The purpose of this article is to extract some lessons on leadership development from the selection and preparation processes of the Indian Civil Services (ICS).

Many of my countrymen may not agree, but I am a firm believer that one of the greatest legacies left by the British Empire is ICS, formerly known as Imperial Civil Services. The ICS is an ‘All India Service’ and follows the Cadre system in which officers are assigned to state cadres, not necessarily to the officers’ home states.

Selection process:

After meeting the eligibility criteria (mainly age, academic level and nationality), aspiring candidates go through a strict selection process consisting of three successive steps. First, the preliminary examination; second, the Mains exam; and third, an Interview (Personality Test).

As of 2013, 776,565 candidates had registered for the preliminary exam, of whom 323,949 sat. Of these, 14,959 qualified to sit for the main exam. Out of 14,959, 3,003 candidates were shortlisted for the personality test. Finally, 1122 candidates successfully passed the interview. Only 0.34% of the candidates who gave the Preliminaries. How does it really sound? Rigorous? Right.

Based on rank in the selection process, candidates are assigned to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign Service, or other departments including Finance, Post and Telegraph, Revenue, Secretariat, etc. . All successful candidates first go through a training session for a short period and then transfer to an academic staff college.

Preparation process:

At the college, the training is mainly made up of three modules, ie the Basic Course, the Phase I Professional Course and the Phase II Professional Course. Each module has specific objectives and thematic coverage.

Subjects covered at the basic level are public administration, management techniques and behavioral sciences, law, basic economics, political concepts and constitutional law, Indian and Hindi history and culture.

Phase I of the Professional Course covers topics including the Constitution of India, Basic Economic Principles, Development Administration and Rural Economy, and Law. This phase also aims to make practitioners proficient in the language, history, geography and culture, the resource base and techno-economic potential, and the administrative spirit of the assigned region or state.

In Phase I, trainees are required to develop a proper attitude towards socio-economic change and progress, disadvantaged population issues, public administration and management, basic economics and five-year plans, etc. During Phase I, probationers also go on a study tour where they are attached to a defense wing or public sector company or tribal village or voluntary agency or Office of Parliamentary Studies and Training, for about 8 to 10 weeks.

The Phase II professional course covers a wide variety of topics such as Law and Order, Civil Liberties, Civil-Military Liaison, Revenue Administration, Land Reforms, Natural Disaster Management, Public Distribution System, Agricultural Development, Women’s Empowerment, Integrated Child Development Programs and Wildlife Conservation.

The methodology throughout the entire training process includes classroom teaching, experience sharing, group discussions, presentation of case studies and discussions, field visits, group tasks, physical training, simulations, internships, etc.

Now, you realize how exhaustive and tough the leadership development process is. To get a capable administrator and smart policy maker out of the staff school, it takes a gigantic effort and investment from the Government.

What are the key lessons that Indian organizations can draw from the ICS model for their leadership development processes? Quite a few, actually.

Selection process:

The charm of the process lies in its severity, its depth and its broad objectivity. So what tools can the organization deploy to check the rigor of the selection process?

• Eligibility criteria (can be a minimum of 5 years of continuous service at the middle management grade, at least one outstanding achievement in the last two years, a minimum of one promotion in the last three years, a good combination of orientation to people and tasks, and adherence to organizational objectives). values)
• Detailed performance data (qualitative and quantitative) for at least the last 5 consecutive years
• Types of training obtained in recent years and corresponding improvements
• General behavioral data/observations
• Level of acceptance among immediate superiors
• Degree of camaraderie enjoyed with immediate functional and cross-functional colleagues
• Demonstrated abilities of initiative, problem solving, crisis management, decision making, people participation, team building, team management, communication and ownership.
• Recognized willingness to grow in the career at a faster rate than others.
• Opinion of top leaders about employee potential based on direct observations and/or data
• A formal process of interviewing potential employees. The interview panel may take the Assessment Center approach and must have a behavioral psychologist as a panelist. Before formally announcing the results, a nominated board member should meet with selected employees to convey to them the importance and seriousness of the selection process.
• Counseling unselected employees and guidance to prepare again

Similar to the ICS, after selection, the CEO and the head of human resources must deliver an orientation summary to the selected employees and share the expectations of the organization, as well as its future prospects.

Preparation process:

Now the time has come for hard training, both hard and soft, preparing potential leaders for their subsequent conversion into real ones. So what could be the components of such a preparation process?

• Advanced management preparation at a renowned institute (such as General Management Program or 3-Level Management Program from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad): Such training helps to polish management basics, understand latest developments in management disciplines and initiate employees into the leadership role.
• Functional brilliance and interdisciplinary appreciation – Potential leaders need to know all aspects of the business from the inside out. Ways to achieve this are participation in formal team assignments with goals and time limits, individual assignments in roles related to the employee’s current role that can lead to massive improvements, and additional responsibility for at least one more role. Comprehensive employee development in functions including Finance, Accounting, Legal, Manufacturing, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Customer Service, Information Technology, Marketing, Sales, and Human Resource Management and Development is an essential requirement. before formally declaring them. as leaders.
• field visits – The ‘field’ here implies the front of any given function. Unless employees understand the beginning and end of the specific role, it would be difficult for them to fully understand that role.
• ‘Accidental’ Participation in Strategic or Critical Meetings – The last-minute participation of potential leaders without any leads acts as a platform to check their spontaneity, composure, preparation, communication and presentation skills, acceptance of Seniors, persuasion and advocacy skills, and perseverance.
• Leadership exercise at a reputed institute in India or abroad – This is the final push before formally closing the leadership development process. Course selection requires scrutiny in terms of course content, profile of past participants, profile of faculty, overall reputation of the institute, reference checks on program quality with selected past participants, etc.
• tutorships – This is a very critical and largely invisible component in which the selection of the mentor is a crucial aspect. The mentor can be a senior manager or an external subject matter expert. Periodic inventory, course correction, resource allocation, problem solving, etc. are some of the mentor’s actions that help the mentee stay on track. Essentially, the mentor’s role is to advise and invoke the mentee’s latent potential for leadership.

Incentives and retention bonus – A question mark

While the preparation process is taking place, the challenge for management is to retain employees and help hone their interest in the preparation process. Relying solely on intrinsic motivation is too utopian thinking.

The organization should provide financial (enhanced compensation, deferred compensation, additional performance bonus, stock options, etc.) and non-financial (public recognition, family sponsorships, professional association membership, etc.) incentives to employees to ensure that they stay on course and invest their time and efforts with the desired intensity. There may be a telescopic link between incentives and specific stages of the preparation process.

Whether to have a retention bonus for such efforts is a moot point. In my opinion, the retention bonus serves its purpose only when (1) the employees in question have ‘proven’ faith in management, (2) the organization supports employees in difficult times during the grooming process, and (3) ) the administration walks talk.

Conclution:

Concisely, the ICS model provides an excellent, achievable and proven framework for leadership development, more so in the Indian context. This is an opportunity for Indian business companies to study the ICS model in depth and develop their own leadership development prototypes.

The beauty of leadership development is in the formal and systemic nature of the process. Turning performers into leaders is a purely academic, experimental, and experiential exercise that requires effective planning, time investment, and budget allocation.

Can you name a person who was born as a leader? Neither. With few exceptions, leadership is the result of a designed effort and not a defect.

Note: ICS information was taken from various websites and used for illustrative purposes only.