Q&A with GV Prasad of Dr. Reddy's
“Management is doing work through people, whereas leadership is developing people through work.” - GV Prasad, CEO and Co-Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
Excerpts from a one-to-one interview with GV Prasad conducted by Zia Patel, Director of Wolff Olins in India, for the Wolff Olins Report, Impossible and Now.
Tell me a little about how you understand leadership?
I don’t like to define leadership with words but I will try. There are many ways to interpret leadership and many qualities that define leadership. I look for three main qualities in a leader:
One, table stakes are their ethics and values. They are essential qualities that a leader should possess.
Two, the ability to raise the aspiration of the people and make them ambitious for where they can go, give them the freedom to self-direct and give them the opportunity of self-mastery.
Three, including everyone, not playing favorites, unleashing everyone’s potential and supporting them to take them where they want to go.
Dr. Reddy’s is a global company. What aligns your business from Hyderabad to Moscow to Princeton and anywhere else in the world?
Purpose. It sits at the heart of our business. People need to find motivation and once everyone has a common purpose and are all aligned; this unleashes a lot of energy that finds inspiration and motivation.
Purpose driven organizations are now emerging everywhere. Purpose is important big or small – may it be an independent pharmacy or a global pharmaceutical company.
I don’t see a difference between the east and west on this. All great companies are driven by purpose, a purpose that is higher than making profits and creating wealth. It’s about solving humanity’s source of pain or dissatisfaction. In that sense wherever they are in the world you can identify great companies by their purpose.
Change is the one thing that is constant. What are your views on this?
The world is changing faster every year. Specifically, there have been changes in technology, globalization and the Internet. Technology is steering a lot of industries in new and different directions.
You have four different generations working at Dr. Reddy’s. How have you adapted your leadership style?
I find that we are now leading many more young people. They are less attached to a company or a profession. They really push the envelope. It is a bit of a struggle for us to keep up, I must admit. I need to ensure that I’m able to learn at a much faster pace. The leadership needs to learn to give them more freedom and space.
You talk about purpose being a common thread in your business. What do you observe between an organizations’ purpose and an individual’s aspirations?
I think in the past, the relationship between an employer and employee was very different. Today different things motivate people and they don’t want to wait 20 years to lead an organization. They want to do their own thing – what gives them the greatest fulfilment so careers have become much more accelerated. The younger generation pursues things they love and things they want to do.
I think loyalty is often seen as something misplaced. People don’t have to be loyal to an individual or an organization; they have to be loyal to the passion they pursue, the cause they believe in and to the impact of their work. I see more of that in the younger generation, which makes me very hopeful. Today’s interconnected world offers them many opportunities to pursue their passions.
And lastly, what advice do you have for the younger workforce?
Passion is also extremely important and passion outside of work is even more important. If you don’t tap into that passion you won’t get employees who are fully engaged.
If I look at my own example, in the past I was very uni-dimensional, I used to focus only on work and not many other things. I expanded my horizons by reading books, by taking on hobbies like photography and wildlife. These hobbies have taught me the importance of leading a complete life. I believe that passionate people – whatever they are passionate about are the people who make a difference. You just need to tap into that passion. The organization must also give people the opportunity to pursue their passion. Passionate people can achieve extraordinary results.