Gulbahar Taurani - Leading the brand excellence through dynamic leadership

What makes a strong leader, what are your key leadership strengths and strongest attributes for success?

Key trait of a strong and successful leader is the ability to make decisions. It is one of the most important aspects of leadership because a leader, invariably, on a day-to-day basis uses his best judgement to take numerous decisions. In my opinion and personal experience, it’s through this remarkable quality, that a leader also gains respect from the team and wins their confidence.

In fact, it is one of my key strengths; taking timely decision and standing by them. While I may not always be right, but I go all out when I believe strongly in something and stick to my words. Among other strengths that I posses as a leader is the ability to have difficult conversations, a skill that I have learnt and developed over a period of time. In today’s dynamic work environment, it is important to have difficult conversations with as much ease, as regular or pleasant discussions. I make it a point to provide clarity and give honest feedback at the right time without fearing for consequences. And lastly, it is my flair for getting the pulse of people, their feelings, along with a consciousness of where we are going wrong and what can we do to help change the situation, which has helped me in becoming the leader I’m today.

Gulbahar Taurani, MD & CEO, Philips Domestic Appliances, India Subcontinent

An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career and phase to reach to success?

I have undertaken various roles, lead large teams across functions & geographies and built market leadership across multiple consumer categories at Philips in the last 18+ years. One of my major accomplishments have been introducing the first-of-its-kind category of Airfryer in India. Launching it at time when the consumer was neither aware of the need, nor was ready to believe that they could enjoy fried food without oil and at the same time none of the internal stakeholders were convinced if the time was right, I went ahead and introduced this unique proposition, which is loved by our consumers today. It was during the mid of my career as a passionate marketer that I took upon the challenge of creating a new category which was way ahead of its time. It not only helped us scale up our business but also established Philips as a thought leader.

Most importantly, the biggest happiness for me is that I was able to provide a meaningful solution to the Indian consumers that has made their life healthier. The ability to fight all odds and turn the tide in my organization and my favor, has been my biggest achievement.

With an expertise in change management, I recently led the smooth dis-entanglement of Philips Domestic Appliances . It has been the second most noteworthy accomplishment of my career. While we were disentangling with our mothership Philips India Ltd, we were also bringing two big brands Philips DA and Preethi Kitchen Appliances , together simultaneously. Additionally, with both the personal health and domestic appliances businesses entangled in Philips India, there were common teams, common processes and common customers involved which meant creating and executing separate transition plans. Despite the complexities, regulatory challenges and external crisis in the form of a pandemic, we were able to execute the process seamlessly, with zero disruptions and without a single day of sales loss or a single customer lost.

What challenges did you face to reach to the success?

Way back in 2001, passing out from a premium B school was one the key prerequisites to get a reputed corporate job. Hence, I didn’t get the desired kick-start in my career and had to work a lot harder to find my way into the organization & role of my choice.

While it may sound cliche, but I have always looked at challenges as opportunities or maybe I have been fortunate enough that it has always presented itself as one. Whether it was my decision to move from sales into marketing at the peak of my sales stint at Philips which required a lot of convincing of the management, or leading teams/peers who were senior to me both in age and experience at an early stage in my career; it has taken a lot of conviction and determination to create acceptance and a place for myself. I have been often entrusted with difficult assignments, very challenging at times which have played a huge role in fast-tracking my career. As the saying goes, ‘the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity.’

What is the role of a leader in these challenging times; list five in order of priority.

Leadership has taken an even deeper meaning during the current COVID crisis and the role of leaders in navigating the new reality is unprecedented.