A thought-provoking episode of What Growth Takes! Hosted by Dolon Mitra.
Most leaders chase the next tool. Krish Shankar, former EVP and Head of HR at Infosys, draws on four decades of experience to show that tools change but fundamentals don't. In this episode we break down what actually gets the best out of people, and why the winners in the AI age will be the ones who understand people the deepest.
Ideas worth borrowing from here:
· People run on two engines, rational and emotional and leaders must work both: The rational drivers are the people around, challenge, recognition, growth, and a larger purpose. The emotional drivers are optimism, happiness, pride, and gratitude. They are intertwined, not separate
· Organizational justice is how you make any transition feel human, especially the AI one: It comes in three parts — distributive justice (is the outcome fair), procedural justice (is the process transparent and fair), and interactional justice (are people who disagree still treated with dignity, not stigmatized as troublemakers). Get these right and people will accept even hard decisions.
· Tomorrow's leaders are systems thinkers, not just managers: Leaner organizations need fewer people, but people who can imagine, orchestrate, and think at a whole-systems level. And the gap between one level and the next will only get starker — being good at one no longer guarantees you'll be good at the next.
Whether you're leading through disruption, rethinking how you build teams, or just trying to stay relevant as the rules keep changing, this conversation offers a rare, grounded perspective.
About the Speaker:
Krish Shankar is the former EVP and Head of HR at Infosys and author of CATALYSE: Power Up Your People Ecosystem. Over nearly four decades he has led HR across Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Philips, and Infosys, served as President of the National HRD Network in India, and now advises leaders and organizations through his own venture, Krish Shankar Partners.
About the Host:
Dolon Mitra's work spans capability building, assessment, and succession planning, so the right leaders are ready before the business needs them. Coaching for engagement is what she loves most — it's how she turns capable leaders into ones who can actually navigate their organizations towards growth.