The shape of Indian talent after 61 years of Independence

Leading the world: Abhinav Bindra's (top left) success at the Beijing Olympics and the appointment of Indra Nooyi (centre) and Vikram Pandit at the helm of their organisations are all signs that Indian talent is blossoming on the global stage.

Ganesh Chella

Even as we celebrate 61 years of Independence, it might be opportune to take a step back and look at how Independence has shaped the DNA of talent in India. An extremely relevant thought, if we believe, quite proudly, that India is one of the largest talent factories of the world.

With an Indian finally winning an individual gold in the Olympics, an Indian heading PepsiCo and another heading Citigroup, with the largest ever number of Indian companies on the Fortune 500 list and the largest ever number of Indians on the Forbes list , there is every reason to believe that Indian talent is beginning to blossom, flourish and maybe even claim its place in the world.

Let us take a look at the changing DNA of Indian talent and what has shaped this over the years.

Achievement motivation

For a long time, western observers felt that India's spiritualism, philosophy of renunciation, fatalism and asceticism constituted insurmountable obstacles to its material progress. Even David McClelland concluded that 'achievement motivation' (the desire to achieve purely for the sake of achievement) was lacking among Indians, based on his experience with handloom weavers in Orissa and artisans in Kakinada.

This genetic code has been significantly modified. The series of structural interventions have helped enhance the level of achievement orientation in Indian society. The unmotivated of the past are now a hugely motivated lot and are ever seeking more.

From a time when the average middle-class Indian was most risk averse, we are now witnessing a huge surge of entrepreneurial action thanks to a high growth economy and the emergence of a supportive entrepreneurial eco-system. The DNA of enterprise is certainly a lot more active and dominant than ever before.

Power shifts from the labour movement to labour market

From a time when talent was dependent on internal or external leaders to determine its destiny and many in the labour movement held the power, we have quite rapidly moved to a situation where the power is now with the individual with talent, who now controls the labour market by demanding his price and getting his due share. This shift to taking charge of one's destiny is huge. The mind-set shift from employment to employability among the talent in India is also significant.

Celebrating Indianness

One of the important symbols of independence is national pride and the celebration of our identity and our strengths. On this count, I think we have a very long way to go. Even after 61 years of freedom, we continue to look to the West and anything foreign as superior. By the same token, we also do not do enough to be the best in the world in what we do. Our national pride has not propelled us enough to achieve excellence in all fields.

The most sought after employers are still MNCs and not Indian organisations. We continue to respect practices that are foreign and have done little to document the great Indian stories and examples. There are more western scholars and researchers who have visited Aravind Eye Hospitals than Indians. It took the likes of C. K. Prahalad, Forbes magazine and the BBC to tell us about the greatness of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Association.

Corporations large and small continue to believe that western ideas are superior to Indian ones. Sixty-one years is a long time to shed this awkwardness about what is Indian and, in fact, begin to celebrate it with pride.

The changing magnets of talent

The real greatness of Indian talent was the diverse pockets in which it was found. There were talented poets, philosophers, scientists, civil servants, social activists, teachers, statesman-like political leaders and so on. There was no single powerful magnet towards which talent was attracted.

Unfortunately, the situation is quite different today. All good talent is moving away from working for the Government, away from the rural areas, away from agriculture, away from research, away from teaching, away from public service into the hugely attractive world of business and money. This also leaves me wondering where the next generation of Abdul Kalams, V. Kuriens, Kiran Bedis, Baba Amtes, and many other such legendaries will come from and will they come at all. It leaves me worried that the huge diversity of talent we enjoyed will get eroded and replaced by a type of talent that is driven purely by economics alone and will be hoarded by the select few who can pay for it.

The new custodians of talent

A huge responsibility for shaping talent rests with employers of every kind. Are the employers of today doing enough to provide the right setting in which future talent will be nurtured? I am not very sure at all that this is happening.

For one, relationships between employers and employees which were based on reciprocity and long-term orientation have eroded into transient and market-based arrangements. Investment in employees is seen as a necessary means to business success and as even a price to pay for a faulty education system. We are far from visionary in our commitment to shaping talent.

Indian philosophy and values

Indian talent is mostly oblivious to the power of our philosophy and scriptures and the great lessons they hold for business and life. It is seriously influenced by values of greed and success. Maybe it will take an autobiography from a sub-prime afflicted CEO to tell us how a karmic approach to duty and not focusing on the fruits of action could have prevented him from ruining the lives of millions.

It is time the talent factory of the world nurtured and celebrated its 'Made in India' tag!

(The writer is the founder and CEO of totus consulting, a strategic HR consulting firm. He is also the co-founder of the Executive & Business Coaching Foundation India Ltd. He can be reached at ganesh@totusconsulting.com)

Robert Orben  - "To err is human - and to blame it on a computer is even more so."