Can I be a Global Indian?

In over 30 years as a corporate professional, mostly with multinational organisations, Gangapriya has worked closely with Indian, non-Indian managers and co-workers. These interactions allowed her to dig deeper on what being ‘Indian’ means. In this article, she writes about how working with employees from across the world, in multinational organisations, gives us the advantage to look critically at ourselves, while also having the opportunity to observe and learn from ‘the other’.

Based entirely on her observations, experiences and inferences, she focuses on typical aspects of ‘Indian-ness’ that stand out—the abiding regard for hierarchy, the inexplicable relationship with time, how competitive Indians can be and how it drives them, and how Indians contend with conflicts of interest and deal with issues about data privacy and the general unease with compliance. It is her firm belief that with reflection, self-awareness and confidence arising out of knowing oneself, Indians may be better placed to deal with the underlying confusion and anxiety around whether to ‘stand out’ or ‘fit in’ and navigate with ease in a multinational and multicultural environment.

For Indians employed in multinational, global organisations, she believes that such experiences provide a valuable opportunity to become better versions of ourselves. Similarly, organisations get to appreciate the differences that Indians bring to the table, while, at the same time, understanding the common characteristics that come with such a diverse workforce. Through this article, she explores what ‘Indian-ness’ means to her and how in this ‘flat’ world, it is imperative and important for us to retain our identity as an ‘Indian’ yet be comfortable in a globalised environment so that we feel connected with the larger team without being lost at an individual level.