Transformation doesn’t wait for readiness. As GCCs shift from support centres to strategic growth engines, leadership can no longer be a follow-up act to technology; it must lead the charge. But what happens when mindset becomes the bottleneck in the race to innovate? 

At the People Matters GCC conference in Hyderabad, the panel discussion on “Driving Change: Leadership and Mindset Shifts in GCCs” tackled one of the most urgent questions facing India’s Global Capability Centres: How must leadership evolve to meet the demands of a world in flux? 

Featuring Nousheen Khan (Global Director – Talent Management, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence) and Samatha Prasad Kothapally (VP, HR, Broadridge India), and moderated by Pushkar Bidwai (CEO, People Matters), the session was a deep dive into what it truly means to lead transformation, not through command, but through culture, alignment, and mindset.

The leadership lag: Technology moves fast, mindsets don’t

India’s GCCs are increasingly seen not just as support engines but as strategic transformation hubs. However, the panellists pointed out a critical gap: while technology can be deployed swiftly, leadership evolution tends to lag behind.

“Cultivating a culture of innovation and ownership takes longer than adopting a new tech stack,” said Samatha.

“The pace of change is unprecedented, and yet we often don’t prepare our managers adequately to lead it,” added Nousheen.

This tension, between business urgency and leadership readiness, formed the core of the conversation. In many cases, transformation is already underway, but leadership capability is still catching up.

Global intent vs Local reality

The panel explored a key friction point that plagues many GCCs: the disconnect between global vision and local execution. It’s not that alignment isn’t attempted, it’s that it doesn’t always cascade.

“We often think we’ve aligned because we’ve had senior-level conversations,” said Nousheen, “but if that narrative doesn’t reach the next two or three layers, it’s a false sense of alignment.”

HR leaders, then, are not just facilitators; they’re translators, turning strategy into systems and intent into impact. As Samatha shared, Broadridge has worked to embed this alignment through collaborative goal-setting with global teams, particularly around India’s role as a hub for innovation, not just delivery.

The ‘build vs buy’ leadership dilemma

When business transformation is already underway, there’s little time to groom leaders from scratch. That’s when organisations must make a tough call: develop from within or hire from outside? The answer, both speakers agreed, is balance.

“In moments of intense change, we look to internal leaders who’ve already shown they can step up,” said Nousheen. “We even track how many of our leaders have grown internally. But when a specific capability is missing, we’re open to external hiring.”

Samatha added, “If you’re hiring for the present, go balanced. But if you’re building for the future, you must double down on internal talent development.”

Case in focus: Broadridge’s platform shift

Samatha offered a real-time example of how these ideas play out at scale. Broadridge, traditionally a product-focused company, is now repositioning itself as a platform-led organisation, a shift that touches every part of its operating model and mindset.

To support this, the company launched a comprehensive transformation effort, including:

• Leadership workshops to unpack the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the platform shift.

• AI and Agile academies to drive functional upskilling.

• Persona-based leadership learning journeys.

• AI-linked KRAs that embed transformation goals into performance metrics.

• Regular narrative reinforcement through story-based communication capsules.
  
  

“It’s not just about upskilling—it’s about changing the mental model,” said Samatha. “The idea is to create clarity so leaders know what transformation looks like in their function, not just in theory.”

From awareness to action: A blueprint for mindset change

Nousheen outlined Hexagon’s structured approach to mindset transformation, anchored in three guiding principles:

1. Uncover unconscious beliefs through culture audits, interviews, and leadership diagnostics.
   

2. Shift the narrative to reframe limiting mindsets (e.g., from “hoarding info is power” to “sharing info expands power”).
   

3. Make it personal by ensuring leaders role-model the new behaviours.
   

“Once these beliefs are surfaced, we use a mix of high-touch workshops and bite-sized learning formats to reinforce the shift,” she explained.

She emphasised that while in-person workshops are powerful for influencing top leaders, digital learning modules are essential for scale. However, uptake remains a challenge and must be supported by cultural nudges and peer reinforcement.

The next frontier: HR’s mindset shift

The conversation concluded by turning the lens inward: as organisations transform, HR itself must evolve. What does future-ready HR leadership look like?

“We must stay agile ourselves—understand the business, use data, but never lose sight of the human angle,” said Samatha.

“HR’s role is no longer supportive. It’s orchestral. We’re shaping the very systems that enable transformation,” added Nousheen.

Leading for the breakthrough era

The panel made one thing clear: leadership in GCCs is no longer about managing operations—it’s about shaping futures. That means building leaders who can navigate ambiguity, inspire aligned action, and drive change from the inside out.

As moderator Pushkar Bidwai aptly summed it up:

“Leadership mindset isn’t the soft stuff, it’s the operating system of transformation.”

In the end, mindset isn't just an HR topic; it’s a business imperative. And in the fast-moving world of GCCs, it may be the single most powerful lever for sustainable change.