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The Rediff Business Interview/Ian Frederick

'In bad economic times, competitive edge comes through human resources. Not many Indian companies seem to understand this'

Ian Frederic, regional head (Asia and Africa), Leadership Management International that is known for its performance development programmes, has a piece of advice for managers who habitually work well past the late hours. Pack your bags at the end of the office hours, get out and see the sun set, play a game of golf or just relax.

An entrepreneur himself, Frederick does not accept the mindset that says that only when you work your butt off do you get great performances. "If you work long hours every day of the week you cannot be a top performer," he says.

Frederic was in India recently to deliver a lecture on Bridging the Leadership Gap. Excerps from an interview to Chris Ann Fichardo.

Do you think Indian managers have the skills to deal with an economic recession?

The skills that the Indian manager has are more than adequate; it's the attitude that needs to be changed.

I question the fact that we are in a recession. I think it's more of an adjustment. India has gone from a controlled economy only seven years ago to a deregulated economy. The people in key positions have not been able to develop the leadership skills required to take their company and their country into the new millennium.

What astonishes me is that it takes no more than 60 seconds to find out what the problem in this country is, but no one is talking about the opportunities and yet the opportunities are growing.

Yes, things have changed, I'll accept that, but the opportunity is probably greater now, but everybody is focusing on what is not there, the old times; we've to look to the future and that's the challenge.

I don't like the word management; it's an old term and comes from the days of managing men. It's a controlling terminology.

There is no longer a controlling environment and so no longer is management the management of men, it is the management and supply of resources, it is the system for people to be able to perform to give the desired results! They are the two key elements of management.

Leadership is taking the people into the innovative format. Using the human resources, managements have to reach a new horizon. This calls for talent. Companies should recognise the people aspect of their business.

But in a country like India where labour is cheap, do you think that Indian companies consider their people as an asset?

From those who I have spoken to, I don't think they realise this. There are exceptions though, like Seimens for example. They are not making money and yet they are committed to the ongoing development of their people in these bad economic times because they recognise the fact that their competitive edge will come through their people.

But I don't think this understanding exists across the board. If it does not change then all you do is lose your competitive edge in the international market.

How do Indian managers compare with their counterparts in other Asian countries?

Extraordinarily well. Two or three years ago I was quite blown away with the entrepreneurship managers here display when given the licence. Another example is the ability to swing into resources like the Internet for example. Three years ago if you went to the managers in India and the managers in Singapore, the ratio of those having an email address was 5:1. Mind you, Singapore is very sophisticated. So I think there are areas where the talent is extremely high and the ability is comparable to international standards.

Where is the Indian manager going wrong?

The first one is the expectation that people go to work and stay there for hours on end. There is no question of getting good productivity if this continues. Secondly, the Indian manager is unwilling to delegate. There is a martyr syndrome, I must have lots of work, I must be very busy, if I work seven days a week I must be a good manager. This is balderdash! You know that 20 per cent of the things you do give 80 per cent of the results. And it is that remaining 20 per cent that separates the managers from the leaders.

Management will try and grab the 20 per cent you have not got and try and do something with it. A leader will let it fall over or delegate it to someone else to achieve.

They have an Asian mindset. The Chinese too are like-minded: they are brought up with the mindset that if you work your butt off you get results. The real correlation is: if you work long hours every day of the week you cannot be a top performer.

What are the strengths of the Indian manager that make him stand out?

Indian managers know what needs to be done. The ones I have been exposed to are very well educated. They have a strong affiliation either to their alumni or organisations and they are very committed.

But this strength is also their weakness because as your strength you are prepared to put in the hours, but the weakness of that is they get you rundown. Managers lose their productivity, you cannot put in hours and hours and hours and expect to be productive. So the managers' strength turns into their weakness.

What does it take for a manager to become a superstar, so to say?

In a lot of ways, superstar managers already exist in India, but the fundamentals are going to be determined by what the organisation is committed to. And the commitment has to be in three areas: firstly, people are an investment, not a cost and that's a paradigm change. Secondly, that at all levels we can learn from each other (what we call a learning organisation). Thirdly, learn from mistakes and that it is okay to make mistakes. The superstars of tomorrow will have those three fundamentals locked into their vision and the talent they have around them. Those will be the superstars!

Photographs by Jewella C Miranda.

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