Leadership Coaches In High Demand As Young Startup Founders Seek Guidance

Business and leadership coaches are helping executives evolve into effective leaders, ensuring the smooth functioning of organisations and startups. Many seasoned professionals are turning to business coaching to leverage their experience optimally.

Ravichandran Venkataraman, a global leader with 35 years of experience in banking, consulting, shared services, and education, is the founder of Alive Consulting, a firm specialising in leadership training, mentoring, and coaching. He also serves as an Independent Director on the board of Ujjivan Bank, Chairperson of eVidyaloka, and Resident Director at Outpost India, the technology subsidiary of UK-based Outpost VFX.

In an interview with Bizz Buzz, Ravichandran Venkataraman discusses academia-corporate partnerships, the role of business and leadership coaches in the startup ecosystem, and India’s evolving work culture

What is the importance of a business and leadership coach in today’s date?

A business and leadership coach has always been invaluable for leaders. One of the primary reasons is that leaders operate close to the scene of action, making it difficult to maintain objectivity in every situation. This is much like a king who relied on a set of court advisors, with a chief advisor guiding critical decisions. In today’s world, especially with the rise of startups, many leaders are young. While they often possess strong technical expertise, they may lack the life experiences necessary for nuanced decision-making.

A leadership coach helps bridge this gap, providing perspective and guiding leaders in their growth. A key role of the coach is to think beyond conventional approaches. Rather than providing direct solutions, the coach uses inquiry-driven methods to help leaders analyse challenges, explore different viewpoints, and arrive at well-reasoned conclusions. When a leader feels stuck, the coach serves as a sounding board - helping them navigate complexity rather than dictating answers. Ultimately, a leadership coach does not solve problems for leaders but empowers them to develop clarity, confidence, and critical thinking needed to lead effectively.

As a mentor to CEOs and founder of Alive Consulting, what is your opinion about how has leadership changed over the years?

Leadership qualities are timeless and would include authenticity, vision, adaptability, communication, execution, people skills, knowledge, and decision making, among others. While these qualities are timeless, what will be brought out to play will depend on the situation. The qualities that come to play will depend on how Leaders interpret the situation. Further, with changes in technology and the social fabric, the ways in which business gets executed have changed. This has caused changes in approach.

Qualities remain the same but how I approach a situation differs. The speed at which business is done is significantly higher. Markets are now beyond traditional borders. What could wait a week for a decision, now will not wait more than few minutes. This has resulted in leaders having to make more decisions instantly and in uncertainty. Kodak is a very good example. From near monopoly in the photography market in the 20th century, it filed for bankruptcy in 2010. This was because its leadership failed to adapt to the changing world, the smartphone that could take pictures and also the lack of need for film or printing of pictures. It also failed to innovate for the new market.

As an educationist, the solutions you would suggest to bridge the gap in students graduating to be industry-ready…

There is a clear need for a multi-pronged approach to address this issue. One of the social issues contributing to this is that many male children are reluctant to pursue diploma or skill development programs, as they believe a degree is necessary for marriage, since many girls prefer partners with degrees. This issue highlights the need for a shift in mindset and a fresh approach to education. One key solution could be to initiate discussions on the importance of skill development over merely earning a degree. Additionally, colleges should collaborate with corporates to provide students with practical work experience as part of their programs. For instance, in Japan, students work for four hours in the morning at an organization and then attend college for another four hours.

This structure not only exposes them to longer working hours but also gives them hands-on experience related to their studies. Colleges should also ensure that industry experts are part of their Boards, compensating them for their time. This would enable educational institutions to gain insights into evolving industry needs, which could then inform curriculum development. Furthermore, funding for research and development (R&D) should be prioritised, with both the college and industry contributing to this effort. Professors should be encouraged to take on roles akin to consultants, bringing real-life experience into the classroom. Lastly, colleges must be required to hire only those teachers who have had significant industry experience, ensuring that their teachings reflect the practical realities of the workplace.

Which are the sectors that will be driving employment generation?

Several sunrise sectors in India are poised to become major employers. The IT and AI-driven industries, including data science, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, continue to expand. Green energy, electric vehicles, and sustainability-related fields are gaining traction as India pushes for renewable solutions.

Healthcare and biotechnology are booming with advancements in medical research, while digital commerce, fintech, and automation are transforming traditional business models. The rise of digital media, gaming, and content creation further highlights new-age career opportunities. India will also grow significantly in high precision manufacturing and agriculture, and both these sectors will also have major influence of technology in the future.

What is your advice for students pursuing higher education?

In today’s dynamic world, securing a lucrative job requires more than just a degree - it demands relevant skills, adaptability, and industry exposure. Students should focus on fields with long-term growth potential, blending technical expertise with problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills. Hands-on experience through internships and projects is crucial as employer’s value practical knowledge over mere academic achievements.

To stay competitive, students must develop skills in AI, machine learning, blockchain, and business analytics while also honing soft skills like critical thinking and adaptability. The key to long-term career success lies in continuous learning and aligning with industry trends. By staying proactive and upskilling regularly, students can ensure they remain valuable in an evolving job market.

What are your recommendations to the government for enhancing the education sector?

India needs to increase spending on education this will help address key issues like teacher shortages and improving the quality of education up to the 12th grade. More good-quality colleges should be set up to reduce the pressure on the system, as only a small percentage of students currently get into top engineering colleges.

A Higher Education Commission is needed to revamp the higher education system. Additionally, a dedicated Research Foundation should be created to promote research in educational institutions and across the sector.

As the talk around weekly office work hours isn’t dying down, what is your take on this matter?

The culture of the organisation, respect for time and the quality of work done during work hours are always important and continue to be so. Some people are capable of working longer hours and some shorter. In our own wisdom, we had made a 48 hour week and that came down to 40 hour week. Earlier, this was based on physical capabilities of the human and now more and more on the mental capabilities.

When you enjoy your work, you tend to put in longer hours. We all juggle between family, relationships, personal time and work. I would say that a base work week of 48 hours would be good and, if the employee, puts in more, it is because s/he wants to learn and will not be compensated. If the focus of the employee is on the Outcome rather than just the Output, customer stickiness and productivity will improve.

With rapid technological advancements, what strategies should businesses adopt to stay competitive while minimizing its adverse effects?

Technology is so embedded in to business, that most business models are driven by technology. Businesses have started adapting themselves to embrace this. For instance, restaurants integrating with Delivery Apps like Zomato and Swiggy. Another example would be the Insurance Business. With online platforms like PolicyBazaar, most of the Insurance Companies have collapsed a large part of their Middle and Back Offices to the Front Office. As these business models change, there will be changes to the number of people hired and also their skill sets.

Key strategies would be to keep adapting to newer business models, new ways of doing business, new ways to approach marketing (for example, in many businesses, physical marketing efforts like feet on street have given way to digital marketing), widening the markets served (Amazon has helped convert so many local shops to pan-country or global businesses), re-skilling workforce, etc. Businesses are no more hiring feet on street but hiring staff who can do digital marketing and sales for them. So, number of employees may or may not vary but their skill sets will definitely be different.