Traits
that CEOs Loved in the Selected Candidates
To
pick the best among the young leaders wasn’t easy for the CEOs assigned the
task. Still, a few traits stood out in the winners. Team ET dug into the CEOs’
notes for the characteristics that made the cut:
Had a clear spark. Well versed in industry
Involved in several extra-curricular activities. Finds time for everything
else, shows keen interest and the will to work in multiple fi elds
Has the confidence to back up the things he says
Strategic thinking, mature answers, intensity and energy. Understands the
culture of the workplace very well Risk-taker. Has no fear of the unknown
Impeccable clarity of thought on personal, professional and social fronts...
Relevant inputs on a variety of subjects
Fantastic depth about his company and fi eld. Solid business sense; talks
numbers
Tries to do new things. Understated confi dence Self-starter, does different
things. Shows the ability to take initiative, possesses energy and passion
Has experience from around the world and deals regularly with several senior
people. An academic gold medallist, has tried to start his own business. Has
wide and varied experience
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What
Ails Young Leaders
“Listening skills are missing from today’s young
managers. India Inc is perched on the shoulders of a generation for whom
leadership lessons began at home – their parents were critical and
ambitious. Parents of today’s young managers are ambitious, but are too
soft and seek shortcuts. However, this generation is socially more
responsible, with a moral compass better than the previous generation’s.”
Vineet Nayar
VC & JOINT MD, HCL TECHNOLOGIES
“Young managers are riskaverse, and leadership
is about taking risks. A lot of leaders are buried in detail and don’t see
the big picture.”
Pramod Bhasin,
VICE CHAIRMAN, GENPACT
“They are confident and bold, but need to
have more depth and a thorough understanding of their business and
industry. The results are important.”
Kris Gopalakrishnan
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE CO-CHAIRMAN, INFOSYS
Some youngsters refuse to take a
360-degree view of options. “When I was young,” she tells an ETYL
candidate, “the best I thought I could become was a legal advisor in ICICI.
I didn’t realise there was a whole world out there, and that I could get a
second innings.”
Kalpana Morparia
CEO, JP MORGAN INDIA
“What gave a few candidates the edge was
their multidimensional thinking, their clarity of thought and
innovativeness, which I felt was missing in a few candidates.”
Pramit Jhaveri
CEO, CITI INDIA
“Young leaders should understand that they need
to be authentic. While this may not guarantee that you become a leader, not
being so will certainly ensure that you are not.”
Nitin Paranjpe
CEO & MD, HINDUSTAN UNILEVER
“Today’s youngsters don’t realise they
need to start charting the course of their work life journey right from the
start of their career. They can have multiple options and may change their
mind along the way, but they must always go on thinking about the future.”
Harsh Mariwala
CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARICO
“I would have preferred to see a little
more from all of them in terms of doing something for the community or
environment around them. Many of the youngsters are so focussed on their
careers that they don’t have the breadth of trying to do something. And
people who are real differentiators have been doing something even from
school, even if it was giving tuitions to 20 kids or teaching them to learn
English and such. Sometimes when they get too caught up in structured
programmes, the youngsters end up not thinking more broadly.”
Adil Zainulbhai
CHAIRMAN, INDIA, MCKINSEY & CO
Reporting by Labonita Ghosh, Shelley
Singh, Anumeha Chaturvedi,
Rica Bhattacharyya and Akanksha Prasad
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