The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2019 were held on 4th December at The St. Regis, Mumbai.
A panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Sanjay Jha, Executive Director, Dale Carnegie of India on Organizational Agility – ‘The New Competitive Divide – Building the Foundation of Organizational Agility’ was held before the awards ceremony. The esteemed panellists included Ms. Seema Nair, Senior EVP and Head, People Development Group at Reliance Industries Ltd., Mr. Bobby Kuriakose, Director, HR and Learning Development, Forbes Marshall Group, Noha El Daly, Vice president, EMEA and APAC, Dale Carnegie & Associates; and Ms. Pallavi Jha, CMD, Dale Carnegie of India. The discussion was moderated by Sanjay Jha, Executive Director of Dale Carnegie India
The Indian Business houses have evolved over the years and in the present scenario many companies worldwide are focusing on Agility. This involves seeking out new information and embracing continuous change in collaborative ways without resistance, bias and resentment. It is about creating a healthy environment where employees are encouraged and helped to grow and develop with the changing times by embracing and practising change through learning. Dale Carnegie of India recognises and honours such companies who have done exceptionally well in implementing Learning & Development strategies.
The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2019 was held on 4th December at The St. Regis, Mumbai. The fifth edition of the India Global Leadership Awards was held in the presence of esteemed delegates from prestigious companies along with the nominated organizations of the year. Every year, the winner of the global leadership award is selected after a careful and thorough evaluation by a global jury. The criterion of the awards is the linkage of L&D strategy with over all goals, uniqueness of the initiatives, innovation and impact of the L&D initiative on the organization.
The Dale Carnegie fifth edition of 2019 Global Leadership Awards night began with Ms. Venitta Tauro greeting the guests. This was followed by an address by Ms. Pallavi Jha, Chairperson and Managing Director, Dale Carnegie of India. Ms. Jha spoke about the legacy of Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards and the importance of organizational agility given the rapid inventions in technology and machinery.
Speaking about the importance of soft skills in an AI driven world, Pallavi said, ‘Leadership, communication, emotional & social intelligence, are like the superfoods that give you immunity from the effects of Artificial Intelligence. These are the skills that are invaluable to employers throughout the world and are the key to a harmonious man-machine relationship.’
This was followed by a Panel Discussion on ‘The New Competitive Divide : Building the Foundation of Organizational Agility’
The panel moderator, Mr.Sanjay Jha enthralled the audience with his wit and candor, starting the panel discussion on Agility by examples of automobiles and mobile companies.
The Blackberry phone downfall story was keenly discussed with agility as the magnifying glass. The panel agreed that this was a case study on how rapid change requires organizations to evolve constantly or get peripheral in the market.
‘Once the trailblazers of the mobile industry, the Blackberry phones soon slipped into oblivion because they notably failed to sustain the current trends and to evolve and upgrade according to the changing environment’, said Mr. Jha.
Ms.Seema Nair stressed that agility must have key elements of sustainability and continuous change. It is a dynamic process which must be all-encompassing at all times.
Speaking about the topic at hand, Noha El Daly said, “It’s about having in place the eco-system and the environment that would allow for a sustainable growth.”
Speaking about the crucial aspect of social intelligence Ms. El Daly made a noteworthy point about how technology has taken us away from society and being social in general whereas corporations are increasingly expecting employees to work in cross functional teams, making social intelligence an important skill to have and brush upon.
Mr.Bobby Kuriakose was of the opinion that organizations can nurture agility if success is rewarded, failure is tolerated and lack of effort is systematically tackled. Mr. Kuriakose further shared his experience about engaging Millennials and reiterated that agility is an important attribute in an increasingly chaotic environment.
Ms.Pallavi Jha added about the uncertainties that a chaotic environment harbours. Speaking about economic downturns, technological and regulatory changes Ms. Jha said , “When a regulatory change happens and it suddenly changes the nature of the economy it is important for organizations to remain competitive by quickly adapting their culture to the change.’’
Stressing about the necessary environment that needs to be nurtured for agility, Ms.Seema Nair said, ‘Agility can only survive when there is psychological safety in organizations. Of course execution and excellence are the other two critical factors.”
The panel discussion arrived at interesting observations such as the fact that today ideas and creativity is coming from all corners; within the organisation and even from customers. Ideas are crowd sourced from the market giving organizations the agility that comes with listening to the data and actually acting upon it.
Mr. Bobby made a powerful statement by saying that “anyone can be agile given that the person passes through positive experiences.”
The panel discussion ended with Q&A that involved the audience’s perspective and the panellists addressed queries of people across age groups and industries.
Like every year, this year’s event too focused on a topic that can and has changed the face of many businesses and organizations across the globe. Agility is the most fundamental and pivotal principal that defines how not just an organization but also an individual thrives in the turbulent tides of the market.
The engaging session was followed up an action packed awards ceremony that felicitated agile, people-focussed organizations.
The Awards
The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Awards 2019 Finalists included five companies, viz. Jagran New Media, Jana Small Finance Bank, Dr. Lal Path Labs, EY, and OTIS Elevators Company. The Dale Carnegie Global Leadership Award 2019 was presented to OTIS and Jana Small Finance Bank came in a close second.
Award Winners
Global Leadership Award Winner 2019 – OTIS
First Runner-Up - Jana Small Finance Bank