Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata 

JRD contributed to 53 years of TATA'sleadership he became the chairman of TATA group atthe
age of 33and he called it a mental aberration ofthe directors a momental mentalaberration of the
directorsfor having selected him as the chairmannow this issaid by a person who is the
onlycorporate captain
to be conferred the Bharat rathnaand who in fact lobbied that he should not be given the
Bharat rathnabecause hedoesn't think he has done something bigenoughand after being
conferred the Bharat rathnahis vision for India wasthat any set of economists have
recentlypredictedthat India will be a superpower in the21st century I don't want India to be a
superpoweri want India to be a happy countrysee this is what distinguishesa manager from a
leader and a leaderfrom a statesmanand a statesman from a visionarythis is the metal which
makes forvisionaries who definecenturies they don't think quarter toquarterthey think century to
century and that'sexactly what JRD didin the post-independence erachemicals automobile and
several otherindustries which were crucial to India'sgrowth requirements and which
againinvolved long gestation periodswere invested to in by the daughtergroup
companiesinterestingly the formation of lakmewill be a little humorous anecdote i'llsharethe
government of India under primeminister nehru banned all imports ofnon-essential
commoditieswe all know lakme right the famouscosmetic brandso all the non-essential
commoditiesimports were haltedwithin a week the women of the householdof the leadingcivil
servants get out the primeminister'sresidence get out his officeand said that how can women
survivewithout cosmeticsthey made a representation to the prime
minister's household and mrs gandhi wasthehost at prime minister nehru's householdand they
made an appeal to her thathow can we have no cosmetics for womenthat's when the prime
minister reached
out to several corporations includingthe TATAsthat why shouldn't we start
indigenousmanufacturing of cosmeticsthat's how lakme came into existenceresembling the word
lakshmi and also afrench opera of that nameyou'd also be amused to know that the501 soapwhich
we used for long years you would
remember pants awake for washing clothesso these were the brands which definedIndia for
several decadesthat number 501 came because there was afamouseuropean so washing soap
which wascalled 500.so in our patriotic fervor we said wecan do better so they named it 501.and
that so went on to define the Indian laundry industry for several decades so JRD's here saw the
formation of several landmark companiesTATA motors TATA chemicalsTATA tea TATA
finley which eventuallybecame TATA tea which became the companywith the largest
plantations in theworldTCS which was started as a small data
processing unitin 1962 and then became a division andMR FC COLEY'S role in the formulation
oftcs at that time he told JRD that I cannot beheading this because i don't know muchabout
computersso JRD seems to have told him nobodyelse knows much either so you are betteroff go
aheadthat's how the father of the Indian computer industry began his stint at tcsincidentally he
was not interested injoining tcshe was interested in leading the rolehis roleat TATA bar but
because he had done somework with theusage of computers in TATA park theythought he will
be the best fitfor the TATA consultancy services
which eventually has become today the poster boy of Indian IT industryand now the third largest
i.t company inthe worldand whose market cap is larger than themarket cap of the entire pakistan
stock
exchangeso that's the kind of growth that TCSso jumps so JRD data has done some ofsome of
the most interesting innovationsin the Indian management spaceTATA industries the first
technocrat ledboard structure where none of themembers had any financial ownershipthere were
lawyers tech wizardsfinancial wizardspolicy makers with no ownership of thecompany sitting on
the boardso that they can act as a think tank hewas perhaps the first to start apersonal department
in Indiaat TATA steel until then there was nopersonal department as an importantdepartment in
Indiathat's what the research says he was thefirst to start a department of pra department of
economics and statisticsin the early 1940s
he was the first to start a kind of abusiness school for corporate the TATA management training
centerwhich is housed in pune was envisagedeven before i am ahmedabad and i amcalcutta came
into existencesome of the most fascinatingintroductions and then of course thefavorite
areacorporate social responsibility in 1960sand 70swhen the tax contribution of Indiaincreased
450 percentthe highest lab of taxation was 97.5you add wealth tax to that and Indians were
expected to spendor rather pay 105 tax
so for every 100 rupees you earn you pay100from that what you want you give it tothe
government you pay five more fromyour savingsthat's what has given birth to the blackeconomy
which about 50 years agoand we complained today about high taxesand i'm not saying that the
taxes arenot high but i'm just trying to presentto you a comparisonthat there have been far
biggeradventures failed adventures in the pastso at that time JRD insisted that csrshould be
includedin the articles of associations ofcompanies and he modified the article'sassociation of
associationof leading TATA companies TATA chemicalsTATA power TATA steel TATA
motorsand said that csr should be a mandatoryobjective that the company should
achieveirrespective of the fact whether itmakes profits or lossesat a time when prime minister
nasima raocalled upon the corporation's first timeafter uh the economic liberalizationthat they
should contribute to csrwith dr jamshed irani did an analysis ofthe contribution of the TATAsto
csr while p while nasimura hadsuggested about two percent investmenttheir analysis showed that
the TATA'scontribution to csr over almost 20decadesprior to economic liberalization
variedbetween four percentto 20 percent of profits
so there is no need to look at westerncorporationsfor best practices there are so many ofthem
right here in India that we can learn from in grd's time foryour information TATA's revenues
grew from 280 croresto 24 000 crores and this was in thepeak of the license rajwhere TATA
chemicals fertilizer plantdid not get permission for 27 yearsand TATA pass thermal expansion
plantdidn't get permission for 14 years
incidentally between TATA chemicalsfertilizer plant first being envisagedand the first bag of
TATA fertilizer
coming up from the babrala unitseven prime ministers changed in India but permissions did not
come
that was the era we are talking aboutthe growth that JRD attempted to achieve

According to JRD TATA QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER ARE

Approachable: - J.R.D. had no problems making friends easily. He had one of the most
comfortable personalities that was probably his benchmark of becoming a successful individual.

Diplomatic: - One of the most difficult talents is to say ‘no’ in a nice manner. But Diplomacy
was never a problem for J.R.D. Even when he was angry at Nehru for going against
industrialists, he was never rude but made his point diplomatically and walked away friends.
Realistic: - J.R.D. never plunged into unviable projects, howsoever exciting they might be. He
briefly flirted with the idea of making bombers with “Tata Aircraft”—but despite his love for
flying, he shot down the project himself when it became clear that there was no money to be
made.

Charismatic: - When J.R.D. was elected chairman of the group, there was no question about the
selection. There was no one else who could have been chosen by the board. J.R.D. by then was a
hero. The daring pilot, the shrewd businessman. He was already outstanding.

Courageous: - J.R.D. had always supported Nehru’s views on socialism. Something that the
board of Tata sons did not agree with. But J.R.D. refused to sign the manifesto against socialism.
It must have required considerable courage for a 30- something to stand up for views, which
differed so widely from those of the old guard.

Compassionate: - People talk of Russi Mody but he manipulated people. J.R.D. genuinely felt for
workers. His approach to labor was that of Fabian socialism. After J.R.D.’s entry, the
management of Tisco changed its policy of confrontation. The trade union became not only
acceptable but also an
association which was vital to the interests of the workers.

Supportive towards innovation: - Apart from his supportive attitude towards Tisco’s lab
technicians, perhaps Tata chemicals provides the best demonstration of J.R.D.’s willingness to
support innovation in his business and among his managers.

Aware of a sense of responsibility: - There were opportunities for J.R.D. where he was tempted
to joined politics. But he rationalized to himself by concluding that he could do more for the
country in business and industry than in politics. He says, “I had no doubt that freedom was on
its way. But who knows, I might one day have an opportunity to serve in more useful ways than
by going to jail today!”

Committed to values: - J.R.D. never believed in paying under the table for getting a license
approved. He never believed in exploiting the workers, society and earning more profits. It was
believed that wealth and respect are disjoint. J.R.D. was considered to be an exception to this
rule.

A visionary: - J.R.D. was the only director on the board of the Tata group who supported Ratan
Tata’s plan to enter high investment – high risk industries like oil manufacturing & computers.
He believed, that being that stalwart business house of India, such investments were a
responsibility.

Conservative: - J.R.D. always preferred the more conservative approach. His conservativeness
left Tisco unprepared for the outbreak of the second world war and the license-permit raj of free
India.

Aloof: - Unlike G.D. Birla, J.R.D. had kept aloof from the congress leadership. For a group that
depends as much as the Tatas did on government patronage, this was a major lacuna.

Bad tempered: - Instead of trying to patch up the differences, J.R.D. withdrew into himself. He
rejected Nehru’s invitations to the UN session in Paris, and the invitation to lead Indian Rare
Earths, one of the first PSU’s. J.R.D. forgot the Public Relations implications of these prestigious
invitations and the signals his refusal emitted.

Daring to dream big “Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard
work.” - JRD Tata may be remembered for his fool-proof business strategy and unbelievable
turnovers, but his true legacy as an entrepreneur started with thinking outside the box. At a time
when the World Wars were in play and the world was advancing in mechanics and technology,
JRD decided to put his love for flying into action and turned his attention to the then less-popular
aviation industry. He not only became India’s first licensed pilot but also founded India’s first
commercial airline in 1932 – Tata Airlines (now known as Air India). Hailed the ‘Father of the
Aviation Industry’, JRD’s success lies in the fact that he decided to dive into an industry, the
potential of which was gravely underplayed in the Indian market, and create history among the
skies. Like every entrepreneur, he came up with a unique idea and made it a global success
through sheer force of commitment.

A humanitarian leader “To lead men, you have to lead them with affection.” - JRD Tata As one
of the senior Tata executives, Darbari Seth, once said, “Mr Tata was able to harness a team of
individualistic executives, capitalising upon their strengths, downplaying their differences and
deficiencies; all by the sheer weight of his leadership.” JRD always emphasised the need to work
one a team to achieve success for the company as a whole. And, despite being applauded for his
many contributions in raising the stakes and numbers, he always humbly credited his team first.
This is the key characteristic of being a successful entrepreneur – knowing how to work one as a
team to its maximum potential and giving credit where it’s due.

Striving for excellence “If you want excellence, you must aim at perfection. It has its drawbacks,
but being finicky is essential.” JRD constantly co-related perfection with excellence and stated
that it was only in the quest for the former that the latter would be a natural consequence. To this
end, he followed a business mantra of ‘Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta’, which translates to ‘good
thoughts, good words and good deeds’. His success motto was fairly simple – to be committed to
a single idea and to do everything in one’s power to make sure that it reaches its maximum
potential.

Thinking of the bigger picture “No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile
unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and
honest means.” -  JRD was a man of the future. He was the first to incorporate a functioning HR
Department in his company. He also altered the selection process to be on the basis of merit
instead of dynasty. He also introduced the concept of ‘paid leaves’ that was soon to become
vastly active in the workforce. JRD also pioneered for the eight-hour day, before even the United
States or Britain had formally incorporated it into their legislation. A philanthropist by nature,
JRD has always claimed that he wanted India to be a ‘happy country’. To this extent, he wished
to offer her the chance to meet other nations on an equal footing on all levels, starting with
taking a lead in the world of business.

Leadership style of JRD TATA

When talking about India’s greatest leaders, one name just cannot be skipped—J.R.D. TATA.
For decades the sole Indian businessman, global leaders had ever heard of, was Tata.
It’s different today—the Sunday Times, Forbes and even the hallowed Harvard Business Review
now carries articles written by Indian mgt. gurus on Indian case studies. But for years the world
passed India by. Only J.R.D. Tata made an impact.

When J.R.D. became chairman of Tatas in 1938, British firms dominated the environment, but
the House of Tata towered above all others. It had 14 companies with sales of Rs. 280 crores.

The year he died, 1993, it was still India’s biggest business house. Sales had mushroomed to Rs.
15000 crores and there were over 50 large manufacturing companies besides innumerable
holdings and concerns. He was a distinguished and respected industrialist who was also awarded
the “BHARAT RATNA”, remarkable achievement.

What sort of value system made the great man achieve his greatness?
Following is an analysis of some of the virtues & vices, which J. R. D. displayed through the
course of his eventful life:
Virtues:

J.R.D. was………

•Approachable: - J.R.D. had no problems making friends easily. He had one of the most
comfortable personalities that was probably his benchmark of becoming a successful individual.

•Diplomatic: - One of the most difficult talents is to say ‘no’ in a nice manner. But Diplomacy
was never a problem for J.R.D. Even when he was angry at Nehru for going against
industrialists, he was never rude but made his point diplomatically and walked away friends.

•Realistic: - J.R.D. never plunged into unviable projects, howsoever exciting they might be. He
briefly flirted with the idea of making bombers with “Tata Aircraft”—but despite his love for
flying, he shot down the project himself when it became clear that there was no money to be
made.

•Charismatic: - When J.R.D. was elected chairman of the group, there was no question about the
selection. There was no one else who could have been chosen by the board. J.R.D. by then was a
hero. The daring pilot, the shrewd businessman. He was already outstanding.

•Courageous: - J.R.D. had always supported Nehru’s views on socialism. Something that the
board of Tata sons did not agree with. But J.R.D. refused to sign the manifesto against socialism.
It must have required considerable courage for a 30- something to stand up for views, which
differed so widely from those of the old guard.

•Compassionate: - People talk of Russi Mody but he manipulated people. J.R.D. genuinely felt
for workers. His approach to labor was that of Fabian socialism. After J.R.D.’s entry, the
management of Tisco changed its policy of confrontation. The trade union became not only
acceptable but also an
association which was vital to the interests of the workers.

•Supportive towards innovation: - Apart from his supportive attitude towards Tisco’s lab
technicians, perhaps Tata chemicals provides the best demonstration of J.R.D.’s willingness to
support innovation in his business and among his managers.
•Aware of a sense of responsibility: - There were opportunities for J.R.D. where he was tempted
to joined politics. But he rationalized to himself by concluding that he could do more for the
country in business and industry than in politics. He says, “I had no doubt that freedom was on
its way. But who knows, I might one day have an opportunity to serve in more useful ways than
by going to jail today!”

•Committed to values: - J.R.D. never believed in paying under the table for getting a license
approved. He never believed in exploiting the workers, society and earning more profits. It was
believed that wealth and respect are disjoint. J.R.D. was considered to be an exception to this
rule.

•A visionary: - J.R.D. was the only director on the board of the Tata group who supported Ratan
Tata’s plan to enter high investment – high risk industries like oil manufacturing & computers.
He believed, that being that stalwart business house of India, such investments were a
responsibility.

Vices:
J.R.D. was………..

•Conservative: - J.R.D. always preferred the more conservative approach. His conservativeness
left Tisco unprepared for the outbreak of the second world war and the license-permit raj of free
India.

•Aloof: - Unlike G.D. Birla, J.R.D. had kept aloof from the congress leadership. For a group that
depends as much as the Tatas did on government patronage, this was a major lacuna.

•Bad tempered: - Instead of trying to patch up the differences, J.R.D. withdrew into himself. He
rejected Nehru’s invitations to the UN session in Paris, and the invitation to lead Indian Rare
Earths, one of the first PSU’s. J.R.D. forgot the Public Relations implications of these prestigious
invitations and the signals his refusal emitted.

After going through the above virtues and vices of India’s greatest industrialist, we learn a lot
about what it takes to be successful in business, career, and in …………..life

Delegative Leader

The one face that truly represents Indian business is that if JRD Tata. If Mahatma Gandhi is the
political face of India, JRD is the business face and, equally respectable.
From a 280 crore company in 1938 to becoming a 15,000 rupees one in 1993 is a growth of
53.52 times. More mind boggling figures can not easily be quoted. That is what the Tata
companies became under the leadership of JRD Tata.
The various businesses under the Tata umbrella spread a wide variety of businesses including, to
mention only a few, airlines, pharmaceuticals, tea and motor vehicles. In the 50s and 60s,
whatever manufactured goods you could lay your hands on were likely to have been
manufactured by a Tata company. JRD's domination over Indian business was so total that 10
cement companies in India merged into one to become Associated Cement Companies, a Tata
company.

Gave Credit Where it was Due

A pioneer aviator, he was instrumental in bringing commercial airlines to India and Air India, the
international airlines of India was a Tata company until the government took it over some two
decades ago. Incidentally it was only the airlines that he took credit for developing. The rest of
the group's growth was credited by JRD to his executives. Such was his humility; he did not
hesitate to give any one his due and move to the background. It is no small achievement to have
headed lakhs of workers in general and 100s of executives, not letting ego clashes mar the
company's operations, finding middle grounds between extreme opinions. His leadership saw it
all through.

Delegated Resposibility
In his entire career as the chairman of many a company, he had to interact with 100s of directors
with whom it was only natural for him to have had serious differences. He took in everybody's
opinion and decide on his own, not that he did not listen to others' ideas. He had respected the
opinions of others on all occasions and had even suppressed his own feelings while acceding to
the ideas of others. He was particular about leading others with affection. When he was
convinced that someone was talented enough, he bestowed responsibility upon him and gave him
a long rope. It was up to that individual to see that th work was done to everybody's satisfaction.
The highest praise for JRD's leadership came from the industry minister, Mohan
Kumaramangalam who did not want to take over Tata Steel owned coal mines when all the other
coal mines were nationalized. The reason cited was that the Tatas ran the mine so professionally
that they could be a role model for the rest

Theory & Approaches to Leadership:

Many Leadership theories and approaches have been evolved around Style, Trait, Behaviour,
Situational and Charisma. Many researchers made efforts linking some of the theories across
these leadership approaches. However each leadership model has its merit, assumptions and
limitations. Most recent researches are conducted on Situational & Transformational leadership
styles. Various leadership Gurus presented new models as variations to the already existing
models. Max Weber, MacGregor, Bass, Bennis & Nanus are some of the most important
researchers in the area of transformational leadership. However the difference between
transactional and transformational leadership is vital in getting the whole concept of
transformational leadership theory. In general, a relationship between two people is based on the
level of exchange they have. Exchange need not be money or material; it can be anything. The
more exchange they have the stronger the relation. Manager’s expects more productivity from
employee in order to give good rewards. In this way, if something is done to anyone based on the
return then that relation is called as ‘Transactional’ type. In business, leaders announce rewards
in turn to the productivity. These relations are all about requirements, conditions and rewards. In
life, at one point of time, things happen without expectation from other side. Transformational
Leaders work toward a common goal with followers; put followers in front and develop them;
take followers’ to next level; inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests in achieving
superior results [wordpress.com].

Bass’s full range model of leadership

Leadership Approach in TATA Group:

TATA Group founded in 1868, is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in

Mumbai, India. The Group has more than 500,000 employees spread over six continents (more
than 80 countries). TATA Group current market capitalization estimated worth $80bn and is the
largest private corporate group in India. TATA Group is biggest employer in UK, employing
more than 50,000 people. TATA Group has main interests in communications, IT, engineering,
materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. Its current chairman, Ratan Tata is
the most influential business leaders in India’s and the world’s most influential person right now.
The Tata Group is known for its valued business ethics and corporate governance.

Leadership Development in TATA Group:

TATA Group has long standing leadership program in its system. Their leadership program is
based in British administrative service model. TATA’s leadership development programme aims
at grooming the managers of today into the leaders of tomorrow. The leadership development
programme conceived by JRD Tata, the late chairman of TATA group in 1950’s. The idea
behind the leadership programme known as Tata Administrative Services (TAS) was to select
and groom young managers, provide them opportunity for professional growth, and make them
leaders of tomorrow. This is TATA’s in-house programme and has goal is to provide training to
high performers, act as a cradle of change and develop the leadership qualities. Most of the
TATA Group companies are traditionally led by these groomed leaders.

Evident Leadership in TATA Group:

The TATA Group leadership style has been quite consistent since its existence way back to
1868. The TATA Group has incorporated more leadership changes which are essential in current
environment to drive towards to be more competitive. In terms of leadership style, TATA Group
has adopted a team-led culture and collective approach. With Ratan Tata as leader of the Group,
the management style of the entire TATA Group has changed considerably; trust became a huge
facet and theme of the group. Ratan Tata has put a complete organisational restructuring when he
took over in 1991 as leader of the TATA Group, by taking a more matrix-style approach building
teams. These changes would have obviously transformed a lot in the business, senior managers
would have had to be on their toes and flexibility and adaptability became essential qualities to
have. The leadership changed from a centralised, command centre to a much more distributed
form with employees and all managers enjoying greater responsibility and knowledge about the
Group, which would have in turn; motivated them to work harder and as a group.
From distinctive leadership models available such as the McGregor Theory X and Y; where a
theory X manager believes workers dislike work, are not creative and avoid all responsibility
while a theory Y manager believes that workers get as much enjoyment from work as they can
derive with leisure, accept responsibility and are creative; it can be seen from this, that Ratan
Tata wanted all his managers to be modelled as closely to Theory Y and he himself could be
called a Theory Y manager. He encouraged managers to be innovative and share all their ideas,
consulting actively with them and giving them more responsibility and importantly encouraged
team-working.

Five Factor Model (Big Five):

Emotional Stability: Ratan Tata has very low anxiety within him and has great sense of security
with his future leadership.

Extraversion: Even being a bachelor Ratan Tata is very sociable. He has produced very positive
affect on future leadership of TATA Group.

Openness: He believes in originality and versatility. By making £1200/- car he has shown his
great interest with and innovation seeking personality.

Agreeableness: Within his management team Ratan Tata is well trusted and very friendly.

Conscientiousness: He is very dutifulness. He spent most of his life working for TATA Group
without any self-interest. He is very well organised as well.

Style (Behaviour) Theory in TATA Group:

As per style theory, there are three types of leadership models are evident in leadership. These
are as follows.

 Autocratic
 Democratic
 Laissez-faire

Ratan Tata is a leader who engages more democratic style of leadership approach. However at
previous occasion has used other two kind of style as well. He is more democratic because he
always encourages his group leadership to be creating good communication and participation.
Future leadership are well informed about future strategy and they are very well engaged in
decision making process. Most of the group long-term and short-term strategies are formulated
by the lower rank of the leadership. They are treated as stake holders. Until now TATA Group
has got leadership within them. Ratan Tata has occasionally shown some form of autocratic style
of leadership. Sometimes when needed especially when quick and informed decisions have to be
taken, but he is never too commanding in his nature, being a man of few words and being more
of a man of action, this is evident from the manner he aggressively pushes for bold international
deals, such as during the global acquisitions of business powerhouses such as Corus, Jaguar and
Land Rover, and Tetley Tea. One of his senior leadership team member, Muthuraman( Executive
Director) refers him “Ratan was the chief architect of the Corus deal. I was worried about the
magnitude and the amount of money. But he instilled confidence.”
In daily routine matters and in developing the leadership, Ratan Tata also uses facets of the
Laissez-Faire model such as the delegation of important duties and decision-making, he also
does not in any way interfere with any manager’s functioning, he might make a broad strategic
assessment but he does not interfere in operational issues and details, this shows that he has
complete trust and faith in his managers and believes in their ability, this quote from
Gopalakrishnan, an executive director of the company, shows how much value Ratan Tata places
on his trust, this can be highly motivating for managers and workers alike, “I remember what
Ratan told us at a meeting. He said that he will continue to trust all his managers, but once they
lose that trust, he will go after them. I think that is a very fair deal.”

Max Weber’s Leadership Model in TATA Group:

Looking at Max Weber’s Transactional and Transformational Leadership models, where a leader
is classed in three forms which are Bureaucratic, Charismatic and Traditional, where a
bureaucratic leader is one who is always bound by the set rule and does not want to go beyond
them; a Traditional leader is one who does and follows everything from a long past or history
and always loyally obeys these ‘traditions’; a Charismatic leader is one who uses his own laurels
or abilities to inspire and is one who can be described as radically opposed to administrative
rules and legal principles. From these models, Ratan Tata falls into the Charismatic form because
he is one who leads by example, coming up with highly innovative ideas such as £1200 (Rs. One
Lakh) car the ‘Nano’, budget hotels or low-end watches, he brought radical change to the Tata
Group as a whole, changing it from its ‘Traditional’ mindset to new more flexible and adaptive
cultural mindset.

Bennis & Nanus Transformational Leadership Model in TATA Group:

We can see from Bennis and Nanus’s Transformational Leadership model that the
transformational leaders groom their followers into self-empowered leaders and their main focus
is to articulate vision and values clearly so the newly self-empowered leaders know where to go.
Their traits include logical thinking, persistence, empowerment and self-control. Benniss and
Nanus has evolved the model which emphasis on the four I’s of Transformational leadership,
which are

 Idealised Influence (being a role model)

 Inspirational Motivation (creating a team spirit, motivating and provide a challenge)
 Intellectual Stimulation (innovation and creativity)
 Individual Consideration (mentoring and providing support for followers)

Ratan Tata, Chairman of the TATA Group has been proved a true transformational leader. We
can see all I’s built-in in Ratan Tata. He is the leader with great vision hence he knows right
approach to groom future leadership. He has implemented the team spirit in whole group at every
level. He empowers all his managers and executives and has complete faith in them, he is
extremely innovative and is credited for much of the Group’s new products, he places a great
deal of importance to his R&D department and he definitely cares deeply about the welfare of all
his employees and managers. During the Mumbai’s terrorist attack in Taj Hotel, he took front
line in leading at the time of crises. In his vision statement he articulated “One hundred years
from now, I expect TATA Group to be much bigger, of course, than it is now. More importantly,
I hope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India. Best in the Manner in which
we operate, best in the products we deliver and best in our value system and ethics. Having said
that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India, that we
become a global group, operating in many countries, as Indian business conglomerate that is at
home in the world, carrying the same set of trust as we do today” [www.tata.com].

As a leader of a global business group, Ratan Tata knows the fierce competition experienced by
his business empire. He makes all effort to make his business competitive at global level.
Through transformational leadership process TATA Group has made their processes and
technology up to date. Once Ratan Tata said to his managers in his vision speech “A company or
business which remains static is a business that will die; a company that constantly changes and
accepts that there are better ways to do things than the way they are done today, is a company
that will survive in the global market that we face.” From this statement we can infer that he
knows the importance of developing a good leadership within group to take TATA Group to new
heights. Ratan Tata involves strategy in leadership. He is a deep thinker and a brilliant strategist
as is described by one of his Executive Directors, Alan Rosling, “He is a deep thinker and
extremely strategic. He is always 2-3 steps ahead”. Ratan Tata is a man of strong integrity, ethics
and valued principles. He cultivated the same across the TATA Group companies. One of his
companies CEO said “Tata has shown that there is no other way he will do business other than
do it ethically.” He believes in strong value based leadership approach in doing business. Ratan
Tata has led the TATA Group to transforming from local business group to become a global
leader.

Transformational Leader

Ratan Tata of the Tata Group is a more kind of transformational leader. He made Tata Group as
global brand. He has provided inspiration to leaders within his own company. In Tata Group
leaders are engaged in decision making at every level. Ratan Tata has successfully led and
motivated its CEO/MD of the group companies to be ambitious. He has always adopted a ethical
approach in group business.

Ratan Tata has adopted a management by consensus style. He stated once “When a number of
persons are involved I am definitely a consensus man, but that does not mean that I do not
disagree or that I do not express my views. Basically it is a question of having to deal with
individual men heading different enterprises. You have to adapt yourself to their ways and deal
accordingly and draw out the best in each man. If I have any merit it is getting on with
individuals according to their ways and characteristics. I have dealt with a hundred top directors
and I have got on with all of them. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but
necessary. To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection”. Ratan Tata has
ability to spot the talent. And once he has confident that a manager will perform, he gave him a
long rope.

Leading a large group of companies in the days of fast changing business scenario of changing
regulations, increasing competition and opening up of economy could be an arduous challenge
for many. Leading the firm through these times and four-folding the group’s revenues could be a
dream. Doing this requires clear vision, innate conviction, ability to inspire and guide along the
way. Ratan Tata established himself to be the right leader who has helped the company sail
through the turbulent waters and reach the desired lands. These targets never existed or were
thought not feasible by the company earlier. This all achieved because of the inspiring
leadership.
This we will add in the starting part

It is a measure of the man and the life he lived that long before his demise, Jehangir Ratanji
Dadabhoy Tata came to represent an exalted idea of Indianness: progressive, benevolent, ethical
and compassionate. It did not really matter that the country itself failed this utopian test. JRD, as
he was known to commoner and king, had by then transcended the frailties of his milieu.
As an adolescent, JRD loved France and flying more than anything else. By the time he stepped
into the autumn of his existence, he had devoted some 50 years to heading and defining a unique
business conglomerate, and just as long to championing the interests of India and her myriad
people. The evolution, from a thoughtful if self-indulgent young man to a pan-Indian icon
revered even by those who knew little about business, contains the essence of the JRD story.

Being one of the last of the great patriarchs of Indian industry contributed, no doubt, to the
moulding of his legend, but to call JRD an industrialist is akin to saying Mahatma Gandhi was a
freedom fighter. He considered his leadership of the Tata group and his dedication to the cause
of India as complementary, and he brought to the two undertakings a rare dignity and sense of
purpose.
It is said of JRD that he spoke French better than English and both better than any Indian
language. That did not preclude him from forging a special bond with Indians of all ages and
backgrounds. Kalpana Chawla, the Indian-born astronaut who perished in the Columbia space
shuttle disaster, cited JRD and his pioneering airmail flights as her inspiration for taking up
aeronautics. He touched the lives of countless others, rich and poor, manager and worker, as he
became the embodiment of the principles and philosophy of the House of Tata.
Nobody could have guessed this is how destiny would unfold when JRD was born, in Paris in
1904, to RD Tata, a business partner and relative of Jamsetji Tata, and his French wife Sooni.
JRD, the second of four children, was educated in France, Japan and England before being
drafted into the French army for a mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his stint in
the forces (to avail of a chance to attend a renowned horse-riding school), but his father would
have none of it. Leaving the French army saved JRD his life, because shortly thereafter the
regiment he served in was wiped out while on an expedition in Morocco.
Starting Young
JRD then set his mind on securing an engineering degree from Cambridge, but RD Tata
summoned his son back to India (JRD would forever regret not being able to attend university).
He soon found himself on the threshold of a business career in a country he was far from familiar
with. This was a young man aware of his obligations to the family he belonged to. In a letter to
his father on his 21st birthday in 1925, JRD wrote, "One more year has fallen on my shoulders. I
have been looking back and also deep inside myself with the merciless eye of conscience, and
have been trying to find out whether during this last year I have gained in experience or wisdom.
I haven't found out much yet!"
JRD entered the Tatas as an unpaid apprentice in December 1925. His mentor in business was
John Peterson, a Scotsman who had joined the group after serving in the Indian Civil Service. At
22, soon after his father passed away, JRD was on the board of Tata Sons, the group's flagship
company. In 1929, aged 25, he surrendered his French citizenship to embrace the country that
would become the central motif of his life.
First Flight
The first of JRD's big adventures in business was born of his childhood fascination for flying. He
had grown up in France watching the famous aviator Louis Bleriot's early flights, and had taken
a joyride in an airplane as a 15-year-old. In 1929, JRD became one of the first Indians to be
granted a commercial pilot's licence. A year later, a proposal landed at the Tata headquarters to
start an airmail service that would connect Bombay, Ahmedabad and Karachi. JRD needed no
prompting, but it would take Peterson to convince Dorabji Tata, then Chairman of the Tatas, to
let the young ace have his way.
In 1932 Tata Aviation Service, the forerunner to Tata Airlines and Air India, took to the skies.
The first flight in the history of Indian aviation lifted off from Drigh Road in Karachi with JRD
at the controls of a Puss Moth. JRD nourished and nurtured his airline baby through to 1953,
when the government of Jawaharlal Nehru nationalised Air India. It was a decision JRD had
fought against with all his heart.
Nehru and JRD shared an unusual relationship. They had been friends for long and there was
plenty of mutual respect, but they differed significantly on the economic policies India needed to
follow. JRD was not a political animal and he never could come to terms with the nature of the
socialistic beast then ruling the roost (he once joked, many years after Nehru's passing, that the
Chinese steward the Taj Group of Hotels had brought in from abroad earned more money than
him). JRD was an articulate and persistent votary of economic liberalisation long before it was
finally implemented in India.
The Air India saga certainly hurt JRD, but he wasn't the kind to bear a grudge. Nehru insisted
that he continue to head the national carrier and that's what JRD did, right up to 1977, when
another act of government forced him out. Indira Gandhi, when she came back to power,
reinstated JRD to the chairmanship, but by then he no longer had the appetite for the
responsibility.
Expanding An Empire
When JRD was elevated to the top post in the Tata group in 1938, taking over as Chairman from
Sir Nowroji Saklatvala, he was the youngest member of the Tata Sons board. Over the next 50-
odd years of his stewardship the group expanded into chemicals, automobiles, tea and
information technology. Breaking with the Indian business practice of having members of one's
own family run different operations, JRD pushed to bring in professionals. He turned the Tata
group into a business federation where entrepreneurial talent and expertise were encouraged to
flower.
In later years, this system began to fray at its edges. Detractors contend that it degenerated, as
satraps and fiefdoms emerged to challenge the core structure of the Tatas. If it can be held
against JRD that he failed to comprehend the dangers of handing away too much control in the
operation of individual Tata companies, it must also be acknowledged that he took the lead in
consolidating the group when matters came to a head. JRD was brave enough to run the gauntlet
and he was man enough to face the fusillade that came in its wake.
Building institutions
Conducting the affairs of a business empire as panoptic and complicated as that of the Tatas
would by itself have been a prodigious task, but JRD had plenty more to offer. He played a
critical role in increasing India's scientific, medical and artistic quotient. The Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, the Tata Memorial Hospital, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the
National Institute of Advanced Sciences and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, each
an exemplar of excellence in its field, were projects that would not have come to fruition without
JRD's steadfast support.

In India the term 'national interest' means all sorts of things to all kinds of people. To JRD, it meant
advancing the country's scientific and economic capacities. He had strong views on what would help
India and what would hinder its gigantic struggle to eradicate poverty. Though he did his share of it,
casual charity did not hold any charms for him. His inclination to put his own money where his beliefs
were resulted in the setting up, in 1944, of the multipurpose JRD Tata Trust. A few years later he sold
more of his shares and an apartment in Bombay to establish the JRD and Thelma Tata Trust, which
works to improve the lot of India's disadvantaged women.JRD Tata was bestowed with India's highest
honour, the Bharat Ratna
A pet theme with JRD was India's "desperate race between population and production". Here, too, he
disagreed with Nehru, who thought "population is our strength". JRD spent a considerable amount of
time and resources in figuring out and propagating methods to control the country's population growth.
To this end, he helped start what eventually became the International Institute of Population Studies. In
1992, JRD received the United Nations Population Award, late recognition for a lifelong obsession.
Despite his very public persona, JRD was a shy and reticent man. He never hankered after honours but
was showered with them, to much bemusement on his part. On being told that the Indian government
was thinking about giving him the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, he is reported to
have said: "Why me? I don't deserve it. The Bharat Ratna is usually given to people who are dead or it is
given to politicians. I am not prepared to oblige the government on the former and I am not the latter."
Self-effacing, modest, wistful and endearing are a few of the adjectives used to describe JRD. It wasn't all
peaches and cream, though. JRD could not suffer fools and he was scathing when confronted with
pomposity or pretension. There was always about him a dapper and cosmopolitan air, with a dry wit
thrown in to lighten the load of legend. When a friend began a letter to JRD with the 'Dear Jay'
salutation, he wrote back: "I have looked up the dictionary and find that a Jay is 'a noisy, chattering
European bird of brilliant plumage' and, figuratively, 'an impertinent chatterer or simpleton'. For future
reference, please note that my name is spelt 'Jeh', in abbreviation of 'Jehangir'. Any resemblance
between me and the bird is purely coincidental."