Tata Steel has been placed second in Leadership Development among companies in Asia Pacific by a study conducted by Hewitt Associates. This was announced at a ceremony held in Mumbai on December 3, 2003, where Mr. Niroop Mahanty, Vice President - HRM, Tata Steel received the award from Mr. Mick Bennett - Asia Pacific Managing Director, Hewitt Associates. Wipro Limited was named the top company for leaders in Asia Pacific one of the five companies in the top 10 from India.

The study conducted by Hewitt Associates identifies companies that successfully attract, develop and retain leaders and reveals the programmes and practices that lead to their success in this area. The study explores the efforts of companies that grow leaders. Hewitt examined the variables that primarily influence a leader's growth in an organisation, including developmental experiences, compensation, senior leadership interaction, organisational culture, succession-planning processes, and more. Companies from seven markets in Asia Pacific, such as Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Korea and Japan participated in the 2003 study. Participation in the study was solicited by invitation, while companies could also be nominated. The purpose was to solicit the respondent's opinion about leaders within the organisation. Qualifying companies were also screened for financial performance, using a five-year compound annual earnings before income taxes.

At the heart of the leadership system in Tata Steel is the understanding and fulfillment of the stakeholders' expectations. The leadership defines the Vision, Mission and Values of the company based on the Tata Group Purpose, the strategy issued by the Board and the Business Review Committee.

The leadership system in Tata Steel is based on the Tata Business Excellence Model that guides the operations of the company. Leadership is a key element in this model. Leaders at all levels in Tata Steel live the Vision, Mission and Values of the company and model the organisation's passion for excellence and customer focus and cascade that energy throughout the organisation. Tata Steel's leadership system has two dimensions visionary and architectural. The visionary dimension enables people to envision the future, to empower them and energise them to the level of superior performance. The architectural aspect supports in designing and creating structure, processes, policies, systems, strategies and measures that support and enhance superior performance.

Tata Steel's leadership strategy is to create leaders who will build the future. The leadership system articulates the behaviour expected of leaders. The effectiveness of the leadership is then measured against the behavioural attributes identified through a systematic process of interviewing senior managers and group discussions with others. Leaders are evaluated, rewarded and recognised for their ability to behave as leaders, in addition to their capability to achieve results.