Indians have an Anglo-Saxon mind and a Latin heart

Having spent 28 years in executive search, when Claudio Fernandez-Araoz says that the way companies build their talent pool needs to change, it's time to pay attention. A senior advisor at global executive search firm Egon Zehnder, Fernandez-Araoz has authored two books on talent management, Great People Decisions and the recently released It's Not the How or the What but the Who: Succeeding by Surrounding Yourself with the Best.

Talking to Corporate Dossier from Buenos Aires, Fernandez-Araoz says that the tradition of focusing on high performers isn't necessarily in the best interests of the organization. "Having done executive search for so long, I've realised that enormous value can be created if you have the right leaders at the top," he says.

Rather than looking for the high performers, he suggests a better approach is to look for high potential individuals and develop them for leadership roles. According to Fernandez-Araoz, there are five aspects to a high potential leader. "The most important thing is the right motivation, a paradoxical blend of commitment and humility. The person has to be committed to creating something larger than himself for non-selfish reasons," he says.

The other important factors are curiosity, insight, engagement and determination. He cites the example of Jack Welch, who, even after retiring from GE would end up asking more questions than answering at lectures he'd give senior executives. "The best CEOs remain curious throughout life. They also know how to use logic to go through the information they collect to separate the signal from the noise in this complex world," he says.

Further, a high performer is likely to be closely engaged with people's hearts and minds and show determination in driving large challenging objectives in good times and bad. "One reason why Indians are doing so well in global leadership roles is because they possess these factors. They are used to crisis management and dealing with adversity. I define them as having an Anglo-Saxon (logical) mind and a Latin (warm) heart - and thankfully, not the other way around," says Fernandez-Araoz.

Of course, doing this isn't necessarily easy. "Talent-spotting is going to get more difficult and companies will need innovative strategies to get it right," he says. Yun Jong-Yong who transformed Samsung from a semiconductor business to a global consumer powerhouse, did exactly that. He was the first person to place less emphasis on academic pedigree, hiring high potential students from outside Seoul's top two universities unlike the others, and actively increasing the number of women employees at all levels.

Fernandez-Araoz feels that India is well placed to take advantage of this opportunity given that it is a hotbed of innovative practices at the bottom of the pyramid. "I've seen some very creative HR strategies and a lot of discipline at that level, be it the Infosys training campus or the blanket offers Tata Consultancy Services makes to every member of the graduating class at institutes which have offered it the best results in the past," he says.

While the bottom of the pyramid may be secure, some work needs to be done at the top. Companies need to have outstanding boards that can add value on strategic decisions.

Priyanka Sangani, ET Bureau Jul 18, 2014, 08.00AM IST