Taylor
& Francis India Moves to Improve -
Leadership Lesson from Ignite, Issue 6, 2015
Nitasha Devasar, Managing
Director, Taylor & Francis India believes that every aspect of life has
leadership lessons to offer. Here she talks about the importance of team
engagement and involvement. These lessons are applicable to any sphere of work
and we share them with you.
As an organization that has grown
very rapidly over the last five years or so, the search for appropriate
premises to house our burgeoning staff and meet our growing infrastructural
needs had been gaining momentum for some time. When I took over as MD about 20
months ago I was told that locating an appropriate new workspace and moving
should be on my agenda with a time line of about 18 months or so.
This
is the story of our shifting to new offices and of the leadership lessons we
learnt in the process. Anyone who has had to go through the experience (of
moving house or office) will wonder why we feel the story of our move is worth
sharing. First of all because right from the beginning the shift to new offices
was not just a move for the practical reasons cited above. We saw it as a major
business move, a platform for future growth for Taylor & Francis India, a
‘move to improve’. Secondly, and more subtly, it was also a major leadership
journey, a transition and growth in the leadership quotient of the
organization.
So ‘move to improve’ became the
mantra and the first task was to get all employees to buy in and share this
conviction. The challenges were immense, we had eight weeks to renovate and
move and the timing coincided both with our year end (always a tough time from
the viewpoint of the business) and with the onset of the Christmas holidays,
leaving no scope for extensions.
In leadership terms, the vision on
the top had to be shared to gain engagement and involvement, which then had to
translate at the ground level to planning, coordination and implementation. A
‘Move Committee’ was set up a few months before the move and the contours of
the task ahead outlined. In hindsight, what clearly emerged from these meetings
was a practically grounded approach with a clear set of priorities, meticulous
and detailed planning and delegation for execution and an honest assessment of
our weaknesses. Based on this, a technical sub-committee took charge of the
move of equipment and drew up a detailed plan for both continuous and last mile
connectivity.
The Move Committee quickly realized
that the only way to ensure a smooth and affordable move was to get the staff
to see the shift as a personal one, like a move to a nicer home with all the
promise of more comfort and an upgraded lifestyle. As a result ‘Change Agents’,
one in each of the 12 locations our staff were housed, were appointed to share
the details of the new office, unveil the visuals and plans that were emerging
and support on-ground implementation.
Exercises of this sort are fraught
with unforeseen problems, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and the need to
manage the external which is often outside our control. What stood us in good
stead was a team that was continuously reviewing and updating plans,
flexibility in approach and the willingness to readjust priorities in the face
of immediate realities. Egos were left at home and humor was often the only
nourishment. Leadership in all its myriad manifestations was on display.
What we got out of the process: a
timely, affordable and inclusive move; the before-time completion and then
exceeding of our sales targets; a well-designed, professional and forward-looking
workplace; functional synergies, scope for greater cooperation and teamwork; a
collective sense of achievement and ownership; and the emergence of several
leaders, strategists, managers and communicators. Also, sore muscles, baggy
eyes and several ripped jackets and messed up jeans!
In the end, we did move to
improve.
Some lessons from the move
I believe are universal to work and life:
• Providing the
concept and creating the momentum
• Setting teams
and accountabilities: the right people for the right tasks at all levels
• Meticulous
planning and periodic reviews
• Setting
priorities and delegation
• Attention to
detail: ordering of tasks at the ground level; labeling
and numbering of cartons; on the ground volunteers
• Visualizing
pitfalls and accepting practical realities
• Intelligent
outsourcing with focus on internal strengths and weaknesses
• Getting personal: going the extra mile and then some
No comments:
Post a Comment