A few months back while I was doing a keynote in Mumbai, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. N.S. Rajan. Dr. Rajan is the author of a new book, Quote Me if You Can, as well as Group Chief Human Resources Officer and a member of the Group Executive Council of Tata. The Tata group is comprised of 100 companies with over 600,000 employees globally. It is one of the largest organizations in the world with companies offering a broad range of services and commodities. Each company has body and mind of its own, with Tata being the soul.  

 

As Group CHRO, Dr. Rajan works with the CHRO in every company in the Tata group, providing critical leadership and spearheading diversity initiatives. He believes in putting the effort forth to create more effective and better leaders with a concept similar to servant based leadership. While managers focus on the task to be completed, the process to complete it, and supervising a set of people to get there, the leaders role is more ambiguous. They must envision, set new directions, and inspire and value their team. To be a leader, it is absolutely essential to listen to people and understand their needs. 

 

“The secret of leadership: 

Those who rule must serve, those who serve will rule.” – Dr. N. S. Rajan 

 

Leaders at Tata follow a parenting model. They aren’t intrusive but rather lend a helping hand in a positive way.  Leaders have to learn to exercise power prudently, and to combine passion and compassion. Leadership is evolving due to the changes of the world, such as downturns in economy and technological advances. Organizations must continue to adhere to their values as leadership evolves - considering ethics when promoting or creating leaders, as well as experience and competence.  

 

What you will learn in this episode: 

• How leadership is changing 

• The role of leaders 

• How millennial leaders are different 

• Diversity in leadership 

• Important skills and qualities of a good leader 

• Trends shaping the future of leadership 

• How leadership has changed over the past few years 

• Shared vision 

Links From The Episode:

Dr. N.S. Rajan On Twitter 

 

(Music by Ronald Jenkees)