Meera Sanyal
Meera, the former CEO and Chairperson of RBS India serves as a Board member for: Hilary Clinton’s International Council on Women’s Business Leadership; PRADAN, the not for profit empowering women in India; Liberals India for Good Governance and the Supervisory Board of Jaihind College. She is on the National Policy Committee for the AAP Party. Meera completed her MBA atINSEAD, France and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK).
“My Point of View” is an attempt to capture views of India’s best known business leaders and CEOs on leadership. This monthly feature would be circulated to <100,000 CXO community in our network. It intends to become an important source of learning for future leaders who can take a leaf out of insights shared by industry stalwarts and implement it in their businesses and careers.
Our Exclusive Interview:
What is your definition of a good leader?
A good leader is one who inspires her / his team to unite together successfully for a greater cause, and in doing so to help each individual in the team, maximize their potential
How do you think organizations should evaluate/measure “quality of leadership”?
By a balanced scorecard looking at tangible outcomes but also the culture, values and morale of the team
How can one improve one’s leadership skills?
By practice – participate in as many team activities as possible, and not always as a leader; learn from the successes and errors of others as well as your own
What are the three most important challenges in front of leaders in today’s times?
1) Dealing with the Complexity of the environment
2) Dealing with the need to provide results in a very short space of time
3) Finding the time and space to reflect
What in your views are most effective ways/techniques for grooming future leaders?
Create an enabling environment – a safe space, where young people feel confident to take up leadership challenges, in the knowledge that even if they fail, they will be given mentorship and further chances to succeed
When should a leader call it quits?
Never
Which leader in the Corporate world do you admire and why?
Dr E Sreedharan the father of the Delhi Metro and Dr Verghese Kurien of Amul are two leaders I admire greatly. Both visionaries, who each in his own way have transformed the lives of millions and shown a shining example of what “make in India” can stand for.