In most Indian organisations, particularly family-managed organisations, there is this somewhat natural phenomenon — the presence and the towering influence of the “small kings”, who lead small manufacturing units that are very much unique and have a superb record of manufacturing excellence. The CEOs are the real ‘small kings’ ( kurunila mannargal in Tamil.)

These small kings have a highly personalised style of leadership that best suits a semi-urban or rural environment. They are very strong on the technical side of things and, as it often happens, are superb ‘people managers’ who know how to get the best of any individual.

RARE COMPETENCIES

Since most other executives do not have even the smallest percentage of competencies that the small kings have, it is but natural that such highly talented leaders tower over all others and leave a lasting impression on every individual they meet with, at any point in time.

This author had the rare privilege of working with such a small king. He was — and is — streets ahead in terms of envisioning the future of his manufacturing unit (an independent small business unit) at any point in time. Trained abroad in advanced management in one of the B-schools in the world, he intelligently integrated the pro-active culture of his organisation with the nitty-gritty of advanced quality management principles. He has built a unique position for his organisation, where the process capabilities of the organisation are now simply world-class.

His out-of-the-box thinking capabilities are a treat to watch, as is his ability to join the “dots” at any point in time.

Of course, in one of his previous experiences, this author had met with several small kings in a huge Mumbai-based engineering conglomerate that has always been one of India’s finest profit-making organisations. As far as succession planning in such units is concerned, the trick is to pack the top management team with professionals who would match the competencies of the small kings. Recruitment and nurturing of the IIT-IIM cadre should be done professionally. A separate cadre of such youngsters should be attached to each small king, and such professionals should be given salary and perks that should be unique. Mentoring should be done by only the small kings.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The small kings should be part of “think-tanks” for strategic management, and they should only concentrate on the big picture. The small kings should also have smart engineer-MBAs as executive assistants. The role of these young professionals is to keep a tab and control of every single technical matter, and help the small king to take appropriate strategic decisions — even when they are in some part of the world, on official duty. Management of change should be the only agenda of the small kings. In fact, their responsibilities need to cut across different manufacturing units, particularly when piloting new initiatives having strategic implications.

Another big agenda for the small king would be building of competencies in a huge number of people. Such an initiative takes a huge amount of time, and it is imperative that the small kings take a leading role in this very important initiative.

In building the vital leadership pipeline, the small kings should be supported by senior HR professionals, who should be given the mandate to help in executing the change. External HR experts can also help a great deal.

The small kings can indeed become super small kings, in any environment — even in the remotest locations, if they are supported with a learning environment, where a good number of smart and young engineer-MBAs can be given the role of supporting them in various initiatives.

(The author is chief executive of his firm, Sankalp Management Consultants, Chennai.)

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