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T V Narendran Sir: CEO & Managing Director of Tata Steel
Tata Steel
The best leaders don’t just lead. They make people around them feel seen.
I have had the good fortune of learning from T V NarendranSir, CEO & Managing Director ofTata Steeland Immediate Past President ofAll India Management Association (AIMA) , through several interactions during AIMA Council meetings.
I had the privilege of representing AIMA Young Leaders Council as its National Chairman, alongside my role as Co-founder ofHyphen SCS, India’s largest warehousing and fulfilment platform.
Being one of the youngest people in the room, it can sometimes feel intimidating to sit alongside some of the most distinguished business leaders in the country.
But one quality I have particularly admired about Narendran Sir is his ability to make young leaders feel comfortable enough to share their perspectives without inhibition or self-doubt.
His tenure as President of AIMA may have ended, but his influence goes far beyond a designation. His interest in developing young leaders was genuine and visible.
He wanted to understand what we at YLC were doing, how we could make it more meaningful, and how he could contribute his experience and wisdom.
One small incident, for me, captures his leadership better than any designation ever could.
At a dinner hosted by Narendran Sir recently, I walked up to him and asked for a picture.
The first thing he asked me was:
“Did you get a picture with Kapil?”
I said no.
He immediately introduced me to the legendary Kapil Dev Sir and made sure I got a picture with him.
It might sound like a small gesture.
For me, it wasn’t.
He could simply have taken a picture with me, and I would have walked away happy. Instead, despite me being among the youngest and most junior people in that room, his gesture conveyed something much bigger:
I see you.
He wanted to make sure that a young leader got the opportunity to meet someone as inspirational as Kapil Dev Sir.
These are the small gestures that leave the biggest impact.
As you grow in stature and responsibility, even a small gesture can carry far greater weight than you realise.
A few words of encouragement, listening patiently, making an introduction, or ensuring that the most junior person in the room feels included may take only moments, but can stay with that person for years.
True leadership is not about making your own importance felt, but about making others feel valued in your presence.
The finest leaders use their stature to open doors, create confidence and make others believe they belong in rooms they may otherwise feel intimidated to enter.
Leadership is not just about how many people look up to you.
It is also about how many people you choose to lift up along the way.
Grateful for the opportunity to learn from your leadership, T V Narendran Sir.
Humbled and honoured to have experienced it firsthand.
#Leadership#Mentorship#YoungLeaders#AIMA#TataSteel#HyphenSCS#TVNarendran#AIMAYLC#arunpandit
