Leading Across Worlds: Lessons in Leadership from Corporate Power to Grassroots Advocacy

From Strategy to Soul

My career began in the corporate world, where leadership was measured by strategic performance, expansion, and profitability. As a global CEO, I led with precision, managing teams across continents and cultures, motivated by clear metrics, customer experience and shareholder expectations.

However, the past 24 years as the Founder and CEO of Parikrma Humanity Foundation, an NGO focused on educating children from slums, required a profound recalibration of leadership. Here, I am not just guiding an organization; I am guiding hope.

I decided to quit corporate life not out of a whim or when I felt I had plateaued in my career. I quit because I began to understand that there was much more to life than acquiring materials like big branded cars, large spacious houses, more than one international holiday a year. I began to realize that I needed to share what I had and what I had learnt because I could not be truly happy if my neighbours were not. This I had learnt from my seven years of volunteering with Mother Teresa in my days of youth. Those were some of my happiest years in my life and I felt I had to share that with others.

In the corporate world, transactional leadership (Burns, 1978) enabled goal achievement through incentives and controls. In the nonprofit sector, I had to evolve into a servant leader (Greenleaf, 1977), where my authority comes not from hierarchy, but from humility and empathy.

Motivation and Meaning

Employees in corporations work for career advancement and financial recognition, aligning with Herzberg's (1959) hygiene and motivator factors. In contrast, in social organizations, people work for causes, not for leaders. Their motivation stems from moral alignment, not job description. As a leader, this demanded a different kind of presence: less directive, more supportive, deeply attentive.

Leadership as Advocacy

One of the most significant shifts was understanding that advocacy is not an accessory to leadership in nonprofits—it is core. Whether lobbying for educational rights, speaking at global forums, or appealing to donors, I became a voice for those who are rarely heard. This aligns closely with adaptive leadership (Heifetz, 1994), which emphasizes leading through systemic complexity.

Authenticity in Vulnerable Ecosystems

Leading in fragile ecosystems—where a child's life can change or collapse based on a single decision—requires authentic leadership (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Authenticity here is not branding; it is a daily practice of aligning one's actions with deeply held values. In such settings, the leader must not only deliver services, but embody trust.

Emotional Labour as Leadership Capital

Hochschild (1983) introduced the term "emotional labor" to describe work that requires emotional regulation. As a social leader, this is an everyday reality. From grieving with families when the mother commits suicide, to celebrating a child's first day in school, the emotional bandwidth needed is immense. It is here that sensitivity becomes strategy.

Redefining Success

In corporate life, success was defined by earnings, expansion, and efficiency. In nonprofit life, it is measured in moments: a girl refusing early marriage, a dropout returning to school, a child smiling freely after trauma, a senior student getting a job in a multinational company. We deal with 98% of our fathers being alcoholics and de-addiction of these fathers is one of the toughest challenges. And yet, when a father gives up drinking for the sake of his children that is the biggest success one experiences. These are not line items on a spreadsheet. They are sacred transformations. It proves that all that matters cannot be counted.

Conclusion

Leadership is not about power. It is about responsibility. It is not about efficiency. It is about empathy. And above all, it is not about commanding change, but enabling it. From boardrooms to classrooms, I have learned that the greatest legacy of leadership is not what we build, but what we inspire others to believe is possible.

References

• Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315-338.
• Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
• Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
• Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Paulist Press.
• Heifetz, R. A. (1994). Leadership without Easy Answers. Harvard University Press.
• Herzberg, F. (1959). The Motivation to Work. John Wiley.
• Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press.

Dr. Shukla Bose is the Founder and CEO of Parikrma Humanity Foundation. With a 26-year corporate background and over two decades in nonprofit leadership, she combines business acumen with social purpose to create sustainable change in education.