Role of Leadership during Crisis - Turnaround Case of State Bank of India(SBI)

Submitted To: Dr. Nailesh Limbasiya

Submitted By: Pallavi Priya

MBA – I

Date: 10/10/2016

Abstract: It is a well known fact that “Leadership”

plays a vital role in the success of any organisation.

In this case, Mr. O.P Bhatt, the former chairman of State Bank of India brought a revolution in the financial sector and transformation in the entire functioning of SBI, through his leadership skills, better HR policies and adoption of advanced technology, in the year 2005, the phase when the bank was confronting a host of problems and was facing tough competition from private players such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, etc.

Introduction: Crisis can be termed as a “ sequence of sudden,

unplanned and unexpected events leading to the instability in the organization.”

They generally cause major disturbances in the workplace.

On the other hand, Leadership is the capacity of an individual to influence and direct group efforts towards the achievement of organizational goals.

The leadership role during crisis is quite different from that, in normal situation and here, the usual leadership techniques are not applicable.

Conti.. In the financial sector, State Bank of India is the

market leader since its inception. It spreads across the country spanning the length and breadth of the country

But, the liberalisation in this sector opened gate for several other private banks and thus, its leadership position was at stake and its ranking in the list of top global banks was also slipping

Meanwhile, Mr. Bhatt took over the chairmanship of SBI and recognised the need for transformation and he was determined to improve the systems prevalent in SBI to retain its numero uno position

Methodology: Internal Communication: Mr. Bhatt opened a

new department named “ corporate communication “ to allow every staff to directly write/send email to him and feedback was taken on regular basis.

Technology Upgradation: Technology upgradation was undertaken throughout the bank and CBS system was strengthened.

Training: Training and skill development was emphasized and strategic training unit was created for better performance and coordination.

Project PARIVARTAN: The Parivartan initiative was reportedly the brainchild

of Mr. Bhatt. The program was aimed at obtaining the support and

acceptance of employees for the change initiatives undertaken by the bank, and at explaining to them why change was required.

This was a reality check and staffs realized their weakness and strength. It was an eye opener for all.

This program gave the message to the staff to do banking with Human Touch.

It had a tremendous effect on the staffs and they started to work with more zeal and enthusiasm.

Staff Incentives: Bank also started to give liberal incentives and target achievers were rewarded through cash incentives, foreign travels, etc.

Findings: Despite the unfavourable situation, Mr.

Bhatt believed that Team SBI was one of the best in the world and he encouraged, guided and combined the efforts in such a manner that they could leverage their potential and there was a visible improvement in every sphere of SBI.

Conclusion: Mr. Bhatt in his tenure , initiated a new

trend in the working pattern of SBI and his leadership, enabled SBI to overcome the situation of crisis and to achieve or, say to regain its best shape.

Therefore, it can be concluded that leadership is an inevitable function of an organisation and a good leader is the one who survives and proves himself/herself in the critical situation.