Feel like you’re shouldering every decision alone?

I felt the same too…it’s not easy!

In 2008 I was fortunate to get an opportunity to set-up and lead a team tasked with launching India’s first Live 24X7 TV shopping platform – HomeShop18

As it was a first of its kind platform in India, the challenge was enormous.

The HODs and all the TV professionals we hired, were best in their field of work.

But despite being industry experts, they didn’t know TV retail.

Imagine selling a “Philips Juicer” LIVE in a Kitchen studio set i.e. juice to be taken out live on television.

And then imagine transforming a kitchen into a bedroom in just 30 minutes for a “Bombay Dyeing” bedsheet to be sold.

It was next level difficult for a team that had never done it before.

Even seasoned directors who had handled 30 TV cameras on a cricket field were sweating bullets.

I luckily had prior experience in the TV shopping industry as I had launched a similar platform in the UK but fortunately it was not a first of its kind there.

Here in India, getting it done from a huge team when none of them had ever done it before was really tough.

Naturally I had to take complete charge.
I had to train and manage 10 HODs & their teams.

I instructed my team at every step.

Anyway, India’s 1st retail TV platform launched.
Sales skyrocketed..

But my team & I were totally unhappy with each other.
Instead of rejoicing our heads were down.

Working 12X7, managing every detail, and blaming my team’s abilities had become my common routine.

Why don’t they take ownership?
Why was I the only one responsible?
I cribbed.

One day, in private, all helpless, I was talking to my head of broadcast and he shot a straight question at me…

– “Why don’t you let go of control and stop micromanaging?”
– “Isn’t it possible that we are able to do it even better?”

His words surprised me and scared me too!

– What if things go wrong?
– What if I look foolish?
– What if we fail and look bad?

In a quiet time later, I realised that “Fear of Failure” was holding me back.

This fear was making me MICROMANAGE, affecting our performance and productivity.

I decided to let-go of control, bit by bit.

It was VERY difficult to let go.

I had no choice as nothing was working out in my favor.

So I had to try it.

To my amazement, the change was magical !

My team was brilliant. They had out of the box ideas.

Motivation soared, brands were happy, and the business grew rapidly.

I learned… and I learned it the hard way.

FEAR of failure and of losing-control often leads us to…

– CONTROL everything
– SUFFOCATE our teams
– EXHAUST ourselves

But when we TRUST our teams and EMPOWER them..

– True TALENT emerges!

– True LEADERSHIP emerges.

I finally let go of my fears, started trusting my team, and watched them shine.

Are you able to let go, trust and empower your team?
What’s your challenge in doing so?

#ExecutiveCoach #Leadershipcoach #LeadershipDevelopment #ABrighterLife

Ashwni Sharma

MD & Founder – A Brighter Life | Global Executive Coach | Psychometric Assessment Professional | Master NLP Practitioner | Inner Transformation Specialist | Self Mastery Coach

Ashwni, the Founder and MD of A Brighter Life, is dedicated to empowering leaders to enhance their effectiveness, mindfulness, and influence for joyful success. With over 27+ years of corporate experience, driven by his passion for personal transformation, Ashwni left a successful career spanning four major companies across the UK, USA, and India. Working with CXOs, Board Members, and Top Leaders globally, he combines business management skills with life transformation expertise to enable practical and applicable conversations and actions. He holds international certifications as an Executive Coach and has mastered modalities such as NLP and Hypnotherapy. Ashwni’s passion lies in fostering self-leadership as the foundation for leadership development.

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