Leaders in a Tight Fit

Corporate leadership in India is facing a reckoning. Productivity has dipped, workforces are stretched to breaking point, and unanticipated demands pile up with no end in sight. External factors, such as chaotic urban congestion, worsen matters. In Bangalore, for instance, a commuter wastes up to 10 days a year in traffic, battling an average speed of 10 kilometers in 34 minutes. Fatigue, both mental and physical, sets in before employees even clock in. Yet the real problem may not be traffic or staffing shortages but the leaders themselves.

India Inc.’s corporate leaders, ostensibly the decision-makers, appear increasingly out of touch with the realities faced by their employees. The failure to empower human resources and internal communications—functions that should be the custodians of organizational health—reveals a glaring leadership gap. These departments, charged with fostering transparency and engagement, are instead hamstrung by outdated directives and a chronic lack of support. The result is a culture of superficial initiatives and hollow promises. Communications teams churn out insipid platitudes instead of confronting hard truths, while HR’s strategies falter, unable to address the complexities of hybrid work or the strain of persistent understaffing.

If leadership is wearing the pants in the organization, it is fair to ask if they are the right pants. Many seem more interested in quick fixes to put out fires momentarily than systemic change. Feedback mechanisms, ostensibly designed to gather insights and improve morale, often backfire as employees witness no meaningful action in response. A generational clash compounds these challenges. Younger workers demand flexibility, purpose, and mental health support, while their older counterparts cling to notions of stability and predictability. Leadership, caught in the middle, seems paralyzed—neither agile enough to innovate nor decisive enough to lead.

The solutions are not mysterious, but they require courage—something currently in short supply. Flexible work policies could ease the burden of gruelling commutes. Strategic workforce planning could address staffing gaps, and robust mental health initiatives could transform workplaces into sanctuaries of productivity and well-being. Yet these are precisely the kinds of long-term investments that many leaders shy away from, preferring the illusion of control offered by micromanagement and outdated hierarchies.

The bigger problem, however, is the leadership mindset. There is a deep-seated reluctance to view HR and internal communications as anything more than support functions. This short-sightedness undermines their potential as strategic enablers capable of driving cultural and operational transformation. Dismissive comments and thoughtless decisions ripple through organizations, damaging morale, culture, and, ultimately, the brand itself.

India Inc.’s inefficiencies reflect a leadership crisis as much as an operational one. As highlighted by The Economic Times, systemic issues—ranging from overburdened teams to resistance to change—offer a mirror to leadership’s failings. What is needed is bold reinvention, but that begins with leaders asking themselves uncomfortable questions. Are they equipped to lead in today’s complex environment? Are they empowering their teams or merely issuing directives? Most importantly, are they wearing the right pants—or just the ones they’ve always worn?

Without a recalibration of priorities and an honest reckoning with their own limitations, corporate leaders risk perpetuating the very problems they claim to solve. The time to act is now, and the first step is recognizing that leadership is not about holding on to power but about earning it every single day.