Effective organisational leadership is the need of the hour. But leaders often lack the ‘what if’ factor, say Phil Braybrooke and Bill Erickson, international business development director and EVP- strategic accounts, respectively, at the US-based human resource consulting firm Kenexa. In an interview with DNA, Braybrooke and Erickson talk about the need for building right leadership traits and employee engagement modules. Excerpts:
Which is the key leadership challenge before the Indian firms?
Braybrooke: There is a huge pool of talent available here and the demand for leadership is very high. The key challenge is in identifying the right talent from an extremely large pool and building on it quickly. Since the available pool is so huge, finding by far the best person who can fulfill the role of a leader proves challenging. About 40% of organisational performance is often attributed to leadership. As organisations grow in size, from small and medium enterprises to regional ones, and then to big global ones, their performance deteriorates. That’s a global phenomenon. The need is high not just for developing leadership from within a country, but to integrate leadership from abroad into the organisation as the firm turns into a global one.
Which leadership traits are required by Indian organisations?
Braybrooke: An element of leadership like thinking capability is in great demand. How a leader can build ideas, strategies, think through alternatives, concoct plans through multi-dimensional ways. That is crucial but is lacking in India and even worldwide. Look at the airline industry. Airline leaders had not thought about what should be done if planes have to be grounded due to volcanic dust and eruptions. About the environmental impact. About how to deal with passengers. The ‘what if’ reasoning was missing. Leadership should look at the ‘what if’ factor and plan in advance. Think of solutions beforehand. Develop Plan B and C as the Plan A may last for only six months. Apart from the thinking ability, leaders need developmental capabilities like how best to build relations with the team and employees so that solutions can be developed as quickly as possible. There is also a need for effective workforce planning. So apart from the functional and technical skills, you need all these attributes. Another necessary trait is to develop successors. A leader’s job is not just to deliver performance but also being able to develop future leaders.
Is that happening?
Braybrooke: No it’s not happening. People are brought in as leaders for their skills and not for their abilities to build a leadership pipeline. Not for their abilities to identify and develop their successors. They often think of successors only towards the end of their tenures.
Are companies actively engaging with employees?
Erickson: Whether it is India, South Africa or Nebraska, all employees like to be thanked when they do a good job. But in an organisation where there is no trust, thanking really does not matter. People want to work for managers who can invest in them and help them succeed. Thus for all that to happen, you need high-impact managers who say it’s their job to understand the career goals and aspirations of their employees, and if those goals and aspirations are realistic then help them achieve those goals.
How important is compensation?
Erickson: Compensation is necessary but it is not the engagement factor. It is a retention factor. Employees are also concerned about how they have been treated in a particular place. Pay matters, but it is not a moment by moment motivation. Engagement is a psychological ownership wherein an employee feels as a part of the firm and starts thinking about how he can help the company.
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