Culture Meter

Culture Meter

Having driven culture changes across many organisations that I have been part of, I have always felt the need to measure culture building. It is important to know if the needle has moved on the intended change and then accelerate / course correct or make changes / adjustments as needed.

I am defining a framework below which will help emphasize measure culture on a digital meter in terms of the shift made over time intervals… Read More

Know your HR Business Partnering Score

Know your HR Business Partnering Score

The HR community globally has been pursuing the objective of being close to the business as a true business partner.

It is time to check how close have you moved to the stated intent, objectively. We have often heard HR talking on the sides about a seat in the board and/or being counted at the highest decision making table on organisational matters.

Please take this reflection test for yourself which is registered as ‘HRBPMirror’ ... Read More

Leadership is at the Centre of the Organisation

Leadership is at the Centre of the Organisation

For over a few decades since management theory evolved, we all have been wired to believe and practice that leadership is at the top.  We have been making organisation leaders and structures as top down approach and put rules and people in boxes. We also move the boxes up or down relatively to signify Organisational hierarchy for management optics. There is considerable pride leadership carries to represent and show spans of control and over number of roles and people.

How true is this today? How many team members / fellow colleagues relate to this conventional stereotype organisation structure that has never been challenged? ... Read More

Tracks & Transformation

Tracks & Transformation

I am talking about a topic which is relevant and has implication for both employee and employer. Let us dwell on the topic of Career. In a conventional enterprise life cycle, an employee depends upon his employer and his/her manager to plot a career for him/her and walk that path.

The question is while the manager can certainly guide, where does the primary responsibility lie today? Indeed, it is with the employee oneself. In a modern disruptive world of today, one has got to constantly act and deal with career direction and keep navigating. The manager is like GPRS navigation... Read More

The Machine CEO

The Machine CEO

This article is written with a deep sense of belief and the urge to visualise the impossible in the corporate world. We may see this as impossible today but pushing ourselves with various data points / research will tell us that this day is not far off in the corporate world.

The day of a “MACHINE CEO”. Yes, Indeed I am talking about a company or a business being led/driven by a machine.

Sounds crazy!

Let us look at some of the points below... Read More

Role, Career, Job or Experience

Role, Career, Job or Experience

How do you assess employees?

Most businesses today undergo many ups and down and have their own cyclical nature. Under these tentative circumstances, does it then make sense to have predictive employee life cycles drawn out— especially when... Read More

Disruptive Future Organisation Structures

Disruptive Future Organisation Structures

Organisation structures have always followed business strategy for decades. As a practicing manager, I have had numerous success and failures on this important aspect of leadership.  This is also the most passionately discussed topic in boardrooms.

In this article, I have penned down certain principles which will be tested as... Read More

Rajesh Padmanabhan joins esteemed team of experts for a Tweetchat with Times Ascent

Rajesh Padmanabhan joins esteemed team of experts for a Tweetchat with Times Ascent

As part of an exciting initiative with Times Ascent & Great Manager Awards, Rajesh Padmanabhan was invited for an interactive afternoon session on Twitter that saw leading industry professionals discuss the crucial role that managers play in organisations.

Padmanabhan was joined by other Industry eminent panellists to interact and share their thoughts on what makes a successful Manager and an inspirational leader...Read More

The New Age Organisation Structure

The New Age Organisation Structure

A recent thought occurred to me when I was tracking Prime Minister Modi’s government on the amount of transformation and disruptions that has been made since he took office. My sincere advice to the PM will be to organise his structure and team based on the new national priorities and agenda of building growth. This change will help us fast track the nation and put it back on our ambitious GDP growth of 7.5% and above.

The inevitable question therefore is—do we still need conventional ministries the way it is right now? 

While we all resoundingly acknowledge the fast-paced... Read More

Moving from Executive Search to Search ++

Moving from Executive Search to Search ++

As a practicing corporate manager for over 3 decades and having worked in the area of global HR across all geographies, I thought it would be useful for me to positively disrupt the space of Executive Search with the emerging challenges and getting future-ready... Read More