The Genesis of Modern Indian Leadership

Deepa Chandrashekar

2

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................... 4

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM ANCIENT INDIA.................................................................................................. 5

MODERN LEADERSHIP IN INDIA AND LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM INDIA.....................................13

CONCLUSION:..............................................................................................................................................................22

REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................................................24

3

Abstract

At the core of any successful country or organization is its’ leader. India has seen brilliant leaders

in her history. In fact, some of the leadership concept’s that is being heavily researched and relied

upon today are concepts that were first described in ancient scriptures some 3500 years ago. This

study explores some of these leadership philosophies and pearls of wisdom that have been

communicated through ancient Indian scriptures to modern leaders. The study finds that most

Indian business leaders exhibit several leadership traits that could only have been inherited from

their ancient role models.

4

Introduction

The global recession that started in 2008 has exposed the lack of executive leadership in

corporations around the world. The downgrading of the world’s largest capital market, the United

States, the riots in the United Kingdom, the crisis in Greece, growing unemployment in other

European countries, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the political instability in the Middle East

can be attributed to corruption at the highest levels. The failure or near failure of giant US

companies like Lehman Bros., AIG, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, General motors, etc., calls into

question the management and leadership at these institutions.

On the flip side, India’s economy over this same period has not only grown but the country has

been able to cope with the global financial crisis in a much better manner. Companies like Tata,

Bharat Forge, Ranbaxy, Infosys, Cipla, Wipro, Reliance, etc., have managed to expand globally by

boosting Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities in UK, US, Europe, etc. We haven’t heard of any

major Indian company declaring bankruptcy during this phase. In fact, India has become the

dream destination for investors in an increasingly global economy. In 2013 Indian companies

were involved in M&A activity totalling more than USD 27 billion. (Bharadwaj, 2014) India has

witnessed spectacular growth averaging 9 percent in the past decade, and, despite some hiccups,

current analysis projects continued progress with the formation of new majority Government at

the centre. (Wilson, 2014) It has thus become evident that India’s ability to cope with rapid and

continuous change during such a turbulent period in our history is due to the ability of

5

management to respond. This is a direct by-product of the transformational leadership, which is

deep rooted in Indian culture.

Leadership lessons from Ancient India

India’s contribution to management wisdom, especially in Leadership, dates back to before 350

BC. Several ancient scriptures refer to leadership and management strategies in some form or the

other. These scriptures have elaborated in depth on leadership traits, style and strategies.

Thirukkural, an acclaimed original Indian work on management, written by a great poet called

Thiruvalluvar anywhere between 2 BC and 8 AD, exemplifies values that are ever relevant and

unchanging. (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND) Thiruvalluvar articulated that leaders are not

necessarily born but can be made through empowerment, mentorship and transfer of knowledge.

(Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND) This theory is consistent with the modern traits theory of

leadership, which states that leaders are made. Vince Lombardi (Anonymous, ND), an American

football coach, once stated that “Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard

effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”

(Anonymous, ND)

According to Thirukkural, the “efficiency of an organization, be it a company at micro level or a

country at a macro level, is primarily determined by the efficiency of the resources such as raw

materials, machines, buildings, capital, etc. In turn, the efficiency of these resources depend on

6

the efficiency of Human Resources. However, the efficiency of all resources including human

resource is determined by the quality of leadership”. (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND)

The Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Eastern philosophical literature dating 3000 BC or more, presents

the advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna, two prominent leaders of the epic of Mahabharata. The story

tells the story of a dispute between two warring clans, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Many

great scholars such as Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau have

quoted teachings from the Bhagavad Gita. Peter Senge, a noted management thinker has quoted

the Gita is his “Fifth Discipline” and “Presence” in the context of leadership. There are many

concepts of leadership quoted in the Bhagavad Gita that are similar to contemporary leadership

theories. Some of the leadership traits embedded within Gita is as follows (Das, ND):

Leaders should embrace rather than avoid formidable challenges because they bring out

the leaders’ greatest strengths;

Leaders should be resilient in their actions and should not be weakened by pain and

pleasure;

Selfish desires and animosity obscure the purpose of leadership;

Leaders achieve lasting power and glory by exercising compassion and selfless service;

Effective leaders do not lead by fear or anger;

Character is core to effective leadership; and,

Leaders need to be aware of the self and the surroundings.

Chapter 2.23 of the Bhagavad Gita describes a leader as someone who weapons cannot claim, fire

cannot burn, water cannot wet and wind cannot dry. (Rarick & Nickerson, 2009)

7

The concept of Emotional intelligence (EI), one of the most researched psychological paradigms of

the 21st century, which was popularized by Goleman (1995), stresses the role of emotions in an

individual’s success or failure in workplace and in life. Even this concept is not new to India. This is

a concept that was embedded throughout Bhagavad Gita. There are other ancient scriptures such

as Rig Veda and Yajur Veda, which were written even prior to Bhagavad Gita and contain detailed

descriptions of the functions of the human mind. In fact, the Vedas emphasize the need for

emotional stability, which helps an individual tide over the battles of life. If one conducts a detailed

study of these scriptures, one can notice striking similarities with Mayer and Salovey’s “ability

model” (2004) that identifies four stages through which a person becomes emotionally intelligent –

emotional perception, assimilation, understanding and management. (Gayatri & Meenakshi, 2013)

In the Mahabharata, four primary types of leadership roles- strategic, directive, team-building and

effective leadership were elaborated in detail. (Anonymous, 2009)

Ramayana, another major epic of ancient India, written in the 5th to the 4th century BC describes a

leader symbolically as the 4 wheels of a chariot, which are character, courage, ethics and valour. It

further symbolically states, “the horses drawing a chariot signify strength, energy and passion.

Reins of the horses symbolize forgiveness, compassion, consistency and equanimity. These are

among the most important of a warrior’s repertoire and are only completed with weapons of

knowledge, strategy, intelligence, skills, commitment and restraint of ego. Without these bundled

up in the chariot, a warrior cannot win in battle”. (Anonymous, 2009)

8

The Vedas, which was referred to earlier are considered the earliest literary record of the Indo-

Aryan civilization, and the most sacred books of India. The Vedas are believed to contain all the

knowledge that are required by mankind. A careful study of this literature has revealed that it has

extensively dealt with leadership qualities. According to the Vedas, a king or head of state should

possess certain physical, and mental qualities and must have knowledge and certain types of

behaviour. Two of the physical qualities emphasized are an august personality and possessor of

prowess whilst also possessing the mental qualities of being virtuous, propitious, lustrous, dutiful,

serviceable, large hearted, friend of all, conduct with justice, imbiber of truth, endowed with

wisdom and enterprise, considerate, nourisher of all, fearless etc. (Chendroyaperumal, ND) In a

nutshell, the Vedas suggests that a leader should have all good qualities, actions and attributes

whilst also repeatedly emphasizing knowledge as an essential requirement of a leader. The

literature also highlights that a leader should have eloquence, pleasing manners, friendly attitude

and humility.

One of the greatest Indian authors on management was Chanakya, who lived in the period 350-

275 BC. He served as the chief counsellor of the then ruler King Chandragupta (321 BC). He was

considered to be the pioneer of the art of statecraft and was responsible for the defeat of

Alexander, The Great in India. Chanakya gave the world a management system called “the Sutra

system” which consists of 572 verses of which 200 elaborated on his ideas on how to identify

leaders and groom them to govern a country. He authored the “Arthashastra” which consists of

15 books that contain 150 chapters and 6000 poems. (Krishnan, ND) These books as a whole

speak on the subject of Total Management that includes economics, statecraft, warfare,

9

punishment, strategy, etc. In his book, Chanakya lists the duties of a king and states “In the

happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare, whatever pleases himself

he shall not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good.”

(Barnabas & Clifford, 2007)

Chanakya says, a leader is a captain, who leads an organization. Without him, the organization will

lose direction. He further characterizes leaders as intelligent, high in spirit, humble in nature,

easily approachable, committed, honest, and desirous of learning and providing training.

Separated by time and culture, Jim Collins, a leading modern day author on leadership, shares the

same management philosophies as were articulated by Chanakya in 350-275 B.C. Collins books,

“Good to Great” and “Built to Last” speak about how to build great organizations. (Pande, 2008)

They have become best sellers and he is being actively courted by businesses around the world.

Chanakya conceptualized the suggested courses of action contained in Collins books years ago

when he helped the then king build an empire. He put vision, mission and motivation ahead of

everything else and identified the need to focus on leadership requirements, organizational

strategies and human dimensions. Chanakya states that the essence of leadership lies in the

application of justice and ethics in one’s position as a leader. As per Collins, there are 5 levels of

leadership through which leaders channel their energies away from their own egos and focus on

the good of the organization.

10

Chanakya also made references on the importance of the human resource development. He

insisted that a king should surround himself with skilled and talented people with the ability to

concentrate, think, communicate and observe. Today, Collins shares the same view when he

speaks about having the “right people on the bus” as the top priority for any executive. (Pande,

2008)

Ancient India has seen many great leaders including many women leaders. Arthur Llewellyn

Basham (1967), a noted historian, claims that Indian history emerged from “legend and dubious

tradition" in the 6th century BC, and what appeared was a society highly developed materially,

intellectually, and spiritually. It was also characterised by a great sense of fairness in social and

civic relations. In no other early civilization were slaves so few in number, and in no other ancient

law book are their rights so well protected as in the Arthashastra. Basham also noted that the

most striking feature of ancient India's civilization was its humanity. (Chhokar, ND)

King Asoka, a famous ruler of ancient India around 269 B.C. was a tyrant for the first eight years

during which time he was infamous for killing more than 100,000 people. He had a sudden change

of heart that made him convert to a pacifist. He turned into a benevolent king who introduced

humanity in his internal administration and abandoned aggressive warfare in his dealings with

other states. He was one of the pioneers of the practice of non-violence and non-injury to

humans and animals. (Chhokar, ND) He established himself as a transformational leader. His

11

preaching and philosophy was effectively used centuries later by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of

the nation, and Dr. S. Radhakrishanan, President of India in 1962.

Another recently discussed concept of leadership - the servant leadership, although a term coined

and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-1990) in his essay titled “The servant as leader”,

published in 1970, was practiced and propagated several centuries ago in India. A book written by

Trompenaars and Voerman (2009) called the Servant leadership across cultures, cites several

examples from Indian culture to show that servant leadership was practiced in India for a very

long time. (Barnabas & Clifford, 2007) Even in Arthashastra, Chanakya mentioned, “the king is a

paid servant and enjoys the resources of the state together with the people”. (Krishnan, ND)

The notion of servant leadership as a paradigm has been followed in India from the days of

Chanakya to Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate for literature from India. In one of his

writings, Dr. Tagore stated the following:

“I slept and dreamt that life was a joy.

I awoke and saw that life is a service

I acted and behold, service was a joy” (Anonymous, 2009)

Mahatma Gandhi was a great proponent of, and practiced servant leadership. Gandhi practiced as

a lawyer in South Africa in the late 1880’s, where he helped settle a difficult dispute. When

12

questioned about his success, Gandhi stated, “My joy was boundless. I had learnt the true

practice of law. I had learned to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men’s

hearts.” Gandhi’s outlook changed after this incident and he considered rendering selfless service

to mankind as more worthwhile than making profit. When he returned to India, he led Indians in

their fight for Independence using the strategy of non-violence. The servant leadership qualities

that he applied in practice forced the British to ultimately grant India independence. Gandhi

symbolized service over power. (Barnabas & Clifford, 2007)

Any discussion of leadership in ancient India would be incomplete without mentioning the impact

of effective leadership demonstrated by the great king Akbar (1555-1606) who was one of the

great emperors to have ruled the region. Akbar understood the complexity of Indian society and

polity given its substantial regional, linguistic and cultural diversity and recognized that tolerance

towards other religions, language and social customs was essential for the long-term survival of

the empire. Hence, he abolished all preferences and discriminations based on religion. He

appointed people to high state offices without regard to their religious beliefs. He was considered

to be an enlightened and pragmatic leader. (Chhokar, ND)

There are several more findings from ancient Indian scriptures that provide ample evidence of the

contributions made by India in the field of leadership and management. Research work from

ancient Indian history talks about leadership in varied context. Some scriptures have defined

leaders as having pre-defined characteristics and unique traits while others talk about a leader as

13

a change agent, one who aligns a group of people towards a common vision. But, the common

themes that surface from the study of the varied scriptures is that the focus is always on

promoting unity and social responsibility, and encouraging respect for all as equals and without

distinction. The concepts that are now being heavily researched upon such as servant leadership,

emotional intelligence, transformational, spiritual and ethical leadership, are concepts that were

conceived of and passed down through generations in India.

Modern Leadership in India and lessons to be learnt from India

Experience is the best teacher and Indian history, as demonstrated above, is pregnant with

numerous examples and experiences in the area of leadership. Ancient Indian ethos has taught

valuable management lessons for the modern day leader. Core values, mission, vision and

commitment form the very foundation of an organization. The rapid growth of India’s economy in

recent decades is an important event in history. This growth continues today and there is every

reason to anticipate that it will continue to grow. At the core of India’s economic development

are business leaders and entrepreneurs who endure and create great companies. But, can India

really sustain its growth given the global business uncertainty? The answer lies in its Indian ethos

dating back more than 3500 years as against modern management principles that are still in their

infancy. Much of today’s leadership is derived from the ancient Indian scriptures as discussed

above. The ancient Indian ethos have stood the test of time and are now helping modern leaders

to create a more sustainable model of management. Modern day Indian managers face a dynamic

business environment requiring them to adapt on the fly. As Stephen Covey said: “Management is

14

efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning

against the right wall” (Cooper, ND)

The events that led to the economic downturn in Western economies are based on modern

management practices and raises questions regarding the effectiveness of existing models of

leadership in those organizations. The primary reason why organizations have failed over the

course of this economic downturn is due to inappropriate or unethical decisions leading eventually

to shareholders losing trust in management and the executive leadership, in particular. In India,

business leaders have incorporated ethics and integrity in the existing framework of leadership

and management. Mr. Narayana Murthy, Ex-CEO of Infosys, said, “The leader has to create hope.

He has to create a plausible story about a better future for the organization; everyone should be

able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it. This requires creating trust in people. And to create

trust, the leader has to subscribe to a value system; a protocol for behaviour that enhances

confidence, commitment and enthusiasm of the people” (Bhattacharjee, 2011)

Under his leadership, Infosys survived many a downturn but has consistently been the most

revered in the Indian IT industry. This was mainly because leadership was based on both efficient

management practices and a model that is more transparent, responsible and ethical. These

values have been imbibed from ancient Indian texts and the writings of scholars like Chanakya on

ethical and responsible leadership. Many successful organizations in India have incorporated

such values in their existing models.

15

Vineet Nayar, the vice chairman and CEO of HCL Technologies, a successful global information

technology services company based in India, says that he sought enough “transparency” and

“empowerment” in the company that “decisions would be made at the points where the decisions

should be made”, that is by employees, where the company meets the client. Nayar believes in

holistic engagement of human capital. Nayar's success has been fuelled by his unconventional

management philosophy of putting his employees first, and customers second. By making

management accountable to the employees, he has driven HCL to greater success. (Cappelli,

Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

In a research conducted by Harvard Business Review, it was noted that prominent modern Indian

leaders from reputable and successful organizations such as Reliance Industries, Tata, Mahindra

and Mahindra, Aventis Pharma and many others, suggested that their success was largely due to

the competitive advantage that lay deep inside their companies’, in their people. (Cappelli, Singh,

Singh, & Useem, 2010) This thought process was expounded at great length in Thirukkural which

states that the efficiency of an organization, is primarily determined by the efficiency of human

resources and its leaders.” (Chendroyaperumal & Meena, ND)

Mentorship, as a concept, is also not new to the country. India has seen some large family

businesses run by professional management, where leadership was transferred from one

generation to the next within the same family without affecting the core values of the company.

Tata and Birla group of companies, in spite of initial teething issues, have successfully survived in

16

India with leadership transferred effectively through Mentorship. This is seldom seen in the

Western countries and is something important for them to learn from India because family

businesses tend to show great resilience in countering economic slowdowns. (Bhattacharjee,

2011)

Modern Indian leadership is characterized by four principal practices:

1. Holistic engagement of employees

2. Improvisation and adaptability in execution

3. Creative value proposition for customers

4. Sense of social purpose for business operations

This is very much in contrast to the principles found in other countries, especially the United

States, where business leaders place the interest of shareholders’ above all. The holistic approach

to management in India focuses on stakeholders and not shareholders where the primary

stakeholders are employees, customers, society and the environment. The survey conducted by

Harvard Business Review revealed that the majority of Indian Chief Executive Officers prioritizes

business strategy, sustained corporate culture, human capital and mentorship over the interests

of shareholders. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010) It is interesting to note that most

modern Indian leaders have cited strategy as their top priority. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata

Group of companies for 21 years, built Tata to become a world brand. Tata Group in one of India’s

largest multi-industry and multinational group of companies with operations in over 80 countries.

17

He set new strategies for the group when he took over in 1991. At a time when the Indian

economy was limping and the country was on the verge of bankruptcy, he envisioned to take the

company global. He used various leadership styles such as transformational and transactional

leadership. He emphasized corporate social responsibility and employee training and

development along with faith and service to the nation. By 2000, the conglomerate’s 96

companies included some notable names including Tetley Group, Daewoo Commercial Vehicle

Company and the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Today, more than 50% of Tata Group’s revenues are

generated overseas. (Dhekale, 2014)

Given India’s enormous challenges, it is not surprising to note that several companies have

stepped forward to invest in community services and infrastructure. The rapid growth of the

Indian market and the inadequate medical and education facilities have forced several companies

in the most recent decade to develop and care for their own talent. For example, Ms. Mallika

Srinivasan who heads Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), has personally put in efforts in

the area of women and childcare development. Her organization’s contribution to social

development through the establishment of schools, colleges, orphanages, community centers, and

to a wide variety of causes aimed at better health care of the less privileged, are widely

recognized.

Mr. Prathap Reddy, founder of Apollo hospitals, a leading private health care provider contributes

to a similar mission. According to Mr. Reddy, their responsibility is to their patients first, to their

18

employees next and only then to their lenders and investors”. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem,

2010) B. Muthuraman, the Managing Director of Tata Steel, considers corporate social

responsibility as a reputational asset since it enhances the group brand. Unlike Western

companies that primarily focus on improving customers’ lives through purely market driven

strategies with corporate social responsibility being an afterthought, social missions are an

integral part of Indian companies’ strategy, and often are the route to making profits. To cite

another example, the hospital group Narayana Hrudayalaya, founded by Devi Shetty, set about

with the aim of helping millions of poor Indian children requiring expensive cardiac surgery. The

result is a group that standardized the scale and now performs twice as many cardiac surgeries as

the biggest U.S. hospitals with outcomes that are as good and at one-tenth the cost, and its profit

margins are slightly above its U.S. peers. (Cappelli, Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

Several other Indian business leaders similarly share social mission as part of their internal

strategy. More so than most Western companies, Indian leaders view having a social mission as a

sense of national purpose because it helps their employees find meaning in their work and

provides them with a satisfying feeling that small tasks link to the bigger goal. HCL companies

motto “employee first, customer second” was designed to make employees feel more personally

responsible for the company’s offerings and give them a voice with upper management. “Unlike

American CEOs, Indian leaders tend to focus much more on internal issues — on people

management, motivating employees and so forth,” says Cappelli. “U.S. CEOs spend a lot more of

their time on shareholder issues.” (Anonymous, 2007)

19

One of India’s latest achievements was building the cheapest spacecraft launch mission to the

planet Mars. Something that cost the United States USD 671 million dollars was accomplished by

India at a record-breaking cost of only USD 74 million. When the man behind this mission, Dr. K

Radhakrishanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, was interviewed on the

work culture, he said “We are a learning organisation, so after success, you won't see great

jubilation - we just gather together and discuss our observations on what to do better next time.

And, after a failure, we discuss what corrections to make and get into action. We learn from

failure and success and institute our corrections. Any space mission is complex, and we work like

surgeons, totally focused on the job. If you think about victory or failure, you will lose your focus”.

(Gulab, 2013) Again this brings forth the connection between ancient and modern management

thought processes. The Bhagavad Gita quotes the following verse in chapter 2.4.7:

“Karmanye Varhikaraste Ma phaleshu Kadachana

Ma karma Phala Hetur Bhuhu tey Sangostva Akarmani” (Bhattacharjee, 2011)

It means, “we have only the right to work, right on our actions but not on the consequences or

fruits of that action. So we should not be attached to either fruits of the action or inaction”. In

the context of modern management it means that every leader should be focussed on his work

and at the same time be “in-sync” with the organization’s vision and mission because this will

ultimately lead to excellence. In other words, what matters is the journey.

Moving on to employee training, recent statistics suggest that Indian companies invest heavily in

employee development-often more so than their Western counterparts. U.S. companies have

20

largely abandoned investment in employees, especially in developing managers, for fear that the

investment will be lost if employees leave. Statistics indicate that about a quarter of new recruits

in the U.S. did not receive any kind of training in the first couple of years of their employment. In

contrast, Indian companies have taken an aggressive step towards employee training. A recent

Kauffman Foundation study shows that the Indian IT industry provides new hires with about 60

days of formal training. Companies like Tata consultancy services offer a seven-month training

program. India’s second-largest pharmaceutical company, Dr. Reddy’s laboratories, provides a

one-year training program that includes 10 weeks of assignments abroad. Infosys managers are

assessed on the basis of how many of their groups’ recent hires achieve targets. Twice as many

Indian companies have also invested in leadership development as compared to American

organizations. Cappelli agrees, and points out that the American model may be the exception.

“What we see in Indian leaders is a lot of what we say all CEOs should be doing — they are pretty

much following the best practices of management and leadership,” he says. “In some ways, the

puzzle is actually why we see U.S. CEOs more focused on shareholder concerns. It could have

something to do with the governance system and with the way they are compensated”. (Cappelli,

Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010) An interview with Mr. Rajesh Hukku, the founder of i-flex solutions,

a financial service software firm stated that one of the key differences between Indian and U.S.

management is that Indian leaders do not subscribe to the “hire and fire” policy, which is very

common in the U.S. They look at their employees as long-term assets and fine-tune their

corporate policies accordingly. It is about taking a long-term versus short-term view. (Cappelli,

Singh, Singh, & Useem, 2010)

21

Table 1 below exhibits some of these differences:

Indian Leadership U.S. Leadership

Relationship oriented Impersonal

Focus on long-term horizon Focus on short-term horizon

Efforts oriented Results oriented

Value strategy, employee and culture over

shareholder

Give priority to shareholders

Spend more time on internal issues Focus on external affaires

The differences stated above between Indian and U.S. leaders are not to show that one style is

superior to the other. There are companies like Southwest Airlines in U.S. that incorporate a

culture like many Indian companies. Leadership styles have also been found to vary from region

to region. So, what applies to American companies may not necessarily apply to Indian

companies.

The rapid economic development of India requires visionary leadership. A number of Indian

companies have been highly successful due to their unique and innovative leadership style.

According to research from St. Gallen University in Switzerland, Indian leaders are more inclined

towards participative management and building meaningful relationships with subordinates. “The

leadership style traditionally employed in India fostered an emotional bond between superiors

and subordinates.” (Bershidsky, 2014) In India, there are no executives who are known for their

22

“dictatorial” management style. Ms. Indira Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo says “You need to look at the

employee and say, I value you as a person. I know that you have a life beyond PepsiCo, and I’m

going to respect you for your entire life, not just treat you as an employee with a registration

number.” (Bershidsky, 2014)

Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, says “Indian leaders are more

flexible than those in U.S. They can bring their level of thinking down and meet with him

(employee) at that level”. This is why more and more Indian born leaders are heading some of the

most prominent Western companies like Microsoft, Pepsi, Deutsche Bank, MasterCard, Adobe

Systems, Diageo Reckitt Benckiser and Global Foundries.

Conclusion:

Leadership teachings have been passed down through the generations in India. Much of modern

management principles existing today in India have been derived from the body of knowledge

contained in ancient Indian scriptures. Research shows that current leaders have embraced the

importance of the ancient Indian ethos and with the inherited wisdom make the existing modern

management paradigms more sustainable in practice.

As Chattopadhyaya states, there is hardly any country in the world having, social economic,

cultural and lingual diversity as complex as India. (Pal & Kapur, 2011) The background, mental

23

abilities and working capabilities of employees are quite heterogeneous in any organization.

Hence, it is impossible to have a specific style of leadership that can be used to influence such a

diverse profile of employees, members, partners, stakeholders’ and customers. Ancient Indian

scriptures contain a wealth of leadership wisdom, which have guided modern leaders to

successfully deal with this challenge. India has witnessed multi-leadership styles exhibited by its

leaders at various times in its history. It has seen leaders who have been action oriented,

dynamic, innovative, visionaries, knowledge-based, empowering, participative, charismatic,

spiritual, ethical, service oriented, transactional, and transformational. Amidst all these different

styles, the core values underpinning them are people management and service to the society at

large. Indian leaders prefer to give importance to relationships and the needs of their followers.

(Singh & Krishnan, 205) India’s recently elected Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, has echoed

this same principle. Addressing the country on India’s Independence Day, he said, “I can promise

you, if you work 12 hours, I will work for 13. If you work 14 hours, I will work for 15 hours, for I am

not a Prime Minister, but a Prime Servant”.

24

References

Anonymous. (2007, November). Are Indian business leaders different? Retrieved 10 12, 2014 fromhttp://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/are-indian-business-leaders-different/

Anonymous. (2009). Learning leadership skills from Ramayana and Mahabharata for the business world.

Barnabas, A., & Clifford, P. S. (2007). Mahatma Gandhi - An Indian model of servant leadership.International Journal of Leadership Studies , 7 (2), 132-150.

Bershidsky, L. (2014, 02 5). Why Microsoft and everyone else loves Indian CEOs? Retrieved 10 01, 2014 fromhttp://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hUZSSYRPqssJ:www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-02-05/why-microsoft-and-everyone-else-loves-indian-ceos+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk

Bharadwaj, M. (2014). A study of merger and acquisition between Centurion Bank with Bank of Punjab:Analysing pre-merger and post-merger financial performance. International Journal of Innovation andScientific Research , 8 (1), 50-63.

Bhattacharjee, A. (2011). Modern management through ancient Indian widsom: Towards a moresustainable paradigm. Purushartha: A Journal of Management Ethics and Spirituality , 4 (1), 14-37.

Cappelli, P., Singh, H., Singh, J. V., & Useem, M. (2010, 03). Leadership lessons from India. Harvard BusinessReview , 1-9.

Chendroyaperumal, D. C. (ND). Leadership qualities from the Indian management thought: The Yajur Veda.Retrieved 08 15, 2014 from http://ssm.com/abstract=1399544

Chendroyaperumal, D. C., & Meena, M. A. (ND). Indian Theory of Leadership from Thirukkural. 7. Chennai:Saveetha Engineering College. Retrieved 08 15, 2014 from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1334703:http://ssrn.com/abstract=1334703

Chhokar, J. S. (ND). Leadership and Culture in India: The GLOBE Research Project. Retrieved 09 01, 2014from https://www.hs-fulda.de/fileadmin/Fachbereich_SW/Downloads/Profs/Wolf/Studies/india/india.pdf

Cooper, J. F. (ND). Leadership effectiveness. Retrieved September 30, 2014 fromhttp://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference6.4.pdf

Das, S. (ND). Leadership Lessons from Bhagavad Gita. Retrieved 09 1, 2014 from http://advaita-space.org/files/Leadership%20Lessons%20from%20Bhagavad-gita_0.pdf

Dhekale, V. S. (2014, April). An exploration of leadership style with reference to Ratan Tata: A case study.Retrieved October 3, 2014 fromhttp://www.iaeme.com/MasterAdmin/UploadFolder/10120140504003/10120140504003.pdf

Gayatri, N., & Meenakshi, D. (2013). Emotional intelligence in the Indian context. Global Journal of HumanSocial Science , 13 (8), 1-7.

Gulab, K. (2013, December 14). Mangalyaan: meet the men behind India's Mars Mission. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2014 from http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/brunch-stories/mangalyaan-meet-the-men-behind-india-s-mars-mission/article1-1162514.aspx

25

Krishnan, R. (ND). Chanakya - The first complete management guru. Retrieved 09 10, 2014 fromhttp://www.tirunarayana.in/res/Chanakya_VVS_070309.pdf

Pal, S. K., & Kapur, V. (2011). Exploring unique corporate leadership styles in india. Opinion , 1 (1), 75-87.

Pande, P. (2008). Timeless concepts of leadership & management. The CEO Advantage Journal .

Rarick, A. C., & Nickerson, I. (2009). Expanding Managerial Consciousness: Leadership Advice from theBhagavad Gita. Journal of Behavioural Studies in Business , 1, 5.

Singh, N., & Krishnan, V. R. (205). Towards understanding transformational leadership in India: A groundedtheory approach. The Journal of Business Perspective , 9 (2), 5-17.

Tagore, R. (n.d.). The "Class of 1861". Retrieved October 13, 2014 fromhttp://www.anthroposophy.org/fileadmin/nfm/bh-1/being-human-2011-01-1861-Rizal-Tagore.pdf

Wilson, W. T. (2014, June 27). India unleashed. 1.