“Leadership is not defined by position or power, but by the impact you leave on people when you are not in the room.”
For over two decades in corporate roles and now as a Leadership Coach working closely with senior executives across India, I’ve often found myself asking an uncomfortable question:
Are our senior executives truly leaders—or just senior managers with titles?
I remember a phase early in my corporate career that still stays with me. I was part of a high-performing leadership team in a fast-growing organization. The numbers were impressive, the dashboards were green, and quarterly reviews looked flawless. Yet, every Monday morning, the energy on the floor felt heavy. Talented managers were exhausted, innovation had slowed, and people spoke more about survival than growth.
The irony? On paper, we had “strong leaders.” In reality, most of them were exceptional individual contributors promoted for their technical excellence, not their ability to lead people. Decisions were top-down, mistakes were punished subtly, and conversations about well-being were treated as distractions. People complied, but they didn’t commit.
That experience shaped my understanding of leadership—and later, my coaching journey.
Leadership in India Is Changing—But Not Fast Enough
India is at a fascinating inflection point. Our workforce is younger, more vocal, and far less tolerant of fear-based leadership. Today’s professionals don’t just want a paycheck; they want purpose, autonomy, and respect. Yet many organizations still operate with leadership models designed for a different era—hierarchical, authority-driven, and control-oriented.
Traditionally, Indian leadership has emphasized seniority, command, and certainty. But in a world defined by volatility, AI disruption, hybrid work, and constant change, certainty is a myth. What teams now need is clarity, empathy, and trust.
This is where many senior executives struggle.
They are brilliant strategists, sharp with numbers, and decisive under pressure—but often uncomfortable with vulnerability, feedback, and emotional intelligence. Leadership, however, has moved beyond “having answers” to “creating environments where answers can emerge.”
So, Is Your Senior Executive Truly a Leader?
A genuine leader is not evaluated by designation or years of experience. They are evaluated by behavior—especially under pressure.
Here are a few lenses I use while coaching organizations to assess leadership effectiveness:
1. Do people feel psychologically safe around them?
Can team members disagree without fear? Can they admit mistakes without being labelled incompetent? Silence in meetings is often a leadership failure, not a team one.
2. Do they develop people—or just extract results?
Short-term performance achieved at the cost of burnout, attrition, or disengagement is not leadership; it’s resource depletion. Leaders build capability, not dependency.
3. Do their actions align with their words?
Trust is built in small moments—how feedback is given, how credit is shared, how failure is handled. Culture is a reflection of leadership behavior, not HR policies.
In my coaching work, I’ve seen remarkable transformations when senior executives pause and ask themselves not “Are my targets met?” but “How do people feel working with me?” That shift alone changes conversations, decisions, and outcomes.
The Leadership India Needs Now
India doesn’t need louder leaders or tougher bosses. It needs conscious leaders—those who balance performance with humanity, authority with humility, and ambition with accountability.
The most respected leaders I’ve worked with are not the ones who command rooms, but those who elevate them. They listen deeply, coach intentionally, and lead with awareness. Their teams don’t just work for them—they grow because of them.
Leadership today is less about control and more about influence. Less about knowing it all and more about learning continuously. And most importantly, less about being followed and more about being trusted.
Before we celebrate seniority and success, it’s worth reflecting:
• If your senior executives left tomorrow, would your people feel relieved or inspired to carry the vision forward?
• Are your leaders creating performance—or people who can perform without them?
• And finally, if leadership were defined by impact, not title, who would truly qualify in your organization?
The answers may tell you more about your leadership culture than any engagement survey ever could.
Let’s evaluate your Leadership strength, drop an email to me at connect@rajatkhatri.com
Rajat Khatri
Workplace Happiness & Leadership Coach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajatrkkhatri
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajatrkkhatri
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@rajatrkkhatri
Book: https://amzn.to/3CR1NDY
I suggest below books that every Leader should read:
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sneak: https://amzn.to/3Z9RzGj
What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith: https://amzn.to/4qsIULo
The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie: https://amzn.to/49Tr6Tz