Hire People Who Elevate Your Team’s Capability

I went through your LinkedIn profile and was impressed by how you’ve transitioned across various industries. Could you share more about your journey and what inspired these moves?

Looking back at my career, I’d like to share some key experiences with you. Right after my MBA from IIM Indore, one of my first jobs was as a compensation consultant at Hewitt Associates — now Aon. I made it a point to learn the basics of compensation benchmarking. We conducted numerous surveys, and at that stage, I was learning the ropes. The experience of understanding compensation comprehensively, including equity compensation, benefits, and cash compensation, has served me well over the years.

I did that for a while; it was a great learning opportunity. Eventually, I decided to get into a core HR role, not just consulting. I joined Wipro Technologies as the HR business partner for a specific service line for a few years. That helped me ground myself in HR business partnering, working with business stakeholders on people issues, and learning to work in a large organisation. Wipro also sent me abroad to handle their Asia-Pacific human resources. I relocated to Japan, handling
Southeast Asia, including Japan, China, Singapore, and Malaysia. This was a pivotal career moment that accelerated my learning, exposing me to international HR and giving me intercultural experience in a different country.

One of the life lessons I have from that is if you want to develop talent, you need to give them early and diverse responsibilities. In the early part of their career, if you’re sure about someone, you can load them up with responsibility and see if they swim. I spent about six years in Wipro, then returned to India and did a small M&A as part of my final role there. I then transitioned to Adobe Systems.

Adobe was interesting because product companies were starting to come to India. I wanted to see how it differed from Wipro. Adobe was enriching; I did business partnering and handled compensation and HR systems until we hired others in those roles. I learned how a product company works and its nuances. This was also when Adobe was transitioning from selling CDs to selling subscriptions online. I witnessed and helped manage the HR aspects of that cultural change.

After a few years at Adobe, I aspired to a larger leadership role. I briefly moved into a company in the ad tech space, then became the head of HR for the McKinsey Knowledge Centre in Gurgaon. This role was another industry shift, from services to product to consulting. The Knowledge Centre handled high-end business research, data analytics, and deep domain work. It was an interesting role, dealing with complex, global stakeholders who sponsored positions in the centre.

After a few years, I finally moved to Tejas Networks, where I’m currently the CHRO. This role is exciting because I lead HR for a revenue-facing organisation. As Tejas is a listed company, there’s extra responsibility in running a solid HR function. Tejas also has a manufacturing setup, which was new for me and allowed me to delve into an area I hadn’t handled before.

This is a small summary of my 25 years of experience. Each transition was challenging, involving different industries and HR policies, and each contributed to my development as a professional.

We often hear that getting the right people is everything in an organisation. Can you talk to us about the talent acquisition process in your organisation and how you ensure you get the right people on board?

What I’m going to do is try to distil some of the enduring lessons I’ve learned in talent acquisition. These aren’t from a book or any specific source; they’re insights I’ve gathered and reinforced over time.

The first is to always hire people who enhance the average capability of the team. Sometimes hiring managers bring in people who don’t necessarily elevate the team’s overall capability. The aspiration in any recruitment process should be that the next person you hire raises the average capability of your team. Hire above your team’s average capability, ensuring that every new hire contributes positively to the group.

The second insight, based on my experience as a recruiter, talent leader, and advisor to senior leadership, is the notion of the perfect candidate. We write a nice job description and say, “This is exactly what I want,” expecting this person to tick all the boxes before joining the team. But the truth is, there is no perfect candidate. Instead, focus on broad alignment with the must-have qualities — no more than two or three critical parameters for any role. If a candidate aligns with 70 per cent of these must-haves, the remaining 30 per cent should be about learnability. You have to trust that the person will pick up what’s needed and grow into the role. It’s about believing in the fungibility of human potential.

No assessment process is perfect. Interviewing, the most widely used method, has low predictive validity, as studies show. This leads to my third point: we will all make hiring mistakes, and that’s okay. The key is to recognise when a mistake has been made and to address it quickly. Rather than chasing perfection, sometimes it’s good to go with your gut. Most of the time, you’ll get it right, but occasionally you won’t — and that’s acceptable as long as corrective action is taken.

My fourth point is about intrinsic qualities like ownership, attitude, and motivation. These are incredibly difficult to coach or instil. Ownership is intrinsic, attitude is intrinsic, and motivation is intrinsic. While organisational factors can influence these to some extent, they are primarily qualities people bring with them. The intrinsic drive to do a good job, take ownership of delivering results, and approach work with the right attitude is crucial. In my experience, these qualities cannot be taught — they can only be nudged. So, assess for these traits during the hiring process.

Lastly, we must be realistic about the relationship between talent and compensation. As the saying goes, in the market, you get the talent you pay for. It’s essential to have a clear view of the organisation’s compensation philosophy — what we can pay and, consequently, the level of talent we can attract.

Those are the five or six key takeaways I’d highlight in the talent acquisition space. Over the years, these practices have served me well, and I believe they are valuable lessons others can apply.

For the next point of discussion, I’d like to draw inspiration from MS Dhoni, whom I greatly admire. One of the most remarkable things about his leadership is how players, who might be performing at a certain level in other teams, seem to elevate their game under his captaincy. What are your thoughts on talent management in this context?

Good point. Talent management is critical for organisations, and in this era, there has to be a conscious focus on it. It’s important for people to understand that they own their careers. It’s often said, “You are the CEO of your own career.” Organisational enablers, such as internal growth processes or providing diverse responsibilities, should certainly exist. However, it must be abundantly clear that individuals are ultimately responsible for driving their careers forward. It’s not about spoon-feeding or laying out a rigid path. While having a template can be helpful, if people aren’t intrinsically motivated to take charge, things simply won’t progress. They need to raise their hand, take on responsibilities, and actively shape their career paths.

This doesn’t mean that organisational enablers aren’t important. One of the best enablers, in my experience, is to provide early and diverse responsibilities. I’ve spoken earlier about the fungibility of human potential — if you believe talent can adapt and learn, then in the first 10 years of someone’s career, it’s highly beneficial to give them early responsibilities, even if they’re only 70 per cent ready, and offer them varied experiences. This approach helps them develop a broader understanding of the business context, rather than being stuck with a narrow or tunnel-vision perspective.

At the same time, it’s essential to recognise the value of specialists. Some roles require deep expertise, which takes years to build. For example, in technical roles or highly specialised areas, we need to respect the time and dedication it takes to become highly skilled. Specialists like architects or experts in risk modelling, who may have been building their expertise for 20 years, bring immense value. It’s about finding the right balance between generalist and specialist paths within the organisation. Some individuals may naturally become generalists, while others will pursue deep specialisation. Both are equally important.

Finally, organisations should maintain an open mind about moving people across functions. There may be times when this leads to short-term suboptimal outcomes as individuals adjust to new roles. However, this is part of the process of developing talent for the long term.

We’ve talked about talent — skills and competencies — but people are more than that. Could you walk us through your approach to people management within an organisation?

Yes, when I say people management, I’m talking about how managers manage employees and the impact they have on their experiences and careers. People management is crucial, especially if your business is people-centric and employees form the bedrock of the organisation. Over time, I’ve managed teams and served as a coach and counsellor to line managers on managing people effectively.

One key thought I have is that managers shouldn’t micromanage, but they must understand what it takes to get the job done. They can’t just say, “I don’t know how you’re getting it done, just get it done.” A manager should have a clear appreciation of what delivering a task entails. However, while they know this, they must avoid stepping in to do someone else’s work. It’s about striking a balance — knowing what you’re asking of your team while having the confidence and restraint to trust them to deliver. Employees sometimes don’t respect managers who say, “I don’t even understand what you’re doing,” because their natural reaction might be, “If you don’t understand my challenges, how can I look up to you?” So, managers need to strike that fine balance between understanding the details and providing room for their employees to  perform.

The second aspect is ensuring employees don’t feel like they’re merely tools to accomplish tasks. This is where the softer skills of a manager come into play. Managers should build amicable relationships with their team members — relationships that go beyond being transactional. Managers need that fine line where they’re friendly but not friends with their reporters. If a manager is too distant, team members may hesitate to share concerns. Conversely, being too close can create other complications. Striking this balance — friendly but not friends — is essential.

The third point is about vulnerability. Many managers think that saying sorry or showing vulnerability is a sign of weakness, worrying it will undermine their authority. I believe the opposite is true. It’s okay for managers to be vulnerable and admit mistakes. For instance, apologising for something said in the heat of the moment doesn’t reduce respect — it increases it. It demonstrates self-awareness and accountability.

Finally, managers can’t afford to say they don’t have time to train or mentor people. If someone reports to you and you’re responsible for assessing their performance, it’s part of your role to invest in their growth. I often hear managers say, “I don’t have time to build my team’s capabilities.” That’s simply not acceptable. Training, mentoring, and developing your team are integral to being a manager.

These are the principles I follow personally and the ones I emphasise when guiding line managers.

Many professionals and individuals from other industries aspire to transition into HR roles. With your vast experience and insights, what advice would you offer them to grow, develop, and succeed in this field?

I’ll keep it practical and avoid diving into the technical aspects of the job. You can learn HR formally through an MBA or training, so I’ll focus on what, in my view, makes a successful people manager.

First, you need to understand the business. This is often emphasised, but it’s vital. You must also have conceptual clarity in HR to provide advice that integrates deep HR knowledge with a sound understanding of business dynamics. HR isn’t just a ‘soft’ field — it has depth, and being comfortable with numbers is now a necessity. It’s no longer just about being touchy-feely; if you want a seat at the table, you need clarity and a strong grasp of numeracy.

Second, empathy is indispensable. This is something AI cannot replicate. A good HR professional genuinely empathises with the human condition, putting themselves in employees’ shoes while also understanding leadership’s needs. HR is often the bridge between the two, and finding the right balance is critical.

Lastly, you need curiosity and humility. Be curious about the world. If AI or any other topic is relevant, nothing stops you from exploring it further. You don’t have to know everything, and it’s perfectly fine to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Curiosity, humility, empathy, functional knowledge, and numeracy — these five traits are the cornerstones of a successful career in HR.

And above all, keep learning. Learnability is non-negotiable. Over a 30-year career, the world will change dramatically, and staying adaptable is essential to thriving in this field.