Name: Pankaj Agrawal

Title: Vice President

Organisation: Kellton Tech

I am a dynamic leader with a perfect balance of technological expertise and business acumen. I bring a strong passion for excellence and possess the ability to lead large-scale transformation programs and teams effectively. I have demonstrated boldness in managing global responsibilities and building strong relationships at the CXO level.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Pankaj's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

Building trust as a leader with employees, customers, and other stakeholders is foundational to fostering collaboration, loyalty, and long-term success. I practice following principles to build trust

1. I always try to be honest and transparent with everyone - Communicate openly, share clear information, and provide accurate visibility.

2. Listen patiently and show empathy- Take time to listen to the expectations, understand the needs, seek feedback, and pain points, deliver tailored solutions, and build an environment where everybody feels valued.

3. Build relationships through regular engagement - Spend time with teams, customers, and other business partners

4. Lastly, build a shared vision and align interests

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

According to me, Vision and Mission are foundational in leadership, which gives direction, purpose, and clarity.

It guides your thinking and decision-making process in real-world business, it is the common principle that inspires and drives teams together.

Vision and mission statements guide the organization’s brand story, values, and external messaging.

It builds the strategic roadmap - The vision provides the destination, and the mission clarifies how to get there. We break these down into goals, milestones, and actions.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

I, as a leader, empower people to enable them to take ownership, grow, and succeed by creating an environment of trust, autonomy, and opportunity.

According to me, these are the pillars to empower the teams: Foster Trust and Transparency, Provide Autonomy - Responsible for your own decision, Provide the right tools and resources, Set clear goals and expectations, Encourage taking risks, failing, and learn, Lead by example

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

There are many coaches and mentors in my life who have shaped my personality as a leader, who I am today. During my early leadership roles, I used to make decisions based on rationality and logical justifications. However, in that rigor, I tend to ignore the multiple perspectives. With the help of mentorship, I developed a capability to start viewing multiple perspectives and evaluating those, and making decisions keeping them in mind. This helped me in bringing balance to my approach.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

Effective leadership requires setting boundaries, avoiding distractions, and being intentional about your priorities.

First of all, resist the urge to oversee every detail or step of your team's work. 'Minimum micro-management; Maximum empowerment'.

Secondly, ruthlessly prioritize - Don’t overcommit to low-priority tasks, meetings, or initiatives

Thirdly, accept that “done” is often better than “perfect” when driving forward momentum; so let go of perfectionism

Don't Dwell on failures - Avoid fixating on setbacks or failures, which can drain focus and morale, rather extract lessons from failures, adjust strategies, and move forward.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

Planning as a leader requires a balance between short-term priorities and long-term vision. Effective leaders align their weekly, monthly, and yearly plans with organizational goals, team needs, and personal leadership growth.

Planning as a leader is about combining the big picture with actionable steps. Weekly plans focus on execution, monthly plans align short-term efforts, and yearly plans drive vision and strategy. By consistently reflecting, adapting, and communicating priorities, I ensure progress while empowering my team to succeed.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

The fundamental principle behind the delegation is trust and confidence. Show your trust and confidence in the team.

Secondly, take the fear of failure out of the team. Let them fail, learn, and stand. Believe me, there is no better learning than learning from failure, which gets registered in your mind and heart.

Do not always take decisions from the mind, it is good sometime to take decisions from the heart too or bring a balance. Empathy is key in delegation.