How do you become a winning manager? The secret to this was disclosed by Mr. Saugata Gupta, CEO – Consumer Products, Marico Ltd at Horizons 2007, the annual management conclave of IIM Kozhikode. Drawing on his experience over the last 15 years, Mr. Gupta distilled his learnings for the benefit of the students who hung onto his every word.
What do B-Schools not teach you?
Executional Excellence: Conceptualizing and strategizing is all well and good but unless these are translated into results you’re not adding any value to your company. To convert a plan into action needs discipline and this will go a long way in determining your success in an organization. You’ve got to start from the basics and get your hands dirty.
Managing Relationships at Work: Impression management plays a big part in your success at work. How do your senior, peers and reports perceive you? As a manager, you need to get the best out of your reports. A combination of empathy and respect will help you achieve this. Influencing your non reports ie., seniors and peers is another tricky matter. Practicing a one minute elevator pitch helps here. Always know exactly what you’re doing in the company.
Managing Ambiguity: 85% of Indian MBAs are engineers and have trouble dealing with solutions that are not black or white. You need to remember that all business decisions cannot be put into excel sheets. Sometimes you need to act on your gut feeling and take calculated risks with milestones for stop loss. Therefore have a team with diverse backgrounds and learn how to anticipate change.
What should you do in the first few years of your career?
Learn, Learn, Learn: Learn or you’re extinct. You need to know the business model of the organization you are working in completely. A good part of the learning you do comes from listening and asking the right questions. Your relationship with the organization is not a transactional one, instead focus on being an engaged member as this will help you extract the maximum out of your first few years.
Add Value: Do not be satisfied in remaining a cog in the wheel, instead concentrate on consciously adding value to the company. Support functions are important but the people who are most successful in their careers actively search for and take part in roles which create value for the company. Therefore when joining your first job after B-School, make sure that the role you take up is vital to the functioning of that organization.
Celebrate Mistakes: Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Unless you fail you will never know what you’re capable of. Ask yourself what you’re doing differently everyday. Innovation is a big driver of growth. Companies want you to experiment and take risks. So stop playing it safe. Always remember that your determination to succeed needs to be greater than your fear of failure.
What’s the recipe for long term Success?
- Find out quickly what you are passionate about and set about doing that. You need to look forward to going to work everyday. Therefore don’t let peer pressure derail you. Placements aren’t everything. The real measure of success is not on Day Zero but 5 or 10 years down the line.
- Set your personal goal. Goals are dreams with deadlines. Have a 3-5 year horizon while setting them. Your goals should be out of reach but not out of sight.
What are the traits of a Winning Manager?
Patience: Success doesn’t come overnight. Stick to your guns.
Resilience: Happens only when you face failure. So make mistakes!
Openness: Transparency and integrity will win you the respect of your peers.
Humility: A little humility goes a long way in creating lasting relationships.
Positive Attitude: Infectious Optimism will differentiate you from others.
Always remember: Your chances of winning increase depending on how badly you want to win!
Very nice passage..Enjoyed reading …