Factors Driving The Growth Of Agritech Industry In India

 Factors Driving The Growth Of Agritech Industry In India

AgriTech
is the concept of applying modern technologies to the agricultural sector with
a view of enhancing and producing with efficiency and generating sufficient
revenue to support livelihoods. AgriTech
promises to help farmers increase crop yields, improve animal health, reduce
waste, lower carbon footprints and improve scalability by easing the burden of
labor-intensive tasks.

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Indian
Agritech industry is growing at a rate of 25% /yearly and factors are  increase digitization, initiatives by Govt and huge interest of
investors. More than 60% population has their dependency on agriculture in one
or another way so huge opportunity is for entrepreneurs seeking this sector a
business playground, investors who are seeking good exits in years to come and
employments which will be created by the new startups entrepreneurs.   

Driving
force for giving agritech a strong wing is leveraging technology such as data
digitization, data analytics, machine learning, AI, Raas, Saas, efforts are to
make the industry more efficient.

Sentiments
are good in this sector after Covid, especially in terms of investments. Huge
money flow is coming from financial institutions.  As a rough estimate is USD 350 million
inflow has been done post covid, and expect to increase by end of this year
around USD 1.5 billion resulting in a great opportunity in Agri sector.

A brief summary
about factors influencing the growth factors:

Ø  Government initiatives & Reforms supporting the
Agtech Sector

Ø  Challenges Faced by the Industry in India

Ø  Startups and why so interaction & interest.  

 

Government
initiatives & Reforms supporting the Agtech Sector

The way developments are going on in agri
sector after the Farm reforms done by Govt of India just after March 2020, Government
is acknowledging the importance and accordingly providing the required support
through various schemes and initiatives.  Huge credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi cabinet for giving a shape to Farm Acts and reforms. The Modi Government
has been dynamically making policies to improve farmers’ lives in India. In
fact, the government has promised its citizens to double the incomes of farmers
by the end of 2022.

Growth has been accelerated based on following
big launces by the Modi Government.

        
I.         I. Agri-Udaan
initiative: focuses on catalyzing scale-up stage food and Agribusiness
startups through rigorous mentoring industry networking and investor pitching.

       II.           
INR
5000 crore grant based scheme by NABARD for digitisation of  35000+ primary Agriculture Credit Societies –
PACS by Financial year 2022-23.

     III.           
Multilingual
App which provides farm inputs and machinery & equipment on rent.

    IV.           
Transport
and marketing assistance (TMA) scheme to provide financial assistance for
transport and marketing of agriculture products to boost agri exports.

      V.           
Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), PMKSY focuses on conserving water and
increasing irrigation coverage in a focused manner with targeted objectives of
source creation, distribution, management, field application, and extension
activities.

    VI.           
National
Centre for Management of Agricultural Extension (MANAGE) in Hyderabad.

   VII.           
Establishment
of National Agriculture Market (eNAM), a pan-India electronic online trading
portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national
market for agricultural commodities, providing better price through the
transparent auction process.

Challenges faced by the Industry

Like other industries, Indian agri industry is
also facing various challenges. Agriculture is the bone of Indian economy but
due to lack of Govt willpower, nothing much could be done by the previous Governments.
Polarisation of interest of farmers has been done by the political parties for
their will and win strategy, a big factor remains unchanged just taking farmers
mere a vote bank.  This has nothing
contributed but only giving a different thought plowed by various political
parties.  But if we drive to the business
directions and impact on farmers there are various challenges still the industry is
facing:

1.

 1.    Lack
of financial services

2.      
Limited
Digital infra

3.      
Issue
in market linkage which further lead to malpractices,

4.      
Unorganised
marketing systems where no clarity on govt. policies and benefits.

5.      
Non
availability of quality agri inputs and products.

---

 Major Startups in Agritech Sector

 

Few Startups have shown the courage to build a strong
ecosystem for better transparency and scalability through super technology
tools.  As per a rough estimate 450
startups are working in the Indian Agri sector.

AgriTech Startups or established old companies
work on products, services or applications derived from agriculture that
improve various processes. Technology and data can open new opportunities and
help solve problems with production, traceability, and the preservation of
natural resources

ü 

Categorisation of the startup based on their ecosystem
is done as per below ( https://www.ibef.org/blogs/agritech-start-ups-the-ray-of-hope-in-indian-agriculture)

Upstream marketplace model – Agrostar, BigHaat, Agrevolution,
Agronxt, Ninjacart, Agrihub and FarmGuru are the main players employing this
model

Downstream ‘farm-to-fork’ supply chain model – Krishi Star, Crofarm, Sabziwala
and BharatBazar are start-ups working towards increasing efficiencies using
this mechanism

Farming-as-a-service model – Far Mart, EM3 Agri Services, RAVGO
and Oxen are players offering farm equipment rentals to ease the burden of
capital investments for farmers

IoT or Big Data-led innovation model – FlyBird, Cropin, Gro4, Freshokart and Exabit
Systems are deploying smart technology to assist farmers gain access to timely
information and drive productivity

Engineering led-innovation model – Kheyti, Drip, Kamal Kisan and
Nanopix are players driving innovative solutions in this space

Agritech startups are the need of the nation
right now. More and more entrepreneurs are setting up companies in this field,
grabbing the opportunity to transform the sector. The government policies are
also giving thrust to these startups so that they can easily find investors.
The farmers can finally look forward to better price realization now and
embrace this new initiative.

In 2020, more than 20 agritech start-ups have
cumulatively raised more than Rs. 920 crore (US$ 125 million) across equity,
venture debt and conventional debt rounds. Some of the notable equity rounds
are listed in the table below: https://www.ibef.org/blogs/agritech-start-ups-the-ray-of-hope-in-indian-agriculture

Startup	Model	Funding Till Date (US$ million)	Latest Round	Key Investors
Arya Collateral	Warehousing and Supply Chain	9.3	Pre-Series B	LGT, Aspada, Omnivore
Bijak	B2B Marketplace	14.6	Series A	RTP, Omidyar, Better Capital, Surge, Omnivore
Clover	Warehousing and Supply Chain	6.9	Series A	Accel, Omnivore, Mayfield
Crofarm	B2B E-commerce	4.9	Seed	Smile group
DeHaat	Full Stack	16.5	Series A	Sequoia, FMO, Pi
Ergos	Warehousing and Supply Chain	6.3	Series A	Aavishkaar Capital
IntelloLabs	Image recognition (Agronomy)	8.8	Series A	Saama, Nexus, SVG
Jai Kisan	Full Stack	6	Seed	Arkam, Blume, Better Capital
Kisan Network	B2B Marketplace	3.5	Series A	Misteltoe, YC, Foundersclub, Thiel Foundation
Procol	SaaS – Cloud based procurement software	4.8	Series A	Surge, Blume, Beenext
Vegrow	Big Data & Farmer Analytics	2.5	Seed	Matrix Partners, Ankur Capital, Titan Capital
WayCool	E-Distributor (B2B)	65.7	Series C	Lightbox, FMO, Aspada

 

Cropin Technology well articulated the solution: https://www.cropin.com/segments/

• ·  Farming
  Companies: Revolutionary technology for Contract Farming Companies, OrganicFarming Companies, Export and Pack House Processing Companies, Commodity Traders
• ·       Seed
  Production Companies: Cutting-edge technology for Growers and Sellers of seeds
• ·       Agri
  Input Companies: Breakthrough technology for Producers and Sellers of agri
  inputs: fertilizers, nutrients, pesticides, seeds and farming equipment
• ·  Financial
  Lending Institutions: Risk Mitigating technology for Banking & Financial
  Institutions offering agriculture loans
• ·    Crop
  Insurance Provider: Risk Minimizing technology for Insurance companies offering
  agriculture insurance
• ·   Government
  & Advisories: Innovative Technology for Government and Development agencies
  involved in agriculture projects on rural development and livelihood, e.g. projects
  under Government of India’s NFSM & NRLP schemes

Future of
Agritech in India is bright  not because
of the funding scenario being pushed but because of the need and a solution
to the problems faced by the industry. Opportunity is huge in Indian Agri
Sector, by 2025 Agritech industry will have USD 25 billion sizes in terms of trade
being done by the new tech-based startups. 

 

Written and
consolidated by

Balwant
Singh Rana

17.07.2021
Jaipur, India

Trishulii homegrown Products - Legacy of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand, a state in northern India crossed by the Himalayas, is known for its Hindu pilgrimage sites. Rishikesh, a major centre for yoga study, was made famous by the Beatles’ 1968 visit. The city hosts the evening Ganga Aarti, a spiritual gathering on the sacred Ganges River. The state's forested Jim Corbett National Park shelters Bengal tigers and other native wildlife.

Beauty is so inherent to almost all things Uttarakhand stands for – the magnanimous Himalayas, the holiest of the rivers, the spiritual mystery, stunning landscapes, the incessantly colorful play of nature, enchanting history carved in ancient stones, a mesmerizing floral and faunal plethora, and the simplest of the people. Myths, anecdotes, and stories are part of every visual that unfolds itself to the eyes of the beholder.

The age-old Hindu traditions have always accorded the highest esteem to the glory of the colossal and composed heights of the Himalayas which are spontaneously assumed to be the chosen consecrated residences of Gods. A whole lot of the Hindu lore sets out from this ‘Land of the Gods’.

Fertile land in Uttarakhand produces all kinds of cereals, staples that are cultivated through the traditional method of farming by the local farmers. But most of the farming land is not enough to produce desired crops because of improper irrigation systems. 80% crops totally depend on the rain, however, farmers are very hard workers and they manage to grow adequate grains, veg, and fruits for their need but commercially still there is lack of facilities which are highly required to establish so that local farmer can concentrate fully to cultivate a variety of produce in their farmlands and can make available the same to market for further distribution to consumers desired to buy high-quality products from the majestic land of Uttarakhand.  

No words can ever be enough to perfectly describe this blessed land. The incredulous variety of experiences – both spiritual and sensory – goes beyond any language or dialect ( above intro of Uttarakhand is taken from

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I am being a commodity man always trying to do something for the local farmers but due to diverse portfolios at my end I could not initiate but still, I try to connect people who are really working in this segment. I recently connected Mr Aman from Trishulii Producer Company. A hill FPO working across the central Himalayan region promoted by Himmotthan Society, an initiative of Tata Trusts. They are really doing great.  Here I am trying to exhibit the product line of Trishulii, a Tata Trust-backed organization. Hope readers will love to buy the products from national and international.  

Readers of my blog can contact Mr Aman, CEO Trishulii for more details,  Contact details is given below.  

Here is the brief about Trishulii. 

Trishulii Producer
Company Limited (TPCL) was registered on 20th July 2016 under the
Companies Act 1956 and has its registered office at Old SBI Lane, Village
Chanderbani Khalsa, Post Mohabewala Dehradun 248002 Uttarakhand. TPCL has a
strong back of 20 Self Reliant Cooperatives across the state of Uttarakhand,
formed under the aggies of Himmotthan Society: An associate organization
of Tata Trusts.

Promoters of the firm are not very
skillful in the marketing and financial aspects; however, they have expertise
in agriculture, production and have a strong understanding of the collective
marketing concepts. The company will have its main revenue-generating
activities in terms:

1. Procurement, Value addition, and
   marketing of Cereals, Pulses, Millets & spices

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2. Procurement and Marketing of Fruits
   & Vegetables


3. Animal feed production and marketing


4. Tata Tea Products distribution


5. Millets Bases Valued added products


6. Handicrafts: Woolen items and Hawan
   Kits

TPCL has a primary processing center cum
warehouse for cleaning, sorting, grading and packing of millets, pulses,
cereals and spices located in Mohabewala Industrial Area, Dehradun Uttarakhand.

         

                                         Business Model of TPCL

Trishulii’s mandate is to facilitate and carry out
bulk processing, branding, and marketing of products from the member
Cooperatives. It is also sourcing and supplying critical inputs for
agriculture, animal husbandry and other necessary daily need items for local
household.

Organization has
established successful outreach to rural farmers across 25 clusters in 11
districts of the state of Uttarakhand. At present 25 stock point established in the hill regions to
facilitate backward and forward linkages, which are well connected to
transportation facilities and playing pivotal role in sourcing and distribution
of inputs.

 

Reliance a name of success led by Mukesh Ambani has a great blend of strategies.

                                              Mukesh Ambani,
Visionary Leader & Industrialist

Reliance a name of success led by Mukesh Ambani
has a great blend of strategies. We have seen how JIO had created an eco in the
telecom valley. I must say empowered the users by giving a free and fast
Internet. They always want to create something big, innovative, and
disruptive. 

No doubt
Reliance has such great appetite and that's why doing in these streams. Retail
was always an envoy for Mukesh Ambani and an interesting subject for Ms Neeta
Ambani. 

I remember when
reliance fresh started. It was a piece of big news that Reliance is going to
explore and exploit farmers through monopoly in buying. Hectares of
land were taken on lease or contract farming had been done. Yes, somehow it
could not leave an impact that time but the straw was in the eyes and
propelling Mukesh Ambani to enter Retail some big way. Ambition to achieve
something big is the ultimate power of our subconscious mind but very few
people realize the fact that we have the power to dream about it.  Mukesh
Ambani got his fortune only by doing things smartly. 

The idea and
its Journey :

Jio platform is
the brainchild of Mukesh Ambani which always propels him to place it somewhere
on top of any competitors. While launching Jio in telecom they made it bigger
than their existing competitors.  With this great ambition, he started Jio
platform in 2019. It was founded with a clear vision that a scalable business
model should be started where the investor will have trust and they can see a
bigger future in the ecosystem. Moreover, reliance has its own offline stores
presence in more than 200 cities so leveraging them a kind of security and
surety about its launch and pilot run across the channel. Idea was to rule
the Indian eCommerce.

 Pivot

All strategies
were built during 2017 and 2018 that how Jiomart should rule the Indian e-commerce
business and for that Mr Manoj Modi, one of his old fellow and retail veteran
started giving shape to this idea. Applying certain logics and putting together
the strength of existing offline retail stores, a blend of passion and vision
made it clear that Jiomart will have a big consumer base which will drive it to
a great helm of retail, so a scalable business model is built in a very short
period.

 Investible :

Since the beginning,
moto was to make it investible as huge money is needed for customer acquisition
and retaining them loyal for a longer period.  Mukesh Ambani wants to run
a debt-free venture so this idea was taken care during the whole journey. This
was also an important decision for them to think for this kind of business
model where a strong player like Amazon and Flipkart has already dig a deep
penetration in the retail landscape and doing great at service side.  It
was clear to convince Gulf based funds to invest in Jio mart, it was somewhere
strategic in petroleum business dealings which reliance do not want to carry
for longer so they want it to partner with Gulf Petro dealers. On the
other side, social media Giant Facebook leads the stream first time in Jio
platform.  It was the web that started by Facebook, since then 13
investors had invested more than $20.5bn which is almost INR 153000 Crores (33%
Stake ). Somewhere it is hard to predict the mindset of investor that why they
invested so heavily in  JIO platform but as per my personal views and some
inherent powers of judging and predicting about someone is that Mukesh Ambani's
majestical power made investors convinced to invest. Then Google made it clear
that millions of consumers are going to use Jiomart for their shopping needs
will make a strong data bank for them. AI will be the strong upcoming
experience for tech-based companies so Google made it clear about their
business agenda. 

Apart
from Facebook & Alphabet (Google),  11 other influential investors
believe in the idea: Major one is: Vista Equity Partners,
KKR, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, TPG, L Catterton, Mubadala and Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority  

 Leadership is
something about creating confidence and trust among the stakeholders. I always
believe that Mukesh Ambani has that capability and capacity which is helping
him to convince people to believe in him for a great cause.  13 heavyweight
investors were convinced to invest in his platform in 11 weeks short time. Remarkable
history in the Startup ecosystem in India. This is the magical power of
leadership. 

Acquire Capabilities & Pace up Growth in big way 

Another power
punch strategy was to acquire various retail activators/technology companies
who were working in the retail ecosystem in bits and pieces. Here they acquired
the capabilities for faster growth and pacing speed in execution.  Few of them are from data minings and fintech
aggregators.

Association with Local Retailers :  "Sab ka Sath Sab ka Vikas" 

No one
understands retail the way Reliance understands, that Indian Grocery retail
ecosystem is so complex and so fragmented which can not be made organize in one
shot, and if someone  try to test this,
they have to burn billions of dollar for getting a pinch of it.  In Past many big players tried to replace
Kirana retailers by way of creating competition for them but they become a successful failure and soon realized
that Kirana retail is the lifeline of Indian retail which can not be completed or eliminated
so why so fight with them.  They started the
Kirana development program and blend thought to make them partner in their
Jiomart journey.  A pilot run was started
mid of 2018 in Gujarat and Mumbai by introducing POS system in the retail
stores but again it was a different segment so could not come across but idea
was to bring Kirana store under their forte for facilitating hyper-local
delivery points. In my personal views working with Kirana wala need a different
kind of capability which as a company Reliance can not do or it will remain a challenge with two mindsets. Rather going
directly with them they need a proxy name to work with Kirana stores.  This will give them good mileage and a good
market in GT network for offloading their private label. So Reliance needs to either acquire companies
working in the ecosystem or associate them for their staples range in GT
market.

Challenge from part of ecosystem & Way Forward: 

The way competition
is coming in this segment, it will create a disturbance among existing Kirana
retails. Thousands of retailers are going to lose their business because of
online penetration and diversion and cession of footfall day by day, so more agitation will be somewhere harmful to companies like Amazon and Flipkart and
so some extend Reliance. Being Reliance Jio an Indian company has many benefits
which foreign retail players can’t avail, so many things are  easing the growth
but challenge is there.  In my view
Reliance need a strategy to drive Kirana Retails differently and should acquire company who are empowering Kirana Retails for growth side of Retailers. 

My this write
up is dedicated to Mr Mukesh Ambani for his Vision and Passion and I always
respect him for his innovative ideas. I believe Jiomart will be the largest E-commerce
player in days to come.  

Writer: Balwant Singh Rana

As a Writer my independent Thoughts 

Quotes by Vinod Khosla. Helping Startup to find their Way.

Venture Capital terms is not a
new terminology, it is old and effective. 
VC provides their investee a big runway from where they take a flight
to a height from where they can see the whole world, then only they can see the
best place which somewhere will be a fertile land for startups to grow their
business. 

They provide funds to burn the
worries in the early days of operations and teach us how to focus on our aim. I am lucky that I could get some inherent sense of business from well known billionaire Mr Vinod Khosla.  Yesterday one of my friend Gaurrang
Govind send me a link which was the artistic quotes by Mr Khosla. These 12
golden lines gave me a ground to think like an entrepreneur and boost my confidence to next level of expertise which further helped me  to become a Co-founder of an Innovative & revolutionary Idea “Kiranaking”. 

We should not limit our
thoughts to a particular room. Let it be flown in
the open area and grasp maximum information, knowledge.  I am really happy to see the quotes that make
my discipline and propel me ahead on this path of growth. Together we (Investor and we) will build
a billion-dollar company.

Quotes of Prolific Venture
Capital Investor Mr Vinod Khosla is well articulated by Alexander
Roznowski. All 12 points are suited to Startups seeking VC Funding.
if we go by each quote we will find that all propel us to scale the business significantly
and to create Value, thus. Success will automatically create Valuation
(Balwant Rana)

     1.      Aim for
inconsequential outcomes:

2.     
Focus on company building, not deal-making

3.      Do something
different.

4.      Seek for unfair
advantages

5.      Invest more in
people than a specific plan:

6.      Believe will
drive you through bad times

7.      Don’t focus
solely on the monetary outcome:

8.      Focus more on
technology risk than market risk

9.      Compete with
yourself

10.   Lower your
margins for high growth

11.   Acknowledge
that you don’t know everything

12.   Take advice
from the right people

 

Vinod Khosla is one of the most prolific ventures capital investors. Here
are some of the best quotes by Vinod Khosla.

 

1.    Aim for
inconsequential outcomes: (Patience)

“It doesn’t matter what your probability of failure is. If there’s a 90%
chance of failure, there’s a 10% chance of changing the world.” “Most
technology startups fail. There’s a winner, and there’s 7 out of 10 that lose.”
“I don’t mind failing, but if I succeed it better be worth succeeding for.” “I
have seen too many startups where they have reduced risk to a point where they
have a higher probability of succeeding, but if they succeed it is
inconsequential.” — Vinod Khosla

 

2.    Focus on company
building, not deal-making ( Value)

“We are in the company building business, not in the ‘deal’ or ‘capital’
business.” “I don’t think of myself as being in the investing business. I think
private equity investors are very much in the business of doing deals, putting
money in, getting money out. To me, that is a very, very different business and
all that they are doing is spreadsheets. I think of myself in a completely
different business of building companies. I have not made IRR calculations on a
spreadsheet ever since 2004. I either believe or I don’t. If I believe, then my
goal is to get involved and make things much bigger and help them be
successful. It’s a different kind of business.” — Vinod Khosla

 

3.    Do something
different: (Perfection)

“If you’re doing what everybody else is doing, you’re not doing anything
interesting, and we won’t want to invest.” “Doing things at the edge is what
venture is about.” “I don’t even invest in businesses where six other people
have the same technology.” “The idea is how can you turn a technology advantage
into a business advantage? It’s much more like playing a chess game than it is
investing. It is strategic, it depends how much you can help the company.
Therefore, it is much more fun.” — Vinod Khosla

 

4.    Seek for unfair
advantages: ( Opportunity)

“We seek out unfair advantages:
proprietary and protected technological advances, business model innovations,
unique partnerships and top-notch teams.” — Vinod Khosla

 

5.    Invest more in
people than a specific plan: (People)

“We invest more in people than in a specific plan, because plans often
change.” “Failing quickly is a good way to plan. Failing often makes failures
small and successes large….In small failures you accumulate learnings about
what works and what doesn’t. Try many experiments but don’t bet your company on
just one, keep trying, keep failing small.” “There are probably three or four
things you can control out of ten that matter for the success of your company.”
Competitors control another three or four. “The rest is just luck.” “I’ve never
seen one [business plan] that’s accurate.” — Vinod Khosla

 

6.    Believe will
drive you through bad times: ( Believe)

“Bad times come for every startup — I haven’t seen a single startup that
hasn’t gone through a bad time. Entrepreneurship can be very very depressing.
If you really believe in your product, you stick with it.” — Vinod Khosla

 

7.    Don’t focus
solely on the monetary outcome: (Scale)

“Seeking an acquisition from the start is more than just bad advice for an
entrepreneur. For the entrepreneur it leads to short term tactical decisions
rather than company-building decisions and in my view often reduces the
probability of success.” — Vinod Khosla

 

8.    Focus more on
technology risk than market risk: (IT driven)

“We prefer technology risk to market
risk.” — Vinod Khosla

 

9.    Compete with
yourself:  (Fear )

“How would you compete against
yourself?” — Vinod Khosla

 

10. Lower your
margins for high growth: (Growth,GMV )

“I generally disagree with most of the very high margin opportunities. Why?
Because it’s a business strategy tradeoff: the lower the margin you take, the
faster you grow.” — Vinod Khosla

 

11. Acknowledge
that you don’t know everything: (Execution, Process & System)

“Where most entrepreneurs fail is on the things they don’t know they don’t
know.” “Things go wrong. There is lots of uncertainty, and there are times when
you’re unsure of yourself. I’ve found that the less people know, the more sure
they are.” — Vinod Khosla

 

12. Take advice
from the right people: ( Consult, Advisor)

“The single most important thing an entrepreneur needs to learn is whom to
take advice from and on what topic.” “Entrepreneurs could get such great help,
but instead they think they need money. It’s this sort of schizophrenic divide
between worrying that you’re going out of business and dreaming big that’s
needed. Sophisticated entrepreneurs know this. Less sophisticated entrepreneurs
don’t even know whom to ask for advice. They’ll ask a marketing and a
technology question to the same person. Ask different questions of different
people, both those who have been successful and those who haven’t.” — Vinod
Khosla

Articulated by : Mr Alexander Roznowski Source: https://medium.com/ipo-2-0/best-quotes-by-vinod-khosla-a18335c7734d

 

Be the true follower of
a leader like Vinod Khosla, choose your path which led to you towards a grand
Success and could create a history where people will follow you like me
following him. (……. Bhardari)

 

Posted on my blog:
25.12.2020

Jaipur, India

Presenter & Decorated by: Balwant Singh Rana, Cofounder & Director – Kirana King

 

Why Every Organization Should Have Leaders at Every Level

Sponsored Article for Mr John Eades: 

When things aren’t going a team’s way, it’s easy to point a finger of blame at the market, the products offered, or even one team member. More often than not, a struggling team boils down to ineffective leadership from more than just the person at the top. 

Teams that are highly effective at overcoming adverse conditions are capable of unleashing what I call “leaders at every level.” Unfortunately, this isn’t a light switch that can be turned on at any time. What’s required is a strategy and an intense focus on hiring, developing, and equipping people to choose to lead daily. 

Great companies develop their people to be leaders because every circumstance demands it. 

“Leaders at every level” is not only a reputation in the marketplace for having an elite culture, but it permeates internally as team members are expected to become the leader they are capable of becoming. 

There was a time in the not-so-distant past where every critical decision was left to the CEO or management team. In today’s current rapid change environment, this practice can and will be detrimental to an organization's existence.

The Model is Changing

To retain top talent, organizations have relied on promotions into positions of leadership. While this retention tactic is still in practice, human resource executives and executive leaders are getting wiser. Now, they are not only evaluating leadership skills in their succession planning process, but there is a lot more emphasis on asking people to act like leaders right where they are. This is particularly important since most professionals want their work to have a more meaningful impact. 

Organizations like Extended Stay, Cora Health, Lippert Components, and many more have embraced the idea of developing leaders at every level. While this approach can be time-consuming and more expensive in the short-term, it creates a workforce that is prepared to lead. 

Developing leaders is time-consuming and expensive, but it creates a workforce that is prepared to lead.

Here are a few strategies for creating "leaders at every level" in your organization: 

Create a Culture of Growth and Learning

Leadership, like many things, is a journey and not a destination. Many organizations know this, and they have built internal leadership development academies/universities. These include things like year-long courses, learning tracks, workshops, coaching, and mentoring, just to name a few. However, best companies do this not because it’s a nice thing to do, but because it’s tied to their purpose and mission.

Take Coke Consolidated as an example. Even though they are the largest Coca-Cola Bottler in the United States, they know they exist for a much bigger purpose. Todd Miller, the Vice President of Organizational Capability, said, “We are a purpose-driven company that attracts, engages, and grows a highly talented, diverse workforce of servant leaders enabling Coke Consolidated’s growth and performance.” 

One of my favorite ways Miller and his amazing team do this is by “Rewarding and recognizing teammates driving our culture of growth and learning. This is critical because we all tend to repeat what is rewarded.”

“We tend to repeat what is rewarded”

Thanks to the internet and the massive amount of information available to us, every organization, regardless of their budget, can tap into the unlimited number of opportunities to learn at any time. The best companies and talent development leaders recognize this and are getting creative in creating a culture of learning.  

David Hare and the talent development team at GE Appliances were forced to put in-person training and hold in through the Pandemic. Instead of putting all development on hold, they did the opposite. They created a series called "Rise," which was weekly lunch and learns with internal and external experts. These were optional training opportunities to learn and grow to promote their culture of growth and learning.

Preach and Promote Coachable 

Since the best leaders are learners, being coachable is essential for any leader. More often than not, a person’s ability to say or do something significant is built on the backbone of hard work, dedication, and being coachable.  

What’s interesting about coachability is that it’s not a technical skill or inherent to us. It’s a mental mindset that anyone can embrace. Being coachable means, you proactively seek help and feedback to support your growth and development. 

Being coachable means, you proactively seek help and feedback to support your growth and development. 

Nick Saban, the legendary head football coach at Alabama, constantly preaches to his players and coaches to “respect the critical eye.” This means that instead of getting defensive, embrace when someone is coaching you with a critical eye because they are trying to make you better.  

Organizations that promote coachable and “respect the critical eye” professionals at every level will have more leaders than those who do not because coachable people eventually pour that knowledge into others. It reminds me of the great Sophia Bush quote: “We are allowed to be a masterpiece and a work and progress all at the same time.” 

Focus on Attitudes That Are Energy Giving

One of the most popular questions I get in my LinkedIn or Instagram DM box is, “What do I do if I am a part of a toxic or dysfunctional team?” There are three commonalities for everyone who asks this question - they are on teams with bad attitudes, negative energy, or a bad leader. If an organization wants to develop leaders at every level, they must avoid putting people in leadership positions who have bad attitudes, spread negative energy, or tolerate constant pessimism.  

If you leave bad leaders in positions of leadership, this is what is going to happen.

Organizations must continuously identify and highlight relentlessly positive professionals. In an interview with Jacob Morgan for The Future of Work Newsletter, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott said, “Never underestimate the power of relentless optimism. Challenges create opportunity. We must think boldly and create the solution others view as possible.”

If you want to create leaders at every level, having relentlessly optimistic professionals is a great place to start. 

Closing

It would be amazing if having “leaders at every level” were as easy as turning on a lightswitch. But when you think about all the work, effort, and dedication it took and continues to take for that light switch to turn on the lights, it proves there is nothing easy about it.  

However, if companies both have the desire and commitment to developing leaders, great things happen. Frontline employees provide a better experience to customers, managers will have healthier teams, and moms and dads will have a stronger family structure outside of work.

Best written by Mr John Eades

Dt. 22.12.2020