Observation #1
One observation from 25 years of building businesses and leading teams.
20 July 2026
Over the last 25 years, one thing has become increasingly clear to me.
Pressure comes with responsibility.
Every promotion, every bigger role and every new business brings its own set of expectations.
The interesting question is not whether leaders face pressure. They certainly will.
The more interesting question, at least for me, has always been what happens to that pressure next.
Over the years, I have seen managers dealing with pressure in very different ways. Some absorbed it remarkably well. Others believed the only way to improve performance was to make sure everyone around them felt exactly what they were feeling.
One incident comes to mind.
A manager had just come out of a review meeting with his boss. The discussion had obviously not gone well. Certain business metrics were below expectations and he had been given aggressive timelines to improve them.
As the meeting was coming to an end, he made an unusual request.
He asked his boss to have exactly the same conversation with his team.
In fact, he went one step further.
“Please tell them even more strongly than you told me.”
When asked why, his response was simple.
“Let the team also feel the same pressure that I’m feeling.”
At that point, I didn’t think much about it.
Looking back now, I realise that I have heard different versions of the same thought many times over my career.
Another incident comes to mind.
A General Manager had just come out of a review meeting with his boss. It had clearly been a difficult discussion. The pilot launch wasn’t progressing as expected, and he had been asked to achieve an aggressive target—onboard fifty clients in the next two days. The previous seven days had produced only seventeen.
Within minutes of walking out of his boss’s cabin, he called all his managers into the conference room.
Soon, loud voices could be heard across the office. People sitting outside didn’t know what was being discussed, but everyone knew the meeting wasn’t pleasant.
Later that evening, I met him over a cup of tea.
I casually asked him how the day had gone.
He smiled and said,
“Nothing unusual.”
Then he laughed before adding,
“My boss ruined my morning.”
“I was under tremendous pressure, so I thought my manager should at least know that I was putting pressure on the team. At least he’ll feel that I’m trying.”
I smiled too.
Not because I found it funny.
Because it made me realise something.
Sometimes, the purpose of shouting inside a conference room is not really for the people sitting inside it.
Sometimes, it is meant for someone outside it.
Over the years, I have realised that passing on pressure is also a choice.
We may not always control the pressure coming our way, but we usually have more control over how much of it reaches the people working with us.
I have also started looking at pressure differently.
People often say that they perform well under pressure.
Whenever someone says that to me, I ask them another question.
“How do you perform when there is very little pressure?”
Interestingly, I have never heard anyone say,
“Poorly.”
Which makes me wonder whether we are using the wrong word.
Maybe what really improves performance is not pressure.
Maybe it is urgency.
There is a difference.
Urgency creates focus.
Pressure often creates anxiety.
Urgency tells people that something important needs to be done.
Looking back, I have generally seen better outcomes when people understood the urgency of the situation rather than simply feeling the pressure.
Another thing I have observed is that people don’t experience pressure in the same way.
A fresher joining the organisation will react very differently from someone with ten years of experience.
A high performer may see pressure as trust.
Someone who is already struggling may see exactly the same pressure as a sign that the organisation has lost confidence in them.
Over the years, I have realised that the same amount of pressure can produce very different reactions.
Some people become sharper.
Others become quieter.
Neither reaction surprises me anymore.
Fortunately, I also had the privilege of working with a leader who looked at pressure very differently.
The more difficult the situation became, the calmer he looked.
In fact, I noticed something unusual.
Whenever the business was under tremendous pressure, he would be smiling.
Not only that, he would often be humming a song while walking around the office.
One day I finally asked him why.
His answer has stayed with me ever since.
“I consider pressure a privilege.”
He said,
“Pressure reminds me that people trust me with responsibility. I wasn’t given this responsibility overnight. I earned it over many years.”
Then he said something I have never forgotten.
“My team doesn’t need my pressure.”
“They need my confidence.”
“Their time to carry this responsibility will come. Right now, it is my job to carry it for them.”
That one sentence has stayed with me ever since.
I had one more question.
“But why do you keep singing?”
He smiled.
“Virender Sehwag.”
He told me he had once heard Sehwag say that he used to sing while walking out to bat during high-pressure matches because singing left very little room in the mind for unnecessary thoughts.
Whether that is scientifically correct or not, I honestly don’t know.
But I understood the larger idea.
Every leader eventually develops a way of managing pressure before walking into the room where everyone else is waiting.
Some exercise.
Some pray.
Some listen to music.
Some write.
Some simply sit quietly.
I don’t know whether one method is better than another.
Everyone eventually finds their own way of dealing with pressure.
Looking back, I have worked with both kinds of leaders.
Those who passed every ounce of pressure down the hierarchy.
And those who somehow absorbed enormous pressure while making their teams feel surprisingly calm.
Interestingly, both delivered results.
But the experience of working with them was completely different.
One environment always felt heavier than the other.
Looking back, I know which one I would choose to work in again.
A Thought to Leave You With
Every promotion brings a bigger role.
Most people think it also brings more authority.
It certainly does.
But it also brings something else.
More pressure.
Looking back, I don’t remember pressure ever disappearing.
Every bigger role simply brought a little more of it.
The question is not whether pressure will reach you.
It will.
The question is simple.
How much of it should travel beyond you?
—
Ashu Gupta