In today’s uncertain atmosphere, how can business leaders create a high-performance work culture?
Uncertainty is actually when culture matters most. What kept people performing at Airtel was clarity, not comfort. Leaders need to communicate honestly about a situation, give people a clear role in solving it, and stay visible. People do not need to be protected from the truth. They need to trust that the leadership has a plan.
What can middle-to-senior level managers at the risk of being retrenched do to keep their jobs?
Start solving problems that matter to the business today, not problems that mattered last year. Organisations keep people who make themselves indispensable—not by working longer hours but by taking on what others are avoiding.
And be ruthlessly honest about whether your skills are still relevant. Close it before someone else points it out. Blinkit’s pivot from Grofers is instructive.
What should those losing jobs due to AI and other factors do to make themselves employable?
Do not panic, but do not wait either. Be clear-eyed about what AI has taken over in your role and what it cannot. The opportunity is not in avoiding AI but in combining your domain expertise with it.
At the senior level, do not rely on job portals—most opportunities come through people. Work your network with the same urgency you would bring to any other priority. Lenskart’s AI-powered virtual try-on has not replaced their optometrists and store staff, it has made them more effective. The staff who embraced it can serve three times the customers in the same time. The technology did not eliminate the human role—it raised the bar.
Today, many companies let go of people who are low performers. Is there a lacuna in the current hiring process that cannot identify low performers right at the beginning?
Hiring for attitude and values is harder than hiring for skills, but far more predictive of performance.
Most hiring processes test competence well and test character poorly. Speak to people who have worked with the candidate, not just for them—references from peers and subordinates tell you far more than references from seniors.
Zomato consistently hired for hunger and adaptability over pedigree, which is why their leadership team looks very different from a traditional FMCG or services company.
