LEADERSHIP SPECIAL...The Follies of Young Leaders

The Follies of Young Leaders 

STUMBLING BLOCKS: 

Whether it’s in the refusal to see what lies ahead or getting carried away by success, young blood is prone to falling just as quickly as it rises. But with a little organisational support, they can make it to the last mile.

    Blinded by past glory, a regional head for a consumer durables company in his mid-30s refused to keep pace with his organisation’s new demands and changed set of performance metrics. He had built the business to a respectable level, but failed to realise that the definition of money had changed from sales to profit. He was unable to realign himself, and lost his job two months ago.
Cases like this are plenty in the corporate world, where the race to the top could sometimes get bewildering, leading to the premature burnout of promising young leaders. Some of the common factors in these cases include inability to align aspirations with proficiency, failure to do a course correction, over aggression, lack of team skills, poor work-life balance, arrogance and inappropriate mentorship. “As individuals progress through their careers, they should strive for sustainable growth; growth and development in every sense — physical, emotional, professional and spiritual, says Leena Nair, executive director — HR, HUL.
In order to do this, one needs to set personal goals just the way one sets professional ones and hold oneself equally accountable for both, she adds.
UNREALISTIC GOALS
Many a time, a young leader is seen faltering because of unrealistic goals and a hurried approach.
In 2006, a British multinational banking and financial services firm hired a talented young leader to head its commercial banking operations in India. The leader, in his early 40s with extensive experience in banking, was put at the helm to enable the bank attract top talent. Three years down the line, the young leader abruptly put in his papers, amid much speculation about his exit.
“He was an outstanding leader, but just could not manage the monster that he created. He was being aggressive and crazy and was not able to get things in the right perspective,” says a person close to this once highly-spoken-about leader in Mumbai’s banking circles.
A former head of a Kolkata-based residential property, also in his early 30s, tried hard to give shape to a conversion project — manufacturing to real estate — on the outskirts of the city but the project failed due to his aggressive pace, apart from issues on the family side of the business. “He was capable of doing much more but could not manage the commitment on the project,” says a person close to the leader.
“When a young leader does not have a realistic expectation of oneself, he or she could burn out fast. You cannot win every battle,” says Santrupt Mishra, carbon black business CEO and group HR director, Aditya Birla Group. “Being a realist while trying to achieve the best is important,” he adds.
“When people are in a hurry and try to take short-cuts without getting sufficient experience they reach a level where they cannot meet expectations leading to non-performance and failure,” says Dinesh Jain, CEO of Hovers Automotive.
FAILURE TO IDENTIFY STRENGTHS
The failure to identify one’s core competence can lead to an early crash-out. "Be aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses and focus on using the strengths," says Rajeev Dubey, president group HR, corporate services and after-market, Mahindra & Mahindra.
Jain cites the case a hugely successful global manager and CEO of a multinational consulting company, who decided to take on the role of the CEO of a operations company in the business of manufacturing and marketing. “He was brilliant in strategising but when it came to giving directions in operations to a larger workforce he failed," says Jain.
INABILITY TO CHANGE
Young leaders sometimes tend to get chained to previous experiences that are not relevant to the current environment. The inability to adapt and learn to work in a change environment can lead to failure of a young leader. “Failure to do course correction and inability to prioritise and focus on key success factors could lead to early burn-out,” says Dubey. However, there are many who do the course correction successfully, like this young leader who made transition from a consultancy to an operations firm but made his way back promptly as he realised he was not hardwired to take decisions in an environment that demanded quick and multiple decision making in the absence of full information, where he failed.
Citing his own example of having to learn to work in a change environment, Jain of Hovers Automotive, says, “When I moved as a young manager from a large MNC to a start-up it was a big challenge and I had to go through a complete new learning curve that took time”.
NOT ENOUGH BONDING
Veterans say the inability to trust team members and take team along can burn out a young leader.
"Arrogance and failure to take the team along can lead to the failure of a young leader. Be connected with superiors, peers and subordinates,” says Dubey. While a young leader can bring energy and a sense of daring to the table, it is important for them to go through the various stages of managing that includes managing skills, team, function and business.
“Companies, in a drive to promote them, often skip these stages, which is a mistake. The young leader then has all the ability to drive and get results and control, but not people management because he was never put on that front,” says Pradipto Mahapatra, chairman of Coaching Foundation of India.
He cites a case when he had to counsel a young leader of an FMCG firm who did not realise that his risk appetite would cost the company a lot of money as he believed that he would not be questioned by investors, who he thought would applaud his ability to take challenges but not ask for the cause of failure. “These leaders often do not realise that not everyone is on the same page,” says Mahapatra.
POOR WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Today’s world has a natural degree of stress and unless a young leader is disciplined and maintains a balanced lifestyle, there remains a high probability of an early burn-out.
“Some people believe they are super human beings which they are not and high stress could be a source of early burn-out,” says Mishra. “(It is important to) have mindfulness amidst the distraction of everyday life,” says Dubey.
INADEQUATE MENTORING
Another aspect that young leaders must be mindful of is to seek out mentoring. “Have a good organisational mentor. Inappropriate mentorship — either excessive attention to progress and interference or lack of any mentorship could be the cause for failure,” says Dubey.
“It’s important as a young leader to have a mentor. Preferably someone more senior in terms of experience but also someone who knows you well and is committed to your success,” adds Sara Mathew, chairman and CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Corp.
WHAT ORGANISATIONS CAN DO
Though a lot lies in the hands of the individual leader to carve out his or her road to success, organisations too have a crucial role to play to keep their work challenging and help them balance work and life.
Organisations must define a larger purpose for themselves that goes beyond business profitability, says Hindustan Unilever’s Nair. “We must define a set of values that underpin all our actions and give more meaning to the work we do,” she adds.
They can also make the role of young leaders challenging by giving them diversity in the form of cross-functional experience that keeps them constantly on the learning curve.
“They have to be transferred to different businesses and geographies. It should not just be a vertical movement but should be across various functions as well,” says Arvind Agarwal, president, corporate development and HR, RPG Enterprises.
“There should be diversity in experience given to these young leaders and massive shifts in roles,” he adds.
Also, older peers could actively engage in guiding young leaders instead of just telling them how to get things done.
Organisations should have a mechanism to sense the tell-tale clues of stress and burn-out and encourage young leaders who are hungry for success to strike a work-life balance.
“They can avoid unrealistic expectations and not promote a culture of cutthroat competition,” says Mishra. “Companies should compulsorily promote young leaders to take leave and time-out and should have the physical infrastructure for meditation, exercise, healthcare and counselling support,” he adds.
However, organisations can only be enablers and facilitators. Ultimately, it is up to young leaders to leverage on their strengths and be in it for the long haul.
Rica Bhattacharyya & Devina Sengupta ET120925