Forced into the Spotlight: Shadowing the CEO!!!

How have I got to be the Shadow?

On Tuesday evening, Himanshi Sharma approached me and asked that if I wanted to participate in the activity “Shadow the CEO”. I was not ready to participate as I was already working with Vaibhav Patil and I wanted it to be different from usual day, so she asked Kapil Sharma , our Co-Founder & COO and he agreed.

However, fate had other plans. The next day, Rakshita Jain called to inform me that Kapil was on leave and asked if I would be willing to step in. Since this topic came to again, I felt to go ahead with it.

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I was late for the first meeting ?

It was a last-minute call; I was not prepared to reach office early. So, I got little late that day. I arrived at the office at 11.11 am. Vaibhav was already having a discussion with Anshul Shukla and Shrihari Sondur . I was a bit confused about whether to join the or wait until they finished, but without hesitation I went in. They were discussing Sales Strategies, which was beyond my understanding but still it was exciting as it was my first meeting of the day and many more lined up.

They were discussing about Partnership with THE BAAP COMPANY . Also covered topic like placement of the 3rd BCA students, IT Services of The Baap Company and Products of The Baap Company. They were talking about Supply and Demand of talent, Subject Matter Expertise of the service arm and D2C and B2B nature of products.

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Capturing the Moment: LinkedIn Post

After the meeting, we had to click the photo.

At that point I was still wearing my causal shirt, so I had to borrow our Sarvārth 'sT-shirt from ?? Vinay Thoké (Thanks Vinay) – it was necessary to be in office t-shirt.

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After observing the photo, I felt that it’s more like a mirror image rather than his shadow.

But, sometimes shadowing means copying, right?

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Our planning for English Session!

Vaibhav and Shrihari had a brief discussion regarding the planning of English session. It is a joint project with the Baap Company. This English session was planned for the next day. Shrihari arranged the logistics. I am also part of that English Session and hence it is necessary for me to observe and note carefully. There were so many things to note, my diary was already full!

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How I became the Disaster Recovery (DR)?

One of the most interesting lessons of the day was Vaibhav’s explanation of Disaster Recovery Mechanism (DR). He told that in business, unexpected events can happen anytime. That’s where a Disaster Recovery Mechanism (DR) comes in - It’s like having a backup plan. Vaibhav even joked that I was the DR when I filled in for Kapil. I always get to know new terms and this unexpected opportunity will always help me to remember this term.

Adapting to change: Vaibhav’s Smooth Transition

This DR was impacting Vaibhav as well as he was prepared for Kapil to be his shadow and he had already outlined the discussion points (for example parenting tips). However, when I came as a replacement for Kapil, Vaibhav had to switch the context for me and come up with the fresh topics and discussion points for my needs. Sometimes it makes me curious to know, how is he able to switch the context or his ability to bring up such new aspects to the table.

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From Diaries to Writing and Visualizing…

In between the meetings, Vaibhav shared his childhood story in which he mentioned that at the age of 13 years he began to write diary given to him by his father. He would write his daily activities and thoughts, as if he is talking to himself. Interestingly he also had an imaginary friend named Ram ji (who have ever imagined that Vaibhav might be this cool), to whom he would share his problems in writing.

I was surprised because I thought he was a serious person, but his stories showed me he was more interesting than that.

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An invitation in a Unique way!!!

Later while we were planning for the rest of the day, Amar told that Vipeen SADAWARTE visited our office to invite us for Ganapati Darshan. At the time, only Amar was present, and during the office tour, Vipeen was impressed by our digital screen which we use for meetings. He even wrote an invitation message for Vaibhav on the screen.

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I also got a chance to go with Vaibhav, during our visit we had a good discussion with Vipeen. In meeting he expressed his interest in our digital screen. Because he was talking about a screen just one day ago with him team.

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We invited him to be our guest speaker on Sarvārth podcast. That way he could experience the set-up of our studio as well.

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He also shared a beautifully edited video of his organization’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations which was edited by one of his members of editing team.

Vaibhav shared about their family day event, where they captured the thumbprints of the entire team. At the end, we saw that picture and it instantly told that why Vipeen and us are thinking in similar way?

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This Ganapati Darshan turned out to be a valuable networking opportunity for me.

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A story of gifting Merchandise

While we were looking for a design of a cap. Vaibhav shared that how Vista print (https://www.vistaprint.in/) helped to give the branded goodies. He even printed Sarvhitay Elements T-shirts and shipped to Wolfgang as well. Vaibhav told that if we can bring more connect with any such aspects, its easier for us to remember and recall later.

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Comment and review to post

Vaibhav must balance his responsibilities of being a CEO and engaging on LinkedIn. Whenever we write a post, we should own that post and take the responsibility for the conversations in the comment. He regularly checks for comments and engage with the audience. And his ability to write is something which I wanted to learn, if I see his comments, I feel engaged.

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Review of Amar’s blog

Participating in Shadow the CEO program has been a useful journey for me and previous participants. As a part of the program, we are required to write a blog (it’s not easy man!) for sharing our experience. As first participant of this program Rajanigandha also wrote (I hope you read it if not then you should, here is link).

Before my turn Amar was the shadow. He came to Vaibhav for a review. While reviewing the blog Vaibhav told Amar the process of writing the blog and he said that we need to unfold the incidents in way that can create a connection with the audience. This is how I got to know about his mentorship and ability make it easy for the person to understand.

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The 15- minute wrap up

As the day came near to the end, I got 15 minutes to discuss with him. Now I could ask few questions to him. I was curious about how he gives examples with using a word or adding a context to it?

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He said that we should hold a moment and recall it whenever necessary.

If we forget it, we can’t recall it.

It is important to hold the moment or thought.

His “hold the moment" strategy is what I felt an important lesson for me.

Conclusion

As I conclude, this enforced opportunity as the CEO's Shadow, I realize that this experience has been a class of leadership. Vaibhav's way of simplifying complicated things for better understanding of team has impacted me. The lessons I have learned from the "hold the moment" strategy will stay with me, shaping my approach to professional and personal growth.

I look forward to apply these in my future endeavors!!!