The Hindu Business Line : Energise your team, sell them your vision

The rapid scaling and growth in the BPO industry has thrown many challenges at companies operating in the sector – and being one of the pioneers in the healthcare BPO space in India, we have faced many, if not all the challenges that the industry has seen in the past six years.

My take on what characterises a leader, is therefore largely influenced by what I have seen as necessary for anyone to successfully lead in this fantastic time and in this dynamic industry. As the Indian economy churns at a fast clip and the BPO industry moves even faster, I see leadership being defined in terms of four critical abilities:

The ability to see opportunity and to present a vision/solution with clarity & speed – this is what will sustain the breakneck growth that we see today and, to some extent, take for granted. As the industry matures, these opportunities will take on different forms (as opposed to the largely cost-based paradigm that many BPOs operate from today) and leaders will be tested more and more in identifying and capitalising on opportunities.

The ability to energise people and get them to buy into the vision – this is critical for the success of any idea; unless you are able to get people excited and committed to a plan, chances are that even the most brilliant plan will not succeed.

Team members must see it as their own plan and work towards its success – and the leader’s role is critical in ensuring that this buy-in happens.

The BPO workforce is young and full of confident people who are not afraid to raise questions – leaders must necessarily be able to handle tough questions and manage egos, while ensuring that goals are set and bought into.

Having passed the first two stages, the leader must ensure that his team has the necessary skills and resources to deliver effectively. Leaders must be engaged throughout the execution process, removing blocks and resolving problems that arise. Skill-building is a critical competency that all leaders must possess.

The BPO leaders are usually young, have only a few years of work experience and usually lack the perspectives that come with age and experience – this particular aspect of leadership is usually the weak link and needs working on.

Leaders must be focused on quality execution – this is what separates the successful leader from the failed one, as all the vision in the world is only as good as its execution.

They must review objectively and regularly and be able to provide feedback to people for effective, high-quality execution.

Apart from these qualities, in today’s business atmosphere it is extremely important for a leader to have good communication skills.

Every other quality required for being a good leader will help only if the leader is able to communicate effectively. Good communication is the key to developing good business relationships, an essential quality in today’s scenario where the head of an organisation needs to inspire his/her team constantly to be able to command respect and support.

The modern leaders must, therefore, be equipped with good communication skills and use new ways to do effective communication.

Devendra Saharia, Co-Founder and President, Ajuba Solutions

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