Dale Carnegie celebrates the fourth edition of Global Leadership Awards 18

Indian business houses have evolved over the years to incorporate the best practices in human resources (HR) and in learning and development (L&D). It is important to recognise and reward companies that have done exceptionally well in implementing these new strategies. The Dale Carnegie of India chapter, which has been at the forefront of training in the field of management and leadership in the country for 15 years, has been instrumental in recognising the L&D and HR practices of Indian companies for the past four years in the form of the Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards.

The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2018 were held on October 31 in Mumbai at the Taj Lands End Hotel. The fourth edition of the Global Leadership Awards in India was held in the presence of delegates from prestigious companies and also the award-winners of the year. The evaluation criteria included quality, relevance and impact of meaningful Learning & Development initiatives. Some of the previous winners of the coveted award are Wipro, Axis Bank, Union Bank of India, Piaggio Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra.   

The Dale Carnegie of India awards night began with an introduction and welcome address. Ms. Pallavi Jha, Chairperson and Managing Director, Dale Carnegie of India informed that this year, the GLA awards had entries from all across the country and varied kinds of organizations, ranging from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), multi-national companies and even start-ups. While six finalists were chosen for the awards, all the entrants were outstanding, unique and extremely competitive. Hence the jury had a hard time selecting the finalists, she informed. 

Ms. Jha was of the opinion that organisations that provide opportunities of L&D to their employees are rewarded with discretionary productivity and loyalty. Employee well-being is known to impact the bottomline of companies. And yet, CEOs and HR professionals have been ignoring the People side of the business sometimes, not being fully cognizant its criticality, she said. In the millennial era where both customer and employee loyalties are fickle, L&D is the ideal way to keep the workforce meaningfully engaged, noted Ms. Jha. 

However, judging from the applications for the Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2018, it’s safe to say that companies are indeed recognising the importance of learning as a catalyst of change. Employee expectations are changing and L&D has changed accordingly, taking the help of technology.

Panel Discussion on 'Trust-Based Relationships - A Business Imperative'

Starting the Panel Discussion on 'Trust' within and without companies, Mr.Jha informed that the most trusted job in the world is that of a Nurse, followed by Doctors and then the Armed Forces, and so on. Highlighting the importance of L&D, he said, "The best leaders put their leaders ahead."

He posed a question to the panelists: Are we cynical about trusting? To which Mr. Ercell Charles said, "We take trust for granted. Trust equals credibility and empathy." Moving to Ms. Mewawala, Mr. Jha asked: "In the wake of big banking & finance debacles and movements like Me Too that forced a CEO to step down, how do you expect customers to trust the company when the top management is itself going through these things?" 

Ms. Mewawala was of the opinion that most crises in the world are inherently crises of trust. A brand must work hard on building and sustaining trust, she said. A legacy like that of Tata Capital which is 150 years old definitely helps in building trust, she noted. Businesses build trust over time and with each interaction they have with their customers. Word of mouth further builds the brand. She also added that the people representing brands must realize the consequences of their behaviour.

Mr. Jha said that while taking a buying decision, the salesperson in front has a great impact on the customer irrespective of the brand and the qualities of the product. Ms. Pallavi Jha agreed that in the case of established brands that are looked up to, if the salesperson is not that knowledgeable about what he is selling or has his own agenda, there is a major disconnect with the values of the brand and the (actual) experience that we have. And that's where the line of Trust comes in. A salesperson is the crucial bridge between  the product and the customers' needs.

Mr. Anupam Suri, Senior Vice President and head, Talent and Learning, Citibank

Citing an example of a brand of expensive hair oil that sells the promise of fuller hair in 10 days, Mr. Jha posed a question to Mr. Sakhuja on such misleading claims by brands in advertising. ‘Is it the ultimate marketing hardsell?’ he asked. Mr. Sakhuja said that such a claim by a brand is absurd and one cannot keep up such a façade indiscriminately. Mr. Sakhuja explained that Trust, in his opinion, is equal to Credibility, Reliability and Intimacy, divided by Self-Orientation. Mr. Ercell added that brands manage to sell an idea, but trust cannot be sold, it has to be earned.

The next question to Mr. Ercell was: Is there a Trust Deficit in the corporate world? How much do you blame the leaders for it? Mr. Ercell said that there has to be a shift in management style, with more accountability in leadership. Mr. Sakhuja used the Stephen Covey Emotional Bank Account theory for Trust Deficit, saying that one has to be careful of the deposits and withdrawals.

Mr. Jha gave the example of former Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose credibility was questioned over just one tweet. Is it the risk of celebrity? Ms. Jha quipped that geniuses have a problem with standard behaviour. Elon Musk had managed to win the Trust of so many people who invested in his company and who work with him. He even made exceptional contributions like electrifying Puerto Rico, but one tweet and all that trust vanished. It takes a lot of effort to build Trust and the downside is that it can get killed with one wrong move. In her opinion, trust must also equal a feeling of 'I can be myself with you'. 

Mr. Ercell Charles with Dale Carnegie India team 

The Maggie Noodles downfall story is a great example of how years of loyalty and trust vanished and had to be restored from scratch, said Mr. Jha. How did Nestle India deal with it? How did it bounce back? Mr. Sakhuja said that there were various examples like Maggie Noodles and big giants like Cadbury, Coca-Cola and Pepsi also have been in similar situations. In most cases, it is found that the product is completely safe and not harmful to consumers, he said. When an event like this shakes the consumers’ trust in the brand, pro-active engagement is crucial. It might be a mistake to lie low at such times because, people at that point in time are hungry for information and restoration of trust.

But do companies Trust themselves? Mr. Ercell said that one needs to ask oneself, 'Can we be relied upon?' Trust begins within. Your reputation creates further reputation. Ms. Mewawala felt that sustained trust is important and can survive generations.

"Do nice guys finish last? Isn’t it often noticed that big appraisals and promotions go to the untrustworthy, scheming guys?" asked Mr. Jha. To which Ms. Mewawala said that some nice guys do finish first and those that don't, should introspect why they are finishing last. The question used to be 'Business or Ethics?' But we don't have a choice anymore - business has to be run ethically. People want to do things right and want to trust each other. The black and white of it is, either companies live up to the trust or betray it. Mr. Ercell said that nice guy or not, what matters are results and accountability, and the connection with people.

Moving to the question on Blind Faith, Ms. Jha said that over a period of time, you start trusting people blindly for certain things. There is an element of blind trust but it has to be earned. Dale Carnegie of India has managed to elevate itself as one of the most trusted L&D partners in a short span of time and now enjoys the loyal patronage of its clients. But the organization does not wear this blind faith lightly and is constantly trying to deliver value to its clients, she said. 

What about the Trust in Celebrity Endorsements? A leading actress endorsing a Chinese phone that she may not be using, or a superstar endorsing a fairness cream that he might not need! Mr Sakhuja revealed that celebrity endorsements help to cut the clutter and add a lot of value to brands, even though they may not use these products. For instance, Cadbury also used a big celebrity in their ads in an effort to repair damage.

"Diamonds are forever, but Trust is not. What is the biggest obstacle to Trust?" asked Mr. Jha to all four panelists. "Being authentic. Keeping it real," said Mr. Ercell. "Walking the talk is a challenge. Promises made that you can't keep," replied Ms. Jha. Ms. Mewawala felt, "Personal greed can come in the way of Trust - when an employee thinks 'either I will suffer or my targets will'. Also Convenient Blindness, when you deliberately ignore things, comes in the way of Trust." Mr. Sakhuja agreed with all three panelists on the obstacles to Trust.

The panel discussion ended with audience Q&A. To a question on where does Trust begin, Ms. Jha said it has to percolate top-down, from the leadership. Mr. Ercell revealed that not just communicating but also listening to employees and customers is vital for leadership. 

To a question on how transparent Indian companies are and whether grapevine has an effect on the fragile emotion of trust, Ms. Mewawala said that anonymous complaints cannot be trusted fully, as we need data to back them up. One has to back off if there is no data and ignore the case in some cases, she revealed. Mr. Sakhuja divided this problem into two categories - the 'Need to Know' and the 'Nice to Know', with the former being important and the latter that could be ignored. Mr. Jha concluded that grapevine only works in companies with bad communication.

Book Launch

The panel discussion gave way to the launch of the latest thought leadership from Dale Carnegie of India, called Dale Carnegie Book on L&D Best Practices. The book is based on the best practices in employee experience and Learning & Development that were collated from some of the leading organizations across the country, who have also been nominees for the Global Leadership Awards over the years. 

The Awards

The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2018 Finalists included six companies, viz. Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Cisco Systems, Hindustan Petroleum (HP), Infosys BPM (Business Process Management), Bajaj Allianz and The Lalit. The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2018 Winners are: Top Prize - Bajaj Allianz; First Runner-Up - Infosys BPM and Second Runner-Up - Cisco Systems.

Award Winners

Global Leadership Award Winner 2018 Bajaj Allianz