With more than twenty-five years of experience in the telecom industry,
Rahul Saxena, managing director, Verizon Data Services India, and senior VP,
Verizon Europe is an industry veteran and has worked in various departments from
operations to business development and strategic planning. During the last
twenty-three years with Bell Atlantic/Verizon, he has played key roles in
start-up operations in Czech and Slovak Republics and international business
development in Venezuela, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Indonesia, and Korea.
Saxena is one of the founders of Vodafone-Italy (Omnitel), a Verizon joint
venture with Vodafone in GSM wireless, and is a director on its Board since
2000. Prior to this, he has held several leadership positions with various
Verizon group companies and has led Verizon's mobile and wireline operations in
Europe. In a free-wheeling interview he talks about his leadership style and his
likes and dislikes among other things. Excerpts:
What is your management style?
A key element of my style is to 'manage upwards'-proactively anticipate the
needs and issues of the business and address them to make your boss and
organization successful. So, instead of me managing my people, they manage me.
This means a more proactive organization; my people should anticipate the
issues, bring them to me, and tell themselves how we should address them. In a
sense, the management of people becomes inverted: the people below manage their
bosses rather than the other way around. I have found this to be a subtle, but
very effective way to motivate and empower people and get their full engagement.
I try to do the same with my boss-anticipate his needs and address them.
However, to implement such a way of working requires that the people in the
group have a very clear sense of my vision and direction and those of the
organization. I do embrace very strongly the idea of 'Shadow of the Leader'-a
leader intentionally or otherwise, makes a mark on his/her people and,
hopefully, it is a good mark. A leader cannot lead but by example.
What do you do to motivate yourself?
I find that making a difference whether at work or in people is what
motivates and excites me everyday. The sense of gratification of having had an
impact is enormous. There is also a desire to test myself, and see if I can
overcome challenges and not be afraid-whether it is in navigating a difficult
ski-slope or in facing a difficult business problem or business partner-the
satisfaction in overcoming fear is quite a high.
What are the challenges you face as a leader?
Keeping the energy level and productivity high within the organization, and
not letting people rest on their past achievements are key challenges for a
large organization. There is a natural tendency in all of us, including myself,
to get into a rhythm and routine.
How do you maintain work-life balance?
This is a challenge that I have always faced. I don't think I do a very good
job at it, and the balance usually tips in favor of work. It is also true that I
could never relax if work was not under control. Yet, I do strive hard and
remind myself of the personal aspects of my life. A conversation, howsoever
brief with my wife, is probably the most important part of my daily routine,
peppered with some regular email/SMS contact with my daughters in New York or my
mother in Delhi that keeps me on track and my emotional batteries charged. I do
find that physical activity-and for me it is usually some form of exercise or,
if I have time, tennis or golf-provides a very effective means to offset the
disproportionate time spent on work-related matters.
What are your other interests?
Reading books on history and more recently on religion are my interets.
Painting with oils, and editing and making home movies are my other interests.
Sometimes I dabble in cooking-Italian and Indian. My favorites are bhunva meat
and risotto con frutti di mare.
What do you do in your spare time?
I like to be outdoors, even if it means the verandah! I feel, like a plant,
I need sunlight to keep me going. One of the most enjoyable, quick ways to relax
is to watch a few music videos of Dev Anand or Raj Kapoor films, or the more
contemporary films like Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, etc. Hollywood's You've
Got Mail and Forest Gump, and classics like Guns of Navarone, Casablanca or
classics of Hitchcock still remain my much watched films.
What is your success mantra?
I hold a strong belief that any human being with honest effort and without
fear of loss can learn anything and succeed at most things. For me, everyday is
my personal battleground of 'Kurukshetra' where I have to try to do my bit
without fear of consequence. It sounds simple but overcoming inaction and fear
is still my greatest personal challenge.
What were your dreams when you were growing up?
The dreams kept changing with time. Initially, I wanted to be an engineer,
then a doctor, then an investment banker on Wall Street with an office with a
rich mahogany desk. There was a phase, when I had just arrived in the US for a
PhD program, when I missed home and wanted to return to do something more
meaningful and down-to-earth like work on a farm rather than do research on some
esoteric economic topic like 'rational expectations and inflation dynamics'.
Although this is what I ended up doing!
Tell us something about your background?
I grew up in Delhi in quintessential Dilliwallah way: our language at home
was Hindustani/Urdu and mannerisms were of Delhi of the yesteryears and a Delhi
of the books, and one which I believe really does not exist anymore. My dad was
a senior executive with the Birlas, and I remained in awe of him for many years.
His work ethic and sense of duty, and constant reminder 'just do your duty
without fear' stayed with me subconsciously. I followed my dad's path and
attended St Stephens, and after my masters in economics, left for Columbia, New
York for a PhD.
Gagandeep Kaur
gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in
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