‘A leader has to be trusted by all employees’

PRABAL CHAKRABORTY came on board Boston Scientific Company, an innovator in medical solutions business, almost four years ago and apart from general management his special focus is on leadership and development. Chakraborty believes that a leader needs to bring in a high level of integrity to be successful. Excerpts from an interview: How do you define a leader? A leader of any organisation is expected to anticipate and address the challenges that a business can face in a continuously challenging environment. A leader in today’s complex and competitive world should leverage opportunities that can take the organisation towards its desired goals. He/ she uses insights and experience to prepare the organisation to realise its full potential. What are the three most important traits of a leader? A leader should possess a clear business vision, strategic focus, and should be trustworthy. A clear vision is the steering force that every organisation needs to meet its mediumand long-term goals. Visionary leaders stay one step ahead of the curve because they are using foresight based on long experience to guide their organisations. Strategic focus is needed to determine business priorities, leverage opportunity, understand complexities in the environment and capitalise on diversity. Finally, a leader has to be trusted by all employees in an organisation because only trust can win the commitment needed to make the entire team deliver. How do you cultivate leaders? I think, the first step is to identify talent. At Boston Scientific, we have a process in place that helps us identify candidates with leadership potential. We continuously invest in talent that can develop into the future leadership of the organisation, to take the organisation forward. We place a lot of emphasis on diversity in leadership. Can leadership be learnt? In other words, how can a manager become a leader? There is a difference between a leader and a manager. A ‘manager’ optimises available resources to deliver the desired objective, whereas a leader envisions the future, inspires the team towards the vision, and drives flawless execution of the strategies. I believe that managers can be groomed and mentored to become leaders if they have a natural ability to learn continuously and develop themselves. Do you think the role of leaders has come under the cloud? I would put it differently by saying that the best leaders do not compromise on ethics and accountability. They bring a high level of integrity to their job. They can be trusted at all times. And this is the culture they build in the organisation they lead. Leaders have to often carry the cross of other’s wrong doings and inefficiencies? What role can good leadership play to counter balance this image? A leader always takes full accountability for anything that goes wrong in an organisation. Great leaders lead from the front and set an example for others to follow, including taking accountability for failure. Leaders inspire others to deliver and realise their full potential, and create a conducive environment for talent to grow and perform. What is your one-line leadership mantra? Understand the environment, be strategic and build the organisation and people accordingly. Who are the leaders that have inspired you? I am inspired by various kinds of leaders. I am inspired by the ability of Saurav Ganguly to challenge the status quo and inspire the team. I also admire the vision of Sir Jamsedji Tata for building India’s economy and industry. I am also inspired by the ability of Mahatma Gandhi to communicate a vision of free India and rally the nation to fight for it. What is the biggest leadership lesson that you have learnt? A leader has to be aware of the environment in which the organisation is doing business and steer the company accordingly. S/he has to identify the right talent, nurture it and take the team along. To sum it up, a leader should believe in the philosophy of ‘grow people, grow business’. What is the best leadership decision you have taken? There isn’t one leadership decision that I would term as the best, it is rather an ongoing process. But having said so, identifying the right talent and building a cohesive and strong team has strengthened my organisation. What is the worst leadership decision you have taken? I would say errors in judging talent have been setbacks sometimes.

A leader needs strategic focus to determine business priorities, leverage opportunity, understand complexities in the environment and capitalise on diversity