"You can never do much alone." This truth has been a guiding force in my journey, especially during the transformation of HCL Technologies.
Early on, I encountered influential leaders—board members, customers, advisors—whose decisions could make or break our efforts. Winning them over wasn’t just about presenting a strong case; it required empathy, understanding, and humility.
One pivotal conversation was with Vineet Nayyar, the first Chairman of Comnet. He told me, “Vineet, do you realize that everyone around you is constant, and you are the variable?” I was puzzled. “All of them can live without you. The question is, can you live without them?”
That night, I lay awake, replaying his words. It wasn’t easy to accept that I was dispensable and that I needed to adapt. But it was true—I had been so focused on my vision that I hadn’t considered how to bring others along. This marked a fundamental shift in my leadership approach.
I began encountering different types of leaders— indecisive leaders, insecure leaders, and overconfident leaders. With each, I adopted different strategies.
For indecisive leaders, I involved them in defining the problem instead of pushing for immediate decisions. Albert Einstein said, “When I have one week to solve a seemingly impossible problem, I spend six days defining the problem. Then the solution becomes obvious.” This approach eased their discomfort and facilitated decision-making.
With insecure leaders, I learned that transparency and trust-building were key. To do that, I needed to create an environment where these leaders felt secure enough to let the vision unfold.
For overconfident leaders, I found that presenting ideas as concepts needing refinement allowed them to “discover” the solution themselves, channelling their energy into areas where they could shine and freeing up space for the rest of the team to innovate.
In the end, leadership is about collaboration, empathy, and understanding. It’s about aligning others with your goals because, together, we can achieve far more than we ever could alone.