7 Leadership Learnings Over 30 Years, 5 Countries And 3 Companies

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Thirty years ago, as a driven 23-year-old, I walked into Unilever India’s management training center with excitement and trepidation. Having grown up in the foothills of the Himalayas, in the pre-internet era, and in an area with very little English, I had limited exposure to the rest of the world. Air travel was prohibitively expensive, and I didn't even have a passport.?

Now, here I am, 30 years later, having had the privilege of working with Unilever and YUM! Brands – and my current role, leading Amway. In keeping with David Epstein’s philosophy, I seized different opportunities that came my way. From working in sales and supply chains to marketing and general management to regional operations, national and eventually global headquarters in parts of the world that little boy from the Himalayan foothills could never have imagined living in.?

Along the way, I’ve embraced the adventure of working in a variety of industries, business models, and diverse cultures. In every role, I have continued to harness my philosophy of lifelong learning and listening. Whether you’re an experienced leader or just starting your career, I hope the seven learnings resonate and are helpful on your journey.

Embrace a growth mindset early (and often)

Early in my career, I found myself in a less than appealing situation. I had been expecting a thrilling assignment with my new employer,?Unilever, as a manager in their International Key Accounts – perhaps involving global travel (for the first time!) to New York City or London.?Instead, my first role after earning my Master’s in International Business – had me working with tanneries in tier-three towns across southern India’s Tamil Nadu province.

Over multiple days I sat in humid, 110-degree heat helping sort wet, chrome-tanned, semi-processed leather. The floor was a mess, the sunlight was minimal, and the foul smell from the tanneries stayed with me for a long time. It felt, in many ways, like the opposite of career growth. And I couldn’t help but wonder: Where did I go wrong??It turns out, however, I was exactly where I needed to be: learning how to step out of my comfort zone. As a part of a tight-knit team in a small and challenging business, I learned much about customer experience, quality, cost, and margins- across functions and the value chain. In hindsight, it was superb that my first ever international destination was the tier-three town of Zhengzhou in Henan province of China. At a time when China’s GDP was one-tenth of America, how would I have ever known that twenty years later, I would have the privilege to live and work in China in a different industry and scale of business.?

Carol Dweck famously identified two primary mindsets as part of her studies on human motivation: fixed and growth-oriented. People with a growth mindset consider every experience an opportunity to improve. It’s a powerful way of seeing the world that often predicates success. My time at the tannery was an important reminder that I must do my best with whatever is at hand and approach every assignment as a learning experience.

Want to build a strong culture? Listen first, then lead from the heart (or “Jai” in Thai)

Thailand was where I first worked as a Managing Director for YUM! The business had over 10,000 employees and needed a turnaround. But my most significant learning from that time was not as much about strategy as it was about leading with the heart. The Thais have a word for it:? “Jai.” The concept of Jai has been a guiding force for me since I first learned of it many years ago.?

During my first 90 days at Amway, I embarked on a Listen and Learn tour, where I met as many employees and micro-entrepreneurs as possible and learned about their journeys, pain points, and the business. This was integral to my start at Amway and helped me to Lead with Heart authentically.?

What I’ve understood since is that everything we do at work is about heart – it’s the core of leadership and building culture. Leading with “Jai” creates a safe place where people feel genuinely valued. It also fosters an environment of gratitude – something I’ve sought to practice every single day. For leaders, “Jai” is an invitation to lead with love and humility, instead of pride and fear.?

Leadership guru Peter Drucker famously stated, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and I’ve seen why. Helping people to succeed at work – and even personally – is good for business!?

Always bet on people, and nurture their growth?

In one of my early Unilever roles, in Eastern India, I led a team of 15 people, including some who were closer in age to my father. As underdogs, we strived to be the fastest-growing region. We bonded over games of cricket and all the challenges that come with limited budgets. We bet on each other with mutual support and enjoyed the journey of shared achievements. I had multiple opportunities to work in Eastern India, and decades later, many of us are still in touch.

This spirit has carried over to many of my subsequent roles, and in return, I’ve been fortunate to have had leaders willing to bet on me, including the co-founder, former chairman, and CEO of YUM! David Novak; the former president of Unilever’s global food, home, and personal care businesses, Vindi Banga; and Amway’s Board of Directors, who took a chance on someone from outside the direct selling industry – and West Michigan – to be the first non-family CEO.?

I appreciate those who have empowered me to deliver results, and I’ve always done so in return. I bet big on people and let them know: IGYB (I’ve got your back). Does it always work out? No, but the satisfaction of watching a person flourish as a leader is truly priceless.?

Making a difference starts with finding purpose in your work?

The motto of my middle school in the Himalayan foothills was: “Certa Bonum Certamen,” or. “Fight the Good Fight.” The phrase was often used to rally cheer during inter-school soccer matches. But for me, it’s always been more about working with purpose, and I took it into my personal life – and later, my work – as a reminder to do the kind of work that makes a difference for others.

In the early 1990s, rural India was marked with poverty, limited literacy, and a lack of opportunities. My experience and learning got real during a two-month stay in a small village as a part of?Unilever India’s?management training program. There was limited electricity, no running water and no bathrooms, so we would bathe at the village well, and then cycle 15 to 25 miles via rural trails to meet villagers and hear about their needs. Despite tough times, people in the villages worked hard for a better future for their families.?

Since those days, much has changed in India – and around the world. One of my fondest memories is visiting an energetic, heart-led, customer-focused Pizza Hut team in Kitwe, Zambia. On another occasion, when asked about her dream, a young female KFC associate in a Tier-IV town in China, replied, “To stay hungry, stay foolish,” quoting the well-known Steve Jobs speech from 2005.??

At Amway, we believe that anyone, anywhere, anytime, can be an entrepreneur. Every morning my 15,000 colleagues and I wake up to help a million micro-entrepreneurs “fight the good fight” and grow their health and wellness communities.?

Life is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward

One of my biggest learnings about coping with adversity came from my time in China as the President of YUM! Brands. It was a $6 billion business led by a proud, tenured, and successful team. My move was post a major food quality issue and a sharp decline in sales and profits. I felt a deep sense of ownership and responsibility to turn around the business. But first, I needed to unpack the problem, seek insights and build trust with the team. Well, among the nearly 400,000 employees in China, I was only one of five non-Mandarin speakers. In addition to the speed, scale and complexity of the business, every meeting, every email, and virtually all communications were in Mandarin.

It was challenging, and on many nights, I lay awake trying to keep the anxiety at bay. My colleagues helped as I traveled to “listen and learn” from restaurant teams across China. In addition, before the start of the workday, I spent two to three mornings per week learning to speak and write in Mandarin. It was quite an intense experience traveling to multiple cities in over twenty-five provinces and then back in Shanghai, taking the Chinese proficiency tests in the company of 10 to 15-year-olds!?

In business, as in life, challenges and setbacks are inevitable. Success in the long term requires the ability to pick oneself up, dust off and keep moving forward. To succeed, we have to embrace our inner Rocky Balboa and keep moving forward, no matter how hard we get hit.?

Build healthy habits you can stick with

Growing up in India, for our summer vacations, we frequently visited my grandparents' village in the foothills of the Himalayas. They lived in harmony with nature. Home-cooked food was made with freshly sourced vegetables from the garden. A shopping trip for groceries meant walking or running a couple of miles down the hills (and up again!) Sleep was valued. We understood intrinsically that a healthy body and mind made for a better life.

But it’s easy to lose sight of those habits when work gets busy – something I know many other leaders and entrepreneurs struggle with. Since those early days, my habits evolved – and not always in the most healthy ways. In my first 100 days in Amway, I was inspired by the depth of know-how and impact with organic farming and optimal health. The health crisis we all suffered during the pandemic was a prod to reactivate self-care rituals including the basics of exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, as well as a variety of micro habits I can easily commit to. I pivoted to a predominantly plant-forward diet, an (almost) daily fitness routine, sound sleep, and 10 to 20 minutes of meditation almost every afternoon.

Today, I feel healthier and in better shape than I did 30 years ago. It’s made me a better leader, and it allows me to put more energy and effort toward helping others live better, healthier lives, too. The best part of modeling healthy habits is that encourages others to take care of themselves, leading to a healthier and more productive workplace.

Nurture personal values on the journey to be a better leader?

Despite a childhood of modest means, I grew up in a home full of love and a strong foundation of “sanskar” (family values) from my parents who “walked the talk.” Over time I imbibed the values of always doing the right thing, to study hard, nurture family and shared humanity, and to be the best I could be.?

From never having stepped out of India in the first 25 years of my life,?our family has moved homes twelve times, embracing different cultures in five countries across three continents. We have found that our humanity is universal and multiple communities across the world share similar values. As I?continue to?meet people and absorb different cultures, it always strikes me that at the core, we are all more similar than we are different.?Everyone works hard for new opportunities. Everyone wants the best for their?loved ones,?children, family and friends. Without question, everyone proudly believes that their sports team, culture, cuisine or country is the most special in the world!

As I reflect on the last thirty years, I am forever indebted to the people I have worked with?–?first in Unilever, then YUM! and now Amway?—?for giving me?the?opportunities and experiences to?grow and contribute. By combining the best learnings from growing up in India and multiple?countries we called home, I couldn’t be more proud to be now an Indian American leading an entrepreneur-led global health and wellness business.

Like you all, I can’t wait for the exciting future over the next thirty years. Who knows what the world will be like in 2050. Our best bet is to keep growing, keep learning, and keep helping others to do the same.

I wish all of you the very best on an incredible journey of leadership and impact.

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