- Leading From Behind Summit and HR 40Under40 awards to celebrate HR excellence of 650+ young leaders
- Findings of the extensive People Development Index to be announced
Mumbai:Even as India, with the world’s largest youth population, is set to become the global innovation capital in the next five years, the country’s HR eco-system is set to receive a major boost through ‘Leading From Behind’, a major leadership summit that will award 40 young innovative HR specialists handpicked by several HR titans of corporate India for a year-long mentoring.
To be held on 17thJanuary 2018 in Mumbai, the summit will not only award 40Under40 HR leaders for having leveraged technology and innovation in the course of doing exemplary work in Leadership and Organizational development,but will also release the findings of an extensive People Development Index from Jombay, one of India’s fastest growing talent assessment and development companies.
At a time when the People Agenda has invariably featured amongst the top 3 priorities of most CEOs, the index is expected to help HR heads in their quest for talent retention through talent engagement and delight.
The day-long Leading From Behind summit will also provide insights and inspiration to the HR fraternity through fireside chats with a galaxy of experts including a Michelin Star Chef, Bollywood Director, Start-up Founder,Venture Investor, Corporate Leader, Spiritual Guru, Journalist, Management Guru and a Fashion Designer.
The Leading From Behind summit, the HR 40Under40 awards and the People Development Index are perhaps the most significant initiatives to energize the HR space in India. The HR40Under40 award winners will be identified by a jury of HR titans from corporate India, who will select the winners from a shortlist of 100 young HR leaders in turn selected from over 650 who had entered the fray.
The illustrious jury comprising of YashMahadik, Shanta Vallury, RajkamalVempati, Dr. PV Murthy, PrabirJha, Dhananjay Singh, GovindEthiraj, KeshavSanghiand RomaBalwani, selected the winners through a scientific and extensive process. Leadership potential assessment, Learning Agility Assessment and a Behavioral Event Assessment to know work-life achievements were three important areas of assessment.
The pre-eminent jury will be available to help Jombay co-founders MohitGundecha and SuruchiWagh as they provide these young 40 leaders an ecosystem for innovation. The remaining 60 of the 100 shortlisted leaders who reached the jury round will receive a certificate of appreciation.
Gundechasaid, “The goal is not to just provide recognition and fame but provide exposure — a year-long exposure to brainstorming, proto-typing, access and networking.”
It has been called ‘Leading From Behind’ to iterate the need for a community of innovators vs a community of followers in the HR space. “While most other verticals – whether marketing, finance, sales or operations – have been disrupted, HR has largely remained a laggard,” Gundecha said, adding, “Technology may have brought in efficiencies to the transactional aspects of HR, but there has not been much innovation in areas that truly impact talent. We hope to help correct this in the year to come.”
“Today, more than ever, the HR eco-system needs innovation,” Gundechasaid, adding, “Copy-paste innovation from the western countries is not going to always work. The HR space in India has needed a platform to innovate — an ecosystem of thinkers and change-makers, and access to like-minded innovators.
“We are grateful to the eminent jury for having helped us create this confluence of innovation and evangelism. As true leaders, they have graciously seen this as an opportunity to give back to the younger HR audiences. Jombay is delighted to have been a partner in this process.”
Jury Quotes on the Leading from Behind Summit
Commenting on the parameters of the 40 Under 40 Jury for the Leading From Behind Summit, Govindraj Ethiraj, Founder of PING Digital &IndiaSpend, said, “It is my belief, and which also corresponds with the discussion at the Jury that young leaders of today should command the ability to innovate, collaborate, and create capacity amongst others to think differently. In such a scenario where the concept of leadership itself is changing, a leader does not only need to know their competition and anticipate their nature and origin, but also put together the right people, skills, ability, drive, and determination to come together and face new challenges. This is where leadership should be heading towards.”
Prabir Jha, Global Chief People Officer at Cipla, stated, “It is important to look at individuals who are ‘leading from behind’ as the super heroes in setting an example for the leaders of tomorrow. Secondly, it is important to know how they see differently as a disruptive and innovative body. Thirdly, at the end of the day, it is crucial to inspire and energize people beyond yourself, because leadership is also about being selfless. The leaders of tomorrow should also think about the future and less about the past.”
Commenting on how the concept of leadership has changed, SHANTA VALLURY, Head HR, CSR & Internal Branding of RBL Bank, said, “The nature of leadership is changing. Instead of undergoing just classroom training on development; it is critical that they are put through assignments and job roles in this world of instant gratification to assess the ability to lead in defining moments. Another value that leadership in today’s world should focus on is endless learning. There are more such new things that are being discovered and it is important that we are well-informed and keep up with the latest requirements.”
Reinstating the fact that the platform has been an advocate of HR excellence even in its infancy, Yash Mahadik, EVP & Global Chief Human Resource Officer of Sun Pharma, said, “The experience has been very inspiring just to see so many fantastic young applicants, and what really impresses me the most is that people these days are achieving so much more in such less time. These are very smart people. We had agreed upon the applicant assessment criteria at Jombay’s Leading From Behind Jury, wherein it was critical to assess the worthiness of each entry and check of applicants have established an track record of success. Today, it is vital to leverage social media and digital networking technologies to create a virtual ecosystem that you are invested in and which in turn supports you professionally. How you learn and continue to develop yourself is very critical”
Adding to the reasons the platform boosts HR excellence, DHANANJAY SINGH, Director General – National HRD Network, said, “Recognizing excellence is the key to promote brilliance and leadership, this platform works strategically well to identify the leaders of tomorrow. Moreover, this will help people push and bring out the best in them and I hope they give back not just to benefit the well-being of the industry, but also the nationwide need for a robust HR ecosystem.”
The Jury made known in agreement that the platform serves a purposeful inspiration for the HR fraternity. In addition, RAJKAMAL VEMPATI, Head HR, Axis Bank, stated, “The HR industry is set to play a more pivotal role in the future. The drive supporting the concept of Leading From Behind is inspirational. And this serves the purpose for not just the HR fraternity, but for India by large. Moreover, if we look at the need for corporate India, it is important to upscale the influence of HR in building the right ecosystems for young leaders within the system. So it is pleasing to know that through such forums, we are able to identify the leaders of tomorrow.”
Dr P V Murthy, Senior VP & Global Head – HR, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, affirmed that leadership has a different definition today. He stated, “I think it indeed is about the concept of ‘leading from behind’. In a profession like HR, it is about other people beyond oneself. Passion for the industry, and compassion and empathy with others are what define leadership. When such leaders place themselves behind their team, they work as a support system to help the team perform better. In hindsight, a commander who leads from behind must inspire the team to move forward.
On how the Leading From Behind summit could boost the HR industry, KESHAV SANGHI, Founder of Venture Works, said, “This exercise, initiated by Jombay, to recognize and find future leaders is brilliant. I hope the selected leaders appreciate the responsibility to use this platform to learn, interact and create an impact with the help of each other. Recognition is just the first step and this platform should be used as a learning process to become better leaders of tomorrow. Leadership, in today’s time, requires a different skill set – one cannot expect to just be leading from the front. Millennials have to be provided a platform and space to shine. To get the best out of your team, you need to be ‘leading from behind’.”
In expression of her involvement with the 40 Under 40 Jury at Leading From BehindSummit, Roma Balwani, Director – Strategic Resources Group, said, “It is extremely gratifying more so because these are the HR leaders who will shape our leadership of tomorrow. I think the Jury upon deliberation, realised that there are many such facets of leadership that were brought out. The opportunity to assess the entries gave me a chance to understand the agenda of the future leaders. If these leaders want to have a collaborative journey so should a healthy business environment be, they must breathe the same air and share a common destiny.”
