Success attributes of business leaders from information technology industry: Evidence from India

Abstract

Leadership has long been associated with the success or failure of an organization. A good leader has certain defined attributes that contribute to the desirable or undesirable outcomes for an organization. Several studies have been conducted that have identified over 100 different attributes associated with effective leadership. Through this paper, the success attributes of business leaders in the IT industry in India are studied. The study made use of qualitative research approach wherein in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 leaders working in different IT organizations in Mumbai. Using thematic analysis, four segments of attributes i.e., analytical, personal, relational and strategic were identified, which contribute to the functional competencies of the leaders. The top four success attributes of Indian business leaders from the IT industry were integrity, identifying the right talent, job knowledge and social and self-awareness, which catalyzed organizational change as the dominant functional competency of the leaders.

Keywords

• Leadership
• Success attributes
• IT industry
• Analytical
• relational
• Personal