A good leader should walk the talk
A
LEADER HAS TO SET STANDARDS THAT ARE INSPIRATIONAL AND PRACTICE WHAT
HE PREACHES... HAS TO CREATE A COMMON PURPOSE AND ALIGN THE TEAM TO
THAT PURPOSE.
Bhargav
Dasgupta, managing director and CEO, ICICI Lombard General
Insurance, has held various key leadership positions and has driven
sales, distribution, product development and marketing for the
company. Dasgupta, who joined the company in May 2009, spoke to HT
about various leadership issues and said one can be an effective
leader only through moral authority.
Excerpts:
What
drives you as a leader?
Creating
an organisation that is deeply customer-centric and sets industry
standards. I believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that
every genuine claim is paid as speedily and smoothly as possible. I
am happy with the progress we have made in this regard, as the
benchmark data demonstrate. The other aspect that gives me joy is to
see people in our team achieve their potential and professional
success.
What
is your mantra?
Be
positive. Keep learning. Dream big while remaining grounded.
The
best and a not-so-good decision that you have taken?
Decisions
are bad only in hindsight. When they are taken, they are the best in
your judgment and in the context of the prevailing situation. Some
of the decisions may not pan out as you expect — they become a
source of learning and insight. I have had my share of such
decisions and have tried to learn from them. Only decisions that are
bad are the once that are delayed or not taken at all — I try my
best to avoid that.
Your
role models?
I
have been fortunate to be surrounded by some extremely talented
professionals in the ICICI Group. I have had the privilege to learn
from quite a few of them — bosses, colleagues and subordinates. I
believe that there is no end to learning. One who is in the pursuit
of excellence should continue learning from diverse people and
situations at all times.
How
has been your experience in the last few years, considering that
there have been several regulatory hurdles for the insurance
industry?
The
general insurance sector has witnessed some key regulatory changes
starting with price de-tariffication a few years back. This was
followed by dismantling of the third party motor pool. These changes
were painful for the industry in the short term, but were important
for the long-term development of the industry. Recent
consumer-oriented steps in the form of health insurance regulations
are again in the right direction. So, I won’t call these hurdles.
Our experience as a company has been positive through these changes
both in terms of growth and profitability.
As
a leader, what kind of opportunity do you see in this market in the
future?
I
believe that the general insurance sector is poised for robust
growth in the coming years. There are several factors that will
drive this momentum. The current penetration for non-life insurance
is only 0.8%, much lower compared to other emerging markets.
Non-life penetrations in the other Brics nations are much higher —
Brazil at 1.9%, Russia at 2.2% and China at 1.3%. Secondly, with
around two-third of India’s population below 35 years, a large
percentage of this segment will feel the need for and demand risk
cover for personal assets going forward. Thirdly, as India returns
to days of high GDP of 8% and above, our sector, which tends to grow
at two to three times should witness growth rates of around 20% in
the future.
How
do you build loyalty among your team members?
You
can be an effective leader only through moral authority and not
through positional authority. You have to set standards that are
inspirational and practice what he preaches. You also have to create
a common purpose and align the team to that purpose. You can keep a
team glued together and focused if it is driven by clarity and unity
of purpose. I have always strived to build teams of passionate
people who can relentlessly work towards common goals. I also try to
create an environment of mutual trust and respect, empower people to
deliver on their goals and help them where I can in times of need.
mahua.venkateshHT141211
No comments:
Post a Comment