Inspiring, not managing: Unraveling Pavan Verma’s Journey to the 3 Keys of Leadership

Pavan Verma, the Co-Founder and CTO of Orgzit, a bootstrapped startup revolutionizing the realm of specialized all-in-one sales customer relation management for manufacturer reps and businesses selling B2B solutions unveils the secrets to his managerial approach. Pavan is the driving force behind the company’s success.With an entrepreneurial spirit, Pavan fearlessly takes on the role of a hands-on business manager, juggling the complexities of product management, customer relations, sales, hiring, and team building with unwavering finesse.

Managing the Business, Not the People: A Fresh Perspective

“Initially I was pretty bad at the managerial role and it was very overwhelming.” – Pavan Verma

In 2015, Pavan Verma got his first opportunity to step into a managerial position. Unfortunately, that experience didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped.  The company he joined was fast-moving with a dynamic work style, with frequent changes and challenges arising every few days. The work environment demanded constant adaptation, which added to the overwhelming nature of the role. To further compound matters, Pavan was unprepared for a managerial role, and, suddenly, he was parachuted into the company and tasked with managing a team of 7-8 engineers he had not hired. This posed a considerable challenge, as building a strong rapport with a team that was not handpicked was not easy. However, his journey as a business manager at Orgzit took a different and more positive turn.

“Orgzit and I have grown together in the last 7 years. It is like a baby that has grown and I have grown along with it as a manager.” – Pavan Verma

Managing and building the business at Orgzit has been an immensely fulfilling experience for Pavan. It gave him valuable insights and an understanding of different departments and their functioning within the company. Through this journey, he developed his ideologies and approaches to the management role, shaping his leadership style.

“I am trying to manage the business and not the people.” – Pavan Verma

Pavan approaches managerial roles with a fresh and unconventional perspective. Instead of focusing on managing individual team members, he emphasizes managing the functions of each team and their specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). For example, he directs his attention to lead generation for the marketing team and acquiring new customers for the sales team. This fresh approach allows Pavan to focus on the business’s bigger picture and strategic aspects rather than getting bogged down in managing people. It also empowers team members to take ownership of their work and contribute to the company’s growth. Pavan believes managers can thrive and succeed by fostering a culture of autonomy and self-motivation.

Drawing Inspiration from Stories: Tom Mendoza’s Impact

During his time at NetApp, Pavan Verma found great inspiration in his colleague and mentor, Tom Mendoza. Tom’s stories, often centered around high-stakes situations like sports and wars, profoundly impacted Pavan. These narratives highlight the immense responsibility of captains and leaders, where a mistake could result in significant losses for the entire team. Through Tom’s stories, Pavan learned the importance of inspiring team members and how it can benefit the company. Inspired by this quality, Pavan made inspiration a major value at Orgzit. However, Pavan acknowledges that motivating team members is not always straightforward and recognizes that his attempts to inspire them have faced occasional setbacks.

“I try to motivate team members on various fronts. Not every team member resonates with each thing I say or believe.” – Pavan Verma

Understanding that motivation is a personal and subjective experience. As a leader, Pavan takes the responsibility of persistently repeating goals and messages in different ways, understanding that each individual may resonate with different objectives. He remains committed to inspiring and motivating his team, even if not every team member connects with every effort. Pavan accomplishes this by providing his team members opportunities, responsibilities, and freedom. Even freshers are given the freedom to take on clients early in their careers. By entrusting them with significant responsibilities, Pavan instills inspiration and a sense of duty in his team members, driving them to excel and be successful. Pavan helps his team members thrive and contributes to the company’s overall growth through this approach.

“We give a set of 3 books to every team member when they join, and the company has a book purchase policy.” – Pavan Verma

Cultivating a culture of continuous learning is another way Pavan inspires his team members by encouraging them to read more. By fostering an attitude of reading and continuous learning, he instills a sense of importance and investment in their personal and professional growth. The company actively supports this by providing a set of books to every team member upon joining and with a book purchase policy. This commitment to learning helps team members upskill, expand their knowledge, and approach their work with sincerity and industry expertise.

The power of delegation: Pavan Verma’s key perspective

In the initial stages of Pavan’s career as a leader, he faced several challenges with delegation. One of the key hurdles was having unrealistic and high expectations from his team members. Pavan realized he expected his team to follow his methods and adhere to his standards, which proved unfair and unrealistic. To address this, he worked on himself and adopted more realistic expectations, allowing his team members to perform tasks uniquely. Another challenge Pavan encountered was the lack of well-defined processes in place. He expected his team to perform tasks without providing them with proper learning, training, or documented procedures. To overcome this delegation challenge, he invested considerable time in creating comprehensive training materials, including written and video documentation. This gave his team members the necessary guidance and knowledge to carry out their responsibilities effectively.

“Three most important things about running and managing a business are to delegate, delegate and delegate.” – Pavan Verma

After making adjustments and providing more freedom to his team members, their capabilities pleasantly surprised Pavan. By trusting his team to handle tasks independently, they demonstrated their skills and exceeded his expectations, proving the value of delegation and empowering team members to excel in their roles.  At Orgzit, Pavan and his team strive to establish a working culture that can thrive and grow even in his absence. To achieve this, delegation plays a pivotal role. By delegating tasks and responsibilities effectively, the organization can function smoothly and efficiently without relying solely on one individual, including Pavan himself.

The Power of Trust: Building a Transparent Work Environment

“Trust fosters transparency.”  – Pavan Verma

According to Pavan, one way to foster trust is by being available to team members and offering support to help them achieve their goals. By making themselves accessible, managers demonstrate their commitment to the team’s success and build trust through open communication and assistance. Pavan understands that trust is nurtured when team members feel supported and confident that their manager is there to guide and facilitate their growth. Additionally, Pavan emphasizes the practice of humility in building trust. He believes that by approaching interactions humbly, managers can create a safe and respectful environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their ideas and concerns. Humility allows managers to acknowledge and appreciate the expertise and contributions of their team members, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.

What does Pavan’s experience bring for new managers?

Pavan Verma offers valuable tips for new managers, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and hiring individuals with leadership qualities.

“Don’t try to fake or be somebody that you are not.”  – Pavan Verma

Pavan believes that success and happiness stem from being true to oneself. He advises managers to embrace their unique qualities and avoid attempting to mimic others. Recognizing that each manager is different due to the inherent diversity of individuals, Pavan encourages managers to be conscious of their thoughts and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. 

“Hire the right people who have leadership qualities.” – Pavan Verma

In Pavan’s view, hiring individuals with strong leadership qualities is the key to building a successful team. He emphasizes the importance of seeking candidates who can lead, inspire, and take initiative. Pavan recognizes that a team of self-starters with leadership potential is likely to thrive and contribute to the organization’s growth. 

“Be genuine with your team members.”  – Pavan Verma

And lastly, he endorses genuine and authentic relationships between managers and their team members. He believes openness, honesty, and transparency are essential for fostering trust and collaboration. This approach strengthens the bond between managers and team members and promotes a culture of authenticity throughout the organization.

How Risely helps managers achieve their true potential? 

Pavan Verma has developed his leadership approach and perspective through years of experience. His method of focusing on managing the business rather than managing people resonates with many busy managers juggling multiple tasks while trying to build their businesses. However, it’s essential to recognize that not all managers with this mindset have access to the same level of mentorship and guidance. Every manager is unique in their leadership style and challenges. That’s where Risely comes in. Risely offers a platform for managers to seek the guidance and support they need to navigate their leadership journey. It provides tailored steps and insights to help managers refine their approach and achieve their true potential. Here’s how Risely solves challenges for many Co-Founders and Managers like Pavan:

• Identify your challenges: The journey begins when a manager starts by defining their challenges. From 30+ challenges, managers and team leaders can identify the issues hurting their team.
• Test your skills: In the second step, skills and qualities are tested, such as expectation setting and prioritization skills, to see how well managers have achieved these critical functions. Based on these assessments,  they learn about their  skills and abilities with detailed reports.
• Start growing: With time, managers can start making progress with the help of daily nudges provided by Risely. It dynamically supports the manager’s  progress through resources like toolkits, samples, and assessments.

Risely, the AI co-pilot for leadership development, makes the road easy for up-and-coming managers and team leaders. While you are navigating the new ways of a managerial role, Risely takes the lead on your growth and creates personalized learning journeys leading toward your professional goals. In a busy world, it’s the buddy you need to succeed!