Things that India is Doing Right to Create Successful Business Leaders Globally

With Satya Nadella CEO, Microsoft, Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, Ajaypal Singh, President & CEO, Mastercard, Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe already holding the top spots, the appointment of Sundar Pichai as CEO of Google has once again renewed the focus on Indians rising to the top to take charge of the global MNCs and inspire millions across the world.

Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool unravels the factors behind the success of Indians as business leaders globally.

What does India do right to create successful business leaders globally?

India is a competitive arena - I say this from two points of view - one at an individual level where each person has to go through tremendous competition right from SSC/HSC/undergrad/post grad levels that only the best get the opportunity to get into the so called dream organisations. The second view point is that the companies in which these young leaders begin their careers have to be competitive considering the large and diverse market which India represents. In many product categories, 40-50% of the manufacturing/service is delivered by the unorganized sector - in sectors such as retail it is even lesser. Hence, the organized sector has to be really competitive to survive. Add to this, the Indian market has enormous diversity and is perhaps even fragmented. Divided by language, caste, religion, sect, culture etc. there are differences in latent needs and expectations of each corner of the country - hence, one size fits all as a formula does not work in India. As if all this was not enough, challenges of logistics and physical infrastructure, bureaucracy and corruption and regulation and compliances which also vary with states and points of presence.

Thus, unlike in many western countries where structure and standardisation in every aspect, be it a product or a hotel room is a common thing, India provides a ground for training leaders who are comfortable with ambiguity and diversity. 

Superimpose the poverty levels and the cost conscious consumers; the Indian corporate leader has to learn to innovate - but in a form of innovation unique to India and other few developing countries - called frugal innovation.

While all this is a given, the Indian Leader in today's context also has the ambition as well as is well positioned to take up a role at a global level. Part of his preparedness comes from his experience in dealing with diversity, ambiguity and intense competition described earlier. The other part of his preparedness comes from the fact that Indians are comfortable with English, and with growing income levels have travelled extensively - many in leadership positions though stationed in India have even been educated abroad and even when educated in India, the education is fairly contemporary when compared to global education.  Some of the more lucky Indians who are at the helm of Global MNCs have even spent decades in working and living in various countries and have yet kept in touch with their roots in India.

Another environmental factor which has helped Indians to scale these new heights is the fact that India and in many cases Asia is seen as the focus area for growth for these countries.

Naturally, who could be a better person to lead such operations than an Indian/Asian? Equally, the growth and turnover makes these Asian leaders more influential within their companies due to their contribution to their company's success and as a result they become the preferred choice for the top slot as and when it opens up.

Why do so many of them leave India? Is this a loss for the country?

Yes and no - many Indians leave and settle abroad in any case - this they do by way of going there for study and later settling in those countries. Thanks to IT/ITES and other such export oriented industries, many young professionals get opportunities to work with clients abroad, to work on on-site and qualify themselves for long stay visas / green cards etc. Still, others migrate through the formal process of migration to countries which need talent - eg: Canada, Singapore, and Australia to name a few.

These countries have acute shortage but are selective about allowing such migration - however, the transparent process allows Indian professionals to apply and eventually succeed in enjoying the quality of life which these countries offer. Hence, brain drain is something which has been happening for years.

In fact, the focus on India has provided many Indian settled abroad to come back on deputations as CEOs of the India operations - and many senior Indian professionals are more than happy to come back to lead the India-based organizations. Therefore, one cannot see this as a net loss to India.

What are your views on the success of Indians abroad?

Going by the growing number of Indian names at the helm of leading Global corporations, we can say that they have the capabilities to leads such organizations. Success at such leadership levels is influenced by several factors over and above job performance which is assumed to be present among many at that level. Some of these would include, acceptance by business owners, board members, peers and subordinates. Here, cultural and 'son-of soil' issues are likely to crop up as also a so called 'glass ceiling'. We are, however, seeing Indian leaders breaking through this glass ceiling in an increasing number of companies.  The ability to steer these organizations over a long term will help them prove their mettle.

-- Written by Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, WeSchool