People Matters

A metamorphosis

By Anjan Bhowmick & Parangat Ranjan

May 7th 2012

The approach to the organization theory has changed significantly over the years. There have been a few incremental and some radical changes to the overall perception. The business environment has also become competitive due to the high-supply-lower-demand trend and this competitiveness is compelling organizations to adopt newer ways of meeting the escalating customer expectations. As a result, organizations have evolved from a ‘standardization driven’ machinery to a ‘living ... Read more »

Wisdom is in the field - respect it

By Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal, Former Chairman & Managing Director, Bank of Baroda

May 7th 2012

I would like to begin with a small story narrated by Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter & Gamble India and now a well-known author and columnist, in his book ‘India Unbound’. The story is all about how Gurcharan Das received a rare insight from a woman customer from Surat – a regular user of Vicks Vaporub (a premium product of Procter & Gamble) for many years - about the product which Gurcharan Das could not have got sitting in his office. She demonstrated to him in... Read more »

The Reflective Leader

By Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal

Mar 5th 2012

Leadership roles are powerful roles. By the weight of power, leaders can sometimes tend to believe that their word is the last word and may ignore the sane advice given to them by their colleagues. In their anxiety to deliver results, they can ignore their own blind spots and become insensitive to the feelings of others. They may also tend to be arrogant with their own knowledge and expertise, and unconsciously intimidate others.Leaders are also human beings after all, and they are as much vul... Read more »

Accountable Managers

Feb 7th 2012

Thomas DeLong affirms that managers’ inability to make honest conversations is the roadblock for leadership development.Many organizations, especially in India, have begun to focus more seriously on succession planning and creating the next bench of leaders. Why do organizations face the issue of lack of leaders?One of the biggest concerns in organizations today is that people are not willing to be honest with each other. By this, I mean that if people cannot have an honest conversation ... Read more »

The Disciplined Leader

By Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal

Feb 7th 2012

In our organizational life, we come across situations that pose the challenge of ‘to be or not to be’. During the phase of transformation, a leader has to juggle with views and counter views. There are optimists and cynics. The business of transformation is never easy. It involves confusion, conflict, risks and occasional self-doubt. There is always a risk of making many colleagues unhappy. Yet, an intelligent leader will have to make a call notwithstanding all these problems. Lack... Read more »

Art & Science of Developing Leaders: Part III

Feb 7th 2012

The last of the three-series roundtable organized by BIMTECH, People Matters & Aon Hewitt witnessed an august audience of industry veterans & academicians in Bangalore, who shared their experiences and learnings on the science of developing leadersThe increasing complexity in business has made leadership development a critical performance indicator for organizations. This draws the focus of the management towards an urgent need to pay attention to leadership development as a continuous... Read more »

Not Doing the Obvious

By Shantanu Dhar

Jan 4th 2012

Recently, an old friend who I had worked with for almost 8 years in the IT industry gave me a call. After the usual banter, jokes and laughing about the antics of a few people we had worked with together, he came to the point. My friend had hired an expensive and senior delivery head from a multinational who was very good at his job. This gentleman was suave and sophisticated. Customers ate out of his hand and his team loved him. Accounts, on the verge of being lost had been reinstated, his pr... Read more »

CEO - Next Destination of the HR Professional

Jan 4th 2012

Introducing a column which shares the rare story of an HR professional becoming a CEO. As CEO, Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal, was able to achieve dramatic business outcomes because of his extensive HR experience. In his subsequent columns, he will share his journey from being an HR professional to becoming the CEO of Bank of BarodaThe HR explosion all around is evident, given the number of conferences, seminars, books and papers that have been published and presented on the topic, but most often than... Read more »

Microwaving Leadership Moments

By Prabir Jha

Jan 4th 2012

As I observe leaders in action, it amazes me how much of their effort is going waste. If we could adopt some simple culinary techniques to demonstrate leadership behavior, there is an opportunity for unimaginable impact, both in interpersonal relationships and finally, on organizational success. Simple learnings from the kitchen can enhance awareness of ourselves and also of others, dishing out more exciting leadership recipes, that our titles and rooms otherwise blind us to.I have a friend wh... Read more »

Art & Science of Developing Leaders

Dec 5th 2011

BIMTECH, People Matters & Aon Hewitt presented the first of the three-series roundtables. The event gathered inspirational leaders from across industries who shared their invaluable experiences on building a strong leadership pipelineThe importance of leadership is often in contrast with the enormous difficulty in defining the concept and structuring a process to identify, groom and nurture leaders in the organization. The BIMTECH, People Matters and Aon Hewitt roundtable, the first of a s... Read more »