As I look out of my car and see a sleek and compact Tata Nano driving through buzzing roads of Bangalore, it is one of the prime examples of innovation led through exemplary leadership with an objective – start local with global approach. This product has triggered a race among global car-makers to develop cheaper and efficient cars. This innovation would not have been possible but for a visionary leader, who can guide the teams to align the company’s goals with the customer needs.

Exemplary leadership within teams, projects, product groups is gaining importance among companies with global aspirations. Start-ups have to look at leadership models of companies, which have developed successful global products. The importance of strong leadership is growing in India across sectors, including IT, Healthcare, FMCG and others, which are witnessing strong entrepreneurial activities.
With internet reach expanding rapidly, the focus of product companies in the IT sector has shifted to ‘start local and build globally-scalable products’ to widen the customer base. If an Indian company or the Indian arm of an MNC has to take advantage of this paradigm shift, strong leadership is essential.
Organizations in India have to develop the ability to analyze new markets, build globally-acceptable products and then market them effectively. The leadership required to guide these organizations has to ensure that a rock-star team is put together. We are already seeing examples of this phenomenon.

Product Manager – the leader of the product team
While there are very important roles in a product organization across the functions of Engineering, Quality Assurance, User Design and more, I would like to focus on the role of a product manager in the leadership team and his/her role in the development of a successful product.

A great product manager starts with the customer, figuring out who they are, understanding their environment; what they find valuable; what problems they have and so on. The product manager pulls together the rest of the team around these insights and defines needs of the customer. The product manager always manages by influence and not by direct authority, thereby making the leadership capabilities stand out.