⛺️ What if leadership meant guarding someone's individuality?
[Founder's Note: In cricket, certain fielding positions demand specialists. Take Ravindra Jadeja, exceptional at point. He’s athletic, quick off the mark, and has a razor-sharp arm. But you won’t find him fielding at slip, a position that requires a very different kind of focus and patience. (Fielding positions in Cricket) In an entire match, perhaps one out of 200 balls would end up going to slip. That role simply doesn’t play to his strengths.
Now imagine a captain or coach forcing Jadeja to stand at slip. That would simply be poor leadership. The same holds true at work. Great leaders don’t flatten individuality. They place people where their strengths can show up consistently.
This piece was published in ARC's Leadership Campfire on 3rd July 2025.
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— Adi Raheja
"The highest task of a bond is to stand guard over the solitude of the other."- Rainer Maria Rilke.
In the workplace, as in life, we are constantly navigating the space between task and individuality. At times, we bend our individuality to structures and processes to meet the task at hand. Sometimes it serves us, sometimes it doesn’t.
Every time we work with someone, we’re engaging with three versions of them:
Who they are. Who they can be. Who they’re willing to be.
That last one is the most important and often overlooked.
Holding Space for Individuality
In any relationship—professional or personal—a partnership begins when we’re able to hold space for the other person’s uniqueness, not override it.
Too often, teams and leaders try to fit people into neat little moulds. The definition of the role and expectations are so tightly formed that they overshadow the person behind it. In the process, we lose something.
We lose the person in pursuit of the position.
What if, instead, we invited people to bring their whole selves into their work? To go beyond the task, structure and engage with purposefulness?
Let’s explore these 3 layers a little deeper.
1. Who They Are
This is the person’s core identity, shaped by nature, nurture, values, and lived experiences. It’s built over the years of being alive.
A problem-solver who thinks in systems.
A creator who thrives in ambiguity.
A teammate who brings empathy and energy into every room.
Think of Rishabh Pant. Reckless, playful, unfiltered—and yet, that’s exactly what makes him electrifying. To ask him to become a quiet, composed accumulator would be to take away the very thing that makes him dangerous… and memorable.
2. Who They Can Be
Here’s the tricky part. The word “can” is a wide-open door. It has the potential to explore possibilities, come up with ideas and diverge in your thinking.
With sufficient time and resources, ‘can’ becomes limitless.
“Can I become a pilot in six months?” Probably.
“Can I take on this new product line?” Sure.
“Can I shift our brand positioning?” Absolutely.
Possibility thinking is powerful. But on its own, it remains air-bound, ideas floating, not grounded. Without will, can is just a maybe.
As leaders, the real question becomes:
How do I tap into what someone "can be", without imposing my own idea of who they "should be"?
3. Who They’re Willing to Be
Willingness is the bridge between identity and possibility.
It’s the difference between an idea and a commitment.
Between “I can shoot videos to keep up with the trend of producing more content” and “I will write newsletters that truly serve people and add value.”
It’s where attention meets intention and something meaningful gets created.
This is where leadership shifts from direction to alignment. Instead of pushing people into becoming something, you invite them to step into it on their own terms. Because unless someone is inspired to take action after listening to their voice within, change doesn’t start.
What This Means for Organisations
At ARC, we use this same framework when we work with organisations:
Who they are: The current reality. What exists today? This is explored through research, assessments, FGDs, surveys, and interviews.
Who they can be: The space of imagination and strategy. Here, we open possibilities and design futures while keeping the present in mind.
Who they’re willing to be: The space of transformation. This is where real change happens, when actions today align with the future you choose to build. Through 300+ modalities, we help bring that future to life, while keeping the willingness in check.
In Closing
People don’t grow when we mould them.
They grow when we mirror their strengths back to them, without projection, without pressure.
The highest task of leadership is to protect personhood and then performance.
Let’s build teams and legacies where people shine as they are.
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