The Osmosis of Leadership
By Pepper de Callier
For many years I have been interested in, and fascinated by, the subtle, almost
unconscious, effect a leader can have on an entire organization. The impact of a leader’s
style seeps deeply into an enterprise affecting people and decisions the leader will never
know about, at least not individually, but collectively it is a far different and powerful
story—one that is played out daily all over the world in businesses and governments.
Two examples of this that come quickly to mind come from the United States and from
the Czech Republic by way of India.
In his recent article in Newsweek International titled “Trouble From The Top Down”,
Jonathan Alter describes and analyzes a process he calls bureaucratic osmosis in which,
“…the character and temperament of the man in the Oval Office [courses] through
thousands of smaller decisions, often thousands of miles away.” Alter continues, “If the
president is supple and open-minded, those decisions made many layers below him are
more likely to be agile and empirical. If he’s stubborn and too sure that he has all the
answers, the modeling of his behavior is likely to result in decisions you would ground
your teenager for.” One must assume that Alter is describing his view of the current
governmental administration in Washington, D.C. and osmosis at its worst.
The wisdom of Alter’s message is not just in its content. Any serious student of
leadership knows that his assertion is true. It’s the clear, common-sense way in which he
delivers that message that causes one to shake one’s head in agreement. As I was
shaking my head in agreement, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the parallels to this
concept in the world of business and specifically some people I had recently met in
Prague. After nearly four decades in business I have had the pleasant, and sometimes not
so pleasant, experience of meeting many business leaders from a number of different
cultures. Our discussions invariably involved my asking them to tell me about their
business. Most of the responses to my question had the distinct feel of “sound bites”
from a media commercial or memorized passages from an annual report versus personal
statements of ethics or values. Comments like “best in class, market leader, innovator,
customer awareness, maximizing return to our investors,” etc., are common.
Recently, my wife and I were among many people invited to a reception at the residence
of the Indian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, His Excellency P.S. Raghavan, where
something quite unexpected and refreshing occurred. The purpose of the reception was
to announce and celebrate a major investment of India-based Hinduja Group and one of
its member companies, Ashok Leyland, in the Czech Republic. Ambassador Raghavan
also introduced some of the senior management of Hinduja Group and Ashok Leyland.
What really got my attention was how the Chairman of Hinduja, Srichand P. Hinduja,
and Anders Spåre, the CEO of LRLIH Ltd., an affiliate company of Hinduja Group,
described the Hinduja Group. I had met Mr. Spåre a few days earlier and in our
conversation I asked him to tell me about the company. After a brief explanation of the
history of the Hinduja family, he said quite directly and with some pride, “We are a
values-driven organization.” I asked him what that meant exactly. He told me that the
credo of the group’s founder, Shri Parmanand Hinduja, was, “My duty is to work so that I
can give.” “That,” Spåre said, “is at our core. Each year a portion of our profit goes to
hospitals, clinics, and various charities. We believe this to be our social responsibility.”
In addition, Mr. Spåre went on to explain that Hinduja was a “mistake-tolerant”
workplace in which its employees were supported in learning from their mistakes which
creates an environment of trust and long-term partnership. This was the way in which he
chose to describe his company—a far cry from what I had been used to hearing in
response to my question.
Later, at the reception in his public address, Mr. Hinduja echoed that message adding
that, “…the decision to invest in the Czech Republic was tantamount to making a
decision to marry—it’s a very long-term commitment in our view and one we take very
seriously.”
Experiencing the palpable sincerity and common-sense of these two executives and the
others in their party with whom I had talked, I couldn’t help but shake my head in
agreement—osmosis at its best.
All of which begs the question: As a leader, what osmotic effect are you having on your
organization?
Good luck on your way up!
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