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Authors: Ravi Venkatesan
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agility and people
skills) greatly improved my own record. Let me explain.
The Key Traits of Country Managers
Courage may be the most important, scarce, and overlooked leadership characteristic. People
often emphasize authenticity and integrity, but courage seems more fundamental. By
courage, I mean the ability to think through complex situations and do what is right
rather than what is convenient or expedient. It is the ability to take calculated
risks and ask for forgiveness rather than permission. It is taking personal responsibility
for decisions and results, rather than blaming circumstances or others.
Such courage is a central characteristic of outstanding country managers and, indeed,
all leaders. That’s particularly important in India, because situations will arise
almost every week to test a country head. I recall several occasions when, in retrospect,
I wish I had shown greater courage. For instance, early in my career, I was the head
of a joint venture in which the agreement was one-sided; all start-up losses were
the responsibility of one partner, while profits were equally shared. The agreement
was wrong, it rankled our Indian partner, and it was therefore untenable in the long
run. Had I shown more leadership in calling this a bad agreement and renegotiating
it, I would have won more trust and respect from our partner. Instead, I took no responsibility
for it and allowed matters to come to a head. We recovered from that, rebuilt trust,
and the joint venture has been successful ever since. But my own behavior bothered
me. Why did I hesitate? Because it would have been extremely unpopular in the organization
I worked for; my managers might have concluded that I had gone native and trusted
me less, which might have affected my career. These worldly considerations took precedence
over doing what in my heart I knew to be right.
That taught me a powerful lesson, which I tried to absorb. Many years later, another
situation arose when one of our senior leaders concluded a deal with a major Indian
customer. The global business refused to honor the deal because the Indian executive
had exceeded her empowerment. This quickly became an issue of trust; how could the
customer trust a company that wouldn’t stand behind a commitment from a senior manager?
It would have been easy to hide behind the usual smokescreen of policies, empowerment
limits, and so on. However, the old lesson was fresh in my mind and I summoned the
courage to cut through the bureaucracy and appeal to the global CEO. Thanks to his
intervention, the company eventually stood by the agreement, which laid the foundation
of a major partnership in India.
There are many instances like this when country managers have to put their careers
on the line and do what is right. For instance, they may have to stand up to headquarters
and resist global edicts that make no sense in India, such as cutting 10 percent of
the workforce when the local market is growing at double-digit rates or refusing to
hire a candidate recommended by a senior politician. They may also have to stand up
for employees who may have angered visiting executives or terminated competent leaders
whose values didn’t fit those of the organization.
How do you look for evidence of courage? It’s a huge advantage if the person is already
an employee; you can observe behavior and know what his or her peers and subordinates
think. In external hiring, the interview and reference checks must zero in on the
issue with questions such as: Can you tell me about a situation where you showed uncommon
courage? What choices did you face? What was your dilemma? How did you act? Why did
that require courage? What were the consequences? What did you learn? The depth and
realism of the answers will be revealing.
Higher ambition is the second key trait of a country manager—the extraordinary inner drive to create
something
skills) greatly improved my own record. Let me explain.
The Key Traits of Country Managers
Courage may be the most important, scarce, and overlooked leadership characteristic. People
often emphasize authenticity and integrity, but courage seems more fundamental. By
courage, I mean the ability to think through complex situations and do what is right
rather than what is convenient or expedient. It is the ability to take calculated
risks and ask for forgiveness rather than permission. It is taking personal responsibility
for decisions and results, rather than blaming circumstances or others.
Such courage is a central characteristic of outstanding country managers and, indeed,
all leaders. That’s particularly important in India, because situations will arise
almost every week to test a country head. I recall several occasions when, in retrospect,
I wish I had shown greater courage. For instance, early in my career, I was the head
of a joint venture in which the agreement was one-sided; all start-up losses were
the responsibility of one partner, while profits were equally shared. The agreement
was wrong, it rankled our Indian partner, and it was therefore untenable in the long
run. Had I shown more leadership in calling this a bad agreement and renegotiating
it, I would have won more trust and respect from our partner. Instead, I took no responsibility
for it and allowed matters to come to a head. We recovered from that, rebuilt trust,
and the joint venture has been successful ever since. But my own behavior bothered
me. Why did I hesitate? Because it would have been extremely unpopular in the organization
I worked for; my managers might have concluded that I had gone native and trusted
me less, which might have affected my career. These worldly considerations took precedence
over doing what in my heart I knew to be right.
That taught me a powerful lesson, which I tried to absorb. Many years later, another
situation arose when one of our senior leaders concluded a deal with a major Indian
customer. The global business refused to honor the deal because the Indian executive
had exceeded her empowerment. This quickly became an issue of trust; how could the
customer trust a company that wouldn’t stand behind a commitment from a senior manager?
It would have been easy to hide behind the usual smokescreen of policies, empowerment
limits, and so on. However, the old lesson was fresh in my mind and I summoned the
courage to cut through the bureaucracy and appeal to the global CEO. Thanks to his
intervention, the company eventually stood by the agreement, which laid the foundation
of a major partnership in India.
There are many instances like this when country managers have to put their careers
on the line and do what is right. For instance, they may have to stand up to headquarters
and resist global edicts that make no sense in India, such as cutting 10 percent of
the workforce when the local market is growing at double-digit rates or refusing to
hire a candidate recommended by a senior politician. They may also have to stand up
for employees who may have angered visiting executives or terminated competent leaders
whose values didn’t fit those of the organization.
How do you look for evidence of courage? It’s a huge advantage if the person is already
an employee; you can observe behavior and know what his or her peers and subordinates
think. In external hiring, the interview and reference checks must zero in on the
issue with questions such as: Can you tell me about a situation where you showed uncommon
courage? What choices did you face? What was your dilemma? How did you act? Why did
that require courage? What were the consequences? What did you learn? The depth and
realism of the answers will be revealing.
Higher ambition is the second key trait of a country manager—the extraordinary inner drive to create
something
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