Speaker Mukesh Sharma, Business Head of Tech Mahindra (China & Japan), urges MBA students to become game changers
25 JULY, 2020: The office of the one-year Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) at IIM Bangalore hosted a talk on ‘Strategic Leadership in Turbulent Times’, by Mr. Mukesh Sharma, Business Head of Tech Mahindra, China and Japan region, today as part of the EPGP Seminar Series.
Connecting with the class in virtual mode, Mukesh, an early alumnus of the EPGP at IIMB, said: “I think the EPGP 2020-21 batch (participants come from sectors like Energy – Oil & Gas, Auto, IT Services, BFSI Consulting, R&D) is diverse. Two persons from the Class of 2013 have been working with us at Tech Mahindra in Shanghai and Canada. It would be interesting to meet up with this class in person.”
Recalling that after 11 years of working with Maruti Suzuki in New Delhi when he got admission into IIMB’s EPGP program, Mukesh said he was forced to move out of his comfort zone and is glad he did because the rigor of the programme at IIMB has stood him in good stead, professionally.
Ambition & Ownership
Chronicling his learnings from the MBA programme, the market and his clients, Mukesh said turbulent times are the norm. Naming leaders like Ajaypal Singh Banga, CEO of MasterCard, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and others who are driving business in turbulent times, he said their high strategic leadership – combining aspiration and ambition – is what sets them apart. “To become a strategy business leader, evaluate every decision using the matrix of competence and attractiveness of the opportunity. You will be mostly playing in the zone where the opportunity is high but competence is low. I also greatly value what I learnt from my professors in IIMB: that the third axis – ambition and risk-taking ability – are important for strategic leadership.” Ambition, he said, is all about taking ownership.
Strategic leadership, whether you are a manager, leader or entrepreneur, is about engaging with change, setting directions and persuading others by creating lobbying points. “It’s important to take people along and make them believe in your dreams,” he observed, defining this as the most important leadership challenge.
Using the example of Jack Ma of Ali Baba who, he said, has the extensive ability to persuade governments, employees, and alliance partners, he said it is this skill that leads to the creation of a multi-billion dollar business.
Dwelling on the challenges of changing one’s career path, Mukesh used his own example (from a Tier 1 position in Auto R&D to a Tier 2 or Tier 3 position in Business & Sales in IT after his MBA) to highlight the challenges of such a transition. “The path ahead will be tough. You may probably not go up but down in the first few months. Be prepared.”
Moving on to the experience of working in different geographies and different cultural, he said strategic leadership is about creating high local talent/ competence which is relevant to your business. “When you do this, you get to influence the strategy of the headquarters, something that a country like China excels at doing,” he explained.
The ‘COTE’ Leader
On the subject of turbulence, he said strategic leaders are those who handle pressure with confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm (COTE). They take responsibility for their action. “Fitness is an important factor which enables you to be confident, optimistic, tenacious and enthusiastic, so stay physically fit and mentally strong, especially in turbulent times,” he added.
Talking about the need to “put all eggs in one basket”, Mukesh said only that can drive ambition and performance. He also urged his listeners to network and make themselves “known”, train themselves to cross rivers (read obstacles), develop 2 a.m. courage, become game changers and develop a passion for excellence in order to lead in turbulent times.
Speaker Mukesh Sharma, Business Head of Tech Mahindra (China & Japan), urges MBA students to become game changers
25 JULY, 2020: The office of the one-year Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) at IIM Bangalore hosted a talk on ‘Strategic Leadership in Turbulent Times’, by Mr. Mukesh Sharma, Business Head of Tech Mahindra, China and Japan region, today as part of the EPGP Seminar Series.
Connecting with the class in virtual mode, Mukesh, an early alumnus of the EPGP at IIMB, said: “I think the EPGP 2020-21 batch (participants come from sectors like Energy – Oil & Gas, Auto, IT Services, BFSI Consulting, R&D) is diverse. Two persons from the Class of 2013 have been working with us at Tech Mahindra in Shanghai and Canada. It would be interesting to meet up with this class in person.”
Recalling that after 11 years of working with Maruti Suzuki in New Delhi when he got admission into IIMB’s EPGP program, Mukesh said he was forced to move out of his comfort zone and is glad he did because the rigor of the programme at IIMB has stood him in good stead, professionally.
Ambition & Ownership
Chronicling his learnings from the MBA programme, the market and his clients, Mukesh said turbulent times are the norm. Naming leaders like Ajaypal Singh Banga, CEO of MasterCard, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and others who are driving business in turbulent times, he said their high strategic leadership – combining aspiration and ambition – is what sets them apart. “To become a strategy business leader, evaluate every decision using the matrix of competence and attractiveness of the opportunity. You will be mostly playing in the zone where the opportunity is high but competence is low. I also greatly value what I learnt from my professors in IIMB: that the third axis – ambition and risk-taking ability – are important for strategic leadership.” Ambition, he said, is all about taking ownership.
Strategic leadership, whether you are a manager, leader or entrepreneur, is about engaging with change, setting directions and persuading others by creating lobbying points. “It’s important to take people along and make them believe in your dreams,” he observed, defining this as the most important leadership challenge.
Using the example of Jack Ma of Ali Baba who, he said, has the extensive ability to persuade governments, employees, and alliance partners, he said it is this skill that leads to the creation of a multi-billion dollar business.
Dwelling on the challenges of changing one’s career path, Mukesh used his own example (from a Tier 1 position in Auto R&D to a Tier 2 or Tier 3 position in Business & Sales in IT after his MBA) to highlight the challenges of such a transition. “The path ahead will be tough. You may probably not go up but down in the first few months. Be prepared.”
Moving on to the experience of working in different geographies and different cultural, he said strategic leadership is about creating high local talent/ competence which is relevant to your business. “When you do this, you get to influence the strategy of the headquarters, something that a country like China excels at doing,” he explained.
The ‘COTE’ Leader
On the subject of turbulence, he said strategic leaders are those who handle pressure with confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm (COTE). They take responsibility for their action. “Fitness is an important factor which enables you to be confident, optimistic, tenacious and enthusiastic, so stay physically fit and mentally strong, especially in turbulent times,” he added.
Talking about the need to “put all eggs in one basket”, Mukesh said only that can drive ambition and performance. He also urged his listeners to network and make themselves “known”, train themselves to cross rivers (read obstacles), develop 2 a.m. courage, become game changers and develop a passion for excellence in order to lead in turbulent times.