|
Media enquiries
should be directed to: (Please use this contact for media
enquiries only ).
Dr. Pragnya Ram
Group Executive President
Corporate Communications
Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited
Aditya Birla Centre
1st Floor, 'C' Wing
S.K. Ahire Marg
Worli
Mumbai 400 030.
telephone:
91-22-6652 5000 /
2499 5000
fax:
91-22-6652 5741/ 42
email: pragnya.ram@adityabirla.com
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| media
> press
reports |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just
Enough Anxiety
26 May 2008
|
Putting
Just Enough Anxiety (JEA) to work
|
 |
The way to get started is to quit talking
and begin doing.
—
Walt Disney, business innovator and founder
of Disney entertainment
Kumar Mangalam Birla was only twenty-eight
when he took the reins of the Aditya Birla
Group in Mumbai, India, due to the untimely
death of his father. Nobody expected him to
lead the company into the ranks of the Global
500. But that's exactly what he did.
The young Birla infused the Birla Group with
a passion for winning. He embraced Western
management methods, placed young MBAs in senior
positions, and abandoned his family's preference
for hiring fellow members of their marwari
business subcaste. In a culture committed
to saving face, Kumar bucked social mores
and began eliminating unprofitable businesses
and balancing tough decisions with respectful
benevolence. He shifted the company's focus
from fibre-based to ferrous metals and consolidated
each business. He institutionalised systems
and processes that enabled high-potential
managers to be entrepreneurs, and changed
management systems to emphasise merit rather
than seniority. He hired people he thought
were brighter than he was. And through it
all, Kumar balanced persistence with patience,
self-assurance with the willingness to learn
and today's reality with tomorrow's vision.
Through
his JEA leadership, Kumar has created a results-driven,
decentralised, and networked group of independent
companies, run by leaders he both trusts and
holds accountable for results. The Birla Group
employs 100,000 people worldwide and attracts
the best talent from all over the globe. More
than 50 per cent of its revenues come from
operations around the world.
His transformation of the family company into
a $24 billion conglomerate demonstrates Kumar's
understanding of how to generate just enough
anxiety to propel people forward. "Organisational
longevity requires that there be some level
of ferment and internal challenge, some level
of constant boil," he says. Yet "the
process is full of anxiety, uncertainty, and
silent suffering," and "leaders
need to be sensitised to these issues, to
create conditions that are conducive to continuous
learning."
Kumar also knows that generating too much
anxiety can be disastrous. You have to make
a "conscious decision to pace the change,"
he advises. "Initially, there was the
fear that if I rocked the boat too hard the
outcome would be worse than what it is now."
Today, however, adaptability is an inherent
part of the Birla culture. "Change is
in the organisational psyche, and it doesn't
create any disruptions anymore."
Despite his wealth, education, and power Kumar
remains a humble executive with great respect
for others. He's a mature, modern, modest
person with a sense of confidence and an unassuming
nature, a man with extraordinary aspirations
and self-awareness. He believes that when
employees underperform, a part of the fault
lies with their boss. "My leadership
style differs from my father's, but if he
were here today, I think he'd agree with everything
I'm doing," he says.
It was with his father in mind that the young
leader designed the Birla Group's first corporate
logo: a rising sun. The image was both a literal
translation of Aditya, his father's name,
and a unifying symbol for the rapidly growing
global organisation. According to Kumar, "The
sun embodies the values we stand for: its
journey is never ending, and we never stop
in our own search for excellence."
Here's a leader who thrives in uncertainty.
He lives comfortably in the present and the
future. He stretches his organisation while
creating an environment that is healthy and
collaborative. And he develops and mentors
others while continually learning himself.
He is a JEA leader.
Kumar Birla's leadership challenges are universal.
You may live in a different time zone, work
in a different industry or sector, have responsibility
for a larger or smaller organisation, or lead
a different kind of team. But the issue is
the same.
Your
challenge is to build a winning JEA organisation.
To do this, you need to get rid of the shackles
forged by old mental models and outdated leadership
methods. You need to understand how anxiety
affects you and your organisation and develop
new ways of thinking about uncertainty and
change. You need to chart and navigate the
gaps between where you are and where you want
to be. To develop an open mind and open heart.
To balance between too much and too little
anxiety. To live in paradox. These actions
will enable you to create just enough anxiety
and unleash the productive energy inside your
organisation.
| The
JEA leader's lens: The new way of looking
at leadership |
|
::
|
It's
time to embrace change, uncertainty,
and anxiety as facts of life. |
|
::
|
We
can use our healthy anxiety as a positive
force for growth. |
|
::
|
Just
enough anxiety is the key to living
and leading in our complex world. |
The ability to live and lead with just enough
anxiety is the great differentiator. You see
the world through a fresh lens. This enables
you to travel into the unknown (leadership)
and manage change and uncertainty (strategy).
It helps you inspire and challenge people
to stretch into their discomfort zone and
perform beyond their expectations (engagement).
Just enough anxiety enables you to imagine
possibilities and discover opportunities (innovation)
to expand your business (growth). This translates
into increased profitability and sustainable
value creation. It is the proven formula for
building a winning JEA organisation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
