Indian CEO’s Better than Western Counterparts
While
Western economies continue to stutter, a report forecasts that India will soon
return to the high-growth trajectory it enjoyed before the crisis. At the same
time, the new research published in Harvard Business Review shows that the heads
of India’s biggest companies have an approach to leadership that is very
different from that of Western bosses. As the Indian economy is all set to grow
by 7.5 percent this year, experts are saying that it could be the best time for
Western CEOs to learn some lessons from their Indian counterparts.
Peter Cappelli,
Professor of management at Wharton University of Pennsylvania, was one of the researchers
behind the study, and based on interviews with leaders and HR departments from
98 of India’s 150 biggest companies he identified some of the key differences
between Indian and Western bosses. “In terms of lessons for managers elsewhere,
one of the most important things is that Indian leaders lead with a sense of
social purpose,” Cappelli says. He opines that every leader interviewed gave a
specific social purpose as being the goal of their business. Those purposes ranged
from improving healthcare in India, to getting cell phones to people who don’t
have access to communication tools, and proving to the international community
that Indian companies can lead in IT.
“Having a social purpose
really motivates workers,” says Cappelli.
“If you can articulate a
social purpose for your organization and take it seriously, it can have real
benefits.”
Indian firms invest an
enormous amount in their employees’ training and development, and IT firms
typically allocate 60 days of formal training for new hires and companies often
spend months training even experienced workers hired from other firms. The
study says that the US firms have largely stopped investing in employees,
seeing it as a waste if they leave the business. It adds that employee turnover
is estimated to be 30 percent in India, and investing in employees ensures the
quality of those who stay at the company.
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