Can Organisations develop Leaders-A Study of Effective Leaders

Can organisations develop leaders? What factors or processes contribute to leader development? Are there some common features or processes in the development of leaders? Are leaders born or made? Do successful leaders show early signs of leadership? What are the thought processes of leaders and how do they differ from those of non-leaders? These are some of the questions that Prof. Ishwar Dayal raised before undertaking a study of what contributes to the making of a leader. The study consists of three different phases. The first phase discusses how top-level executives identify a leader. The second consisted of a questionnaire sent to seventy successful leaders drawn from a standard Who?s Who, requesting them to identify two most effective leaders and give reasons for their choice. The third consists of in-depth interviews with twentysix leaders identified on the basis of the criteria developed by content analysis of the questionnaire responses. By following this strategy, the researcher bias in the definition of a leader was avoided. The sample also brought out the concept of an effective leader in India. The findings of the study are reported in this book. The concept of a leader in India differs in certain special respects from the one prevailing in the West. The leader effectiveness in India is seen in terms of creating assets, while in the West the emphasis is on people development. The study also analyses the processors that contribute to leader development. It suggests a possible strategy for leader development in organisations, and a plan of action.

Prof. Ishwar Dayal is at present attached as Senior Fellow to the Shri Ram centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, New Delhi. He worked in the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, as Professor Emeritus until 1993. He completed in July 1988 his assignment as Founder Director of the fourth national-level Institute of Management at Lucknow. Prior to this, he was Dean, International Management Institute, New Delhi; Chief Technical Adviser, International Labour Organisation in their project in Logos, Nigeria; Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi; and Senior Professor at Indian Institute of Management at Calcutta and later in Ahmedabad. Prof. Dayal came to the teaching field in 1963 after having worked for about 15 years in senior managerial positions in the industry. Prof. Dayal has been consultant to many large organisations in india such as Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India, Indian Oil Corporation, Air India, Indian Airlines, Mafatlal Industries, Balmer Lawrie Group, DCM Group, Voltas, Bank of Baroda and others. He has served on several commissions and committees of the Union and State Governments. He has served on the Corporate Boards of several organisations such as Bharat Electronics Ltd., Indo Burmah Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation, National Textile Corporation and others. He is also on the governing council of several teaching and research institutions. Prof. Dayal has published 26 books and monographs and over 225 papers in journals and periodicals in India and abroad.