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BOOK REVIEWspecial feature58Name of Book : Dare to LeadAuthor : Dr. Anil K. Khandelwal, Former Chairman & Managing Director, Bank of BarodaPublished by : SAGE PublicationsPages : 401Price : ` 795/-Reviewed by : Dr. R. Bhaskaran, CEO, IIIBFGiven his academic qualification and his long association with specialization in HR aspectsas a core faculty in the training system, Dr. Anil Khandelwal by his own admission wasnot a career banker. This self declared deficiency was more than compensated by his “manmanagement” skills. The narration “Dare to Lead” is more about his efforts and methodologiesadopted when he was the ED and CMD of Bank of Baroda.One of the defining aspects of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) is that while market dynamicsand competition are common to all banks, organization, pay scales and work ethics ofPSBs is entirely different and often a constraint unlike private sector and foreign banks.Pre VRS the PSBs had witnessed many issues relating to performance, spending toomuch time on union / association activities, interfering in transfers etc. Business was notthe focus. For all these issues the catch phrase for management in those days was'Manage Tactfully”. It was the time that PSU banks had just started implementing theInformation Technology. This is the background under which Dr. Khandelwal started hischange leadership.While good Managers would extract better performance from available resources, a trueleader would achieve the same by changing the way people with him think and motivatingthem to such an extent that they will love to work with him more for the sheer joy of beingassociated with him rather than any other material incentive. An environment of deepmistrust can be converted into an environment of trust with the stamp of authenticity andcandor. Leaders understand the psyche of groups and individuals and make them developa personal stake in any change process. Leadership is not about power and perquisitesbut all about decision making, owning responsibility and mobilizing human effort. “The speedof the train depended on the speed of the engine”. These thought processes get displayedin this absorbing narrative.In his approach to implement the change, Dr. Khandelwal had the advantage of his longstint in HR functions and introduced various new initiatives to directly approach the employee'sside-stepping the established trade unions which were obstructive. However, he ensuredthat there is no acrimony by showing through his behaviour that all his actions are motivatedto improve the functioning of the bank in the interest of one and all. He was lucky in thisimportant activity to have a Carte Blanche from his board of directors.The journey of transformation is never an easy one. Persons generally are averse to changesince it disturbs their settled way of life. While some with organisational support are vociferous,some use other subtle methods to oppose to the extreme example of sabotaging the plan whilesupporting the same orally.July - September 2011The Journal of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance