The most important change in work culture that I had to make when I did a transition from a Government job to one in the private sector was learning to say NO without guilt. My 10 years in the Indian air Force had taught me to be a team player and one who would never defy the authority figures and their decisions. But one month in the private sector and I realised it was difficult to work efficiently if I kept saying YES to everything that was thrown my way. In most of the sc

We were talking about what truly makes teams click. And somewhere between stories, the leader I was speaking with said something that stuck - “Fear might get people to act. But only trust will get them to care.” That one line shifted something in me. Too often, we assume leadership means being the smartest in the room, having all the answers, or appearing infallible. But what teams really need is not the best in the team - it’s the best for the team. We live in a world wher

We often grow up believing that a successful career moves in one direction, upwards. Promotions, bigger titles, more responsibility. It all looks great in hindsight. But anyone who has been on that track long enough knows that linear growth, while rewarding on the surface, can start to feel a little… hollow and shaky. The truth is, the most meaningful growth often happens when we step sideways. What looks like a detour on the organisation chart can actually be a doorway to f

Yesterday I had lunch with my college senior after 15 long years. While there was the joy of reconnecting after such a long time, I was more impressed and inspired by her career journey. She had continuously reinvented herself from one role to another, staying resilient over the last twenty years. Her career started, like many MBA HR graduates, in a well paying corporate role. After embracing motherhood she took 2 years sabbatical and then restarted as a freelance content

Whether you’re a manager, teammate, or mentor, giving feedback is an essential part of helping others grow. But how we deliver it makes all the difference. Done well, feedback builds trust, improves performance, and strengthens teams. Done poorly, it can do more harm than good. From experience, I’ve seen feedback conversations fall into three types: Clear but Incomplete – “You need to speak up more.” Helpful, but what exactly should they change? Blunt and Harsh – “Your pres

For the longest time, I believed that leadership meant always having answers, showing strength, and driving results. Until one day, I realized: presence matters more than perfection. The shift came during a moment of honest feedback from a colleague who said, “We know you’ll solve it — but what makes a difference is how you make us feel in the process.” That struck a chord. From that moment on, I consciously chose to move from “showing up to prove” to “showing up to connect.”