the new hr

These leveraged failures
are considered stepping
stones and there is no
punishment or negative
consequence for failures.
Rise philosophies, ensuring we can hire those
individuals who believe in the employee value
proposition of accepting alternative thinking and
driving positive change. All of it is interrelated to
our core purpose. We have identified five levels
of leaders—contributor, team leader, manager of
team leaders, manager of managers, and enterprise
leader. Firstly, we are clear about the level of people
we are looking for. Once we decide on it, we have
to consider leadership competencies, which form
an integral part of desired behaviour. We also
expect the person to bring a ‘whole brain thinking’
approach to the organisation. We want leaders who
can connect with people, manage
them, transform potential into
performance, and can create
an atmosphere in which there
is joy at work. For that, people
need to be multipliers and
possess mindfulness in this age of
distraction—critical for ‘whole
brain thinking’. Authenticity and
trust are also factors we consider
for developing behaviour intervention techniques.
The leaders at Mahindra Group are trained to ask
questions to their role models, and interventions
by skilled managers help people ask different types
of questions that provide maximum insight. We
employ psychometric instruments such as the
Harrison’s Paradox Assessment. It is also important
to set up checks that enable us to identify people
who have the right behaviour and the cultural
framework we are looking for. So, it is imperative
that we have the art and science of hiring people
who follow our philosophies.
Better leaders for better HR
We train people in ‘whole brain thinking’—in
order to ensure that it is driving positive change,
and we link it to our core purpose, which is all
about what difference we make in the lives of
people. There is also a reward mechanism in place
that encourages individuals to rise, right across
the organisation. Innovation awards in different
categories—products, purpose, services, ideas,
and field innovations—inspire our leaders to
help people manage fear and leverage failure.
These leveraged failures are considered stepping
stones and there is no punishment or negative
consequence for failures. What lessons have you
learnt from the innovations or failures, which you
have come across in your day-to-day actions? That is
the question we like future leaders to ponder. After
all, each top management executive and each line
30 INDIAN MANAGEMENT NOVEMBER 2015