In an exclusive interview with Higher Education Review, Rahul Pinjarkar, CHRO, Tata Chemicals Ltd shares insights on some of the most critical competencies a leader should possess in today's rapidly changing business environment, why sustainability is crucial to the leadership development approach, and more. 

In your opinion, what are the most critical competencies a leader should possess in today's rapidly changing business environment?

The business environment is changing rapidly. There are top three major competencies critical for a leader. These include foresight which is the ability to think ahead of time. Foresight or the ability to think ahead of time enables leaders to plan for the shifts in market, technology, and customer preferences before they happen. This competency must be paired with agility which is the ability to adapt quickly and make changes if required. This combination enables leaders to remain ahead of time, ahead of the curve, and navigate ambiguity fairly well.

The second competency is practicing empathy which is extremely important in today's world. For instance, it is pivotal to connect with and respect your co-workers as it makes them feel heard and understood. It is an essential competency as it centers on dynamic listening, demonstrating compassion, and validating others' experience which in turn helps in cultivating a cohesive and supportive work environment.

Last but not least is data-driven decision-making, which is indispensable in today's business environment. We, as leaders, are adept at deciphering patterns, designs, and relationships within the data and can infer noteworthy insights by reading between the lines. This capability not only enables proactive decision-making but also facilitates preparation for potential challenges and the identification of emerging opportunities.   

Beyond traditional metrics, how do organizations assess the long-term impact of leadership development initiatives on organizational culture and performance?

Leadership and development are both contextual. Companies do not necessarily build leaders. It is the individual who creates the identity of leadership. While good organizations do create the right environment for leaders to practice their skills, they do not create context. Certainty and leadership do not go along well. Hence, the question is how do we create effective leadership development programs? Although there are leadership development programs focused on narrating stories about how leaders achieved their success, I am not sure if replicating it in different contexts will give us similar results.

In addition, leadership on the one hand is a mysterious concept and on the other hand, it has been highly controversial. Many people have coined the subject as “managers do right things while leaders do things right”.  One of the important phases of the leadership development process is to make people write a short essay on what leadership means to them and how they have put a theory together into a practical living document to guide their leadership style.

Some organizations solely focus on senior leaders while some focus on certain individuals who are perceived to have high potential as a result of psychological testing or assessment centers. However, leadership is necessary at all levels. Sometimes there is a need to develop senior leaders and many times the leadership skills possessed by most senior people in the organization become the leadership ceiling. It is extremely rare to find anyone whose leadership skills exceed those of the people at the top. Although the best leaders are promoted to the most senior positions, in the cases where senior people have mediocre scores, the leadership tent has to be lifted, making room for others to grow.

Sustainability is crucial to the leadership development approach. What strategies have to be employed to ensure leadership development initiatives are sustainable and have a lasting impact?

Leadership development will be sustainable when a part of the development process is also to define the results you seek from leaders and set extremely high expectations for them. Therefore, instead of focusing on low-performing leaders and attempting to elevate their performance, I will help my current group of people to become better. When good people excel, it does more to lift the entire population than similar efforts if they are put in by a mediocre group.  Many people learn from excelling leaders.  These excellent leaders cause the tide to rise and the tide lifts the boat. This is what sustainability in leadership is. It is important to involve senior leaders in building leaders as they act as mentors to young and promising employees.  It would also be beneficial to ensure that the younger people navigate around pitfalls and traps.  This encourages them during difficult and stretched assignments and in general, provides access to the thought process of people at the top of the organization. 

Effective leadership often requires a blend of empathy and decisiveness. How can an organization cultivate these qualities in its leaders?

Empathy and decisiveness are critical qualities for effective leadership. At our organization, we have several initiatives in place to nurture these qualities among our leaders. Our key programs are Invest and Invest Plus, which stand for increasing value-enhancing skills for tomorrow.  Invest is for first-time managers and Invest Plus is for people managers who aspire to become seasoned leaders. These manager capability-building programs are designed to develop skills essential for leadership. It includes modules focused on situational leadership, emphasizing how one can adapt their leadership style based on the needs of their team and the situations at hand. We also have a module on handling difficult conversations with empathy and clarity. We recognize that being decisive doesn't mean being inflexible. It means making informed decisions while considering the impact on others.

These initiatives are not just about skill development. They showcase the culture of the organization. These values permeate throughout the organization. Furthermore, leadership development in my organization is holistic and continuous. We have integrated it into our feedback mechanism and leadership assessment. This ensures that empathy and decisiveness are not just taught but are practiced through all levels of leadership. Hence, by investing in such targeted programs and by fostering a culture that values empathy and decisiveness, we cultivate these qualities in our leaders. This approach not only enhances individual leadership capabilities but also strengthens our organizational resilience and ability to navigate challenges effectively.