Where is the time for Business focus?(GCC Series)

At a recent Global conference focused on Global Technology companies with Global Capability Centers (GCC) in India, I was unexpectedly witness to the conversation taking an interesting turn. The moderator asked the panelists what they expected next from their India centers. I was surprised to hear a few answers that essentially boiled down the fact that Indian GCCs needed to exhibit higher value. I remember when I was part of a GCC over 10 years ago, one of our major goals was to move beyond cost arbitration towards value creation. Ten years on, the problem persists.

Now I am certain that there are many captive centers based in India that have made progress to go beyond being a mere low-cost center for their US/UK based companies. However, there are many more who haven’t. I have also observed through my coaching conversations that there is a desire on all sides to make that progress. The parent organization wants their India-based leader to be an equal player in taking forward or even defining the strategy for the global organization, and progressive leaders in India definitely want this to happen as well.

Several leadership development themes focus on transitioning to being a business leader, developing the ability to influence decisions globally, learning to assert their view point and opinion, etc. There is no lack of intellect or intent here, and yet the transition is slow. Why is that?

For years, we have focused on local challenges and local needs as leaders. Hiring, training, retaining – These and other such processes take up a large part of the leader’s time and mind space. To the extent that even a majority of the conversation in business reviews focuses on these topics. There is even more time spent in performance tracking, metrics reviews, problem solving, and if there is any time left, it’s entirely swallowed up in tedious and often non-essential tasks like replying to emails and attending meetings.

So, where is the time and focus on business? Where is the emphasis on future planning and constant reevaluation and realigning? The big picture ends up shrinking in the face of the smaller, every-day tasks. Clearly, the conversation needs to change at all levels, especially at senior levels. 

Some would, of course, complain that the parent organization does not want to let go. The question here is, what steps have we really taken to actually prove we can take the helm? It’s important for India-based leaders to show that global companies can instill their trust in us. Retaining your job, and even getting promotions and raises no longer spells value addition. What truly highlights the value of a leader is how she/he constantly strives to change the game.

Here are a few possible steps:

Learn from organizations and leaders who have made it

With India increasingly becoming the GCC capital with organizations expect value addition in terms of everything from cyber security for IT firms to R&D and technological development for pharma companies, it’s clear that there are positive examples of India’s prowess in the area. From the pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline recruiting tech performance leads, to Motorola India leading the way in software quality practices and companies like Adobe and Intel witnessing ground-breaking product development out of India – Research and innovation led practices from these disruptive companies can set a benchmark for leaders in India’s GCCs.

Learn to let go and groom the next two levels

As leaders grow in their own roles, and gradually move up to higher, more global roles, it’s important to understand the art and importance of delegation. A great example of this is India based MNC’s where strategic roles are being managed locally, and where there is enough leadership depth that Indians are managing revenue streams. It is imperative at every juncture to replenish the pool of local leaders who master ownership and accountability to consistently deliver global-level results.

Wipro is the epitome of Indian tech success overseas. Providing consulting services, IT solutions and business process services, the company is a case study for the amazing strategic advantage offered by aggressive diversification. With a strong senior leadership team largely from India, Wipro also hosts over 20 innovation centers across the world. Alongside these are multiple digital and design pods across the globe which have only spread and strengthened the Wipro footprint. Such companies can indeed set an example for innovation and strategy-based growth.

Learn from Indian technology product companies who have made it big

The best example of India based Technology is the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Exceeding expectations, this five year old digital payment medium has even surpassed the likes of seasoned players such as Mastercard, Visa, as well as Amex; clocking in 18 billion transactions, annually. Be it BHIM UPI, Google Pay, PayTm, or PhonePe, putting Asia on the forefront of digital innovation, apps built on the UPI technology are registering much higher success rates. And while card and cheque payments are still prevalent in some countries, in the next three years, it has been predicted that UPI will overtake the major players in the space of digital payments.

Having said all this, I sincerely hope that when I attend another GCC meeting few years from now, that I witness a more effusive and encouraging acknowledgement of value creation from the GCCs based out of India.