Rajeev Peshawaria

From taxi rides, hotel stays, car driving, to communicating and paying, everything we knew as normal has changed beyond recognition. For the first time in human history, knowledge is free and almost every boundary to communication has been lifted. This open source world has permanently altered the business landscape. And you can count on the fact that the pace of change will only accelerate. Yet . . . companies still rely on management tools and practices that were, at best, mildly effective in… Show more

From taxi rides, hotel stays, car driving, to communicating and paying, everything we knew as normal has changed beyond recognition. For the first time in human history, knowledge is free and almost every boundary to communication has been lifted. This open source world has permanently altered the business landscape. And you can count on the fact that the pace of change will only accelerate. Yet . . . companies still rely on management tools and practices that were, at best, mildly effective in their heyday. In Open Source Leadership, Rajeev Peshawaria reveals the vision, insight, and practices he has used to help some of today’s largest and most influential organizations meet the open source world head on. It all starts with asking the right questions:

What’s the most effective leadership style in a world of 24/7 connectivity?
How has the very concept of leadership changed in the open source era?
How do you inspire and reward performance in the “gig economy”?
How do you measure engagement and effectively address the gaps?
How can you lead innovation—quickly and continuously?
Peshawaria reveals the answers to these questions—and they will surprise you. Based on his company’s groundbreaking research spanning 28 countries, he concludes that traditional industrial age thinking needs a massive upgrade to successfully navigating the brave new world of business. Open Source Leadership rewrites the rules of management, giving you a unique look at the most common misperceptions, illusions, and downright wrong information you’ve been getting about what works and what doesn’t. It provides a new, counterintuitive model for seizing competitive edge in any industry. Among other issues the book argues convincingly that “positive autocracy” must replace democratic leadership; talent and innovation are abundant not scarce; early identification of high-potentials is counter-productive; and setting employees free to do as little as they want will increase productivity. Show less

A series of thoughtful essay about what determines whether leaders and their organizations rise, fall or stagnate. The key differentiator is not products, services or technology. It is leadership.

The business world is in need of many things at the moment — an economic boost, a lower unemployment rate and a better plan to insure workers, to name just a few. But the biggest void by far may be the lack of inspiring leaders. There is a growing and critical need for leaders who can show us the way out of the current downturn and point the way to a more productive future.
In his new book, Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Free Press), Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of ICLIF, former chief learning… Show more

The business world is in need of many things at the moment — an economic boost, a lower unemployment rate and a better plan to insure workers, to name just a few. But the biggest void by far may be the lack of inspiring leaders. There is a growing and critical need for leaders who can show us the way out of the current downturn and point the way to a more productive future.
In his new book, Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Free Press), Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of ICLIF, former chief learning officer at Morgan Stanley and a veteran of dozens of blue chip companies, shares more than two decades of experience in what it really takes to become an exceptional leader — one who not only runs the company but creates a cadre of supporters who understand the company’s goals and missions and work to embody them every day. Part playbook and part an experienced guide through the world of leadership, this book has the potential to unlock the leadership potential inside those who not only lead companies, but run divisions, head up teams and work in roles across their companies every day.
“Leadership,” writes Peshawaria, “can neither be learned in a classroom, nor automatically acquired by accepting a big title or position of authority. Leadership needs to be discovered, and there is no shortcut to the discovery process.”
The book outlines the discovery process itself, offering steps for creating a leader who can tap into unlimited emotional energy, align the energy of a powerful few and galvanize the energy of the masses to create sustainable success. Show less

The cry for a more inclusive form of capitalism is growing. But the irony is: We are using the same tools to drive responsible behavior, that caused the excesses of shareholder centric capitalism in the first place: Incentives and Regulations.
18th century economist Adam Smith propagated profit maximization as the incentive for businesses to create goods and services that society needs. Free-market competition would ensure consumers get the best quality product at the cheapest price, he… Show more

The cry for a more inclusive form of capitalism is growing. But the irony is: We are using the same tools to drive responsible behavior, that caused the excesses of shareholder centric capitalism in the first place: Incentives and Regulations.
18th century economist Adam Smith propagated profit maximization as the incentive for businesses to create goods and services that society needs. Free-market competition would ensure consumers get the best quality product at the cheapest price, he argued.
200 years later, American economist Milton Friedman agreed in his seminal 1970 New York Times op-ed, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits.” However, to ensure businesses do no harm, he added “so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” Now, incentives coupled with some regulations were to safeguard societal interests.
What happened? Incentives created bad behavior, and regulations were routinely bypassed with intelligent loopholes. And now we want businesses to behave more responsibly. But what tools are we using? Incentives and Regulation. That’s essentially what the ESG framework is. And what do we see? Rampant greenwashing and box-ticking.
To address today’s existential challenges, we need innovation of the highest order. Innovation can neither be legislated nor driven by extrinsic incentives alone. To bring about real change, we need a values-driven revolution. We need Steward Leadership – which is the genuine desire and persistence to create a collective better future for stakeholders and society at large. Boards need to up their game from ESG to ESL, where the L stands for Steward Leadership. In ESL, G is a subset of L.
Sustainable Sustainability lays out a practical, step by step playbook for any commercial entity that wants to succeed at ‘doing well by doing good.’ Show less