Passing of the Baton!

Where once leadership was about continuity and control, today it's about reinvention and collaboration. Where once decisions were concentrated in a patriarch's office, today they are taken in boardrooms where professionals and family sit side by side

- by Prakash Iyer

WHEN YOU THINK of Indian business leadership in the post-independence era, one image comes to mind: the founder. The patriarch who built the company with grit, thrift, and street smarts. These were leaders who saw opportunity where few others did, who weathered the Licence Raj, and who built enterprises brick by brick. And the early generations of non-family business leaders mirrored the archetype of the founders.

As the baton passes to a new generation of leaders, the face of Indian leadership is changing. Interestingly, so is the role of the baton. In the hands of the earlier generation of leaders, it was a symbol of control. It was the danda that helped build the dhanda. The stick that instilled fear, rewarded loyalty and stifled dissenting voices. That baton is now being reimagined. It is no longer a stick to command with – but a conductor’s baton, aligning diverse players to create a symphony.