-- As leaders, what is our primary responsibility? Growth? Performance? Delivering results? But in a world defined by AI & technological disruption, shifting business models, and changing workforce expectations, one could argue that mere performance is no longer enough. I guess the real job of leadership today is simpler—and perhaps harder: build teams that know how to learn. Because skills expire. Strategies shift. Only learning endures. Yet despite lakhs spent on training,

- - Introduction As corporate governance evolves from being just a statutory necessity to becoming a true driver of value creation, Human Resources (HR) has steadily found its rightful place on the agenda of corporate Boards. Today , Boards devote significant attention to HR matters not merely as compliance issues but as strategic levers that shape long-term performance and sustainability. The HR-related areas that regularly feature on the Board’s agenda include: Leadership—

Companies ostensibly trying to drive a performance culture with calibration and forced ranking systems end up with serious, negative unintended consequences. The result? Mismatched and unmet expectations, demotivated employees and a process where everyone including leaders are relieved that its done with for the year . How did we get it so wrong? Let's examine this at 3 levels : 1. Context of Calibration 2. Pay for Performance 3. Organisation Performance 1. Isn’t calibration

-- After a career break of nearly ten years, my friend Radha decided to return to work. I was genuinely happy for her. She had given up her career soon after her marriage and had long resented that decision. Once her son moved to higher classes, she felt it was time to reclaim her professional life and rejoin her former employer. A couple of weeks later, I checked in on her. She mentioned there was just one problem. Her husband, Muthukumar, returned home by 6 p.m., while she

-- Leadership is often inferred from roles, résumés, and results. Yet its true quality becomes visible only when circumstances remove predictability. This reflection explores why mentoring matters before that moment arrives. Leadership is often described in terms of competence, capability, or experience. Yet many of us intuitively recognise that leadership is something more elusive—embedded, situational, and often invisible until it is tested. It is like culture, any number o

A practical guide for professionals — and the managers who support them - - Most of us are told we should “have a development plan.” Performance management systems force us to put something! Too often, development plans become lists of training programs, generic competencies are ticked - annual HR paperwork that quietly dies after the appraisal cycle. Real development doesn’t work that way. Unfortunately, few are shown how to build a development plan that actually accelerates

The workplace of today moves at unprecedented speed. Technology advances daily, market dynamics shift rapidly, and the knowledge that made us experts yesterday may become obsolete tomorrow. The traditional model of knowledge flowing downward from senior to junior employees is not just outdated—it's counterproductive. The future belongs to organizations that harness collective intelligence and create fluid exchanges of expertise across all levels. The Cost of Knowledge Hoardin

Rethinking How Organizations View Development -- What is the right Question? Have you ever been left wondering, “Are we asking the right question?” As an HR professional, I have often been asked by business leaders about the ROI of a training programme or any developmental input. Business leaders tend to view any expenditure on any part of the business as either a cost or an investment—so if you can't come up with an ROI, the amount quickly moves to a cost item, which is then

The streaks of grey in my unshaven face made me smile. A voice within bantered with me. It said, "Those whites are reminders of a lifetime you spent in the corporate world. Tell me what you have learned." If there's one learning I am sure about, it's this — real progress begins with openness. Fresh ideas are born in unexpected places. Progress happens when we listen more, judge less. This mindset creates fairer systems, knowledge flow, and collective success. In today's inter

-- Scaling an organization is often romanticized as a thrilling ascent—more customers, more revenue, more impact. But beneath the surface lies a complex web of tensions, trade-offs, and transformation. Leaders navigating this terrain must do more than manage growth—they must evolve the very DNA of their organizations while preserving what made them successful in the first place. First, what is scaling and how different is it from growth? Two of entrepreneurs’ favourite topics

Developing future leaders is a priority for most organizations. In fact, almost every competency framework includes “developing subordinates,” “building successors,” or “nurturing the next generation of leaders.” Leaders at every level emphasize its importance, and companies invest significantly in leadership development efforts. These investments usually include defining leadership competency models, running assessment centers to identify high potentials, partnering with con

Leadership has been described in countless ways—vision, influence, execution, character. Each has its merit, and in practice, all have...

Why is leadership development in small businesses important and different? “ Every business is a story of risk, resilience, and the...

Hello folks, Good to catch up again! We have witnessed an eventful July- a trade deal signed with the UK, lay-offs announced by some tech...