Often regarded as a ‘people’s CEO’, Mahindra Group CEO and MD Anish Shah firmly believes that constructive dissent strengthens a company.
Eleven years ago, just a month into his tenure at the Mahindra Group, Shah said no to a proposal that his billionaire boss, Anand Mahindra, was planning to take to the board.
His viewpoint prevailed, and the board ultimately rejected the proposal. Today, as Group CEO and MD, Shah considers a ‘no’ from a junior colleague not as dissent, but as a valuable gift.
Shah, who became the chief executive of the Mahindra Group in April 2021, is someone who values constructive dissent and seeks out employees who prioritise the company above all else.
In an interview with PTI Videos, Shah credits Group Chairman Anand Mahindra for creating an empowering and open environment within the group.
He said most people have misconceptions about CEOs that everything can be done ‘through power’, but a good leader will get things done because others want to do it.
‘We feel that empowering leaders really helps create a very good balance because if decisions are made by a small set of people, then you don’t get the right answers,’ he said, when asked how the Mahindra group manages to strike a balance between its core competencies and innovation.
Elaborating further, he said, ‘Empowerment is not just to the next level, but to the level after that as well — people who are closer to the customer. It’s easier for them to innovate because they understand what customers’ needs are. We want to give them the freedom of expression in a product, in what they do, and that’s what allows us to be able to create that balance’.
Asked if he has ever had disagreements with Anand Mahindra, Shah recollected an incident 11 years back during his first month in the Mahindra Group after joining as its head of group strategy, when his opinion was sought about a proposal that was to be taken to the board for approval the next day.
‘I saw that, and said I wouldn’t do this. And here’s why, all the reasons why I wouldn’t,’ Shah reminisced, adding that, ‘Anand in his usual style, turns around and said, ‘Okay, I’m going to invite you to the board meeting tomorrow and ask you exactly the same question I asked you today, and I want you to give the board the same answer that you gave me today’.
At the board meeting the next day, Anand and another colleague presented the proposal to the board about what should be done and the funding required for it and there was a discussion on it, Shah recalled.
‘Then Anand tells the board that ‘Anish has a point of view, which I want you to hear’. I get the floor. I shared exactly the same point of view, saying I would not do this, and here are the reasons why I would not do it.
‘At the end of the discussion, the board decided not to do it,’ he said.
Referring to the incident, Shah said, ‘That gives you a sense of the openness that Anand has always had in bringing in diverse views. As he always says, we need to get to the right answer for the company. And we would need to look at all the diversities before we get to the answer’.
When asked how to handle a ‘no’ when it comes from someone who is three levels below him, Shah said, ‘To me, I would take the no as a gift’.
Explaining, he said the most important thing for leaders to do is to be able to give a lot of value to that, as it is not easy for ‘someone three levels below to come up and say that you need to do something different. What you’re doing isn’t right and that’s sometimes where the best ideas will come from’.
Shah noted that leaders must have the courage to be able to hear such things from their subordinates as much as they need the courage to speak up and share their views.
When asked his views on one big misconception that people have about a CEO, Shah said, ‘I think the thing that most people will get wrong is that you can get everything done through power. Whereas, a good leader will get things done because others want to do’.
Sharing his methods on managing to stay out of the details and yet be involved, Shah said focusing on the group’s philosophy around ‘our purpose and our values’ to provide direction, strategy for businesses and operational excellence, coupled with ‘fantastic talent’ across businesses have enabled him to ‘stay out of all the day to day work’ and focus on the primary areas.
Asked if Mahindra group’s current success has also to do with Anand Mahindra stepping aside at his prime and letting professionals run it, Shah said, ‘You are right, it’s not easy to step away, but he’s always empowered the leaders, and he is always available for guidance…He has always looked for the best in people, and to me, those are the key factors that have enabled our success, our purpose’.
He also noted that professionals who belong to non-Mahindra families have imbibed the ethos and culture of the group that its founders in 1945 had emphasised, such as the dignity of labour, opposing antisocial trends, and neither caste, creed, nor colour coming in the way of a meritocracy.
‘That has been our DNA ever since, and that’s something that we cherish. We’re very proud of it, and as leaders, it is a key part of our role to ensure that we maintain this as part of our fabric, because it’s so integral to it,’ Shah said.
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