Empowerment is about giving employees a participatory role, which capitalises on their own judgement and expertise, thereby leading to an increased sense of individual worth and commitment. True inspiring leaders empower their team because they believe that this will build their capacity to execute ideas for accomplishing a collection mission and goals.
A country with talent oozing in every sphere of life, India has produced a lot of charismatic leaders of the world. Especially when it comes to the business sphere, some of the best empowering leaders- Ratan Tata, Sanjiv Bajaj, Rahul Bajaj, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and more have revamped the face of the Indian business landscape. These leaders realise that employees are the most important assets and consider the alignment of organisational goals and individual aspirations as the most crucial element.
The top empowering leaders in India are also famous financial leaders who have the zeal and vision to take their ventures to new heights while empowering all stakeholders in their journey to success. Their empowering leadership encompasses everything- from operational excellence to financial and manufacturing excellence.
They truly understand the power of digitisation and technology adoption to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences while allowing their employees to achieve their full potential with ease – this is what true leadership entails. When one equips all facets of their businesses with the right tools, techniques, and guidance to perform exceptionally well, they can be labelled as the top empowering leaders of India.
Sanjiv Bajaj
One of the most popular names in the financial services sector – Sanjiv Bajaj has made it to the list of top financial business leaders in India. The Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv guarantees operational excellence and makes life easy for the end consumer by leveraging digitisation. A modern thinker, Sanjiv Bajaj reinvents his business every three to five years as he understands the power of technology to empower his employees and end-users. His vision for the company and leadership skills is what made Bajaj Allianz General Insurance the second-most profitable insurance corporation in India. He has been awarded several prestigious accolades including India Today’s 50 Most Powerful People, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2017, Financial Express– Banker of the Year 2019, and many more. He is also actively doing his bit in the corporate social responsibility sphere.
Kumar Mangalam Birla
Another popular name in the commodities sector, Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. He is a strong believer that businesses can not merely be built on opportunities, if abiding by his values means growing at a relatively slower pace, then so be it. This empowering leader believes that leadership is all about staying true to what you advocate and not just jumping at every opportunity that comes your way. His success mantra is clearly visible in the way he has steered his business to the top. In two decades, he made around 40 strategic investments firming up his position as an industry leader. His conglomerate has emerged as a powerhouse across segments such as fiber, cement, textile, chemical, telecom, and more. This 4th generation empowering leader has been carrying on his father’s legacy since the young age of 28.
Anil Agarwal
Born in 1954, Anil Agarwal is the founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited. He owns a 100% stake in the company through the holding vehicle, Volcan Investments. A humanitarian as well, Anil Agarwal formed the Vedanta Foundation in 1992, for the Vedanta group companies to carry out their philanthropic initiatives. His philanthropic mandates are spread across various causes such as education, environment, healthcare, and community upliftment. A true visionary and one of the most empowering leaders, Anil Agrawal built his empire from scratch. Up until four decades ago, Anil Agarwal used to run a small scrap metal business and today he can boast of being one of India’s wealthiest tycoons with a flourishing empire spanning across petroleum and mining. His initiatives have led him to be a part of the top empowering leaders’ list and he has many awards to his credit such as The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, The Economic Times, Business Leader Award, The Asian Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, and many more.
Ajay Piramal
Popularly known as the Warren Buffet of India, Ajay Piramal is one of the top industrialists of India who keeps a low profile. Born on 3 August 1955, Ajay Piramal is the Chairman of the Piramal Group, a corporation that is flourishing in many sectors such as real estate, glass packaging, pharmaceutical, healthcare analytics, and financial services. Recognised for his strategic business expertise, he bought Nicholas Laboratories in 1988 which is now amongst the top 5 Indian pharma companies. He has made multiple foreign acquisitions, the notable ones being the Indian subsidiaries of ICI, Roche, Hoechst Research Centre, Boehringer Mannheim, and others. He also gave India its first shopping mall- Crossroads in Mumbai developed on three out of use Piramal factory buildings. Just like any other empowering leader, Piramal too has multiple awards to his credit such as International Advertising Association Leadership Awards, Business Leader of the Year Award, CNBC Asia’s India Business Leader of the Year Award and Special Achievement Award, Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards, amongst others.
Sunil Bharti Mittal
Sunil Bharti Mittal is commonly known for his flagship company Bharti Airtel which revolutionised the telecom sector in India by making voice and data services available to the common man. The Founder and Chairperson of Bharti Enterprises is a first-generation entrepreneur known to have kick-started his journey with a mere Rs. 20,000 that he took as a loan from his father. Today, under his vision and leadership, Bharti Airtel is one of the world’s main and India’s second-largest telecom companies. It has a consumer base running into over 400 million across 18 countries. The multiple businesses headed by Mittal include telecom, food, real estate, insurance, and others. He has received many coveted awards such as Padma Bhushan and various industry honours and honorary doctorates from important universities. The philanthropic wing, Bharti Foundation is known for doing great work at the grass-root level.
Azim Premji
The first name that crops up when you think of someone leading their life by example is Azim Premji. Alongside his immaculate business sense, he has a heart of gold. He believes that people who enjoy the privilege of wealth should try and create a better world for the underprivileged. In 2019, he became India’s top philanthropist and has been known to empower the world through philanthropic initiatives. One of the most inspiring leaders in India, Azim Premji guided Wipro for over 40 years and through diversification and expansion, eventually led it to emerge as the software powerhouses globally. In 2005, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his notable work and in 2011 he received the Padma Vibhushan. Azim Premji has left no stone unturned in making the world a better place for generations to come while empowering future leaders to do the same.