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Show Notes
Santosh Naidu is based in Bangalore, India. Santosh is a management consultant and an executive coach. He has specialised in the service industry for more than 23 years. For the last ten years, he has been running a consulting practice that includes coaching people on their strengths and solving problems in the “new post-pandemic Digi-world”.
Change is always a constant, and his focus is on making change meaningful and relevant.
Santosh started being an executive coach at a young age. In India, it's usual that older executives or business leaders would take on the executive coach role. His style was more akin to a western style. He had worked as a telemarketer at age 16 so that he could fund his education. Therefore he knew at a young age he knew that a focus on strengths is the key to personal success.
As a part of the strengths equation, it is important how individuals deal with failure.
At a young age, he was a racket ball state champion. He knew what his strengths were, and he learned how to deal with failure.
Therefore it was easy to try something new which played to his strengths.
As a result of this, when GE Capital was set up in India under Jack Welch, he provided a Global support service for GE, which played to his strengths. This was the very beginning of the outsourcing world.
Ten years ago, after working in various countries and accumulating different accreditation and qualifications, he understood that people were increasingly being treated like robots.
The Gallup strengths profile aligned with his beliefs around leadership philosophy. It was a perfect combination of traditional Indian culture and western management thinking.
Strengths are the way forward in life.
Only 1 in 5 employees are engaged at work. Their strengths are not being leveraged.
The Jack Welsh approach was dated, and the focus was to try and get the best from an engaged workforce.
An engaged and productive workforce can create a happy client base, which can be more powerful for the business than a successful marketing campaign.
Ever-changing trends and prejudices tend to govern our lives. Herd mentality takes over. Experiences and education are put aside.
Don’t rely on psychometric tests.
Leveraging strengths leads to taking advantage of life's Johari windows.
The steps to focus on strengths are Unload (unlearning), Reload and Launch.
India produces 12 to 15 million English-speaking graduates each year. Social media and digital payments have transformed business in India. The changes were accelerated during the pandemic.
65% of the population is less than 35 years of age. There is a lot of entrepreneurial spirit for creating new businesses and opportunities.
Government funding has increased in India. Up to 20% of grant applicants receive some funding and help from the government.
There is still a lot of untapped capacity for great ideas. Great ideas need critical thinking, problem-solving and a methodology to help them get to market.
Alternatively, in the quest for a young workforce, businesses are grappling with what to do with employees who have 20+ years of experience. Most companies want a young workforce. They can hire them at a lower rate and keep costs down.
India is now the 4th largest economy in the world.
Most geo-political issues cannot be solved quickly. However, by leveraging our strengths and talents, we can focus on solving some of the world’s most pressing problems of our times. This will be the way for humans to keep living on this planet.
Current leadership challenges:
Maintaining or increasing productivity by having a team working in a hybrid work environment.
Wellbeing: Formerly, this was about financial metrics and having a great career. The pandemic has taught us that health is essential and needs to be taken seriously. Well-being has a family, friends and community aspect associated with well-being. Are you smiling, struggling or suffering?
How and what do I do to try and keep my mission and vision on track to deliver for my customers? Showering employees in benefits is not the answer. Giving them roles that leverage their strengths is more rewarding for the individual and the business.
Avoid the glitz and focus on what is essential. Do what is important.
In Summary:
Integration: bringing parts together to make something new. Integrating skills and knowledge. Integration of leadership challenges and making them work together and create balance.
Strengths: Rely on your strengths and be open to learning new things. Leadership needs to help employees bring out their strengths and encourage personal growth.
Problem-Solving: Many problems are related to people underperforming; they are sitting on the sidelines and disengaged. Helping people focus on their strengths increases engagement, and people feel appreciated.