Leadership: investment in human capital

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Friday , December 21, 2007 at 2241 hrs It is all so simple, Anjin san. Just change your concept of the world

—James Clavell, Shogun

In a world where intellect is the new form of property, tomorrow’s leaders will be those who invest in human capital, now and today. The enthusiasm one encounters in the industry is, indeed, infectious. Business leaders that I meet are strategising to multiply manifold. Where one would attempt in earlier days to draw a new ‘S’ curve on an ‘S’ curve, the quest now is to focus on enabling an ‘I’ curve of perpendicular growth instead.

Organic growth is no longer a primary way to grow, with mergers and acquisitions both in the domestic arena and at a cross-border level clearly in vogue. This is the time where we need to get smarter everyday to seize the opportunities around us, and develop people around to deliver success and sustain it. In our quest to create the future, ironically the rear-view mirror seems to be clearer than the windshield. Change needs mastering.

Rajiv Memani, CEO, Ernst & Young, India, speaks of two kinds of leaders: the all-capable Main Hoon Na leaders who endeavour to make everything happen on their own and the nurturing Hum Saath Saath Hain organisation builders who grow teams. Collins and Porras too have vividly demonstrated that for companies to be visionary, it is not mandatory to have charismatic leaders.

It does call for a leader to recognise that for sustainable growth, we must develop leaders at all levels. Leaders not only need to have a compelling vision but also ensure that it is shared. The ability to create positive expectations has been recognised as a primary role of a leader and also his ability to create an organisation that endures.

The new leader is the one who energises people to action, develops followers into leaders, and transforms organisational members into agents of change, Warren Bennis, an American scholar, who pioneered leadership studies, observed. It is the job of leaders to define organisational direction, clarify the context, articulate vision and values, energise the team and create coherence.