(from left) Suresh Raman, President, Madras Management Association; Shenu Agarwal, MD and CEO, Ashok Leyland Ltd; Shrinivas V Dempo, President, AIMA; and K Mahalingam, Senior VP, MMA at the 67th AGM of Madras Management Association in Chennai on Friday | Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH

Shared leadership is key to becoming successful leaders in this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, pointed out Shrinivas Dempo, President, AIMA, and Chairman, Dempo group of companies, Goa.

It’s increasingly becoming a VUCA world and it is making the life of a leader more challenging. Leaders’ mindsets have to change and they need to believe in shared leadership and no longer can it be a top-down approach. Mid-level employees also need to be empowered, he said while addressing the 21st MMA Awards for Managerial Excellence 2023 meeting of Madras Management Association.

He stated that organisations have to act swiftly on sustainability and tech issues as pressures can be both domestic and international, from buyers abroad. “Organisations have to reskill employees to new tech otherwise they will lose their jobs and businesses also will cease to exist,” he added.

‘Not all about money’

He also emphasised that young people want purpose in the businesses they join and it’s not all about money.

Earlier, sharing his thoughts on leadership, Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland said successful managers/leaders need to possess clarity of purpose, clarity of path, and clarity of growth on one side and getting ready for the job, time management and connecting with the people on the other side.

The role of a manager/leader to clarify the purpose again and again is the most important aspect to achieve desired results. There are two types of managers — specialists and generalists — in the management world.

“Lot of people in the corporate world can’t decide what they want to do — want to go deep or want to go wide. This is very important for people to choose their career growth. When one wants to become a specialist, one works for the best and should become an expert in a particular field. If one wants to become a generalist, it is not necessary to work for the best, but one should try different challenges,” he said.

Winners from different categories were presented with the 21st MMA Managerial Excellence Awards.

Courtesy: HBL