Introduction
There are business leaders who take many years to climb the corporate ladder until they reach its peak, but then there are leaders such as Savitri Jindal, who were catapulted into the role of leader straightaway and had to learn how to climb down from their lofty perches. Savitri Jindal assumed control of the O.P. Jindal Group in 2005, but at that time, she was neither an experienced executive nor a veteran of the boardroom.
Instead, she was just a homemaker who had led a largely domestic life without any experience in business for most of her adult years. Within two decades, however, she managed to guide India’s biggest industrial conglomerate through a period of transformation that would easily have broken apart other companies, and in the process, became one of the most recognizable faces in Indian business.
Early Life and Family Background
Born in Tinsukia, a small town in Assam, India, on March 20, 1950, Savitri was born into a Hindu Marwari family. The initial part of her life did not give a clue as to how great her future achievements would be. Her home environment was rather conservative, and, like most women of that era, she was brought up for her family and domestic responsibilities rather than her career.
In the 1970s, Savitri married Om Prakash Jindal, a mechanical engineer, who had by then started laying the foundation for the Jindal Group beginning with a bucket manufacturing unit set up in 1952. Getting married to a family of entrepreneurs meant Savitri’s early association with the business environment even though hers was purely domestic at that time.
Life Before Leading the Business
For almost three decades, Savitri Jindal’s life was dedicated to her house and family more than anything else. She nurtured her family which included all the four sons who were destined to take the reigns of various facets of the Jindal business enterprise- Prithviraj, Sajjan, Ratan, and Naveen.
Whereas Om Prakash Jindal ventured into the business ventures of steel, power and infrastructure, the contribution of Savitri Jindal was in the less visible role of maintaining the family ties. She did not have any formal education in the subject of business or economics and never planned to become a part of it.
Taking Charge After Om Prakash Jindal’s Passing
However, in 2005, Om Prakash Jindal died in a helicopter accident, which might have put the future of the Jindal Group in jeopardy. Suddenly, at 55 years of age, Savitri Jindal found herself being placed in charge of a vast industrial empire that she had never run before.
The takeover had not been gradual; there had been no mentoring process. In circumstances where all eyes were upon her, to find out whether the conglomerate would be able to stay together, she had to take tough decisions. Instead of trying to manage all the divisions of the conglomerate herself, Savitri Jindal took the decision that would shape her leadership style in the following years: she assigned her four sons different businesses within the conglomerate.
Leading the Jindal Group with Confidence
It did not become one of sudden transformation into an executive hands-on with operations. It led to something akin to becoming a center of gravity for the family, such that the presence of one woman kept four sons, now all leading their companies independently, focused on their common heritage rather than diverging from one another. This type of leadership is a much more subtle – even more difficult – type of leadership than giving orders alone. It takes patience and trust and mediation without micro-management. With Savitri Jindal at the helm, the Jindal Group continued to thrive and even prosper.
Growing the Business Across Key Industries
Currently, the businesses run by O.P. Jindal Group include those related to steel, power, mining, cement, and infrastructure, divided into four main companies controlled by her sons. Naveen controls Jindal Steel & Power; Sajjan is at the helm of JSW Group; Ratan controls Jindal Stainless; and Prithviraj manages other businesses. Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group is among the largest business groups in India and operates in such sectors as cement and paints. While all her sons have played an important part in expanding their companies’ operations, Savitri Jindal acts as the chairperson emeritus and, thus, plays the part of the steward of these four companies.
Balancing Business Leadership and Public Service
It has not been just about industry for Savitri Jindal. She has entered politics and been part of the Haryana Legislative Assembly as a representative from the constituency of Hisar, having at some point held the position of a cabinet minister in the government of Haryana. Her political career too has seen its share of ups and downs, as evident from her defeat in 2014 followed by her return to politics in recent times. To manage both a tough job of politics and the multibillion dollar business empire is indeed a task, which shows her capability of compartmentalisation, undervalued in leaders who have not taken the executive path.
Challenges Faced as a Woman Business Leader
It is hard to talk about Savitri Jindal without bringing into discussion the fact that she joined one of India’s biggest corporate families as a female without any previous experience of working in business in an industry that has always been dominated by male members – heavy industry. It is likely that she was doubted both within and outside of the business community, assuming that a housewife would never be able to manage a business dealing with steel and energy.
That she managed to do so and made the company prosperous proves these doubts wrong. Another point about Indian family businesses which can be seen in her case is the fact that succession problems occur very often and the ability to preserve the family unity during such crises is an achievement as well.
Savitri Jindal’s Leadership Style
The one common thread that ties together all of Savitri Jindal’s leadership strategy is that of delegation based on trust rather than control. She did not try to master the business of steel manufacture or power production. Rather, she saw that her sons had different skills and allowed each of them to take the leadership role in his respective company, while she ensured the unity and identity of the entire family group. It is a style of leadership that emphasizes stability over visibility, but which works quite well.
Philanthropy and Social Contributions
Apart from her interests in the business and political arenas, Savitri Jindal has been involved in social and educational endeavors, one example being that she is the president of the Maharaja Agrasen Medical College of Agroha. The philanthropy of Savitri Jindal is characteristic of the larger trend in the Jindal family, which has established foundations and programs in the areas of health care, education, and the arts.
Lessons from Savitri Jindal’s Journey
Three generic lessons from Savitri Jindal’s experience, other than those regarding the power and steel industry:
- Leadership is not about technical expertise: Effective leadership is not necessarily about having detailed technical knowledge of the business. It is more about having the ability to judge who you should delegate responsibilities to.
- Adaptability outweighs preparedness: In times of crisis, being adaptable is always better than having prepared well before time.
- People matter more than strategy: Family-owned business success is dependent equally on the people and the strategy.
The Future of the Jindal Group
The Jindal Group’s organizational structure seems to be in for more changes given that her sons have now firmly taken the reins of leadership within their own organizations and the next generation of the family is starting to make its presence felt in the organization. The role of Savitri Jindal is now increasingly becoming one of legacy, but her organizational structure, consisting of four independent firms under the same family banner, since 2005 still defines the working of the company.
Conclusion
However, Savitri Jindal does not fit into the typical mold of a self-made corporate legend. First, Jindal did not create the Jindal Group from nothing and secondly, she did not prepare for decades before taking charge of the group. Instead, what Jindal did is take an opportunity where none was expected and kept an empire from collapsing through sheer force of will and determination. This shows how Jindal created a new image of corporate leadership that has more to do with maintaining continuity rather than reinventing anything.
