‘Supporting ecosystem key for a leader to thrive’

A supporting ecosystem that will bond employees with a new workplace will help bring out a leader’s potential , according to D Shivakumar, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo India, who will be taking over as President (Corporate Strategy and Business Development) Aditya Birla Group from January 1.

Delivering the Raghu Pillai Memorial Lecture on ‘Supporting Leaders in Times of Transition’ at the National Conclave on Coaching and Leadership organised by the Madras Management Association and Coaching Federation of India in Chennai on Wednesday, Shivakumar said while a leader is expected to perform from the word go, it “typically takes 4-6 months on an average to settle down.”

The leader should be given that time to settle down, understand the organisation culture and internal dynamics to give his best. Leaders should also be careful when bringing in their own team from the firms they worked in previously. “This is a very American culture,” Shivakumar said and added that one should be cautious and take time to learn about the employees.

Another challenge is lack of potential leaders in organisations. “Earlier, each organisation had many general management roles that helped in grooming future leaders. But that is not the case now,” he said. An organisation must prepare leaders by exposing them to cross functional roles early in their careers, give them opportunity to lead different project groups and shadow stints in other functional groups.

Shivakumar stressed the need for companies to invest in coaching that will help groom leaders, develop their soft skills and be equipped for the new role.

Agreeing with Shivakumar during a brief panel discussion, B Thiagarajan, Joint Managing Director, Blue Star, said coaching plays an important role in transition to higher roles. There are many challenges one should learn to handle, like dealing with individual directors and creating a level playing field when you are still a newbie.

PV Jaishankar, Medical Director, Sundaram Medical Foundation, said unlike coaching managers, training specialists like doctors is a challenge, but necessary. “We are in a time where perception about doctors and hospitals is at the lowest, and that is why they need coaching.”

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