The best managed company today demonstrates an exceptional ability to identify opportunities, successfully adapt to new situations, and drive sustainable growth. For this, it has to work as a composite team.

One way to determine whether a company is managed well is to ask its employees if it is paying continued attention to employee wellbeing, with policies and practices ranging from increased benefits and flexible work options to opportunities for professional development and growth. Effective teamwork is also a key factor.

In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Mathew Job, Chief Executive Officer of Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, shares his learning from the Covid-19 pandemic to lay the path for a better future and provides some mantras to building a successful team.

What are your mantras to building a visionary team?

• The most important factor behind a successful team is a common, shared purpose. This is true in all facets of life, be it in sports, organisations or anything else. The purpose needs to be something that inspires people and something the entire team can rally around.
• Next is to have a strategy that will help deliver on the purpose. The simpler the strategy, the more powerful it is. The link between the purpose and strategy and the role each one plays in implementing the strategy should be clear to the team members.
• Key to success is empowerment and capability building. Every employee should be given the space and freedom he or she requires to perform the role to their best ability. And one needs to invest time and effort to build their abilities well over time.
• Successes and failures should be celebrated. Both have their own place in the organisation. When there is success, the organisation or the person earns. When there is failure, the organisation or the person learns. If we don’t encourage failure, we will become too risk averse and not test what the organisation is capable of.
• One also needs to understand the context of the organisation and modify ones’ leadership style. What works well in one organisation may not work well in another. What may deliver in an organisation today may not deliver in the future. The ability to understand the context and modify the way one behaves, and leads is also critical.

What are your learnings from the past, especially the Covid-19 pandemic, to better the future?

As COVID changed the way the world works, with everyone living the new normal, leadership also took a new meaning. It now, not only focuses on the business results but even more on employee well-being.

When companies approach employees’ well-being as a core business strategy / key strategic priority, it can lead to measurable ROI through higher engagement, lower turnover, and better productivity.

“What is good for the employees, is good for the business” has always been our motto. We could demonstrate during the pandemic that we live these words through our behaviours and actions.

Because Crompton’s people felt safe and secure, they went to extraordinary lengths and often beyond the call of duty to ensure the business flourished all throughout.

Additionally, while the employees are the pillars of the company that keep it running during the pandemic, the CEO must be one of the elements that glues everything together – donning many hats to guide, inspire and innovate. I chose to stay focused and yet open to revisiting strategies, taking bold risks, being agile and nimble— with my people at the centre of every decision.

Any crisis provides an opportunity to build a common sense of purpose with one’s employees. Hence, my aim was to consistently engage not only with the employees but also with the communities, embedding purpose across different business functions and processes but also creating a difference in the lives of the people at large.