New -delhi, August 10 (PTI) eleven years ago, just a month after his tenure at the Mahindra group, Anish Shah no said his billionaire boss Anand Mahindra was planning to take to the board. Shah’s view prevailed, and the council eventually rejected the proposal. As a group CEO and managing director, Shah today considers a ‘no’ of a junior colleague who is not so divided, but as a valuable gift. Shah, who became the CEO of the Mahindra Group in April 2021, is often considered a ‘CEO of people’ – someone who appreciates constructive division and seeks employees who prioritize the company above everything. In an interview with PTI videos, Shah chaired Shah, Anand Mahindra, for the creation of an empowering and open environment in the group. He said most people have misconceptions about CEOs that everything can be done “by power”, but that a good leader will get things done because others want to do it. “We feel that empowering leaders really help to create a very good balance, because if decisions are made by a small set of people, you don’t get the right answers,” he said when asked how the Mahindra group managed to achieve a balance between its core powers and innovation. He further expanded, saying, “Empowerment is not only to the next level, but also at the level afterwards – people who are closer to the client. It is easier for them to innovate because they understand what customers are. We want to give them the freedom of expression in a product, which they do, and it lets us create the balance”. Asked if he had ever had differences of opinion with Anand Mahindra, Shah remembered an incident 11 years ago during his first month in the Mahindra group after joining as head of group strategy when his opinion was sought for a proposal to take the next day. “I saw it, saying that I wouldn’t. And here are, all the reasons why I wouldn’t do it, “Shah reminds to it, adding that,” Anand in his usual style, turns around and says, “Okay, I’m going to invite you to the council meeting tomorrow and ask you exactly the same question, and I want to give the advice you gave today. Advice on what needs to be done and the money needed for it, and there was a discussion about it, Shah remembers. I get the floor. I shared the exact same point of view and said that I wouldn’t do it, and here are the reasons why I wouldn’t. “At the end of the discussion, the board decided not to do so,” he said. Referring to the incident, Shah said: “It gives you a sense of openness Anand has always had to bring in different views. As he always says, we need to get the right answer for the business. And we will have to look at all the diversity before we get the answer.” When asked how to handle a ‘no’ when it comes from someone who is three levels below him, Shah said: ‘For me, I would take the no as a gift’. When he explains, he said the most important thing for leaders is to give a lot of value to it, because it is not easy for someone who shows up three levels below and says you have to do something else. What you do is not right, and this is sometimes where the best ideas come from ‘. Shah noted that leaders should have the courage to hear such things from their subordinates, just as they need the courage to speak and share their views. When he asked his view of one major misconception that people have about a CEO, Shah said: ‘I think the thing that most people will get wrong is that you can do everything by power. While a good leader will do things because others want to do ‘. By sharing his methods on managing the details and yet being involved, Shah said he focused on the group’s philosophy of “our goal and our values” to provide direction, business strategy for businesses and industry excellence, along with ‘fantastic talent’ on businesses to ‘stay out of the daily work’ and focus on the primary areas. Asked whether the current success of Mahindra Group also has to do with Anand Mahindra walking on his prime step and runs professionals, Shah said: “You are right, it’s not easy to walk away, but he always empowered the leaders, and he is always available for guidance … he always sought the best in people,” He also noted that professionals belonging to non-Mahindra families, the ethos and culture of the group that emphasized its founders in 1945 in 1945, such as the dignity of labor, against the opposition of antisocial tendencies, and not caste, creed or color in the way of a meritocracy. “It has been DNA since then, and it is something we cherish. We are very proud of it, and as leaders it is an important part of our role to ensure that we retain it as part of our substance because it is so integral to it,” Shah said.
Just a month old in Mahindra Group, Anish Shah no said to Anand Mahindra
