The Hindu Business Line : Touch their souls and win their hearts

Leadership in India has been honed into its value system. It is centered around compassion, humility and respect for all, and gratitude and service to the community. The emphasis is on trust and co-operation within the competitive environment.

Western values emphasise achievement, individual growth, competition and excellence. As Dr. Daana Zohar, a Quantum Physicist at Oxford Brookes University succinctly put it in a lecture, “a good man” in the East has a quality of being. In the West, a “good man” is measured by his quality of doing.

A true leader not only ensures his business delivers a spectacular performance year after year but also guides and nurtures his people, helping them become tomorrow’s leaders. Hence, the challenge lies in motivating people to not only share the vision and mission, but also to work diligently towards achieving the organisational goal.

I believe that we must follow the mantra, ‘Touch their Souls and win their Hearts,’ as this is the most effective way of motivating and inspiring people within the organisation.

The winds of globalisation are blowing across the world and we have benefited substantially due to this. In this process, however, some of our value systems are getting compromised. The general western culture of focusing only on the achievement of short-term targets and meeting deadlines quarter-to-quarter is a concern as it could negatively impact sustainable growth in the long-term.

India will soon have the largest workforce comprising of young people. These youngsters could emerge as the country’s biggest asset if they are properly trained, and their technical skills, reinforced with the Indian value system. I believe, ‘Build People, Build India’ will alone drive the progress and growth of the Indian economy in the future. — K. N. Shenoy, Chairman, CII Institute of Quality

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