Tata Steel has been placed second in leadership development among companies in the Asia Pacific region by a study conducted by Hewitt Associates. This was announced at a ceremony held in Mumbai, on December 3, 2003, where Niroop Mahanty, vice president — human resource management, Tata Steel, received the award from Mick Bennett — Asia Pacific managing director, Hewitt Associates. Wipro 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 attract, develop and retain leaders and reveals the programmes and practices that lead to their success in this area. 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 the region, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, China, 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 model the organisation's passion for excellence and customer focus. 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.

The effectiveness of the leadership is 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.