Jatin Sahni’s ‘High Five’ Is A Guide On Corporate Leadership That Will Create Better Companies

In school, you're taught math, science, and all the subjects that you may or may not end up using in your life. But the one thing that is seldom taught is the skill set required to become a good leader. What are the qualities that make you a good leader? How do you earn the trust of those who work under you and drive up the engagement of your employees? How do you pave the way for successful companies?

All these questions and more are answered in Jatin Sahni's 'High Five', a 'corporate cookbook' of a guide that borrows from his lengthy experience in the corporate world to educate readers on all the skills that are involved in driving up employee engagement in companies, and consequently, productivity and profitability. In conversation with One Arabia, Jatin Sahni tells us more.

On the 'Spark Moment' that Created 'High Five'

"I've always admired Sir Richard Branson. I've met him in one of the sessions when we were inviting him as a chief guest. He's probably the benchmark of creating employee engagement in whatever way. His quote, 'Take care of your employees and employees will take care of your business'; it's as simple as that and it's something that resonates with me a lot." Mr. Sahni says, speaking about his inspiration. "In the last 25 years of my working experience managing a team, you always realize that there's nothing that is documented for you about how you manage a team. There's no skill set that's given to you when you are promoted to lead a team. And while there are a lot of messages and quotes about it, there is never a structured approach as to how you should manage a team when you're suddenly made a manager or asked to lead a team."

On His Foray into the Writing World

While Mr. Sahni doesn't regard himself as a book-worm, he's of the belief that everybody has an unwritten book inside of them. "I always feel that everyone has an author within them, in one form or another. Whether you write a book or not, you say it in the form of a story–though you may not have the guts to put it on paper or write a book. We planned to move to Canada and I had spare time from my work for one month with the kids, doing nothing, just watching snow outside. And I think that gave me that moment– the 'spark moment'--to say, Why don't I write what I've learned over the last 28 years in a format? I never thought of writing a book. I wanted to write a framework of what I've learnt. And I think that framework was created in that month, though it took years to acquire the skill set."

On His 'Corporate Cookbook' Analogy

"Whenever a chef makes his dish, there are ingredients that he uses, and it's always very structured; You need to put quantity x and quantity y…Each chapter is actually an ingredient in that sense." Mr. Sahni begins, "When I'm talking in a very corporate way, it may not come across to everyone. But everybody loves food, everybody loves ingredients. For example, I've written 'empathy' to be a garnish that we need to put. So, linking it to a dish, everyone can relate to it. And I think that is what I wanted to do; balance between how a chef would add an ingredient, how long and how much."

Mr. Sahni also agrees on the subjectivity of the application of these guidelines, "Each chef will cook the same dish differently. Even though I may read this, how I apply it on the team would be totally dependent on the individual. It is not a hard-and-fast rule. It's subjective. So that was one of the key reasons why I wanted to use both cookbooks and ingredients as a complement."

On the Significance of the Name of the Book: 'High Five'

"A high five is a connotation of success or people coming together. Otherwise, individuals would just clap. I've been using the term for many, many years to drive teams, without knowing that I'll one day write a book on the same subject and use it as the title. So what I've realised is that when you speak to someone and do a high-five, it puts them into action. You do it with your kids, friends, colleagues, etc. Everybody feels motivated."

On The Biggest Takeaway From the Journey

"The aim would be for us to start understanding the importance of employee engagement." Mr. Sahni states, hoping that this is the lesson readers get out of his book. "85% of staff, in general, are not engaged. I think the importance is to know that there is a problem; the diagnosis of that is of higher importance than the cure. The HR is not responsible for employee engagement. The first thing is to bring it to the table that this is an issue and how to address it in a structured manner. I would absolutely recommend this book to young managers–not just because it is my book–but as it's important to know these things before stepping into the specific role."