Ladies Who Lead recently hosted an intimate, closed-door session with Manoj Kohli, Former CEO & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel and Former Country Head of SoftBank India.
An internationally respected Growth Advisor, Board Member and Business Transformation Coach, Manoj Kohli brings over four decades of leadership experience across telecom, renewable energy and digital technology.
The session opened with a powerful reminder that progress requires courage. Women often hesitate to fully step into their potential. Sometimes the world limits them. Sometimes they limit themselves. The call was simple but strong – emerge. Show capability. The narrative changes when women decide not to shrink.
A 10-Point Agenda for Sustainable Growth
Drawing from decades of building and scaling organisations, Manoj Kohli shared a 10-point agenda, spanning both personal and professional dimensions – designed to support consistent and sustainable growth.
- Health and fitness, because leadership demands stamina.
- Family support, since no one succeeds alone.
- Faith or a belief system to remain steady during uncertainty.
- Core values – honesty, hard work (including smart work), humility and hunger.
- Product relevance that is genuinely needed and loved.
- Business model clarity – how it is built, delivered and monetised.
- Funding readiness, backed by a validated idea and scalable economics.
- Branding that builds trust and communicates clear positioning.
- Scalable, future-ready technology.
- Leadership quality, defined by vision, sound decision-making, and the ability to build strong teams.
The message was clear – sustainable success is built both inside and outside the boardroom.
AQ: The Adversity Quotient
Manoj Kohli also spoke about AQ – Adversity Quotient. Growth demands pressure. Setbacks are not interruptions to the journey. They are part of the design. The real differentiator is not whether adversity appears, but how leaders respond to it.
Tough decisions can still be taken with grace. One striking insight was that even negative decisions can be delivered respectfully. Leadership is not about avoiding hard calls but making them with dignity.
Hustle Has a Lifespan. Structure Builds Scale.
Early-stage companies thrive on hustle. But hustle cannot be the long-term strategy.
At a certain point, everything must be written down. Systems must replace chaos. Institutionalisation is what allows growth to multiply and endure.
The Three Phases of Organisational Evolution
Every company, he noted, moves through three distinct phases:
- The entrepreneur starts the business and runs it.
- The entrepreneur starts it, and professionals run it.
- Professionals run it, with entrepreneurial thinking embedded in the culture.
How leaders manage this transition determines the organisation’s longevity.
Win-Win Is the Only Sustainable Deal
Great businesses are built on loyalty, respect and integrity. These are not soft ideals but competitive advantages.
When both sides win, service improves, trust deepens and relationships endure. Transactions may drive revenue, but values drive resilience.
Conclusion
The session was grounded, structured and deeply practical. It reflected decades of leadership and transformation experience, delivered with clarity and conviction.For the women leaders in the room, the takeaway was unmistakable:
Leadership is not about shrinking to fit. It is about emerging fully and building systems, values and strength that last.