Leadership Development in Emerging Growth Countries

In all aspects, emerging growth countries in Asia Pacific, South Asia and Latin America has become a springboard of sorts. Not only have they become a springboard for big businesses from first world countries to gain a foothold in these markets but also gain access to their surrounding markets. At the same time, emerging growth countries have also become a springboard for new business ideas, talent management approaches and leadership development initiatives.

While previously, global companies originating from the developed world looked at emerging markets merely in terms of market space; this perception then changed to cost-management space and now to leadership talent-space. From a consumer of products, later to producer of these products (cheaply) and now as an innovation hub for these products, emerging growth countries have played various roles for the traditional global giants. Today, these companies are increasingly looking to tap into the talent pool available in emerging markets and while doing this they have also embedded their management & leadership styles into these markets. Hence, when we talk about Leadership Development in Emerging Growth Countries (EGC), we are not wholly talking something new but neither are we talking something that is entirely old practice. It is a sort of old wine in a new bottle except that the bottle .ie. the business ecosystem of these EGCs have influenced the wine (Leadership development) in many interesting ways.

So, it is interesting to compare this so called differences between leadership development between the first world countries and ECG.

It is now common to read and hear about the leadership successes of such companies like Infosys, Tata, Embraer, Lenovo and Haier. Only a few years ago, this is almost unheard off. So, how successful have these companies been in their leadership development and how similar or different is it with what we are all already familiar with .ie. a very much American/European/Japanese influenced leadership thinking and acting styles. Going by the kind of thought leadership and heartfelt pleas coming from the C-level suite of ECG companies, I believe that there is a genuine interest and effort to develop leaders at all levels. For example, the venerable Aziz Premji is quoted as saying “What you will remember when you retire, is not which quarters you exceeded your sales target or won large deals, but leaders whom you helped in developing. Develop leaders under you, not only because it is good for the business, but because it will give you tremendous personal satisfaction”. This echoes a similar sentiment from the doyen of the knowledge economy, Bill Gates who says that “Take our 20 best people away and I can tell you that Microsoft would become an unimportant company.“


Lets begin with a quick overview of some commonly understood (although dramatically changing) characteristics of business ecosystems in countries that are classified as emerging growth.
Leadership and leadership development are most often than not influenced by these business ecosystems. As the ecosystem changes, so does the intrinsic approaches to leadership development by businesses. In China for example, the long years of government controlled operations have produced an army of hard working and diligent managers. This control is characterized by a much regimented management style that is averse to risks. Failures are often considered as a disservice to the motherland. However, the Chinese over the years, especially after the full impact of their somewhat guarded ‘liberalization’ was felt, began to systematically look beyond their shores for business opportunities. Since then, places like Africa, Latin America and Burma have become the playground of Chinese businesses. What this means is that their business leaders have had to acquire new leadership styles and equip their management talents with the same. A couple of months ago, a colleague of mine from our Shanghai office mentioned that a certain case study in our Assessment Centre platform would not be culturally suitable for Chinese management and leadership style previously but not anymore as the lines of what previously thought of as a uniquely Chinese leadership style is blurring by the day; although much still remains uniquely Chinese but off less importance compared to the need to do business.

Indian businesses, who for many years have been stifled by the labyrinthine bureaucratic processes and a system that tries its best to rein in entrepreneurism have learned to live in extreme ambiguity and hence produced leaders and managers who are creative and able to function in environments that are constantly in a flux The joke is that an Indian executive literally thinks about matters of life and death the moment he hits Indian roads to go to work. So, by the time he arrives at work, his adrenalin is pumping and he is ready to conquer the world! . Jokes aside, successive socialist leaning governments have made India as an almost self sustaining nation by protecting its industries and businesses from outside competition. You will remember the sagas involving Coke and IBM for example. Up to early 1990s, these companies have not had any reason to fear competition and hence their leadership development mirrored that reality. Today, fuelled by both need and latent talents, Indian business leadership is showing its capability to adopt global practices and adapt them to the Indian experience.

In Latin America, similar to the Chinese & Indian experience, years of government controlled business have produced inertia and an aversion to risk taking. Without any vision beyond their own borders, they have not had the need to develop a strong pipeline of leaders as a non-competitive business environment lulled them into complacency. Till today, Latin American thought leaders are saying that their quality of business leadership leaves much to be desired and their focus on industries that are related to basic materials are pushing them too far behind in terms of their ability and need to develop sophisticated leadership development programs.

Closer to home, Malaysia has had for many years a business ecosystem dominated by government controlled companies but at the same time, our historical and cultural traditions have provided ample space for private enterprises to take shape. In the early stages, these enterprises were mainly family owned ones and many of them are still family owned although as they expanded beyond their traditional businesses and later beyond our shores, they had to rope in professional managers to run the business. So, in the Malaysian context we have an amalgamation of leadership development experience involving the hard-fought battles of private enterprises (many of which are legendary rags-to-riches stories) and the relatively easy and protected business environment of government linked or controlled companies (GLCs). I must say that Malaysia is probably on the right trajectory as the lines between these two are blurring to the advantage of true-blue entrepreneurial spirit even within some of the GLCs being asked to show accountability. The people through their elected representatives are much more aware of the need to know of how a GLC is doing as after all they are technically the people’s concern. With this scrutiny, leaders in these organizations have had to think, behave and lead like private enterprises where a small strategic mistake may spell disaster; at least in terms of public relations disaster for the government of the day. This concern is now being translated into appropriate leadership development programs.

However, I must say, with mixed feeling, many Malaysian companies both big and small have very inconsistent leadership development initiative which not surprisingly produces poor results in terms of a healthy leadership talent pipeline.

Having said that, it is prudent to note that there is another underlying common denominator between all these emerging growth countries and that is their high regard for education and they have today, some of the best run business schools in the world; at least as much as the relevance of business education to the current state of world economy and industry is concerned. They to look towards this centres of education and training for insights into their leadership development.

I am excited to see where will leadership development in ECG countries head to in the next few years. As North American companies crawl out of their financial pits and as European giants lumber along, EGC companies will have the chance of a life time to stamp their mark on leadership development and talent pipe line.