Leadership

Shadow of the Chair, Not your Height

EnsuresLeave a comment

Illusion of Political Power

There is haunting universal code embedded in DNA of Indian power which always plays out same way on election night when leaders lose or transition power to another person. One day you see leader like Siddaramaiah walking echoing massive corridors of Vidhana Soudha entirely alone without single bureaucrat or sycophant giving second look. You watch Mamata Banerjee, once undisputed queen of Bengal street politics, visiting lanes of Kalighat only to pass by crowd that suddenly looks right through her unacknowledged. You see it when mighty engines of state machinery grind to halt around leaders like Stalin or Kejriwal. Harsh reality of power is that room is packed only as long as you hold pen that signs orders. Moment designation is gone durbar vanishes overnight. You go from crowded room to quiet hallway in heartbeat because nothing is permanent, least of all power. Crowd never belonged to person, it belonged entirely to chair.

Nothing is permanent, least of all power.

Corporate Echo

Nowhere does this truth resonate more brutally than in mirrored glass towers of corporate India. Air in corner office of Zenith India Corp always smelled of expensive sandalwood and fresh pressed ambition. For over decade Raghavendra Raghu Rao was sun around which entire company orbited. When Raghu walked corridors of corporate headquarters in Mumbai it was less stroll and more royal procession. VPs would suddenly find urgent reasons to step into hallway just to catch his eye. Executive assistants held elevators. Cafeteria would go quiet if he decided to grace it and his LinkedIn posts racked up hundreds of insightful and inspiring comments within minutes. Raghu did not just hold power, he was intoxicated by it. He genuinely believed deferential smiles and late night WhatsApp messages wishing him happy weekend chief were testament to his personal brilliance.

Change of Guard

Then came restructuring. New York based private equity firm bought controlling stake and just like that Raghu was handed golden parachute and polite exit. His last day was Friday. Transition was not slow fade, it was cliff. On Monday Raghu realized he had forgotten personal hard drive in his old cabin. He decided to drop by figuring he would say few proper goodbyes anyway. As he walked through glass doors of Zenith Corp security guard, man Raghu had personally helped with medical advance year ago, nodded mechanically treating him like any other visitor, asking him to sign register and issuing visitor badge. Raghu swallowed hard, realising he was just visitor.

Corridor of Ghosts

Walking down main corridor felt like stepping into alternate reality. He saw Vikram, his former deputy who just three days ago would laugh uproariously at weakest jokes. Vikram was rushing toward conference room with iPad in hand, looked up for split second then looked right through him adjusting tie and picking up pace without stopping or asking how he was holding up. Further down group of management trainees he had personally mentored were chatting by water cooler. As Raghu approached conversation did not stop and they did not part like Red Sea to let him through, forcing him to awkwardly step aside to avoid bumping into them. It was eerie corporate echo of raw political visuals seen on television like former Chief Minister walking massive echoing corridors of Vidhana Soudha entirely alone after election defeat without single bureaucrat giving second look, or Mamata Banerjee or Kejriwal experiencing sudden icy shift when political winds turn and durbar vanishes overnight. Raghu was walking his own quiet hallway. Packed rooms, frantic nods, desperate attempts to catch his eye were all gone. Crowd did not belong to Raghu, it belonged to chair.

Lesson of the Chair

Sitting across from Raghu at nearby South Indian café hour later his old mentor, old school HR veteran named Anand, sipped filter coffee and smiled gently after Raghu poured his heart out bitter and shaken by how quickly he had become non entity. Anand set brass tumbler down and told Raghu he made classic mistake of confusing shadow of chair for his own height. In corporate world as in politics power is leased property. Day lease expires keys are handed over and crowd moves to new tenant. If people respect you only because of designation on business card that respect has expiry date. Anand tapped his chest explaining it is always better to be loved for person you are not chair you occupy. If you build relationships on empathy, genuine mentorship, and character that stays with you when you walk out door. Chair gives authority but only humanity gives legacy. Raghu looked out window at bustling Mumbai traffic. Sting of corridor was still there but clarity was therapeutic. It was brutal lesson that would hold him in good stead for rest of his life. He was no longer corporate deity but for first time in ten years he was entirely himself.

Lasting Personal Legacy

That brutal truth of corporate world and political arenas of Vidhana Soudha or Kalighat is why I have always held specific memory close to my heart. It serves as my North Star reminding me of what truly matters when noise of titles and designations fades away. It happened on September 11 2016 which happened to be my birthday when my team at NEC had organized celebration. Late Dr Reguraj stood up to speak, looked at room then looked at me and delivered what remains greatest compliment I have ever received in my life. He said here is one person who does not get his value due to his chair, he brings value to chair he sits on, Principal loved by everyone from student to faculty to supporting staff.

Hearing those words from man of his stature on my birthday was defining moment. It crystallized very lesson that has held me in good stead throughout my career to never let title define your worth. Dictating terms from position of authority is easy but earning genuine love, respect, and loyalty from every tier of organization solely because of who you are as human being is only real achievement.

Chairs are reallocated and titles are stripped but value you carry within yourself and impact you leave on people around you can never be taken away.

The Harvest Thief

EnsuresLeave a comment

The afternoon sun filtered through massive gulmohar trees outside Indiranagar office of Pragati Foundation, Bengaluru NGO dedicated to urban lake restoration. Inside, air conditioning hummed, but atmosphere in conference room was freezing. Ananya, Senior Program Director, sat quietly staring at official press release on her laptop. Beside her sat Raghav, veteran project manager who had spent fifteen years building grassroots network. Raghav’s hands were calloused from actual field work, his eyes wise and patient.

A title gives you power, but integrity gives you authority

Headline read that Pragati Foundation secured ten crore endowment from Titan Group as CEO Vikram Hegde announced major lake revitalization drive. There was no mention of Raghav. There was no mention of Ananya. Worse still, Raghav had not received courtesy email acknowledging that funds, which he spent eighteen months securing, had finally landed in foundation account. Vikram bypassed everyone, signed receipt in private, and headed straight to PR agency.

Architecture of Trust

Story had not started in boardroom. It started year prior, knee deep in slush of encroaching lake bed in North Bengaluru. Nikhil Kamath, low profile tech billionaire and philanthropist, wanted to fund massive environmental project. He was skeptical of big name CEOs and glossy PowerPoint presentations. He wanted real impact.

Vikram, suave, and premier institute edcuated CEO of Pragati, tried to pitch to Nikhil twice. Both times corporate jargon and glossy brochures fell flat. Nikhil did not want to hear about synergistic scalable paradigms. He wanted to know why local sewage treatment plant was failing.

Enter Raghav.

Recognizing Raghav’s unmatched field expertise, Ananya bypassed Vikram’s rigid hierarchy and brought Raghav to third meeting. Raghav did not use slides. He brought map drawn by local school children, water quality reports he paid for out of pocket, and raw, infectious passion for soil. For six months Raghav nurtured relationship. He took Nikhil to lake sites at six in morning. He introduced him to local fisherman communities. Raghav was visionary who moved Nikhil’s heart.

Financial Sabotage

Just as Nikhil agreed to funding, over smartness almost destroyed project. Board had recently appointed Sunil as Director-Finance. Sunil lacked actual merit, having been failed accountant in his earlier professional life. He secured job solely because of his close proximity to foundation board members. Imbued with unearned authority, Sunil operated under delusion that everyone else in room was stupid.

At final meeting where corporate cheque was signed and ready to be handed over, Sunil decided to stamp his presence. Ignoring Raghav’s meticulously structured operational framework, Sunil made overconfident assertion regarding reallocation of administrative overheads, shifting funds away from actual lake desilting to cover corporate expenses. This arrogant, tone-deaf intervention insulted Nikhil’s philanthropy and completely violated mutual understanding. Disgusted by greed and apparent incompetence of top leadership, Nikhil stalled signing process. Sunil’s overconfident assertion put project off by solid eight months and almost jeopardised entire initiative.

Thankfully, keeping interest of organisation, which in Raghav’s thinking, was beyond a couple of individuals who were newbies and this job being just a livelihood for them, decided to step in. He spent next few months working in private, scheduling quiet meetings with Nikhil without knowledge of both Vikram and Sunil’s team. Raghav patiently rebuilt trust, clarified actual deployment of funds, and won philanthropist over again through sheer transparency.

Hijack

When Nikhil finally released ten crore endowment after eight-month delay, he sent personal text to Raghav stating seed capital was his and they should save lakes. But formal corporate check had to go through CEO and finance desk. Moment funds cleared, Vikram’s insecurity kicked into overdrive. Realizing he and Sunil played no part in winning biggest donation in NGO history, CEO took control of narrative. He barred Raghav from meetings, signed official receipt without thank you note to senior team, and took podium.

Insecure leader steals spotlight because they cannot build their own stage.

Confrontation

In quiet of empty conference room, Ananya looked at Raghav with suppressed anger, calling situation unacceptable because Vikram lacked courtesy to inform him that money came in. She noted Raghav sowed seeds while Vikram stood at podium taking harvest.

Donors never donate to Receipt Signer

Raghav smiled gently, pouring cup of filter coffee. He calmly told Ananya that donor gives to visionary who moved their heart, not boss who signed receipt. He noted Vikram can hijack applause, but cannot inherit relationship. When she insisted it was his credit, Raghav replied that Vikram could take credit if it fed his ego. He explained legitimacy is earned in trenches of trust, not stolen at podium. Impact belongs to cause, loyalty belongs to team, and insecurity belongs entirely to leader.

Unseen Shift

Two weeks later Pragati Foundation hosted grand gala to celebrate funding. Vikram stood on stage basking in flashbulbs, delivering speech about his vision, while Sunil sat in front row preening before board members. Nikhil arrived late. He politely navigated past Vikram’s outstretched hand and enthusiastic greeting, scanning room instead. He completely ignored Sunil, who attempted to wave. When Nikhil spotted Raghav standing near back exit in simple linen kurta joking with field supervisors, billionaire walked straight past VIP seating. He threw arm around Raghav’s shoulder.

Nikhil spoke loudly enough for front rows to hear, telling Raghav he was buying two more earthmovers for Hebbal site and trusted only his team to deploy them. He asked when they would do morning inspection. Vikram stood at podium, mic in hand, suddenly looking incredibly small, while Sunil shrank into his seat.

Title gives power, but integrity gives authority. By trying to steal subordinate’s harvest, Vikram proved to entire room that he did not know how to sow his own seeds.

Yes, Sir or Oh, No! Toxicity Lessons

EnsuresLeave a comment

The manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Mysore, near the Nanjangud industrial area, buzzed with the sound of automated pick-and-place machines. Inside the high-precision Surface Mount Technology division, however, the atmosphere was thick with tension. At the center of this tension was Ramanjaneya, the plant’s production manager. To some in the leadership, he was a reliable asset, but his rise to the top was entirely accidental. Ten years ago, Ramanjaneya’s world had been delightfully simple: a desk, a micrometer, and a mountain of incoming components. As an Incoming Parts Inspector, success meant matching a physical part to a blueprint. If the dimensions matched, it passed. There were no shades of grey and no people management.

Then, a chaotic organizational purge hit the company. The department head resigned, senior supervisor took a job abroad, and a hiring freeze locked the team size. Finding himself the last man standing, Ramanjaneya was handed the manager’s cabin for one simple reason, he was a ultimate Yes-Man for his Manager. While others argued about bandwidth or quality protocols, Ramanjaneya just nodded, becoming the friction-free gear the top brass wanted.

Just say Yes

Now, tasked with setting up a new assembly line for advanced medical electronics, his deep-seated technical inadequacy caught up with him. Knowing he lacked true engineering expertise, he personally interviewed and selected every technician and quality inspector, purposely seeking out quiet, unassuming individuals from local polytechnic colleges. In his mind, he was building a compliant team that would blindly follow his instructions, ensuring he kept absolute control and hid his own limitations.

The strategy collapsed during the very first trial run. One of his handpicked test engineers, a young man with a sharp eye for detail, noticed a recurring calibration defect in the soldering oven. He quickly adjusted the thermal profile, preventing a massive batch of printed circuit boards from warping and saving the company lakhs of rupees. When the plant director publicly praised his quick thinking during the weekly Gemba floor walk, Ramanjaneya felt a wave of intense insecurity. He didn’t see an asset but a dangerous rival who could expose the fact that he was just an inspector playing the role of a manager. Almost overnight, Ramanjaneya transformed into a saboteur. He began assigning this engineer to basic component sorting, publicly reprimanded him for minor dress-code violations in front of the entire shift, and deliberately altered his machine logs to make her work look sloppy. Unable to handle the constant hostility, he resigned within a month. Ramanjaneya smoothly told the HR department that he lacked the stamina for the works.

The cycle continued with the next few recruits. A skilled component specialist who suggested a better inventory tracking system was immediately isolated and forced to do manual packing work until he, too, walked out.  Ramanjaneya’s incompetence made him paranoid, driving him to systematically destroy the very talent he had selected. He wanted yes-men to cover his flaws, but the moment their competence shone through, his fragile ego felt threatened.

As the production delays worsened, Ramanjaneya scrambled to protect himself during the monthly review meeting with the Corporate Team. Standing before the projection, he projected a massive spreadsheet of missed targets and pointedly shifted the blame onto the very technicians he had driven away. He claimed that the local polytechnic graduates lacked the basic work ethic required for high-precision electronics manufacturing and accused his former test engineer of gross negligence that supposedly damaged a calibration sensor. By painting his subordinates as reckless, incompetent, and undisciplined, his practiced habit of telling leadership exactly what they wanted to hear worked once again. He successfully managed to divert attention from his own operational failures, convincing senior management that he was simply a victim of a poor workforce. In any other professional organisation a Manager blaming his subordinates, would be the first one to get the sack, even if he was right.

By the start of the monsoon season, however, this strategy began to crumble. The state-of-the-art assembly line sat completely idle, surrounded by empty workstations, while Ramanjaneya paced his cabin alone, the old comfort of his “Yes-Man” routine no longer shielding him from reality. Upstairs, the plant director looked past the polished presentations and focused instead on the hard metrics-soaring recruitment costs, missed delivery deadlines, and a mounting pile of identical resignation letters, all tracing back to a single department.

HR proposed initiating another hiring drive to replace the technicians, but the director closed the folder. The machinery was perfect, and the local talent pool was excellent. The defect was entirely in the leadership of the team. Recognizing that the accidental manager was the root cause of the system failure, the director initiated the process to show Ramanjaneya the exit.

His note on the proposal had just one line “It was time to stop replacing the workers on the line and time to replace the manager”

  • Leadership is defined by retention, not just recruitment: A manager’s capability is measured by how well they nurture and retain high performers, not just by their ability to source talent.
  • Insecurity breeds corporate sabotage: Incompetent leaders view skilled subordinates as threats to their position rather than assets to the organization, leading them to actively undermine their own team.
  • Deflective blame signals systemic failure: When a leader consistently blames the workforce or local talent pool for missed targets, it usually masks their own operational and managerial shortcomings.
  • Hiring for compliance creates a race to the bottom: Recruiting “yes-men” to protect a fragile ego destroys innovation, limits productivity, and ultimately results in a stagnant work environment.
  • Fix the root cause, not the symptoms: Continuously replacing frontline staff without addressing a toxic manager is an expensive exercise in futility; long-term stability requires changing the leadership.

If the soil is toxic, it doesn’t matter how many handpicked seeds you plant, NOTHING WILL GROW. Change the gardener.