Name: Sankalp Chandelkar

Title: Director

Organisation: CXOLEAD- LEADERSHIP TO ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

An entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in the marketing communications, sales & leadership coaching industry. He loves to take deep dive into customer problems and solve them with modern technology.

He is well acquainted with ancient Indian knowledge systems & regularly talks on various topics such as Nature's Intelligence, Human Leadership, Quantum Leadership, Consciousness, Happiness Economics & and many more.

A leadership & and executive coach imparting ancient Indian wisdom & and knowledge for leadership growth.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Sankalp's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach for a leader. The most challenging for me as a leader is understanding the expectations of internal and external stakeholders and accordingly adjusting my leadership style to meet their expectations. I feel Happiness is the goal of all goals it is the job of every leader to deliver happiness.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I believe in Nature's intelligence and it shapes nurtures and makes you a leader or gives you leadership qualities exactly when it is needed. It's difficult for me to tell one particular story but every situation or challenge that I came across gave me a pearl of leadership wisdom and lessons to emulate. When I dive back into those lessons to unlearn many times last 15 years I get leadership wisdom and learnings from umpteenth challenges. One such challenge was when I entered the corporate workforce with India's largest English broadsheet daily The Times of India. All my colleagues had management degrees from Universities to reckon with and I was only a simple graduate and had to pace up my learning on a daily basis to keep updated and deliver on targets selling advertising solutions. I learnt an important lesson from my seniors to learn from their experience and build on it too. This is an important lesson I learned to put myself on a leadership pedestal.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

Routine is an important part to follow for leadership to be successful. Ancient Indian wisdom from Kautilya's Arthshaastra ( Kautilya's Leadership Treatise) plays a vital role in shaping the routine for me.

This is how routine plan looks for me (Planned as per Kautilya's Arthshaastra)

4:30-6.00 AM Meditation and Blessings from God.

6:00-7:30 AM Checking income and expenditure for business and house hold chores.

7:30-9:00 AM Daily Business Affairs plan mails and suggestions to team members over the mail

9:00- 10:30AM - Spending time with team members sometime on site sometimes virtually to keep myself abreast with on reality

10:30-12:00PM - Taking stock of revenue generation activities, deal closures etc.

12:00-1:30PM- Business Intelligence, Consultation with Mentors, Advisors for business improvements

1:30-3:00 PM - Lunchtime engagement with team and other to understand team more on their personal front, open communication and transparent approach.

3:00-4:30PM - Review of plans and where we stand as on today

4:30-6:00PM - Meeting with Frontline team members virtually or on site, Keeping ear to the ground

6:00-7:30PM - Meeting key stakeholders

7:30-9:00 PM - Bath Meal Family Time

9:00-10:30PM- Reading Good Book with Flute music

10:30PM - Bedtime

( Every leader can plan the routine with basic daily routine plan for leader)

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

While listening to Bob Chapman during my recent leadership study.

EVERYONE IS SOMEONE"S PRECIOUS CHILD"- Bob Chapman

Here are some of the #learnings

Truly Human Leadership involves people, purpose, performance

1 Everyone wants to do better TRUST THEM

2 Leaders are everywhere FIND THEM

3 People achieve good things Big & Small Everyday CELEBRATE THEM

4 Some people wish things were different LISTEN TO THEM

5 Everybody Matters SHOW THEM

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Kautilya's Arthshaastra by R.P. Kangle This is just not a book, but an library and institution by itself it involves 15 Books, 180 Sections, 150 Chapters & 6000 (Aphorisms) Sutras. This book is not about only economics. But it is a book on Total Leadership - 15 books Includes- Fundamentals of Management, Economics, Law, Foreign Policy, War

This book has developed me as a leader from inside out ( Inner Engineering) and made me ready for the life and business challenges.

Understanding who you are? and where you come from is an important lesson to imbibe and emulate while delivering leadership.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Problems and uncertainty are natural they are not unnatural. Most of them commit a mistake to perceive problem as unnatural. Sometimes our own ignorance creates problems for us. Sometimes improper use of intelligence gives rise to problems. Some problems like natural disaster or COVID-19 is beyond our comprehension as they will be solved at ripe and right time, till then take precautions be safe vaccinate yourself and take care of your family too.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I have learnt some important lessons from business empires which were created on the basis of ethics, values & and best practices for the business world to emulate.

Story of Tata Group - Creating wealth for the Nation

Story of Southwest Airlines - creating the culture of love at Lovefield headquarters & and living the same to deliver value to its customers

Focus on purposeful leadership makes a difference in building the business of brands and brands of business