Rajesh Uppal
Chief GM (IT),
CIO Maruti Suzuki India Ltd

His sensitivity to people development and leadership is bound to bowl you over. A prominent face in the IT fraternity, Rajesh Uppal takes people along the journey of his vision which he believes will lead to success and growth, naturally.

In this special series titled ‘The One Thing’, CIOL attempts to discover and unravel the many facets of Rajesh Uppal’s challenging and inspiring portfolio as a CIO, a Decision Maker and an IT Leader.

Q: What is the one thing that you draw your strength to achieve your goals?
A: Passion to do the best; challenge the status quo and keep on improving.

Q: What is the one facet of leadership that has truly inspired you?
A: The aspect of leadership, which empowers people, the ability to carry people along the company’s vision and make them feel as part of that vision…is truly inspiring.

Q: What is the one thing that you would advise to upcoming and aspiring CIOs?
A: A CIO’s orientation to business understanding is very critical especially when CIOs could have an inclination to be focused too much on IT.

Q: Who is the one leader that you have admired?
A: Mother Teresa – Her team, her organization, her mission to serve people.

Q: What is the one major challenge you face as a CIO?
A: To transform people in IT into business thinkers – people in IT are so passionate about technology but their ‘mindset’ has to change and align to meeting business needs. Personal involvement where challenging the IT teams with business projects has been very fruitful.

Q: What is the one successful practice you deploy to motivate your teams?
A: Personal involvement with the teams is very valuable. Extending the relationship beyond the limits of office space, having informal meetings and building opportunities by involving families of team members is motivating in itself. This also helps in building long term relationships and you can build tremendous understanding without questioning the credibility of team.

Q: What is the one thing you do to manage stress?
A: Quality family life and proper planning of work life helps in managing stress.

Q: What is the one thing that decision makers and leaders must avoid as a rule?
A: Never take people for granted, it’s important to take people along in your journey.

Q: Name one HR best practice that can aid in people retention?
A: Create excitement of work and build an environment where an employee can experience a lot of job satisfaction.

Q: What is the one great opportunity you see in these tough times of global recession?
A: Implement processes, which improve efficiency, reduce wastage and achieve cost control.

Note: Transcribed from a telephone interview.