The work environment is a great leveller: Ashok Reddy, managing director & Co-founder, Teamlease services

What I did in my first 100 days

My first job was with the investment bank i-Sec. It was my first exposure to the financial markets and needless to say, a great learning experience from colleagues who were experienced and leaders in their space. We shadowed our seniors and participated in meetings as observers, which gave me insights into the dynamics of the industry.

The biggest innovation I did

The only innovation I could probably do at that time was with my own way of learning and going about the job. One thing different I did was collate information from various sources and start an end-of-the-day report to the team that gave a day-end view of the key parameters. While daily activity report is a norm, the change was in the way it was compiled and presented with significant value-adds.

The worst mistake I made

Fresh off B-school, you think you know it all. But the work environment is a great leveller. While I do not recollect any particular mistake, my various ‘myth-busting’ experiences through the mistakes I committed made me a lot humbler and, if I may say, wiser.

The best leadership lesson I learnt

I was working in a dynamic team that was result-oriented, and our bosses were great at motivating us. One of the biggest lessons I learnt from them was that ‘sunshine is the best disinfectant’. Whatever differences of opinion and arguments we had, they were all in the open and transparent. We sorted out matters by debating across the table and never had to suppress our viewpoints or nurse grudges against anyone. This helped the team achieve extraordinary performance. me a lot humbler and, if I may say, wiser.