 763 middle and executive leaders in organizations across a wide spectrum of nations

has concluded that there are some common leadership challenges being articulated by the leaders. These

include developing managerial effectiveness; inspiring and developing others; guiding positive change;

leading teams and managing internal stakeholder politics. These challenges have become very evident if one

were to glance through the recent leadership struggles of Infosys and Tata Sons.

Proactive value based behaviour, compassion and confidence brought about through varied exposures and

experiences are other aspects fast becoming critical for leaders to develop effectiveness. With the goal posts

shifting in an uncertain environment, leaders are challenged to revisit their strategies frequently and be

comfortable with failure.

Organizations today have diverse workforces which makes it challenging for leaders to communicate

appropriately in order to build relevant and healthy organizational cultures. The case of Uber�s culture

becoming toxic for its employees, took the world by surprise and led to the exit of several top leadership team

members.

Future leaders will find it useful to create a shared purpose for their organizational members so as to create

alignment between organizational, employee and societal needs. A recent report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers

highlighted the significance of trust building for leaders. This underlies success in the relational aspect of

leadership.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and Leadership Development

Developed by David Cooperrider and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University and the Taos Institute,

Appreciative Inquiry is finding wide adoption in organizations globally for development. Drawing from the fields

of positive psychology and social constructionism (Srivastva and Cooperrider, 1990), AI is based on the

principle that organizations change in the direction of what they study. AI enables the organization to focus its

attention, dialogue and member learning on its core strengths, thereby leading to the development of



affirmative processes for organization development (Whitney,1998). As an organization development

intervention, AI works on the basis of some principles drawn from the theory and research in the human and

social sciences.

Social Constructionism is one of the main contributing fields of Appreciative Inquiry. It suggests that

individuals create their own perspective of what is real through shared symbolic and mental processes, and are

responsible for the perceptions they experience. Social Constructionism provides the foundation for three of

the five principles of Appreciative Inquiry, which are:

The Constructionist Principle � Social interaction processes invent organizations and also bring about

change in organizations. The focus of the constructionist principle is language and relations that enable the

development of meaning and identity. Whitney(1998) stated that organizations find meaning in the stories

employees share and the patterns of communication they have with each other. Leaders increase their

effectiveness by becoming skilled in understanding and analyzing organizations as living entities created by

social interactions (Fitzgerald, Murrel, Miller, 2003).

The Simultaneity Principle � Inquiry and change happen simultaneously in organizations as these are living,

social entities. The seeds of change are implicit in the questions asked, which in turn determine what we find.

The Poetic Principle � According to the poetic principle, organizations are created by socially created and

continuously changing practices, therefore the organization takes on its meaning in the act of storytelling.

Moreover, the past, present and future of an organization have the potential to inspire employees and can be

interpreted in multiple ways, just as a great piece of poetry.

The Anticipatory Principle � Images of the organization�s future held by the organizational stakeholders are

the best predictors of their current behavior since these images influence the current behavior of any organism

or organization.

The Positive Principle � Building and sustaining the momentum for change requires huge amounts of positive

affect and social bonding (Fitzgerald, Murrel, Miller, 2003).Leading inquiry using positive questions makes

change possible and democratically mobilized.

The Appreciative Inquiry process consists of four stages and is a narrative � based process of positive change.

It begins by engaging all organizational or community members in an open ended dialogue focused on

strengths in an attempt to discover the positive and life giving core of the organization. The second stage

involves shifting the group�s focus to envisioning bold possibilities and dreams for the future. The third stage

helps set the tone to bring people together for discussing and crafting propositions to guide the achievements

of the dreams. Finally the fourth stage involves forming teams, allocating responsibilities and building timelines

for realizing the dreams and propositions.

Positive change is sustained by leaders� practicing Appreciative Inquiry behaviors enable an effective leader to

sustain positive change. Cooperrider claimed �appreciative leaders see, make meaningful and connect all that

is good and best in people and the world around them.� They inspire transformational conversation and

collaboration. Anderson, Gergen, McNamee, Cooperrider and Whitney (2001) noted that leaders facilitate

collaborative participation, inclusion, appreciative listening, coordination and co-construction.

Appreciative change can be sustained by leaders by exhibiting behavior and motivation that can be viewed as

a dualistic construct. While one dimension describes and reflects on the practices, actions and behaviors of

the leader, the second dimension reflects that leaders� intention, worldview, self awareness and self regulation.

The latter is referred to as the leader�s Appreciative Foundational Core and is linked to unconditional positive

regard (Lewis, et al., 2006). The core elements reflect the leader�s positive psychological capabilities (state of

being) and impact the other dimension of behaviors and actions.

Guided by the principles and constructs of Appreciative Inquiry, leaders can develop their individual leadership

capacities by focusing on:

12 123

- Creating a culture of strengths based inquiry within the team or the organization, enabling thoughts and

ideas to be shared and heard

- Enabling employees to discover individual and organizational strengths so as to operate from areas of

strength

- Developing the abilities to collaborate and co-create to achieve desired futures

- Facilitating positivity within the organization so that employees remain hopeful and enthused about

managing and sustaining through long periods of change

Including the development of the above abilities within the leadership development programs may enable

organizations to create leaders who can drive transformation, innovation and high performance. In conclusion,

this paper suggests that while there exist several theories, frameworks and styles of leading organizations

today, leadership development processes must explore the opportunities and advantages offered by the

Appreciative Inquiry approach in developing effectiveness in leading organizations of the future.

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Mr Deepak Hota

Talent Management Initiatives in BEML Limited

About the Author

Mr Deepak Kumar Hota, is Chairman & Managing Director of BEML, and has over

33 years of experience including over three years of Board experience

A man of conviction, leading from the front, and open to �change�. As CMD BEML,

he has taken major steps in leveraging Technology, Re-engineering Business

Processes�, Cost Control and Optimization, Tie-Ups for expansion of Business,

greater thrust on Indigenization and R&D. He is the driving force behind green

energy development enabling BEML to be a Green Company.

He is an alumnus of St. Stephens, New Delhi graduating in Economics

(Honours) and is a Post Graduate in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations

from XLRI, Jamshedpur. He is a certified Coach from M/s. Hay, as also in

Psychometric testing, Q12 Gallup Engagement Survey & Balanced Score Card by

Robert Kaplan.

Being an HR person by profession and strong believer in �Vasudaiva

Kutumbakam� brought in a wider perspective to the Corporate Social

Responsibility(CSR) by implementing schemes in areas of Education, Skill

Development, Sanitation, Hunger eradication, etc., that express the true spirit of

CSR.

During his professional career, Mr Hota has brought several accolades and awards

both to the Company and himself including IPE Asia Pacific HRM Congress

Awards 2013 for HR Leadership, NHRD Award for �Most Seasoned HR

Professional of the year 2014, CHRQ Asia Global HR Leaders Award 2015, Most

successful HR & CEO by NIPM & Distinguished Alumnus Award � (Practicing

Manager) from XLRI & Centre of Excellence in Project Management (CEPM)

Fellowship Award, in 2016.

126

ABSTRACT

BEML Limited, a Defence PSU, offers high-quality products for diverse sectors of the economy such as

coal, steel, power, construction, road building, aviation, defence, metro and railways. BEML is faced with

significant changes in the business environment marked by competitions, rapid technological changes and

opportunities in domestic and export sector. To enable high-paced and best-in-class business, the Company

is focusing on Human Resources front especially on training and development of its human capital.

Training Advisory Councils across the Company ensure seamless alignment of training to business

requirements and formulation of training strategies. Specific developmental interventions are executed for

senior, middle and junior management level to fill the training gaps and a robust mechanism for new

employees. Focused training programs are provided in collaboration with prestigious institutions such as IITs,

IISc., NID, NLSIU etc., for capability development.

A comprehensive Competency and Leadership Development initiative develops a leadership pipeline in the

company. All senior executives go through the Assessment and Development Centre to determine areas of

strength and development. �Strategy Conclaves�, are organized to design prospective business plans based

on fresh and wide inputs drawn from groups of selected middle-level executives.

The organization conducts skill development programs to increase productive manpower and for the

semi/unskilled employees. Critical skills are built in Centers of Excellence at manufacturing divisions.

Apprentice training is imparted to students of ITIs. /Polytechnics/Engineering Colleges.

Employee Satisfaction Surveys found BEML in the high-performance zone with most of the market leaders.

BEML encourages job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment to provide career development

opportunities. A manpower study is also underway based on process requirements to optimize on human

capital. In the ultimate analysis, a progressive organization like BEML is building stronger employee capability

by leveraging training and talent management process.

Talent Management Initiatives In Beml Limited

BEML Limited, a multi-technology, multi-location, mini ratna category-I company, under the Ministry of

Defence offers high-quality products for diverse sectors of the economy such as coal, mining, steel, limestone,

power, irrigation, construction, road building, aviation, defence, metro and railways. BEML is operating under

three distinct business verticals viz., Defence & Aerospace, Mining & Construction and Rail & Metro. The

company has manufacturing facilities at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Mysore, Bangalore and Palakkad, Kerala.

The company�s R&D Centre comprising laboratories such as Fluid Power, Material Science, Structural

Engineering and Powerline Aggregates at KGF, is the biggest R&D Centre in India. BEML has designed and

developed the country�s first Stainless Steel EMUs and Metro Cars, Intermediate Metro Cars, Aluminium and

Stainless-Steel Wagons and many pioneering products such as 205 Tonne Electric Drive Dump Truck and 180T

Electric Excavator.

BEML is grappling with significant changes in the business environment marked by competition, rapid

technological change and opportunities in the domestic and export sector. To enable high paced and best-in-

class business, BEML has undertaken various Human Resource initiatives, especially training and

development of its human capital. The executives are groomed by ensuring they are trained, measured,

rewarded, recognized, and consistently aligned with the business objectives of the Company. The diverse

business verticals of the Company, preclude special focus areas for each vertical, especially in the

enhancement of technical skills. Honing existing skills; developing additional skills; optimizing on

Talent Management Initiatives in Beml Limited



technological advancement; and dealing with competition from MNCs, is the cornerstone of non-executive,

junior and middle-level engineers development initiative.

Specific training interventions are executed, for each cluster of senior management, middle management, and

junior management to fill the training gaps. The leaders are provided opportunities to sharpen their functional

knowledge, through advanced external programs, to enable leaders to keep pace with the latest in their area of

functional expertise, or programs that encompass elements of general management and best management

practices from various industries across the world. Keeping in mind BEML�s global operations, aspirations,

high-impact programs are designed, developed, and deployed in key areas such as decision making, strategic

negotiations, and strategic thinking. As BEML collaborates across the globe, the leaders interact with a global

audience, leaders are given periodical workshops on executive presence and business etiquette.

Each senior should ensure subordinates possess requisite knowledge, skill and attitude, to perform their

current job, and are trained to shoulder higher jobs, in line with the succession plan or job rotation. The training

departments at the complexes and corporate office ensure streamlined conduct of training programmes

across the company. Training Advisory Councils have been created at Corporate Office and in all Complexes,

to ensure seamless alignment of training to business requirements and formulating training strategies.

Sustained efforts are made at the complex levels to promote awareness about the role, constitution &

objectives of Training Advisory Councils. The overall planning for the Training Advisory Councils is jointly done

by Corporate HRD along with Training Advisory Councils members for efficient integration of the learning

efforts. Employees are encouraged to share their opinions about the training required through their managers,

thereby employees feel t their opinion counts and helps to create buy in.

The mechanism for onboard new employees, is robust and ensures quick settling down and optimum fit into

the new role. The need to develop a standardized, structured, and systematic induction program that will

provide new employees with a good overview of the company, its business, technology and operations needs

no emphasis. As part of the induction program, new employees, especially Graduate Engineers, are scheduled

to spend sufficient time on the shop floor and direct functions to facilitate a first-hand understanding of the way

the shop operates therefore accelerating the learning. Focused training programs, where junior executives are

provided extensive exposure, and experience in collaboration with prestigious institutions ensure capability

development.

To enhance the capability of the engineers working in Production, R&D and allied areas, a tie-up was

established with Indian Institute of Technology � Madras (IIT-M) and an MoU, sponsoring R&D projects, and

training of Engineers through Continuing Education Programs. To build up a broad technology base, three-

month capsule programs for young production engineers in collaboration with IIT-M is organized. An MoU was

signed with National Law School of India, University of Bengaluru for training in areas such as, Contract

Management and Consultancy in Legal Issues. Tie-ups have been established with IISc., Bengaluru for

Engineering Consultancy Services and with National Institute of Design for training in design clinics.

Leadership development programs are designed and deployed across all functions/levels and with training

models for fostering leadership across specific functions/levels such as Human Resources, Commercial

Leadership, Finance Management, Engineering Development, Operations Management etc. It was found

necessary to design, develop and deploy high impact programs on Decision Making, Strategic Negotiations

and Strategic Thinking keeping in mind the Company�s global operation aspirations.

Strategic planning is core to envision Company�s business goals and conclaves are held meticulously. A

�Strategy Conclave� attended by senior executives, grouped into seven core committees, covering three

business verticals: Marketing, Quality, Procurement and R&D, was held to prepare a Perspective Plan and

envisage business propositions for a period of around 15 years for the Company, make an operational plan for a

short term of 5 years (annual) with reasonable growth rates and specific, measurable physical dimensions in

terms of numbers, values, and to create Company�s Values, Vision, Mission, Procurement & Quality Policies

and a R&D Roadmap. To get wide and fresh inputs, five Sub-groups (covering respective Business Verticals,

Marketing, Quality, Procurement and R&D functions) were formed from middle-level executives, and carried

out deliberations at Complexes.

128

The overall strength of skilled and experienced manpower in the Company has drastically declined mainly due

to superannuation. If left unaddressed, the resultant impact of a skill/ leadership vacuum across some critical

functions, could impair the company�s ability to meet the business objectives. Superiors and supervisors are

nominated to play the role of a coach/mentor to high-potential subordinates and assist them in building skills,

understanding the nuances of management, leadership functions and business.

A manpower study is also underway based on process requirements and the volume of business, and to

optimize the human capital. To identify potential leaders, and to motivate each senior executive in the

organization, to invest in building their own Leadership capabilities, comprehensive competency, and

leadership development initiatives are undertaken to develop a leadership pipeline in the company. A

Competency Framework was formulated, and all senior executives were put through Assessment and

Development Centers to determine their areas of strength and development. The senior executives are trained,

measured, rewarded, recognized and aligned with the business objective of the Company. Leveraging their

strength and readying them for new roles and to deliver high quality business results based on their core

competencies is critical.

Skill development programmes are designed to increase productive manpower, optimum utilization of

resources and to skill the marginalized/unskilled persons of the organization. Apart from the organizational

requirements, to augment the shortage of skilled workforce at the National level various Apprentice/Vocational

programmes have been introduced at colleges. BEML conducted programs to hone skill/trade of the trained

persons passing out of various ITIs /Polytechnics/Engineering Colleges. The Unskilled permanent employees

who are on the rolls are put on full-time 18 months training in specialized trades. After 12 months of practical

and theoretical training at the Training centre they are assigned to on-the-job training on shop floors for a period

of six months. On completion of 18 months training, they are tested and successful candidates are re-

categorised, and re-designated, as Direct workmen (Technician) in the respective Discipline.

Employees possessing skill in a trade, and are inclined to enhance their skills are identified for training in other

specialized trades, to optimize their services. In-house training is conducted under the supervision of

designated instructors and a test is conducted at the end of the training to ascertain the proficiency attained.

This training helps in job rotation and to meet the urgent requirement of specialized tradesmen. A �Skilling the

Unskilled Scheme� has been designed to skill the contract workers engaged through service

providers/contractors who perform menial jobs despite of VIII/SSLC qualifications.

To focus on building the requisite skills, which are of critical importance to the Company�s operations, Centers

of Excellence in Structural Welding, Hydraulics & Power train, and Electronics & Electrical Systems, have been

set up in manufacturing Divisions/Complexes. The technical training, in the Centers of Excellence includes

theoretical and practical aspects, on successful completion of training, candidates are certified. Suitable

reward mechanisms exist for motivating the employees to get certified in specific skills.

Employee Satisfaction Surveys, encompassing study of organizational climate/culture, employee

engagement, satisfaction level and measuring effectiveness and the alignment of HR strategy, HR policies and

practices are held in the Company. The surveys are intended to determine the integral role BEML employees

play in upholding brand value. A survey modeled on six pillars i.e., Organization, Opportunity, People, Quality

of Life, Work and Rewards was conducted online for executives whereas in case of non-executives pen and

paper method was adopted. Total target coverage achieved was 94% of the total workforce. The overall

Employee Engagement Mean Score for BEML, was found to be in the high-performance zone with most of the

market leaders.

The surveys indicate that intrinsic factors motivate employees and are based on meeting the personal needs of

an employee. BEML Ltd., recognizes these intrinsic needs and encourages job rotation, job enlargement, and

job enrichment, to provide career development opportunities. Job rotation which involves periodically

changing jobs, and work areas to develop new competencies, while gaining cross-departmental experience is

an important measure for personal development. To improve and drive holistic engagement strategy, five

initiatives have been identified as top priority namely: Skill Development, Recognition Scheme,



Communication, Quality and Leveraging of Technology. A team of internal resource persons have also been

identified and entrusted to champion the change management initiatives post surveys.

In BEML, people development is the focal point of HR functions, framing talent strategies with clearly defined

and aligned goals, with structured career paths, supported by robust learning and development plans. This

approach has a distinct impact on business outcomes; with 88% of sales being achieved from orders obtained

in stiff competition mode, and over 50 percent of product range coming from in-house developed products. In

the ultimate analysis, a progressive organization like BEML is bringing in stronger people capability by

leveraging training and talent management process though internal expertise and external support, resulting in

synergized business outcomes.

12 130


As an Executive director of Education and Training vertical, Mr Rajesh Uppal is

responsible for creating a skilled and motivated work force at MSIL. It was under

his aegis Maruti Suzuki Training Academy (MSTA) was established with a vision

�Sustaining Business Excellence by building competent people across the value

chain�. As a center of excellence MSTA is accountable for training and

development of MSIL employees and value chain to meet dynamic business

needs.

Mr Uppal believes employee development is crucial to delivering our vision of

building great products that contribute to a better world. The most important thing

we can do is stay focused on creating a skilled and motivated work force. We do

that by investing in our employees, strengthening their technical and leadership

skills and recognizing them for delivering results that cultivate success.

It is under Mr Uppal�s expert guidance learning and development strategy has

been assembled and successfully executed at MSIL. As a global company, there is

a need of certain standards and processes for employees who can take MSIL to

the next levels of performance.

He is also involved in various skill development initiatives for youth at MIL with

Government of India and he is the Chairman of Institute Management Committee

for various MSIL adopted Industrial Training Institutes. Mr Uppal is also part of the

Board of Directors of various education institutes such as: -

� National Institute of Technology

� Trustee at MSIL adopted Delhi Public Schools

Under his charge MSIL has garnered prestigious awards and accolades in

Education and Training which include: -

� Gold trophy for the category Best Private Organization Training Program at

ASSOCHAM�s, Summit-cum-Awards on Skilling India

� MSIL Trained participants represented India at prestigious World Skills India

Competition for the categories Auto Body Repair and Car Painting

� Brandon Hall Award for Learning Management System offered at MSIL

Mr Uppal association with Maruti began in 1985 when he joined the IT team. Since

then he has adopted and reinforced techno based innovative practices in learning

and development.

Mr Rajesh Uppal

The Journey of a LEADER- Making and Becoming One

About the Author

131


The Journey of a LEADER - Making and Becoming One


ABSTRACT

eadership pipeline should thrive on a strong objective and transparent system, coupled with employee Lcentric-tools. While standardizing the development activity we should also have an understanding that

everyone has his/her style for development and the system should be able to deliver that unique experience. A

baseline assessment shall give an objective view of the direction to start and annual metrics monitoring would

give us the progression from �AS IS� to the �TO BE� state. A hand-in-hand objective TNI methodology with

comprehensive L&D methodology will be the key input in framing succession management model giving

transparency and openness its due importance. While building leadership lessons for the top, the frontline

leaders at the bottom of the pyramid should be groomed. New technology-driven development tools are there

in today�s digital world but more than the leadership know-how, developing leadership mind-set should be the

focus.

Keywords: Learning style, Virtual Development Center, Succession management, Simulation-based learning

and developing frontline leaders

The Journey of a LEADER- Making and becoming one

Importance of Leadership Development: Leadership development is the core requirement for sustainable

business excellence. All successful companies i.e., organizations who have created value consistently for a

long time and excelled irrespective of the market challenges understand that their leadership is the DNA for

their existence. My vision to build a leadership pipeline has always been that it should thrive on a strong

objective and transparent system, coupled with employee-centric learning tools.

Focus on Leadership Development: We talk about standardization, consistency and achieving benchmarks,

but I feel when we are about to build any system for the people, it should have that human element; it should

give the employee a unique experience close to his own style of work for his growth and development.

Standardizing the development activity alone will not help as it involves human factor but measurement is what

we can make transparent and standardized. More the objectivity better is the acceptance by the people as then

they take ownership for their own development.

Training Need Identification (Assessment to address the gaps): It is very important for employees to have a

baseline assessment, to look at their current standing on the organization�s competency framework and to

work for their development in the right direction. Development is reaching from ‘AS IS’ state to the ‘TO BE’

state.

Next step would be to clearly define the �TO BE� state which is often a function of business requirement and

potential for development. Failing to understand the potential may fail the entire intervention; it would be like

demanding performance beyond the capability of a person. Equally important is to derive patterns or predictive

analytics of what will work best for whom. This is effective when year-on-year the trends, the metrics are

monitored. So never miss the first step � capturing data. If there is no data there is no direction to get started,

you may choose any development tool and it may take you anywhere since you don�t know where you have to

reach.

Development Center (DC) methodology is the preferred option to take a comprehensive look at talent portfolio

and to define talent strategy. Various studies have established that the Development Center Approach for

competency assessment is a reliable technique in comparison to other traditional techniques such as,

competency based interviews, work simulations, ability tests and personality tests. Integrating the

competency framework of an organization with the development center approach can track readiness of

employees for the next level. IDP�s should be created for employees for individual-driven development.

Looking at the reliability aspect of the DC approach to accurately evaluate the gap, this exercise should not be

limited to select employees in an organization but should be extended to a larger population, from middle-

management to the top. To enable such a scale-up I will recommend virtual development center (Online DC). In

the virtual DC, the entire exercise is online. It is apparent that the computer cannot observe individual

behaviors. Therefore, the underlying traits which induces a particular behavior can now be effectively

measured through online mode by administering various exercises like case study, market knowledge test,

situational judgment test & psychometric test etc. This approach has been designed to observe deep rooted

attributes of the employee without any bias. The virtual DC eliminates the human bias in the evaluation

process. The results are more acceptable as the test is self-administered. The online form helps in covering

many employees at a time and reduces the duration of the assessment to 3.5 - 4 hours instead of the traditional

1 or 2 days of investment. The participants are given reports which will contain their competency wise

performance, percentile positioning in their level, proficiency in their key abilities, engagement level as well as

the industry benchmarking. The reports are quickly available and give the individual a better perspective of

his strengths and developmental needs. The entire training need identification process is an objective exercise

where fact-based inputs are taken. Since this approach is objective, the participant is his own assessor, and

has complete control over the results and hence more acceptable to the employee.

Developing the Unique Learning Path for every employee: The changing business scenario demands

constant up gradation of skills, the need to adopt a robust Learning and Development framework to ensure a

quality talent pool is. Inputs from the assessments can be aligned to the framework to link it with the business

objectives.

Vision >> Core-Values >> Strategic Business Objectives >>Company Level KRAs>>Departmental KRAs

>>Individual KRAs >> Assessment >> Training Needs >>required competencies >>L&D framework >>Training

programs

For employee development, multiple modes of learning should be used with a combination of training

workshops, external exposure, and internal programs created by the organization. A central training unit in an

organization may cater to developmental needs of the entire business entities, units, and employees with more

strategic focus.

Learning and Development (L&D) framework should be developed with a rigorous training needs identification

process across levels. It should be a role-based competency framework across vertical/business units. The

key intent in the framework may be different for different leadership levels.

-Leadership at Senior Management levels: Develop a strong leadership capability, focusing on the capability of

strategic competence, on the culture of change through both continuous and disruptive innovation and

become builder and groomer of people. The approach can be their participation in global level programs

focusing on Strategic IQ, Change Management, Advanced Management programs and Risk Management.

Leadership at Middle Management levels: Creating an innovative and nurturing leadership pipeline by

engaging them in subordinate-development, proper-planning and execution strategy formulation and

managing teams.

Junior Management levels: Creating ownership and engagement by enhancing their personal effectiveness

skills and conceptual ability.

Supervisory level: Strong people competence, understanding of processes and technical competence.

Online Development

Centre

Talent ProfileReports:

Strength &Focus areas

Group Report:Talent

ReadinessAcross

Learning Dashboard:

IndividualDevelopment

Plan

InterventionsMDPs,

Coaching, e-learning etc.

Efficacy:Recheck after

a year



Associate level (shop floor): Strong ownership and engagement, understanding of important shop floor

practices & clear understanding of how business works in terms of productivity, profit and sales.

Setting-up the framework:

STEP 1: Top management driven: With inputs from top management and respective vertical unit expert teams,

L&D framework can be formed consolidating the standard training needs as per levels. These identified

hygiene competencies should be addressed through mandatory programs.

STEP 2: Fact-based assessment inputs: Specific modules along with inputs from online development center

can provide the competency gaps specific to the individual.

STEP 3: Alignment with business objectives: Regular (every month) reviews of current training programs may

be conducted where CEO or Executive-Director or other senior personnel together discuss framework

alignment with business goals. Any challenges in way forward should be dealt with, and inputs fed into L&D

framework.

Succession Management Framework: Providing the correct skills for the right employee and putting him at

the right place is the key for 360 leadership development exercise. In an organization where internal talent is

groomed to take up higher roles that are critical, development process should be able to take care of same.

Succession planning makes the system transparent enough for employees to see their eligibility and fit for

available positions. Employees with their own unique learning progression own their self-development. For

employees being groomed for specific roles ‘Action–Learning projects’ establishing a new process or

implementing a company-wide new system may be given. Another approach is to bring together high-

potentials into one exclusive batch and focus their development on strategic Issues. Projects may involve

interviewing employees to find the cause of a business problem and sharing the recommendations with the

top-management. Here top management needs to give full cognizance and support, provided it has potential

to create business value or is of strategic importance. This pushes the employees to think beyond their

traditional working and move out of silo�working mode to deal with business Issues and break-through the

barriers of thinking to achieve an innovative mindset. Job-rotation is another mode for development where an

employee is groomed to take up a senior management position after cross-functional exposure within the

organization. For example, an employee first works in the production area, then works in supply chain and

finally occupies a senior position in marketing or service thereby exposing the employee to multi-dimensional

thinking. Only high potential employees undergo such an exercise. Stretch assignments is another mode for

development where the employee has to execute the role of the position one level up, for instance temporarily

handling the role of a regional head while the employee is an area manager.

Achieving Transparency and Openness: Transparency and openness it is believed will drive the employees

to contribute and excel to try and reach their goal. Performance may not depend on seniority. At the same time,

another view is, this may not work if full access to information is given, an employee who knows he is not in the

identified elite group may get de-motivated. The solution is to indicate that the employee has some potential,

but not exactly the degree to which it exists.

134

Comprehensive L&D Methodology ComprehensiveTNI Methodology

Learning map for each employee

level-wise function specific training

Online - Development center for all levels

Competency gap analysis àTraining need

Case study, Simulation, Psychometnic

Measurement and Monitoring: Ensuring the right employee moves to the right position is important but it is as

important to measure and see if the employees are moving at the right pace.

Funneling should not make the list of prospective employees too thin. It should be a dynamic process where

the deserving employee takes the position in the elite list and other non-performers get dropped. Monitoring

the development of the junior and middle�management should be an ongoing parallel activity. Leadership

development is the backbone for the business and a systematic, focused, and employee-oriented approach,

will impact business positively.

Lastly, when we are looking for sustainability we should not just build leadership at the top but also the frontline

leaders at the bottom of the pyramid. In view of overall IR trends a pragmatic approach to developing

leadership at shop floor is equally important. The workforce should have fundamental understanding of

business, technology, economy, and people skills that do not emerge from a conventional mode of education.

A concept of healthy connect, changed mindsets and groomed shop floor colleagues can be cultivated and

nurtured by addressing the underlying structural changes in our people connect through an intervention which

will focus specifically on mentoring the young population of front-line supervisors. The concept of mentoring

where the mentor (supervisor) is a one touch point for associates (shop floor workmen) and helps in

establishing a connect when an associate requires with association and eventually prevents even the smallest

Issue impacting IR. These mentors may choose to support the mentees not only within the boundaries of the

organization but even in personal Issues � like a death in the family, need for re-location, school admission of

kids etc.

Most of the leadership strategies and interventions I shared have been implemented at Maruti Suzuki and they

are yielding very positive results. I would just like to state that more than the leadership know-how, the

approach should be to develop the leadership mindset.



Prof (Dr) Sanjay Srivastava is a Ph. D. in Organizational Culture from University of

Delhi, an expert in Psychometric Profiling and a trainer practitioner of

Transactional Analysis and NLP. He is one of the few who have been accorded with

the International Honorary Research Fellowship for five years upto 2021 at Lahti

University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland a rare honor, bestowed upon him

by the Hon�ble Prime Minister of Finland Mr Juha Sipila on February 14, 2016. His

book entitled - The Timeless Wisdom from Geeta & Leadership (�Geeta ka

Shashwat Gyan tatha Netratva ki Kala�) was released on April 4, 2017 by Hon�ble

Governor of Haryana.

Dr Srivastava has worked with Haryana Institute of Public Administration for many

years and responsible for conducting programs for the civil servants of the cadre

and conducting programs of Department of Personnel & Training, Government of

India at their various academies like LBS - National Academy, Mussoorie & SP

National Police Academy, Hyderabad, National Academy of CBI and many more.

Before Joining Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, he worked for 18 years

with Amity University and has had the privilege of teaching eighteen out of twenty

batches graduated from Amity Business School, flagship institute of Amity

University as Professor of Organizational Behavior. He has worked at Amity

University as its Dean �Examination and Faculty of Management Studies� &

Chairman, Doctoral Program of Amity University, Uttar Pradesh.

24 scholars have completed their Ph. D. work under his guidance and at present, 7

of them are pursuing their doctoral work with him. He has guided more than 350

dissertations, 450 summer internships at Post Graduate level and many consulting

assignments of Government in India and abroad, some of his classic consulting

work includes Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited at Karnataka, Dubai

Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) & Sharjah Transport, Falcon Group of

Industries � Sharjah) and many more. He is Life Member of International

Psychoanalytic Society and National Academic of Psychology.

During his distinguished career of over two decades having had many distinctions

the academic community knows him as team builder, an acclaimed teacher, a

prolific speaker, an avid researcher, a consultant and an Organizational Coach.

Besides, Dr Srivastava has worked on many international assignments on various

capacities which include Training, Consultancy etc.

Dr Sanjay Srivastava

Building Leaders through Learning andTeaching Organization

About the Author

136

Anyone who acquaints oneself with the word �organization� understands it as a body consisting of

numerous people who are brought together by pursuits of a collective goal. This body of people is

considered to (and should) operate as a well oiled machine with linkages to the external environment that

would eventually provide it with resources for accomplishing that goal. However, human beings, by a natural

disposition, require a constant source of motivation if they are to accomplish something. It is easy to drive one�s

own motivation about a personal goal because all it takes is accountability and responsibility for self. The

picture changes all together when an entire bunch of people need to stay motivated for a goal which cannot be

associated with an individual but is going to fulfill their basic need for which they came together in the first

place. This necessitates the existence of a structure where a selected few can take responsibility of steering a

larger lot of people towards the organization�s goal.

In this age where quite a few organizations are moving from a hierarchical structure towards a flatter

organizational structure, talking about managers may not be as relevant as it was a few decades ago; but it

underlines the requirement of persuasive leaders who can land into the battlefield with the team, extracting

results because of their influence instead of authority. If the organization is a ship, a leader is its designer, a

leader is the teacher, a leader is the steward – whose purpose is to serve a greater purpose of reshaping

business where the employees can steer themselves. To understand this in true perspective, it�s important

to understand that �Leader� is not a designation. Leader is that invisible badge that a person wears with honor,

not because it has been bestowed on him/her, but because one is willing to take ownership of accomplishing

the goals and take people along in their pursuit while according them due respect and space that they deserve.

As we talk about accomplishment of goals by the organization, the process would be a very linear process if it

were to take place in a vacuum; which, however, is far from reality. The progress of an organization is almost

entirely dependent on its response to its external environment. It might pay us well to remember a clichéd

adage “Change is the only constant” because old as it might be; there is nothing better that explains a

business environment well. With a world that is taken over by technology which changes with the blink of an

eye, dynamism is the new normal. To sustain this new �normal�, saying that we have to be on top of it, is an

understatement. An organization that continuously evolves by enhancing its capabilities, intentionally as well

as incidentally, is the one that will be around for a long haul.

Considering that leader is the one who truly owns the responsibility of ensuring that the organization is moving

in the right direction, he would be signing up the organization for an early dissolution if he fails to perpetuate his

learning. The organizations must change with time, however, the leaders need to tread with caution and help in

building capabilities that are more classic and less a trend. Studies have shown that “great companies

changed less in reaction to a radically changing world than the comparison companies”. Yes, it is

important to take cognizance of the changes. Yes, it is important to foresee challenges that may arise out of

these changes. Yes, it is important to equip ourselves to deal with contingencies. But despite of it all, the

leaders have a responsibility of dealing with extreme patience. Jim Collins in his book �From Good to Great�

has talked about how it has been proved: “Leading in a Fast World always requires Fast Decision, and Fast

Action is a good way to get killed.”

137

Building Leaders through Learning and

Teaching Organization



The leaders who facilitate continuous augmentation of their abilities to adapt to a dynamic environment,

develop collective as well as individual learning scenarios and use the results to achieve better results, are the

need of the hour. The organizations must understand a very real phenomenon called the �competitive tension�

or a discomfort felt because of the presence of a competition, where within the organization people might look

at each other as rivals but eventually have to work together in the same direction. There are some aspects of

work which one must keep working on irrespective of the environment which the organization is thriving in. The

one who welcomes this competitive tension and is on a path of continuous learning has the makings of a true

leader. The need of a Leader�s learning is visible and it is also clear that nobody is born a leader; it is an art and a

sentiment that is cultivated with time � but sadly, not taught anywhere. It�s a grey area that is plagued with

Issues and challenges and identifying some of them would be a great way to kick-start a holistic journey of

learning.

The challenges that a leader faces are double edged – they not only give a perspective of what needs

development within the team, they also give a leader an insight in his/ her personal areas of

improvement. Do you identify with some of the following?

1. Team: Search for a purpose

Leader: Identifying and communicating the purpose

If your team lacks direction and you often feel that they are not able to look at the broader picture, have you

considered communicating the organization�s vision to them while explaining how important their

contribution is. Great leaders know where they are going and they are able to persuade others to follow.

But leaders can never take their people farther than they have traveled. For successful communication

and fulfillment of purpose, remember the 5A�s: Articulate the ideas, Announce the vision, Acquaint your

subordinates with it, Assign responsibilities and Accompany them while they work at it.

2. Team: Trust

Leader: Trust

The team trusts when they can see that their needs are being taken care of and the leader also feels the

need to be trusted to patiently take care of the team�s needs which may need time to fulfill. In a system that

is built of humans, it�s a vicious circle of trust and benefits. An efficient leader will ensure the 5C�s of Trust

Building: Communicate effectively, Commit and fulfill promises, Coach the subordinates, Credit them for

things they do well, and Concede when he�s wrong.

3. Team: Focus on personal goals

Leader: Develop focus on organizational goals

A true leader understands that every team member is important and respects their personal goals due to

which they are a part of the organization. Instead of highlighting a conflict, the leader identifies and

underlines the correlation between the organizational goal and personal goals of a team member. To

establish this focus, a leader would do well to follow the 5C�s of aligning personal and organizational

goals: Collaborate with the team, Confide in them with your personal goals, Correlate how they fall in line

with organizational goals, Confer with them to seek this correlation in respect to their goals, and

Cooperate with them when they need support to establish this alignment.

4. Team: Need to be heard

Leader: Need to be heard

The team and the leader have a mutual need of being heard and need is often fruitfully fulfilled in a beautiful

system of barter and mutual respect. A team that feels that they are being given due importance and are

not merely slaves of remuneration, they establish an unbeatable sense of belongingness. Pay attention

when the team relies on you for 5C�s: Clarity, Complaints, Consideration, Confession and Compensation.

13812

5. Team: Dealing with unfamiliar expectations

Leader: Dealing with unfamiliar responsibilities

A leader might be dealing with unknown territories on being assigned a new responsibility, an event which

burdens the team with unfamiliar expectations, much unknown to him. Taking cognizance and being

considerate can ease out the experience for both the parties. To ease out the experience, leaders can rely

on the 5E�s of dealing with expectations and responsibilities: Explain your point of view, Empathize with

the team and understand their position, Empower them with new tasks and ward off their fear, Endure the

uncertainties, and Evaluate from time to time to keep everything from going out of order.

6. Team: Belongingness

Leader: Isolation

Often the team yearns for a sense of belongingness which, in more cases than not, gets fulfilled within the

team. A leader on the other hand faces isolation for he/she cannot confide in his time about his/her

ruminations. A healthy familiar environment is essential for the team with their leader to sail through trying

circumstances. If one pays attention, an employee feels attached to the work place if it fulfills its 5M�s: Men

or social groups, Money to fulfill basic needs, responsibilities and desires, Mind or appreciation of his

ideas, Motivation to self actualize, and meaningful experience to gain Mastery in his area of expertise.

7. Team: Emotional Intelligence

Leader: Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is all about making the best of each other�s emotions in any situation. To be able to

understand and respect another person�s emotions, it is essential to begin on a journey to self awareness

which allows one to extend exactly the kind of support that is required in varied situations pregnant with

volatility of human emotions. Moods of a leader are transmitted to those he/she leads. An emotionally

intelligent leader will stop these 5C�s from nurturing within the organization: Criticizing, Complaining,

Comparing, Competing and Contending.

8. Team: Lack of inspiration

Leader: Lack of skills to lead from influence

An employee knows what he�s there for in an organization but lacks the fire to consider it his own. A leader

stumbles in situations where he exercises his authority in passing on instructions, failing to realize that the

task at hand will get accomplished wonderfully if he jumps in the task with the team member, offering him

the streak of inspiration that he�s yearning for. Remember that team looks up to you for 5C�s: Charisma,

Care, Cleverness, Communication, and Consolidation.

9. Team: Accepting change

Leader: Managing change

Change is probably the biggest challenge in an organization as it is inevitable and comes across as a

complete upheaval of what a person has been used to experiencing for a considerable period of time.

Managing change is the true test of a leader and creates a hearth where new leaders are born � molten,

blown and transformed. Remember the 5E�s of change management: Envision the future scenario,

Establish the changes that the organization requires, Enumerate them clearly for your team�s

understanding, Empower them to take control, and Embed them in the system with effective control

mechanism.

10. Team: Becoming a leader

Leader: Developing a leader

As a leader evolves with time, he also bequeaths the responsibility of passing on his Guru’s learning

to newer individuals who have every essential ingredient to become a corporate warrior. The real



benefits of leadership are achieved not when a project does well because of the leader�s efforts, but

instead when his learning and doing ignites a passion in somebody else to pass it on to more individuals.

To nurture future corporate warriors, a leader will go through 5E�s: Exhibit his skills and inspire

subordinates, Explore the team for future leaders, Evaluate them on their current skills-set, Enlighten them

about areas of development and Encourage them to take on new tasks that will eliminate their

weaknesses.

These challenges are ubiquitous and not a single organization would be spared from these because they are

evolutionary in nature, always leaving a scope for improvement. According to Singh and Bhandarkar (2016),

Virtuous Leaders influence subordinates through unpretentiousness and empowering behavior,

respecting the dignity of others, listening intently, through their approachability along with clear sense

of direction for performance. In other words, they powerfully integrate human skills with focus on

performance outcomes. However, becoming a leader like that involves a long learning process, the teachings

and experiences of which should be regularly and tactfully passed on to others if more leaders are to be

nurtured. This requires additional attention and moving away from the primary focus of minting money. Porras

and Collins have talked about the importance of building an organization�s �core value system� instead of

relying on great product ideas, charismatic leaders, and paying too much attention to profit.

It�s imperative to quote Peter Drucker here who said “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong

process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.”

Moving on to become a Learning & Teaching Organization is more a matter of a cultural change than a structural

change. It begins by building an organization culture that nurtures learning, acceptance of change and an

unwavering faith in continuous improvement and innovation. This culture is further brought to life by inculcating

a feeling of free dissemination of knowledge and skills which is a departure from the common vice of

knowledge hoarding; teaching is rightly considered the highest form of understanding. However, this massive

metamorphosis is impossible without the inclusion of all members of the organization. When we talk of

change, we cannot undermine the importance of the human element that’s involved in a business

organization and hence, HR leaders have a greater responsibility to shoulder in facilitating the path to

learning.

A Learning & Teaching Organization will be developed where the higher ups understand the need to properly

manage knowledge available within the system, the requirement of superior infrastructure for knowledge

building, the importance of gathering knowledge and to top of it all, a necessity to disseminate it strategically to

the right person at the right time. Innovation, Implementation and Stabilization are the three phrases in a

learning organization. A Learning Organization focuses more on lifelong learning and softer skills set to

adapt, innovate and learn rather than the �hard� factual knowledge base, which has an increasingly short shelf

life. It is important to remember that �Innovation by itself turns out not to be the trump card in a chaotic and

uncertain world; more important is the ability to scale innovation, to blend creativity with discipline.� Thus,

innovation ought to be accompanied and followed by a creative implementation and disciplined stabilization.

With the knowledge that it�s us humans who drive the change and innovation when motivated well, importance

of steering your Human Capital becomes all pervasive. The beauty of Human Resource Management is that it

can get as subjective as can be. But one can always sneak in a bit of objectivity and turn grey areas into neatly

outlined blacks and whites. It�s said that identifying the Issue is half the battle won. If one would like to

evaluate their organization and move onto a continuous path of progress, it would be a great idea for

practitioners to understand the following checklist of attributes. One can take a moment to pause and

reflect, rate their organization on a ten point scale and chalk out an achievable plan of action:

1. Intellectual Curiosity: It is characterized by a passion to identify changing forces and an eagerness to

learn about aspects that may not directly relate to the business right now, but which may indirectly impact

it at a later stage. If restricted to a particular division or function, it could also mean the hunger to learn

more to be able to deliver results in geometric progression. Do you identify an unquenchable quest of

excellence among your people?

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2. Creating Organizational Capacity for Anticipating and Responding to Change: Do all your people

understand the macro picture of the organization? Do your employees take pride in anticipating changes

and proactively offering solutions that may be implemented in advance? Do you have a reward structure in

place for team efforts? Do your employees feel that they are in a win-win situation? Is everybody a winner?

3. Organizational Humility: This attribute is characterized by the eagerness to learn from others. Is this

need communicated across the levels � horizontally, vertically and diagonally in your organization? The

vibe that knowledge is not held in close proprietorship of any person but is a phenomenon that leads the

team to collectively achieve the organization�s goals is a game changer. However, it requires a top to

bottom approach replete with validation and acknowledgment, by the people at the helm, of the great

ideas brewing among the juniors. Do your subordinates feel that their ideas are valued?

4. Learning to Adapt, Adopt and Adept: Do the people in your organization understand what signals to pay

attention to and which ones to ignore? Do they put in persistent efforts to adapt to the new changes by

learning how to juggle schedules, resources and assignments; adopt the changes required during

inevitable crisis situations; and to become adept at planning for various contingencies?

5. Vigilant Self-Criticism: There should be a constant rift between stability and change. Do your people

sustain a systematic effort towards questioning the conventional wisdom? Do they project a keen

awareness that complacency and procrastination should not set in? Delay is the deadliest form of denial it

is said � otherwise it�s just a matter of time that it will lead to its own sad demise.

6. Moving from Intentional to Incidental Learning: Conscious mechanisms for creating, collecting and

disseminating knowledge have become a recurring theme and learning organizations recognize that

knowledge-value is very rarely created; it is only shared by accidental learning. Conscious mechanism

must be evolved to acquire it, and considerable energy expended to disseminate and leverage it. How

does your organization fair as far as incidental learning is concerned? Do you encounter Eureka moments

often?

7. Developing a Culture of Continuous Improvement and Continuous Learning: Culture of continuous

improvement involves accepting the fact that learning at all the levels and all functions are critical in

organizational processes. This assists organizational members to become and see themselves as

increasingly effective, self reliant and cooperative learners. Learning Organizations believe that a human

being�s first responsibility is to shake hands with him/herself. Are your people consciously aware of the

knowledge levels that they currently possess? Do they proactively work on enhancing it?

8. A Capacity to Imagine Alternative Futures: Learning Organizations prepare every member of the

organization to create, nurture and process the alternative futures and it comes only with the realization of

togetherness. This capacity to imagine or imbibe conviction, which is communicated that the dream we

dream alone, is only a dream, but the dream we dream together is reality. Undoubtedly, loneliness and the

feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Do your people feel like they are a part of a bigger

fabric and that their contribution matters?

9. Revitalizing Team Development Processes: Team building should be an opportunity for team members

to assimilate and adapt to change on a continuous basis, to increase skills of team learning and

adaptation. Are situations dealt openly and constructively to allow the employees to feel that they are an

important part of your organization? Team needs time together to set goals, plan, organize, and execute.

We often judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already

done. The organizational environment goes a long way in bridging that gap.

10. A High Tolerance for Ambiguity, Complexity and Change: Learning Organizations believe that pain

nourishes courage and you can�t be brave if you�ve only had wonderful things happen to you. The

organizational life cycle is intrinsically iterative, experimental and often non-linear. Henceforth, advice

should always be consumed between two thick slices of doubt because in times to come, complexity and

ambiguity would be the two pillars of existence of any corporate. Is your organization equipped?



11. An Appetite for Feedback: This attribute is characterized by a genuine eagerness to reach out and get

performance feedback from variety of sources and a willingness to actually listen to it and incorporate

needful changes. Lessons learned from past projects can become a rich source of knowledge and provide

meaningful insight if you have a genuine appetite to digest. This task of course can be very daunting, but

do you have a feedback mechanism in place? Is it robust enough to give you a 360 degree evaluation of the

organization?

12. Helping Individuals to Cope with Frequent Reassignments and Role Changes: Managers in

organizations going through major changes are often forced to cope with different & frequent

reassignments and changes in the reporting relationships, roles, and job descriptions. Learning

Organizations believe that imagination is more important than knowledge. Is your organization ready to

take the risk? Does your organization believe that your people might not like switchovers but those are

willing to evolve will come along anyway?

13. Facilitating Organizational Support for Individual Coping: Organizations have to facilitate employees�

ability to cope up with change by helping them develop their creative thinking. This is also done by

communicating that discoveries are often made by not just by following instructions, but by going off the

main road, by trying the untried. Learning Organizations create a space to allow employees to develop a

personal vision and plan, learn conflict resolution, manage stress; and above all provide an environment

that recognizes family needs with a genuineness that says �We Care�. Does this sound like your

organization?

14. A High Pain Threshold for “Constructive Failures”: Matthew J. Kiernan in his book entitled �Get

Innovative or Get Dead� writes that most CEOs would probably concede that they have learned more from

their corporate mistakes than their successes. Sadly, they tend to have a much higher tolerance level for

their own mistakes than those of subordinates. Learning Organizations and their leaders view

experiments as desirable, mistakes as inevitable and failures as the raw feedstock for the learning

process. Do your people feel comfortable to make honest mistakes?

If the points listed herein above have stirred you, it would discomfort you to know that this list is not exhaustive.

However, a silver lining to this cloud of apprehension, confusion and botheration is that all of these attributes

are idealistic and not fully attainable � there will always be something more to do, irrespective of the pinnacles

of success that your organization reaches. Now on these attributes rate your own organization. What sets

Learning Organizations apart is the realization that in the odyssey of success, the destination is like the

bottom of an ocean – uncertain and unfathomable. Challenges unfold themselves in three dimensions: The

Simple, the Difficult and the Impossible. True leaders always embrace the third one which results in not only

satisfaction over attainment, but also in getting epitomized for their brand value for future generations to

remember.

Often, some managers, who are not able to persuade their team on a path to goal fulfillment, look at their

successful contemporaries in despair and attribute their success to luck. Collins and Hansen (2011) had

interesting observations to make after extensively studying Fortune 500 companies and role of luck in

their success. By empirically defining, quantifying and studying the role of luck, they concluded that the

great companies and leaders who built them were not luckier than the comparison companies and their

leaders. However, they did get a higher return on their luck quotient. The reason for this greater return on

luck can be accredited to various factors. Always remember, that the best leaders in the world were not the

ones who had a great vision, a great appetite for risk and a creative mind; best leaders were the ones

who were more disciplined, more empirical and more paranoid. To make yours a Learning Organization,

identify an attribute that it needs development on and set on a journey with a strong plan of action. Bon voyage!

12 142

References:

1. Boss, J. (2016, February 2). The Top Leadership Challenges for 2016. (Retrieved from:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ jeffboss/2016/02/02/the-top-leadership-chal lenges-for-

2016/#3382ab0919e0)

2. Collins, James C., Porras, Jerry I (1994). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. United

States: William Collins

3. Collins, Jim C. (2001). Good to Great. United States: William Collins

4. Collins, Jim C., Hansen, Morten T. (2011). Great by Choice. United States: William Collins

5. Goleman, D. (2004). Primal Leadership. United States: Harvard Business Review Press

6. Kiernan, Matthew J. (2004). Get Innovative or Get Dead. United States: Diane Publishing Company

7. Maxwell, John C. (1993). Developing the Leader within You. United States: Harper Collins

8. Senge, P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. United States:

Crown Business

9. Sharma, R. (2010). The Leader who had no Title. India: Jaico Publishing House

10. Silsbee, L (2015, May 18). The Top 7 Challenges facing Leaders today. (Retrieved from:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-7-challenges-facing-leaders-today-lynda-silsbee-cpt-sphr/)

11. Singh, P., Bhandarkar, A., Rai,S. (2016). The Leadership Odyssey: From Darkness to Light. India: Sage

Publications Pvt. Ltd.

12. Waldon, G. (2015, August 6). Competitive Tension can push you to Greater Success. (Retrieved from:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/competitive-tension-can-push-you-greater-success-gary-waldon/)



Dr Jyotsna Bhatnagar is a Harvard Business School affiliate. A masters in

Psychology from Lucknow University, and is a PhD from Indian Institute of

Technology¸ New Delhi. She launched her academic career at IIM-Ahmedabad in

1990. and was also associated with Escorts Corporate Limited in 1997.

At MDI, Dr Bhatnagar offers teaching , research and consulting on Talent

Management, Innovative HR practices, Strategic HR role of line and HR Manager,

Talent and leadership pipeline development to organizations such as: Govt. of

India-Ministry Of Statistics & Program Implementation¸ Designing uniform ACR

for Subordinate statistical services; Competency Mapping and redesigning

Performance appraisal form; Agri. Insurance Company-HR Policy and

Performance Management criterion; IBM Train the trainer Retention Workshop for

IBM GPS-HR; Samsung R&D- Retention through performance counseling and

feedback; -; Hewitt HRO; Jindal Stainless Limited on High Performance work

systems; American Express-Financial Centre-East-outbound team building and

culture building interventions. Prof. Jyotsna Bhavnagar has co-edited three

books: Future of Work; Changing Face of People Management in India;

Innovations in People Management: Cases in OB/HR/Communication.

Dr Bhatnagar recently published an article based on a case in Harvard Business

Review on Should you hire a Defector? Her cases have been published by Richard

Ivey and Harvard Business School Publishing case collection. Dr Bhatnagar has

presented her thoughts at the Academy of Management USA, regularly from 2008

to 2016. Dr Bhatnagar was nominated advisory board member of International

HRM Conference Secretariat. Her Research on Talent management received the

Emerald literati award 2009, at Academy of Management Conference, 2010,

Montreal Canada.and is the 5th most downloaded paper in the world, in emerald

Employer Relations journal. Dr Bhatnagar is a Editorial board member of British

Journal of Management.

Dr Jyotsna Bhatnagar

Book ReviewThe Leadership Odyssey

About the Author

144

The Leadership Odyssey begins with inspirational words of Jagdish Seth, a

foreword which readies the reader to an exciting journey of purpose and

passion, which may go toxic or virtuous as one examines the leaders in their

corporate journey. The journey entails a roadmap for understanding the �A-h-

a�s of leadership, where one cannot make or buy leadership but earn it� (p xvi),

to quote Seth.

As the reader curls up with the seminal work, by Dr. Pritam Singh, Dr. Asha

Bhandarker and Dr. Snigdha Rai, one comes across a blunt question: Why is

there a leadership crisis? As a practitioner and an evolving leader is there

something to learn, know, reflect and deflect? If you are riddled by these

questions, you must grab this book and introspect upon the findings of this

research based book.

Uniqueness of the book is that both paradigms of toxic and virtuous leadership

are investigated together, instead of either or leadership framework which

earlier research has explored. The authors dive into in-depth case studies of toxic and virtuous leaders, and

while reading the book one comes across questions such as: How your talent is dwarfed by a toxic leader, or

magnified by an enlightened, virtuous leader? Why do some leaders traverse the trap of unconscious

conspiracy? Know-it-all syndrome? Intoxicated with the position, power, arrogance, a leader may become

toxic and derail. How can one be a conscious leader focussed to evolve with purpose and passion, and humility

unique to himself? How do we learn leader behaviour worth emulating?

Based on qualitative and quantitative research, the authors provide a framework to know what and who are

toxic leaders, and how we recognize them. Further, who are virtuous leaders and how do we differentiate

between the two? The takeaway is the impact of these two paradoxical leaders on their environment, their

subordinates and their organizations, which under the zeal of their leadership march towards nadir, or towards

excellence pinnacle respectively.

The authors have organized the book in four chapters: Chapter one, titled, �Peaks and Valleys of Leadership� is

a literature review on both Toxic and Virtuous leadership. Chapter two examines, �Toxic Leader Profile� in which

you will learn to examine the dark side of the toxic leader, the proverbial wolf in sheep�s clothes in any

organization, real life yet camouflaged examples are investigated which give a disconcerting feel to this profile

of the bully, an arrogant unethical wolf. Chapter three examines, �Virtuous Leader Profile�. This chapter is based

on case studies of enlightened virtuous leaders in the government and in the public sector, who are whose care

and concern about others is hallmark of their humanity. Those who are inspiring by their demeanour, are intent

listeners & followers, empathetic, emotionally balanced, inclusive, humble and patient leaders who �walk the

talk�. This style leads to accomplishing, challenging and impossible tasks, and leads to a happening, happy,

enjoyable and exciting inclusive workplace. The findings are based on interviews of important stakeholders

and subordinates of these leaders. Chapter five is titled, Leadership Consciously: A roadmap for moving from

Toxic to Virtuous leadership, and provides the landscape and key findings of the study. Blocks to move from

Toxic to Virtuous Leadership are identified, and a gestalt for a self-therapy checklist is provided.

The Leadership Odyssey



This book sets you on the path of reflection. Go slow in reading the last two chapters, as authors are constantly

trying to ask the reader the question �which kind of leader are you evolving to?� If you are in any part of the

corporate hierarchy, the authors prod you to think, reflect and emulate. Choice is yours as a reader: Toxic or

Virtuous leadership journey? To discern, differentiate and demonstrate in every day managerial life by asking

yourself: Is there an Unconscious conspiracy you may be buckling to? Stop-Check-Reflect-Emulate and read

this book, as it offers you a new normal, a sound and practical way forward to increase the power of

virtuousness. A self-assessment checklist and creation of a sensor provided in the last chapter is a navigator to

move from toxic to virtuous leadership.

The authors stimulate the reader for a holistic gestalt, attained through the integration of physical, emotional,

intellectual and spiritual awareness and living, a balance of these four levels in management of the self as a

leader is offered by the authors.

Young HR leaders, trainers, academicians will find this book an important addition in their mental models and

their libraries. Mid-level leaders in any context, who find themselves on leadership crossroads, will find this

volume helpful in guiding them to the right turn in their leadership journey. Senior leaders will enjoy this book as

an identification of what they are going through in their leadership journey.

As a leader one must always know what to do, what to avoid, what to follow and why? The how and why of

leadership evolves into extensive case studies, crafted with such expertise by the authors, that the reader

revels in the learning journey from the Odyssey of the Virtuous leaders. The reviewer has a humble suggestion,

authors in their future work may investigate women leaders in both frameworks, toxic and virtuous styles which

will provide further insight and learning to the readers.

Conscious leadership is what beckons the readers to emulate, to quote Rumi, �Set your life on fire�seek those

who fan your flames.� Read this book to unravel the flames of the conscious leader within.

If you want to unlearn the toxic behaviours which you may have acquired and want to develop into a holistic

conscious leader who can make a difference in the organization by positively impacting subordinates,

colleagues and important stakeholders, this book is for you.

This book will help you discover your leadership style and bring it forth from darkness to light�...!

Since your journal has become online from January, 2016, you need to

make sure that your email id is updated with NHRDN national secretariat.

Without your correct email ID we will be not in a position to send you the

Issues at regular interval. In case you or your fellow professionals and

members have any problem in receiving the journal online do write to

Pranay Ranjan ([email protected]) at national secretariat.

As you also have noticed that all our Issues are theme based and

therefore we do not publish any article in a particular Issue that is not

related to the theme. So our request to future contributors will be to plan

your contributions based on the future themes only and send me your

contribution only at [email protected]. Please also note that final

decision to include your article will be based on the decision of the guest

editor for that particular Issue and the editorial team. We would also like to

know about the themes/contemporary Issues that you want to focus us in

our future Issues. Please send your suggestions and feedback to

[email protected] after reading this Issue.

12

www.nationalhrd.org

Network HRD NetworkThe National HRD Network, established in 1986, 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 impact ful 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:

Ÿ acquire capabilities to perform various tasks associated with their present and future roles;

Ÿ develop their inner potential for self and organizational growth;

Ÿ develop an organizational culture where networking relationships, teamwork and collaboration among different units is strong, contributing to organizational growth and individual well-being.