Aspirations- A different ball game today

There was a time, not too long ago — till the 1990s — when the Indian pharmaceutical industry took pride in grooming its leaders from within. A Medical Representative could aspire to become a Zonal Manager, a General Manager, even the Managing Director, through sheer dedication, field knowledge, and long-term association with the company. Back then, leadership wasn’t imported — it was grown.
Today, that reality has drastically changed. Every leadership position — be it in Marketing, Sales, HR, Production, or Logistics — is filled by lateral hiring from other companies, often those with identical product portfolios. The same faces rotate across companies every couple of years, bringing with them templated strategies, the same customer lists, and unfortunately, very little emotional investment in the teams they inherit.
Is it because organizations no longer believe the same shepherd can lead the goats he has nurtured for 25–30 years?
Or is it simply cheaper to bring in someone from outside who may take months just to grasp the culture of the company — assuming they even try to?
What’s even more bewildering is that many department heads are expected to bring a “ready-to-use” doctor list or distribution network from their previous employer. Is this what we now call a company’s vision or mission? Is this how we define culture?
The reality on the ground is disappointing. Cross-functional communication is almost non-existent. Sales and Marketing don't talk to HR. HR doesn’t engage with field staff. Production teams function in silos. The so-called “culture” is more like a collage of disconnected KPIs and job descriptions.
What suffers most in all of this?
The frontline force — the Medical Representatives, Area Managers, and Regional Managers. They have no voice in strategic decisions. Their years of rapport-building, market insights, and loyalty are overridden every 12–18 months when a new Sales Head or GM walks in with their own playbook. What follows is disruption, confusion, demoralization, and often attrition.
Earlier, leadership meant mentorship, continuity, and accountability. Today, it feels transactional — as though team heads are just placeholders until the next replacement is hired. In this model, loyalty has no value, culture is just a poster on the wall, and growth is outsourced.
Let’s return to a model where internal talent is nurtured and promoted. Where leadership is judged not just by numbers, but by the strength of the team it builds and retains. Where departments communicate freely, and where HR understands the pulse of Sales as much as it does payroll policy.
A leader who has risen through the ranks brings far more than experience — they carry trust, institutional knowledge, and a sense of ownership. That is not something you can hire off a resume.
We owe it to the people who’ve built this industry from the grassroots — to revive a culture that values people over positions, relationships over resumes, and vision over vanity.