SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & CEO OF BHARTI ENTERPRISES

Introduction: Sunil Bharti Mittal, born 23 October 1957, is an Indian telecom mogul, philanthropist and the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises. Sunil Mittal, was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He first joined the Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie, but later attended Scindia School at Gwalior and he graduated in 1976 from Punjab University, Chandigarh, with a Bachelor of Arts and Science for which he studied in Arya College for Boys, a local college in Ludhiana. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor. Mittal resides in Delhi. He is married and has three children. Skills & Qualities:
1) Flexible & Adaptable: Sunil Mittals first business was to make crankshafts

for local bicycle manufacturers. He then imported thousands of Suzuki Motors's portable electric-power generators from Japan. He then moved in to Mumbai, to start one of the first cellular companies of India, namely Bharti Cellular, which is now known as Airtel. So, he has been flexible and adaptable to all kinds of businesses and market environment. He adapted to all economic changes he faced and came out as a winner in whatever businesses he performed.
2) Creative & Inventor: He started assembling push-button phones in India,

which he earlier used to import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. He started marketing telephones, answering/fax machines under the brand name Beetel and the company picked up really fast.. He named his first push-button phones as 'Mitbro'.
3) Pioneer: He successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network

licenses auctioned in India. One of the conditions for the Delhi cellular license was that the bidder have some experience as a telecom operator. So, Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom group Vivendi. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994 and he launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under

the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark.
4) Analyst: Sunil Mittal understood the Indian market very well and brought

down the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'Indiaone'. IndiaOne was Indias first private national as well as the international long-distance service provider, and, thus, became a major factor in Bharti's success by providing services cheaply. 5) Crisis Management: During the telecom crisis that hit India due to the 2G Spectrum scam, Sunil Mittal had to handle the falling confidence of investors in the telecom sector. Due to his managerial skills, he maintained the confidence of investors in Bharti Enterprises & Airtel and managed to sail through without any damage to its profits and reputation.
6) Competent Negotiator: In November 2006, he struck a joint venture deal

with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a number of retail stores across India. He also tied up with Del Monte and started Bharti Del Monte and with AXA started Bharti AXA Insurance. In July 2006, he attracted many key executives from Reliance ADAG, NIS Sparta and created Bharti Comtel. In May 2008, it emerged that Sunil Bharti Mittal was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. However, the talks fell apart as MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new company. So, Sunil Mittal always tries to put in his money where Bharti Enterprises gets the commanding position and do not remain just a subsidiary. 7) Innovative: Sunil Mittal always believes in providing high quality services by incorporating high-end technological advancements. He tied up with IBM to provide the best mainframe services and with Nokia & Ericcson to provide the best handsets to the customers. He also undertook laying of high-speed undersea cables connecting India with Singapore. This has enabled Airtel to provide one of the best internet speeds in the country. Sunil Mittals innovative skills can also be seen through Airtel ads that has captured the attention of the nation through its emotional content. He has always managed to think up something new or improve the current trend by advancing its technological content.

8) Philanthropy: Mittal has also been working towards educating India

through the Bharti Foundation. The foundation has established over 200 schools on its 2009 list of the world's top 25 philanthropists. He is also setting up a football academy in Ludhiana.

LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT STYLE OF SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL When asked about his leadership style, Sunil Mittal felt that the best style of leadership is one which develops its people to the level they need not have leaders to guide them. He shared how Bharti went on to grow by having empowered team, how complete delegation and decentralization helped them to make smart business decision, stay ahead and beat the odds. Therefore, it can be derived that Sunil Mittals leadership style, as per the Behavioral Theory formed by Kurt Lewin, is Democratic and Participative. Although democratic leaders make the final decisions, they invite other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This not only increases job satisfaction by involving team members, but it also helps to develop people's skills. Team members feel in control of their own destiny, so they're motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. Because participation takes time, this approach can take longer, but often the end result is better. The approach can be most suitable when working as a team is essential, and when quality is more important than speed to market, or productivity.

As per the Blake-Mouton Grid, Sunil Mittal can be placed as a Team Leader, who has high concerns for both his people as well as production. According to the Blake Mouton model, this is the pinnacle of managerial style. These leaders stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly. The premise here is that employees are involved in understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs. When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organizations success, their needs and production needs coincide. This creates a team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEADERS SKILLS ADOPTED BY ME Although, Sunil Bharti Mittal is now one of the most influential businessmen in India, who is now managing one of the biggest organizations, he has managed to maintain his humility and passion for his work. He came through from a humble start and now is the reigning champion in the telecom sector. I wish to incorporate this particular trait of Sunil Mittal. Every big journey starts with a small step. But we need a lot of encouragement and motivation to take the first step. Sunil Mittal realized his potential as an entrepreneur and performed several businesses before realizing success. His risk-taking ability and the ability to recognize the right area of business are the skills that I wish to adopt. I have an aspiration of leading a world-class organization in its managerial capacity. I am passionate and ambitious, just like Sunil Mittal. I too believe that team work and proper delegation of authority will ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the work process. Sunil Mittal always had more than one way of getting a job done. I have this tendency of always being ready for a crisis. Things cannot be good all the time and one has to be ready to face the worst. The crisis management skill is what I have learnt with experience and have managed to deal it with proper planning and foresight. Also, being flexible & adaptable to all kind of situations and people is an important skill that I have managed to inculcate over the time. The belief in giving back to the society in return of what we took from it is also imbibed in me. Sunil Mittal and his foundation, Bharti Foundation, have managed to educate thousands of underprivileged children. By making charities and taking part in social service activities, I have managed to bring out the philanthropist in me. By taking note of all the skills of Sunil Bharti Mittal and trying to implement it in my daily life, would ensure that I become a successful manager in the coming future.