The fine art of Leadership

John C Maxwel, rightly said, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Here, AABP brings views on what leadership means in the publishing industry. Harish Doraiswamy is a B Tech from IIT Chennai and has completed his PGDM from IIM Calcutta. He joined Pearson India as the vice president, Direct Delivery for the Schools vertical. As a part of the core leadership team of Pearson India, he is responsible for driving and managing Pearson Schools, Edurite, TutorVista and Pearson Learning Centres in India. Harish has over 22 years of rich business management experience across education, media, FMCG and BFSI sectors. Harish’s core expertise lies in business strategy planning and execution, project evaluation & management and building productive teams.

Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to “lead” or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. Here, Harish Doraiswamy, vice president, Schools Management, Pearson India and Qualifications, shares his views on the same.

AABP: What do you like most about your work?

Harish: Being in the education industry gives me an immense sense of satisfaction. The fact that we are working towards something that is helping shape the citizens of tomorrow really motivates me to go a mile extra, while at work. The education industry is going through a massive transformation and each day is a learning experience which makes work all the more exciting for me.

AABP: Your Marketing Mantra?

Harish: I’ve always believed in keeping it simple. At the crux of it, we want to weave a brand story that connects us with our customers. If people cannot relate to your product or service, the essence of it is lost.

AABP: How do you motivate your team?

Harish: Keeping teams’ motivated gets easier when there is open communication in the organization. We have always encouraged teams to be proactive when it comes to idea generation. Every person, irrespective of their designation is encouraged to voice their opinion and help us grow.

AABP: A challenging situation at work and how you solved it?

Harish: Health and Safety is an issue that is not proactively managed in India, especially in the education sector. A couple of years ago, all the schools we helped manage, were faced with a situation in which a lot had to be done to get them to Pearson’s Global Standards. We succeeded in creating visible transformation in a short time and have kept up the momentum since. As we look at our journey in retrospect, the way our team made this happen was – build awareness, created prominence for the issue, drove accountability, celebrated success and kept raising the bar.

AABP: Who is your Target audience?

Harish: Education boards, Teachers, Students, Schools, Parents, Colleges and Institutes.

AABP: Your favorite Movie/ Book / Hobby?

Harish: My favourite book is Leverage Leadership by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, favourite movie is The Silence of the Lambs. I used to enjoy playing sports, now I only watch it. Alas!