the new hr

Workspace designs may seem inconsequential, but they speak volumes about
the leaders who inhabit them and their ways of functioning.
Aparna Piramal Raje, Author, Working out of the box
Office
design
Through the
workplace prism
Business leaders are often
assessed in terms of the big
picture—their business strategy
and vision, and their ability
to drive change and deliver
results. While these ‘outside-in’
descriptions may give an insight
into their capabilities, they do not always capture
their personality, their individual ways of working,
or the everyday nuances of their leadership
abilities. I came across this insight while writing
Head Office, my monthly column in a leading
business daily (which grew into my first book,
Working Out of the Box: 40 stories of leading CEOs).
Inside-out portraits
The column began five years ago in an attempt to
distill how chief executives work—what they read,
how they use technology, how they interact with
their colleagues, and what motivates them—and to
explore the connections between their work styles
and workspaces.
I was keen to profile business leaders from the
‘inside-out’ and the goal was to present them at
a human scale, where readers feel as though they
were standing next to us, in the corner office.
It is apparent that India’s business leadership is
changing in visible ways. One size no longer fits
all: the stereotypical image of a chief executive
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