What I learned from Mr Abhay Savargaonkar at Airtel – Part 1

Mr. Abhay Savargaonkar who is now the CTO for Airtel was my hiring manager. I had the privilege of working with him and learning from him. In this post, I am sharing one of the key things that I learned from him.

Be Firm, not Loud

Abhay taught me that “Loud” is not equal to “Right” or “Best”. And there is a chance for people like me who are not “Loud” and who continue to avoid being “Loud”. He showed me by being “Firm” a leader can be far more successful.

I had previously in my career seen multiple instances of “Loudest Voice gets Heard” and had been at the receiving end of some of these conversations when others drown your voice. I believe quite a lot of us face such situations and sometimes feel intimidated. Especially when you are in a situation where you represent your own department and are required to work with other leaders (peers of your boss), who can be abrasive and rough in their dealings. Sometimes, they would shout at you, try to put you on the defensive.

I do recall one such incidence in Airtel when I was asked to represent my official position on a specific issue in front of a Leader for another function. I believe the Leader might have thought that I am bluffing my way to grab some attention at the cost of someone else and I did have ulterior motives behind my official opinion. I was threatened with dire circumstances.

Based on the lessons I learned from Abhay, I chose to be firm and stated that I was happy to accept any challenge if the Leader wished for me to prove myself, with a condition that he will accept the challenge too. The leader was shocked and suspended the meeting. I had multiple opportunities to work with the same Leader in my subsequent years at Airtel and we did end up on a good note.

There are many instances within those few years at Airtel that I saw Abhay demonstrate this in his own meetings, he will never be loud, but always firm on doing what is needed. With this unique approach, he has been instrumental in driving the network team to new heights, breaking all records of deployment.

Thanks a ton, Abhay for the lesson.

I hope this lesson gives you a way to work your way through tough situations. Remember, Be Firm, not Loud.