Ever since I was a kid, I have been told (repeatedly) that leadership is about heroism. I was taught in school about the great heroic leaders in history, in college about the heroic leaders in science and technology and, finally, in B-school, about the fearless CEO!
Yet, over my career I have noticed a peculiar fact. Every time I turned to worship the heroic CEO, I was told "oops, sorry ... that one is a fraud, and the other one there that you thought was god... sorry, he is on his way to jail too!"
Ramalinga Raju was one such hero. Worshipped in India, and, increasingly, around the world, he built the aura of invincibility around him that says ... "I am a hero ... I can do no wrong". The world bestowed on him award after award, calling him (and I quote) - "an extraordinary entrepreneur", "a global example", "a tough leader with a heart of gold" ... the list is endless. And yet ...
Nothing is more sad than watching angels fall. People like Raju made me want to believe in the "Great Indian Dream". Where Indian companies (and their leaders) will one day become the gold standard of the business world - leading not only in stellar performance and shareholder value, but pioneering an understated, unassuming and balanced style of leadership that makes our American counterparts look callow in comparison.
You can argue that Satyam is a one-off incident and the ascendancy of the Indian business leader is going to continue. I am willing to buy half that argument. I don't think that Satyam is one-off. I am convinced that there are others that will emerge as the high tide recedes and (to paraphrase Warren) we suddenly realize that some of us were swimming butt naked. At the same time, I do believe that the new generation of Indian businesses will continue to thrive over the next few decades.
But I'd like to see one thing change.
I'd like for us to see leaders not as heroes but as stewards. I'd like for us to see success in business as a team sport, not a spark of individual genius. I'd like for us to put our heroes to bed ... and build institutions instead. I'd like to see us look beyond Ratan Tata and Narayan Murthy ... to the institutions of that will hopefully outlast their grandchildren.
The CEO and the cult of hero worship is not an Asian thing. It was imported from the US over the years and has slowly taken over our love for institutions and belief in collective success in India. It has created an entire generation that has grown up wanting "to become like Bilgay!"
Hopefully, Satyam will be our wake up call. Hopefully, the patriots in us will not reach for the snooze button.
1 comment:
Great post by you....thanks for sharing.
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