Ritesh Idnani on Global Leadership in a Digital Age

In essence, you work with people in both settings, so that’s the baseline for any leader: build a unique and consistent culture, foster trust, and have a common ambition that everyone works towards. Having said that, some additional layers come into consideration when leading a tech-driven global organisation compared to a more localised one.

Scale and complexity – A global setting necessitates robust systems and emotional intelligence (EQ) for managing operations, teams, collaboration, and decision-making. This is driven by significant factors such as cultural nuances, market conditions, and regulatory requirements, along with less critical factors like varied time zones. Global leaders must navigate market dynamics, competition, and geopolitical factors, requiring an integrative approach to strategy, risk management, and stakeholder engagement.
Innovation and technology – Because of a wider footprint, technology and leveraging it effectively play a more central role in building efficiencies, influencing strategic decision-making, building scalability, and enabling collaboration. Staying abreast of technological trends and implementing scalable solutions becomes vital for sustained success on a global scale.
Talent Management – Working with a global talent pool comprising more than 84 nationalities demands an employer brand and strategies that embrace a multicultural, inclusive environment, with key policies supporting remote and flexible work arrangements, as well as local factors. Effective collaboration hinges on fostering the right culture as much as implementing the right processes and policies. A cookie-cutter approach here will be the death of culture. However, it is also important to ensure consistency in the employee experience across geographies.

Increasingly, with rampant tech disruptions, location footprints will remain important but not as critical as in the past. Technology will become a significant equaliser, diminishing the competitive advantage once gained from having a large global presence. Companies will need to be innovative to stay competitive, regardless of whether they operate globally or locally.

I recall fondly that one of my earliest assignments was with the bank in Kolkata when I was a bright-eyed 23-year-old. I was sent from Mumbai to Kolkata to run the foreign exchange operations of the bank. The volumes there had grown five-fold, and the bank was at serious risk of running afoul of the regulators. My mandate was to fix the operation, put the requisite controls in place, and ensure we cleared a central bank audit successfully later in the year. Initially, I had no idea how the foreign exchange operations in the bank ran. To add to the complexity, this was a unionised operation, and the person I was replacing on the job was more than twice my age and significantly senior in the bank. That experience, among others, taught me to be extremely comfortable with ambiguity, which eventually became a superpower for me.

Therefore, I thrive in the possibilities that ambiguity can offer – I seek them out and leap to optimise them. In doing that, I have honed the adoption of an agile mindset. I believe speed is the enemy of perfection – get started and deliver something half-baked that can continue to evolve, rather than wait for it to be perfect and delayed. This mindset is further fuelled by technological advances – I don’t need to be at my desk to review a presentation. I integrate and leverage technology to build agility into my leadership style – I respond on the go and leverage data and analytics to make quicker informed decisions. I’ve also cultivated a continuous learning persona to stay on top of all the changes, trends, and disruptions.

As a leader, I am instilling a sense of urgency in everything we do at Firstsource so that we can truly go back to our stakeholders with that sense of responsiveness that they desire, while also fostering the mindset to leverage technology in everything we do.

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As digital technologies continue to evolve, global leadership will likely be shaped by several key trends, necessitating new skills and approaches for leaders of the future. Key among them are:

Increased connectivity and globalisation are shrinking the world, requiring leaders to manage global teams across time zones and cultures. The rise of remote and hybrid work demands adept virtual collaboration and engagement strategies to maintain team cohesion.
Greater reliance on automation and AI to streamline operations and improve decision-making by interpreting and utilising big data, embracing analytics, AI, and machine learning.
As digital reliance grows, so do cyber threats, necessitating a focus on cybersecurity and navigating ethical issues related to data privacy, AI, and automation through robust governance frameworks to ensure fair and responsible use of technology.
Rapid technological changes demand flexible, innovative leaders who can quickly adapt, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.
AI and automation will transform business operations, requiring leaders to manage the transition for impacted employees by ensuring retraining and upskilling opportunities. AI will not replace humans, but humans who use AI will replace humans who don’t leverage AI.
Diversity and inclusion in leadership to drive innovation and reflect global markets. Understanding and integrating diverse cultural perspectives in decision-making processes, to ensure a truly global perspective.
Emphasis on sustainable business practices and integrating them into core strategies. Leading with a focus on social responsibility and ethical practices to build brand trust and loyalty.

I think while the opportunities will continue to unfold and evolve, so must leaders. Paramount will be to lead by example. You can’t espouse the adoption of technology if you are challenged by technology yourself. I’d say leaders of the future must commit to lifelong learning, embracing both formal and informal education on technological advancements. Managing geographically dispersed teams requires cross-cultural competence, with skills in cultural intelligence and cross-cultural communication.

Building strong internal and external networks is crucial for driving innovation and providing crisis support. Leaders must prioritise ethical leadership, ensuring decisions reflect social responsibility, sustainability, and data privacy. Resilience and crisis management training are essential, along with developing robust contingency plans to mitigate risks. As technology integrates into the workplace, human skills like empathy and emotional intelligence are vital for connecting with and motivating teams, especially in virtual environments.

Irrespective of how many technological advancements shape the future of the workplace, the one consistent factor that will remain is that you will work with people – if you build a connection, lead by example, be adaptable, be authentic, and allow room for vulnerability – you’re unlikely to go wrong.

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