Not until I found myself leading a team of 50 people at just 21! When I secured the role of a graduate engineering trainee at Ola, I had to move from Chennai to Krishnagiri with a big responsibility—to lead the production team. And leading them meant not just managing them, but also interacting with them. To say that the introvert in me was scared would be an understatement. I won’t lie… Initially, I would sweat at the mere thought of going out there and speaking to my team even for simple tasks like assigning work.

Little did I know that very soon, these simple tasks would be the least of my problems. A few days into my first project, I realised I had misjudged the timelines—the parts that were due in a few hours wouldn’t be completed on time.