Developing first line leaders is the strategic challenge for many companies today. These are people who have become leaders for the first time in their career. The transition from individual worker to team leader poses formidable challenges. The top management has a high stake in this process and should provide all help to make the transition smooth.

The Indian economy has grown at a rapid pace in recent times, led by the IT Services and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries. Attracting and retaining talent is the key issue for companies in these industries. In particular, the strategic challenge companies in these industries face today is the emergence of leaders fast enough to keep pace with the growth of the business.

Many of the team leaders in our knowledge industries are people who have become managers for the first time. We will refer to them as first line leaders in this article. In most cases, they are young and are not really prepared for the role. Yet, they have to be pushed into these roles taking into account both the growth needs of the industry as well as their high aspirations. In short, growing first line leaders is what is grabbing much of the attention of top management these days.

Global CEO Magazine, Business Process Outsourcing, BPO, Indian Economy, IT Services, Effective Delegation, Customer Negotiations, Career Development, Top management, Rational Decisions, Staff Development, Monitoring Schemes, Technical Skills, Team Productivity.