How India Works: Making Sense of a Complex Corporate Culture

An article in the Harvard Business Review once said that the most valuable skill for the 21st century manager is the ability to work across cultures. Around the world, it is increasingly recognized that an understanding of a country’s work culture plays a significant part in success at one’s job. Every group of people has subtle drivers of behaviour, values and beliefs, an understanding of which could help you navigate your way around the workplace. Indians are no exception. We have some innate strengths that we seldom take credit for. Like the uncommon capacity to deal with ambiguity and to think on the fly; the emphasis we place on forming and sustaining relationships at work; and the willingness to go beyond the call of duty as we see our jobs as an extension of our personal lives. And then there are traits that may confuse the uninitiated at first and need some getting used to - such as saying ’yes’ to an assigned task when we actually mean ’no’, our flexible attitude to time, and the famous Indian head wag. Based on extensive interviews with corporate leaders - Indians as well as expatriates and repatriates, who offer insider and outsider perspectives on the psyche of the Indian in the workplace - How India Works is a guide to the cultural nuances and complexities of working in India. It will make your life in office a little easier.

Aarti Kelshikar is an intercultural consultant and coach with over fifteen years of work experience in India, Singapore and the Philippines. She is a certified facilitator of Cultural Intelligence from the Cultural Intelligence Center in the US. She is also a certified executive coach from the international Neuro Leadership group. Since 2008, she has been associated with two US-based global mobility companies, for which she has delivered customized intercultural training programmes for professionals relocating worldwide. She has trained senior executives from multinational corporations like Nestle, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, and Texas Instruments. She is also a consultant with a leadership development company in India, for which she has conducted workshops on building a global mindset and enhancing executive presence.