Indian Firms Tapping Leadership as a Route to Growth
Investing Megabucks on Leadership Development
Investing Megabucks on Leadership Development
New Delhi August 1, 2013
At a time when most Indian firms are cutting costs to improve bottom lines in a sluggish economic environment, a select few are taking a contrarian route and investing heavily on developing leaders.
At least a dozen owner driven companies, including CK Birla group, Dr Reddy’s, GMR, Jindal Steel, Reliance Industries and Sterlite, are said to be investing Rs 5 to Rs 15 crore on leadership development over and above their regular training allocation.
As more and more organisations view leadership development as a route to growth and invest in Leadership Development initiatives, the Human Resources space is galvanizing into action. The
Big 4 consultancy firms are moving beyond strategy-based solutions to advice on achieving excellence -- both at operational and execution levels.
Leadership – A Tool for Growth
While most organisations implement learning and development programmes to train employees, some Indian companies are aggressively using Leadership Development as a tool for growth.
“Leadership development is now being oriented for the growth of the company in domestic and global markets as also for the succession plan,” says Yogi Sriram, Senior Vice President, Corporate HR of India's largest engineering & construction conglomerate L&T, which offers leadership programs across all levels and functions.
Companies across sectors, old and new economy alike, are taking note of the complex nature leadership in today’s fast-paced world of changing variables and faster communication.
“In order to perform sustainably in today’s competitive markets the culture of the organization, and its ability to innovate and to satisfy stakeholders depends on the quality of the leadership,” says Sonia Stojanovic, who served as a Senior Practice Expert in Organisation Behaviour at McKinsey’s New York office.
“Today’s leaders need to be more agile and flexible to make course changes, in challenging situations and in turbulent times,” says Sriram. These skills can be inculcated via leadership programs, by providing 270 degree feedback, which help the individuals develop leadership behaviours and consistency.
Considered a softer side of an organisation, not so long ago leadership interventions are beginning to show quantifiable gains. “We have seen phenomenal results from our six-month leadership program where we trained 200 people in three cohorts for two months each. It has ploughed back Rs 218 crore for us, in actual terms,” says Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR at steelmaker Jindal Steel.
Jindal Steel plans a six month leadership development intervention this year for hundred additional employees, involving workshops, action learning projects and one-to-one coaching.
“Earlier the Big Four had leadership programs concentrating on only 30-40 people in an organisation. This model is not relevant now. We need leadership to be available across all levels of an organisation,” says Bhadauria.
Expanding the Market
To tap into this opportunity, many consultancy firms have set up a separate Leadership Practice or a Leadership Institute, which enables them to undertake leadership intervention in a more focussed way and at a large scale.
“McKinsey started it in the mid-90s and now almost all the bigger consultancy firms Deloitte, PwC, Bain have set up practices for leadership development. Today, leadership has become complex. Earlier the leader was the boss but now, a single individual cannot do it,” says Stojanovic.
This development is expanding the market, feels Santhosh Babu, CEO Coach and Founding MD of Organisation Development Alternatives. The pie is expected to grow to more than Rs500 crore over the next 18-24 months.
The 16-year old Organisation Development Alternatives (ODA) conducts a year-long leadership development program for companies like Vodafone, Engineers India Limited and MSD. It also partners Jindal Steel in its leadership development initiative.
The demand for leadership is spurred as much by the need to have a leadership pipeline in place, especially for Indian family-owned businesses, as by the need to build agility, specifically in people, as an area of competency.
Generic drugmaker Ranbaxy is among the companies transforming its culture and moving into the next orbit of growth. It considers leadership development as one of the many tools for building this culture.
At a time when most Indian firms are cutting costs to improve bottom lines in a sluggish economic environment, a select few are taking a contrarian route and investing heavily on developing leaders.
At least a dozen owner driven companies, including CK Birla group, Dr Reddy’s, GMR, Jindal Steel, Reliance Industries and Sterlite, are said to be investing Rs 5 to Rs 15 crore on leadership development over and above their regular training allocation.
As more and more organisations view leadership development as a route to growth and invest in Leadership Development initiatives, the Human Resources space is galvanizing into action. The
Big 4 consultancy firms are moving beyond strategy-based solutions to advice on achieving excellence -- both at operational and execution levels.
Leadership – A Tool for Growth
While most organisations implement learning and development programmes to train employees, some Indian companies are aggressively using Leadership Development as a tool for growth.
“Leadership development is now being oriented for the growth of the company in domestic and global markets as also for the succession plan,” says Yogi Sriram, Senior Vice President, Corporate HR of India's largest engineering & construction conglomerate L&T, which offers leadership programs across all levels and functions.
Companies across sectors, old and new economy alike, are taking note of the complex nature leadership in today’s fast-paced world of changing variables and faster communication.
“In order to perform sustainably in today’s competitive markets the culture of the organization, and its ability to innovate and to satisfy stakeholders depends on the quality of the leadership,” says Sonia Stojanovic, who served as a Senior Practice Expert in Organisation Behaviour at McKinsey’s New York office.
“Today’s leaders need to be more agile and flexible to make course changes, in challenging situations and in turbulent times,” says Sriram. These skills can be inculcated via leadership programs, by providing 270 degree feedback, which help the individuals develop leadership behaviours and consistency.
Considered a softer side of an organisation, not so long ago leadership interventions are beginning to show quantifiable gains. “We have seen phenomenal results from our six-month leadership program where we trained 200 people in three cohorts for two months each. It has ploughed back Rs 218 crore for us, in actual terms,” says Rajeev Bhadauria, Director, Group HR at steelmaker Jindal Steel.
Jindal Steel plans a six month leadership development intervention this year for hundred additional employees, involving workshops, action learning projects and one-to-one coaching.
“Earlier the Big Four had leadership programs concentrating on only 30-40 people in an organisation. This model is not relevant now. We need leadership to be available across all levels of an organisation,” says Bhadauria.
Expanding the Market
To tap into this opportunity, many consultancy firms have set up a separate Leadership Practice or a Leadership Institute, which enables them to undertake leadership intervention in a more focussed way and at a large scale.
“McKinsey started it in the mid-90s and now almost all the bigger consultancy firms Deloitte, PwC, Bain have set up practices for leadership development. Today, leadership has become complex. Earlier the leader was the boss but now, a single individual cannot do it,” says Stojanovic.
This development is expanding the market, feels Santhosh Babu, CEO Coach and Founding MD of Organisation Development Alternatives. The pie is expected to grow to more than Rs500 crore over the next 18-24 months.
The 16-year old Organisation Development Alternatives (ODA) conducts a year-long leadership development program for companies like Vodafone, Engineers India Limited and MSD. It also partners Jindal Steel in its leadership development initiative.
The demand for leadership is spurred as much by the need to have a leadership pipeline in place, especially for Indian family-owned businesses, as by the need to build agility, specifically in people, as an area of competency.
Generic drugmaker Ranbaxy is among the companies transforming its culture and moving into the next orbit of growth. It considers leadership development as one of the many tools for building this culture.
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