What To Expect When Hiring an Indian CEO For An International Organization?
There is an oft-repeated quote about leadership that says, “The art of being a great leader is to lead by example.” However, the definition of leader and leadership have seen a drastic change in the corporate world over the years. In today’s modern world, there is more responsibility and credibility added to the word “Leader.” Gone are the days wherein a leader is expected to just oversee the organization’s day-to-day activities. On top of doing that, today’s modern leader is expected to motivate a diverse group of manpower, work across organizational boundaries, eliminate clutter, improve efficiency and achieve growth.
In this competitive landscape with a lot more check-boxes added to the term Leader, have you ever wondered why many successful MNCs such as Google, DeLoitte or Adobe hire someone from an Indian origin as their CEOs? Here is what you can expect when hiring an Indian CEO for your Multinational Conglomerate.
1. An Acceptance of Change And Uncertainty
Every organization, irrespective of its size, finds itself at crosshairs with some form of disruption. Imagine a country like India, holding almost 1/7th of the world’s population with a plethora of languages and an uneven infrastructure across the country. There is uncertainty at every turn and this boils down to something even as trivial as whether water will emerge from the taps to brush your teeth. This aspect builds both an acceptance of forces beyond control and the need to persevere despite that.
We can hear you thinking, how is that a great aspect for leadership? This creates a unique combination of patience and innovation with the process to coexist in a corporate bureaucracy. Now, isn’t that one of the top qualities of a leader?
2. Highly Educated Professionals, especially in STEM
India boasts one of the top business schools (IIM), engineering colleges (IIT) and medical colleges (AIIMS). In fact, according to PeW, 77.5% of Indians held a Bachelor’s degree or higher, which is the highest share of any top origin country. On the other hand, only 31.6% of Native-born Americans held a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In short, India produces a world-class skilled workforce which is adept to lead any organization in India or abroad.
3. Diversity at Its Best
A diverse workforce is something that the HR division of the company is hoping to achieve. A survey conducted by Deloitte shows that almost 69% of the employees believe that when their senior management is diverse, they see their working environment to be more motivating and stimulating. Along with that, there can’t be a more diverse country than India, with languages and culture changing every 100 miles of the vast landscape. So, the individuals are more receptive to working in different geographies. This gives them an opportunity to adapt to an uncertain environment, which later on helps in deftly tackling any unforeseen business challenges.
4. Indians Are All About Metrics:
Thanks to Aryabhatta, the founder of the number Zero, Indians have long been attributed to the myth that they are good at math. However, there is another way of looking at this.
Growing up in a country with a billion plus population, everything boils down to odds – be it gaining an admission to a nursery school or a Grad school to even exams for civil service jobs. Inherently growing up with odds as their only modus operandi, it can be compared to the lucrative subject of statistics that today falls under the more fancy category of Data Intelligence.
Incidentally, many organizations, irrespective of their origin country, have Data Intelligence as a major skill requirement for a modern CEO.
5. The Competitive Advantage
The Indian market is pretty wide and vast and is often the central hub for trade. The growth and opportunity the Indian market has to offer to foreign companies is tremendous. In order to enter the Indian market, Multinational companies need someone who knows the ins and outs of the market scenario – someone they can rely on to help in seamless and hassle-free operations within India. So, hiring a CEO based out of home country gives the company an extraordinary edge to propel and grow in the Indian landscape.
Conclusion:
The roles and responsibilities of a CEO are ever-changing and the ideal person taking up the role has to be a well-rounded individual who doesn’t just look after the operations of the organization, but also executes and propagates the vision of the company to the next level. He/she needs to analyze and look at the bigger picture when making an important decision.
Time and again, we have seen a CEO from an Indian origin proving their mettle on a global platform, and that growth isn’t stopping now.
Want to hire an Indian CEO for your Multinational Conglomerate? Get in touch with us today! Let’s talk!