DQ-Nasscom Roundtable: The Hunt for the Right Leader

Trying times bring out the best of the individual and recession surely was no different, as those who took to the tough waters emerged as the leaders of the future. Identifying such talent is very crucial for any company, so keeping this perspective in mind Dataquest (moderated by Prasanto K. Roy, Chief Editor) decided to check the endeavor of IT industry to identify better leaders."The need is to now shun the old school of thought and identify individuals who can add value in their own way. This we feel will ensure us to usher into the future across the globe with continuity," opines Dilip K Srivastav, Vice President, HCL.

"While identifying key talent for the second level of management, we make an effort to identify their key traits, but diversity continues to remain a challenge for us. Treating diverse talent requires a very different focus and also change in the thought process," identifies Neelam Dhawan, MD, HP.

Apart from identifying talent and leaders, the other major challenge is to nurture them, trust them and provide them with the reins to take over the centre-stage in the future. And leaders could come from anywherein fact, there are more coming from the emerging regions. Geography should not be a constraint in identifying the right leader. Says Dr Mukesh Aghi, CEO, Steria India, , "The challenge for Indian IT services is to first move from parochial to Indian and then to global. That global thinking would help them with a better set of leadership"

The scenario on leadership is different for different companies and in different phases of their growth. Like for example, in a company that is fairly small and can be identified as agile and nimble, desicions are dependent on the top two or three leaders. But the scenario totally changes when the headcount increases and the managerial skills are of prime focus. "If you consider desicion-making process in companies, the best salesman is always the worst manager and the best manager is always the middle sales manager. This highlights the importance to keep any eye on the 3rd and 4th level," reasons Elango R,Chief Human Resources Officer, MphasiS.

"One fundamental fact that needs to be borne in mind is that once a company becomes process driven, good talent suffocates and leaves the company, while the others continue to grow with the company. The essential challenge in such a scenario is to nuture this extraordinary talent that will prove beneficial for the company in the lon run," averts Aghi.

Enterpreneriual talent needs to be nurtured with restraint. "The need for talent is dependent on various factors. Like for example, a new company will always be in need of individuals who think out of the box, while for a huge company the priority will be on its growth, remarks Dhawan.

Failure also seems to be one of the crucial factors in the growth process as many large entities prefer to hire leaders who have a consistent record of success and not those who have a failure score. Reflecting the need to tread a different path, Elango R reasons, "There is also an emphatic need felt to allow a few failures too in the process of creating leaders. A strict rule of the book strictly discouraging failures will keep an employee at bay from experimenting or taking new paths. Allowing employees to score a few failures will bring out a sense of responsiblity and confidence, and above all the urge to seriously make a difference."

Recession may have spelled economic gloom but at the same time it has highlighted that the efficient leader is the cloud with a silver lining in a dark night. "It has tested leaders and helped identify a new group, affirms Prithvi Shergill, Lead HR, Accenture.

On a final note, Elango R, sums up the qualities to identify a future leader, "When the tide was rising all did well but a low tide helped us identify the real leaders who emerged stronger with their contributions even when the gross margins dropped 35%."