“Learning for Leadership: From Rural to Global” –
An evening with Ravi Tangirala, Head Mass Mutual India

On September 24, we had a very interesting session with Mr. Ravi Tangirala, a senior executive of Mass Mutual, the famous insurance company. Mr. Tangirala hails from Machilipatnam, near Vijayawada. He did his graduation at VIT and his post-graduation at the Tuck School of Business. Mr. Tangirala has 21 years of experience in various industries and reputed organizations including E*TRADE, the World Bank and the US Government. Mr. Tangirala is on the Board of Advisors of ISB and is an advisor to the Telangana government. He holds important patents in clean energy. Mr. Tangirala is currently based in Washington DC. He also oversees the running of the Global Capability Center of Mass Mutual at Hyderabad.

Born in a family of teachers, Mr. Tangirala traveled across Andhra Pradesh as his father, a banker had a transferable job. He studied in Telugu medium schools till the tenth grade. While at school, Mr. Tangirala also developed great empathy for the many unprivileged children who could not continue their education beyond Class 10.

When he entered Class 11, Mr. Tangirala struggled with English medium. It was when he joined VIT that he realized that he had to learn English on his own. He understood the importance of self-learning and self-motivation.

After he finished his graduation in Electronics and Electrical Communication engineering, he received an offer from E*TRADE. The company indicated that he would be based in Madras for a few years and after proper training, he would be sent to the US. But Mr. Tangirala, who was only one of two people to be selected in entire South India by E*TRADE, showed such rapid progress with his learning and certifications that he was posted in San Francisco within 6 months. Mr. Tangirala was very happy with his job and his salary. Later, he picked up another high salaried job. Things seemed to be going well when he was laid off during the dot com bust. Being an H1B visa holder, it was not easy to get a job in a scenario where many green card holders were already out of jobs. But with a lot of perseverance, he got back on track. Since then, there has been no looking back for Mr Tangirala. Neither has he been laid off nor has he had to attend any job interviews.

Mr. Tangirala has worked across various industries like Finance, Gaming, Aviation, Government. His World Bank stint was particularly memorable. It gave him exposure to some 176 countries. He played various roles: software engineer, lead, architect, project manager, program manager, portfolio manager, strategic leadership, senior leadership and Exec leadership.

Mr Tangirala joined Mass Mutual in 2019 with the brief to set up and grow the Global Capability Centers.

Passion, self-motivation and determination

Mr. Tangirala stressed the importance of passion and self-motivation. We must work hard to get to where we want to be. We must get up each day and be excited about what we are doing. We must believe in ourselves.

Learning English or working for the government agencies in the US was not easy for Mr. Tangirala. Once while working for the US government, he accidentally went into his manager’s office and encountered the rude attitude of a visitor who was talking to his boss. Later, he came to know that he was the Chief Scientist of the Department of Energy. Mr. Tangirala took this up as a challenge and decided that he would find a way to work with him. That is how the Sensor Net program came about.

Mr. Tangirala has always believed in challenging the status quo. He has always wanted to achieve more. That is how he got the opportunity to do very confidential work in cutting edge technologies for the US government. In general, it is not easy for a foreigner to gain acceptance in other countries. But Mr. Tangirala has achieved this with his hard work and determination.

There is nothing like succeeding or failing. It is always about succeeding or learning. There is no need to get depressed if things go wrong.

Mr. Tangirala recalled his experience in setting up the GCC in Hyderabad. He wanted to set up the center inside an SEZ. He was told that March 31 was the last date. After that, the concept of SEZ would not exist. He had exactly 2 months and 25 days to go. But with a lot of coordination, completion of 120 formalities and despite the pandemic, the GCC was able to go from paperwork to payroll by March 31. Mr. Tangirala coordinated the entire work from his basement in Washington DC. The GCC already has a strength of 800 and may reach 1000 by January. 99% of the team is working virtually.

Leadership style

Mr. Tangirala believes in putting in place an excellent leadership team and trusting them. It is important to have belief in the team and delegate. He looks at himself as more of a motivator or facilitator. It is important to listen to people patiently. We must listen to people to understand, not to agree or to react.

Advice to young people

Mr. Tangirala’s words of advice to youngsters: Stick to the organization you join after college. It takes time for the organization to trust you and to start investing in you. It is possible to grow only if you work in an organization for a long time. An exclusive focus on compensation and changing jobs for higher salaries may not be rewarding in the long run. Organizations can manage even if an employee leaves. But if the employee develops the reputation of someone who is changing jobs frequently, it is not good for the career.

It is important to be a finisher. Being a starter does not help. If we finish what we are given to do, we will be happy and the others around us will also be happy.

We should never say that we do not have time. Mr. Tangirala himself has enjoyed playing multiple roles, corporate executive, advisor to colleges and governments, father, spouse, etc. The more we believe that we can do it, the more we will be able to achieve. We will never be short of time.

The importance of work life balance

All of us are playing with four balls in our life: work, family, health and relationships. Work is like a rubber ball. If we drop it, it will bounce back. We can always recover from setbacks. But the other three are like glass balls. If we drop them, they will shatter. So, we must make sure that we take care of our family, keep good health, and maintain good relationships. We must be grateful for the wonderful family we have. Indeed, we should be thankful for all that we have.

Summing up

To sum up, as Sudhakar put it, we should have a sense of pride and ownership in what we do in our personal and professional journey. We must maintain equanimity during the good and bad times. Work life balance is important. We must be grateful for what we have. We should always be entrepreneurial, i.e. believe that every problem has a solution.

Q&A session
On India’s rural talent

Some 65% of India’s talent is rural. How can we help them to succeed? Mr. Tangirala felt that there is a misconception that speaking in good English is the hallmark of great talent. What is most important is attitude. We cannot purchase attitude. God has compensated us adequately for what we do not have. We must be able to find the hidden gems in the rocks. They lie in the rural areas. What holds back people in the rural areas today are the mental barriers. If we start appreciating that humility and the willingness to learn are more important than the ability to speak good English, rural talent is bound to flourish. Mr. Tangirala himself is proud that he hails from a rural area. He proudly introduces himself as a native of Machilipatnam.

On the importance of planning

Five-year plans do not have any relevance today. It is difficult to predict where we will be in 5 years. It is more important to have long term objectives and tactical plans. Mr. Tangirala drew the analogy of flight plans, where pilots focus less on the whole journey and more on going from one point to the next. Attainable and practical steps with tweaks where necessary are the right way to move forward. Small wins will encourage us and make us feel good. Even if we do not achieve all that we have targeted, we need not feel bad.

On coping with failure

We should never see anything as a failure. When we begin a project, we always achieve something if not everything. We must believe in ourselves and come back with double the force to finish whatever is remaining. Mr. Tangirala talked about how he struggled in his early days of Intermediate education and then went on to do well, thanks to hard work. Similarly, he worked on the renewable energy product in his garage for almost 2 years. There is nothing called failure. It is about working hard, making tweaks when things do not work out and moving forward.

On what he is afraid of the most

A solid team of trusted colleagues and partners is very important. Any cracks here will create serious problems. Mr. Tangirala is also afraid of things that he does not know that he does not know, ie the unknown unknowns.

On empowering women in rural areas

Rural women are as capable as their counterparts in urban areas. What holds them back is their introverted mindset. They are also held down by social factors. There are stereotypes about their role as care givers to the family. After childbirth, things become even more difficult.

Women are as capable as men. What they need is motivation and support. Mass Mutual runs a program called Second Innings where women who want to come back into the workforce are hired and retrained. Today Mass Mutual’s gender mix in India is a very creditable 64:36.

On Indians leading global firms

Mr. Tangirala drew some important differences between western and Indian management practices. In India, it is about credentials whereas in the west, it is about experience and expertise. The west also emphasizes generalist knowledge. People in the west are not afraid while communicating. They are down to earth and accept their mistakes. They know how to use the right tone and language while expressing disagreement.

If there are many Indians today heading global companies, it is less because of luck and more due to dedication, hard work and expertise. You reach the top of the mountain by climbing every step.

To succeed, you have to be a role model to the others. Mr. Tangirala looks at himself as a master slave.

A leader should also have breadth and a holistic understanding of the business. One of the things Mr. Tangirala is happy about is that despite his technology background, he has been able to take interest in and learn about Finance, Operations, Procurement, Legal, HR, Government, Corporate Communication, etc.

On building a strong team

Mr. Tangirala does not believe much in interviews. It is difficult to judge a person through a half an hour interaction. Discussion is more important. The question to ask is not whether the person is good or bad. It is really about the fit. Mr. Tangirala also does not believe in bringing on board experts who know everything. He is in favour of recruiting people who are at say a 60% level and enabling them to grow to 100%. Such people will be grateful to the organization for providing greater challenges and responsibilities.

Mr. Tangirala looks at the people skills and ability to think broadly before bringing someone on board. Mr. Tangirala invests a lot of time in team selection. Once the selection is made, he does not look back or have any regrets. He gives them enough time and freedom to succeed.

On what makes a mutual insurance company different

Most companies are run for the benefit of shareholders. People who buy the shares gain if the company performs well. In a mutual insurance company, the people who contribute to the success benefit. Policy holders get higher dividends while the employees get higher bonus, if the company does well. In short, hard work is rewarded at a mutual insurance company and the incentives of the managers and owners are well aligned.

On the leadership vacuum today

The world is looking for good leaders but there seems to be a short supply. Mr. Tangirala felt there is no shortage of leaders. The problem is people do not recognize their own potential or do not have the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership qualities. People should demonstrate their ability to lead by challenging the status quo. It is difficult to be a leader by being satisfied with what we have.

On the role of technology in GCC

In general, insurance companies have not embraced technology as much as some other industries. Life insurance has not changed much over time. It is still about quotes, medical checkups, collecting premiums and settling claims. Most insurance companies are also weighed down by legacy technologies. Technology can bring about a paradigm shift in areas like issuance of polices and customer experience. Under MM 175, Mass Mutual has decided to take bold strides in experimenting with and embracing various digital technologies. GCC supports the parent company in most of the technology initiatives.

On working from home

The GCC in India was born during the pandemic. Despite employees working from home, it has delivered excellent results in the last 18 months. By treating employees as owners and by linking their work to the big picture and the company’s larger goals, people have been motivated to do well. WFH has been advantageous in cutting various costs like transportation, cafeteria, electricity, etc. But it has taken a toll on the emotional wellbeing and bonding of associates. Getting up in the morning every day of the week and moving from the bedroom to the living room to start the work is not a healthy lifestyle. So, there is some mental fatigue. Moreover, as employees work from home, the local system which would enable employees before the pandemic has been hurt.

On the future of GCCs in India

The value of the work done by the GCCs is expected to rise from the current $ 33.8 bn to $60-85 bn over the next few years. We can expect the technology sector to account for bulk of this spending followed by industries like Manufacturing and Pharmaceuticals. But the main concern is the availability of talent at the right rate. India has seen an artificial surge in compensation in recent years especially for techies in the 4- 8 year experience band. This can have a huge impact as India is competing with other countries for this kind of work. Many of these countries are on par with us in terms of skills and they can provide people at a lower cost. Mass Mutual’s GCC is trying to shape the ecosystem for talent by working closely with academic institutions.

On the role of education in enabling talent

Bookish knowledge alone is not sufficient. We need to bridge the gap between bookish knowledge and practical knowledge and industry knowledge. For example, knowing Ohm’s law is not enough. We should understand how it is applied in real life. Once we bridge the gap between bookish knowledge and industry, the future generation will benefit immensely, and the industry will be assured of a greater talent supply.

A great session by Mr Ravi Tangirala. Excellent moderation by Prasad and Sudhakar.

We thank Dr. Vedpuriswar for bringing out the highlights in the form of this note