Shrikant N. Pangarkar is a seasoned leader with 37 years of experience across various industries. An IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad graduate, he has held senior roles, including CEO and Executive Director, driving business growth and market development. In Effective Leadership in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, he shares practical insights on leadership, team building, and achieving success in MSMEs.
The Literature Times: What inspired you to write ‘Effective Leadership in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises?’ Was there a specific experience or challenge in your career that motivated you to share your insights on leadership?
Shrikant N Pangarkar:Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)are the backbone of business activities anywhere and especially in India. India started as an agrarian economy with very limited number of modern industries. Majority of population was engaged in farm related activities. Gandhiji promoted village industries and India started promoting MSMEs to create employment, entrepreneurship and support to large enterprises. Large number of people responded to this initiative, But while the government schemes and banks came forward with supporting schemes to encourage these MSMEs, the mortality rate for these enterprises is very high because of the lack of Leadership Expertise in these outfits. Almost 50% of the ones started close down due to various factors like lack of marketing, efficiently producing and financial capabilities. The survival depends upon the fitness which is created by the Leaders of these enterprises. Lack of training, and capability of these leaders leads to frequent failures. This book is inspired by the desire to help leaders understand and develop leadership skills. I have handled the MSME vendors during my work as SCM manager and through other roles. My observations about their working inspired me to write, to guide them to succeed, grow and prosper.
The Literature Times: In your book, you emphasize the importance of aligning the team with the vision and mission of the business. Could you elaborate on how leaders can effectively communicate these core values to their teams, especially in smaller enterprises?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: For success on any path, setting the destination is very important. In an enterprise setting the Vision, Mission and Value system are important. Enterprise is a team effort in which the employees, Vendors, Customers and other stakeholders work together for success. With this view, all stakeholders must be made aware of the Vision, Mission, & Goals, so that everyone’s efforts are aligned towards achieving the goals and mission. This knowledge and effort assists in motivating the team members towards common goals and direction with a sense of purpose and achievement.
The Literature Times: With your vast experience in various industries, what would you say is the biggest leadership challenge faced by leaders in micro, small, and medium enterprises, and how can they overcome it?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: The biggest challenges faced by Leaders in MSMEs is lack of Planning ( Long Term & Short Term), Marketing Techniques, Financial Expertise, Cash Flow management, lack of qualified and talented manpower. They can overcome these by systematic acquisition of all above skills by training, external assistance, disciplined working and maintaining open relationship with the stakeholders and seeking collaborative working.
The Literature Times: Your book discusses the significance of empowering team members with accountability and authority. How do you recommend leaders strike the right balance between autonomy and oversight in a smaller business environment?
Shrikant N Pangarkar:Every human being can think, feels respected and wanted when he / she is involved in the sharing of mutual knowledge transparently and decision making. This includes empowering them to make decisions, take responsibility, be accountable for results. With such treatment, the employees feel empowered, trusted and absorbed in the enterprise activities and therefore they contribute with interest and ownership of tasks assigned. This kind of environment produces best results by the team. However this does not mean no control. By regular reviews, the activities can be kept under control and corrections made wherever required.
The Literature Times: You highlight the importance of training and development in nurturing leaders and team members. Can you share some practical steps for MSME leaders to foster continuous learning within their teams on a limited budget?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: SME leaders should envision, training and development of their associates to up-skill them and prepare them for career growth through carrying out higher responsibilities. This activity should be viewed as investment in people rather than an expense. Conducting internal and external training programs and discussion on the concepts learned and their application to enterprise needs will ensure upgrade of both the employees and the enterprise working. Leaders must encourage associates to come up with new ideas for improvement. All these actions do not require high budget but requires interest and imagination.
The Literature Times: Motivation is a key aspect of your book. How do you suggest MSME leaders create an environment of recognition, appreciation, and rewards to ensure their team stays engaged and productive?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: It should be borne in mind that majority of associates wish to work and contribute better when given a chance. This characteristic should be utilized by leaders to draw the best out of employees by motivating them, by giving them challenging tasks, giving them respect through expressing trust, respect and seeking opinion. Such treatment & open system of reward and recognition for good work done, makes them happy, stay engaged and become highly productive with little supervision.
The Literature Times: From your experience as an Executive Director and CEO, what are some common mistakes that leaders in micro and small businesses make, and how can they avoid them?
Shrikant N Pangarkar:The MSME leaders must seek to develop Unique Value Proposition(UVP) so that they gain over competition, be valuable associate of the customers and other stakeholders. Keep upgrading their capabilities, and diversify their offering to gain stability. They should keep control of operational costs and specifically cash flow. They should avoid being a “me too” enterprise. Keep future in view, plan properly and meet commitments. Most importantly they should learn and practise very good “Time Management’.
The Literature Times: You have a background in both engineering and business management. How have these diverse skills influenced your approach to leadership in the context of MSMEs?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: Knowledge of both engineering and management techniques helps me understand the conduct of any MSME business. This also helps me to suggest to them the practical and possible solutions to their problems by systematic analysis of the problems faced by them. Inherently, I feel like helping them succeed and grow, sincerely.
The Literature Times: How can leaders in MSMEs handle the pressures of financial and operational challenges while maintaining the morale and motivation of their teams?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: Financial management is crucial to survive and grow. This requires proper planning and ensuring smooth cash flow and decent profitability. When the cash flow is OK and sustains the business requirements, on a regular basis, the stress is considerably contained and allows the leaders to plan better, keep good relationships, high efficiency and keep the entire team motivated to meet the goals. Open and transparent communication with team members keeps them happy, involved and develops sense of belonging and long term relationship.
The Literature Times: Given your extensive leadership experience, what advice would you offer to aspiring leaders in micro and small enterprises who are looking to scale their businesses while maintaining strong leadership practices?
Shrikant N Pangarkar: My advise would be 1 Plan better in detail about Products, Processes, customer needs, competition, growth possibilities etc 2 Engage and build a high performance team 3 Build “Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)” and ensure compliance to these SOPs 4 Keep regular communication with all stakeholders and learning attitude. 5 Keep future growth and profitability in mind all the time. 6 Show empathy and mutual well being. 7 Demonstrate respect and trust in stakeholders. 8 Strive to build UVP. 9 Create “Innovative Culture” 10 Be open to making corrections where required.
