I See a Lot of Hope for Young HR Leaders to Become CEOs: Manmohan S. Kalsy

The uncertain complexity around the recent worldwide outbreak and its subsequent managerial responsibilities have got many people wondering whether now the shift from being a CHRO to a CEO would be too long a leap to imagine. This stems from the root belief that people who are at the forefront of management when it comes to crisis aversion and handling shall perhaps be accredited with the perks of hierarchical validation. 

Remarking on the same, Manmohan S. Kalsy said “This has been a question in the pre-COVID era and we have seen some sterling examples of very effective HR actioners of becoming CEOs. It’s a combination of many things apart from capability and I think that this topic will gain more momentum in post-COVID regime because there have been a plethora of opportunities to exhibit leadership, abilities and taking the center stage taking place in the realm of arts and not in pure sciences.”

'Compassionate Communication Key for HR Professionals in the New World' was the topic of the inaugural episode of BWPeople Presents #RandstadLeadershipDialogues in association with BW Businessworld and Randstad India. The first episode which is the first installment of the series saw a diverse panel, amidst which was Manmohan S. Kalsy, CHRO, United Breweries Ltd. Keeping up with the theme. Kalsy elaborated his views quoting, “A lot of leaders at many levels are extremely good and competent in taking decisions which are fairly binary. Things are ambiguous and there’s a constant factor of vulnerability which makes it’s a tentative situation to be in.” He examines how a lot of HR people take initiative and move ahead with guided instructions on how to tide over.

He believes that there is no better time than this to move forward and take charge. “It’s not about taking your pound of flesh but it’s about bringing back to the home of your organization.” It has been observed and recorded that organizations, where the leadership was HR titled or People fronted, has done far better in the course of management in lieu of the pandemic crisis. There is no need to hold command centrally but perhaps to build organizations on a structure that enables the people at the lowest level to be effective and productive by taking their own decisions.