Deploy Yourself School of Leadership - Sumit Gupta
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The Hidden Reason 90% of Strategies Fail (and the Missing Conversation)

Nov 12, 2025 | Communication Skills, Leadership and Management | 0 comments

Let’s get real for a second (especially if you have a large team) Every year, organizations spend more than $60 billion on strategic planning and leadership development. Yet McKinsey, Bain, and Harvard Business Review converge on a sobering truth: roughly 70–90% of...

Why People Are Not Getting Your Strategy (And How to Fix It)

Oct 30, 2025 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

The three levels of internal communication that turn confusion into alignment A CEO I’ve been working with recently told me something that I have heard too many times. “I’ve explained our strategy at least five times this quarter,” she said....

SALES – Three Levels of Communicating What You Do

Oct 26, 2025 | Communication Skills, sales | 0 comments

How shifting from “what you do” to “what it does for them” transforms sales, leadership, and trust A CEO I work with runs a successful industrial manufacturing company. His team knows the product inside out. They hit their numbers. But he kept...

Empathy without Authenticity is just Mediocrity

Apr 30, 2025 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

The False Choice Between Empathy and Authenticity: Why True Leaders Need Both There is a dangerous myth that I have from multiple leaders that hold them back without they even realising. It’s the belief that you must choose between being empathetic and being...

The Power of Conviction: How Authentic Belief Drives Powerful Communication

Apr 1, 2025 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

The Inner Game of Premium Positioning Ten years ago, you created something revolutionary. You set the standard. Today, competitors crowd your space, and the risks of commoditization are louder than before. The natural response? Doubt. Hesitation. Perhaps even a subtle...

The Trap of “How” & “How to” Questions for Leaders

Sep 30, 2024 | Communication Skills, Leadership and Management | 0 comments

*”How to”* questions focus on tactical, surface-level solutions rather than deep transformation. These questions imply that there’s a specific formula or step-by-step guide to solving complex leadership challenges. leadership isn’t about following a...

Why “Try & Hope” Is Weak & Not a Strategy

Sep 25, 2024 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

Why “Try & Hope” Is Weak & Not a Strategy: Turn Wishful Thinking Into Actionable Results by Speaking Committed Language Many leaders fall into the trap of saying, “I’ll try,” or “I hope this works.” It feels harmless, but these words are weak. They...

Integrity Isn’t Just a Value—It’s the Foundation for Success

Sep 25, 2024 | Communication Skills, Leadership and Management | 0 comments

Leaders in every growing company face a common challenge: creating momentum and increasing revenue while maintaining integrity. The key isn’t in adding more strategies or increasing complexity—it’s about aligning actions with promises and ensuring that integrity is...

The Benefits of Silence for a productive and meaningful life

Oct 30, 2021 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself, Emotional Intelligence | 3 comments

Let me start with a story to illustrate the benefits of silence There was an old man whose most beloved possession was a watch left to him by his late wife. He treasured the timepiece and had it on his person wherever he went.  One day, in anticipation of his...

How To Run Effective And Quick Meetings? Are You Making These Mistakes?

Sep 11, 2021 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

Meetings can be among the biggest time and energy suckers in an organization if you let them be. According to a survey done by the Harvard Business Review, over 70% of senior managers consider meetings to be unproductive and ineffective. Additionally, 65% of the...

36 Communication Quotes for Better Relationships & Leadership

Aug 15, 2021 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

Please find below my favourite collection of quotes and one-liners about effective and deep communication, building strong relationships – both at work and in life, and effective team management and leadership. “Paradoxically, the ability to be alone is the...

The Power of Words: How Leaders Use Speech Acts to Transform Reality

Aug 6, 2021 | Communication Skills, Leadership and Management | 0 comments

Painters have a brush, digital artists use Photoshop, and musicians have their instruments to produce their results. Similarly, leaders have language – to produce results in their teams and organisations via having verbal communication. Ask yourself- What do...

How To Communicate and Handle Difficult Conversations as an Introvert?

Jun 24, 2021 | Communication Skills, Emotional Intelligence | 0 comments

Introverts are comfortable in being by themselves. Instead of getting energy from others, introverts draw it from solitude and quiet places. As a result, resolving conflicts and navigating tough conversations tend to be difficult and scary since it forces them to have...

How to Answer People’s Questions To Serve Them Best

Mar 3, 2021 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

Whether it is from those who work under us or our coworkers, we are all faced with questions in our daily lives. Of course, not all questions may warrant a response. But when a reasonable person genuinely enquires about something, it is important to listen and respond...

9 Steps To Make The Most Out Of Difficult Conversations

Oct 22, 2020 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

“The right word at the right time will unlock the door to treasures – the wrong one will close it forever” – Rasheed Ogunlaru Think about a discussion you have been planning to have with your manager. For example, to ask for a raise. Perhaps as a manager,...

Can We Walk in Another Person’s Shoes? Why Empathy Might Be The Most Important Human Ability?

Jun 1, 2020 | Communication Skills, Emotional Intelligence | 0 comments

On a recent archaeological dig in Man Bac in what is now northern Vietnam, a team of researchers made a remarkable discovery. While unearthing the remains of some Stone Age people who were buried 4,000 years ago, they discovered one young man who had been placed in...

The Ultimate Guide To Interpersonal Communication & Difficult Conversations

Mar 25, 2020 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

This guide contains everything you need to know about dealing with interpersonal communication – conflict, disagreements, and other difficult conversations – be it at work or outside it. How to listen well. Why conflicts are natural? What to do, and what...

How to Communicate When the Going Gets Tough, and Things Get Messy?

Mar 20, 2020 | Communication Skills | 0 comments

The world is unpredictable and full of chaos and change. Many things can cause worry and tension in an organization. Mergers & acquisitions, leadership wrangles, controversies, and pandemics such as Covid-19 are just some of the many things that can cause a crisis...

Nonverbal Communication – How To Listen To What Is Not Being Said?

Dec 17, 2019 | Communication Skills, Emotional Intelligence | 0 comments

“When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practiced man relies on the language of the first.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson In recent years, technology has brought in a big change in our ways of communication. With the best tech devices and the most vibrant...

How to Ask and Get the Feedback You Need Without Any Stress and Awkwardness?

Jul 3, 2018 | Communication Skills, Deploy Yourself | 0 comments

“I want to give you some feedback.” If you are like most people, once you hear the above statement, your heart will start to beat a little faster, your palms might begin to sweat, and in certain situations, you might even begin to shake. Feedback can make anyone...
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What I Wrote

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Recent Articles

  • Leadership Journeys [257] – Sorabh Gupta – “I need to step back for the company to grow.”
  • Leadership Journeys [256] – Don Hammond – “Great leaders don’t seek victory—they create progress for everyone.”
  • Leadership Journeys [255] – Bill Benjamin – “Managing emotions in tough moments defines your culture.”
  • Leadership Journeys [254] – Dr. Santosh Honnagunti – “Mentors, risk-taking, and curiosity turned me from an engineer into a leader.”
  • How Your Need to Be Useful Is Stalling Your Growth?
  • Leadership Journeys [253] – Benoit Honnart – “In business, trust opens more doors than opportunity.”
  • When Your Superstars Are Tearing Each Other Apart
  • Leadership Journeys [252] – Alay Jhaveri – “ Leadership is letting people be who they are.”
  • Leadership Journeys [251] – Griff Parry – “ I am more motivated by the journey rather than the destination. “
  • Leadership Journeys [250] – Adewale Yusuf – “The greatest risk is letting fear rule your responsibilities.”
  • The Hidden Reason 90% of Strategies Fail (and the Missing Conversation)
  • Leadership Journeys [249] – Jason Hayes – “ If I were to write a book, it would be called ‘Thriving on Chaos’. “
  • The Intelligence Trap: Why Your Brain Might Be Blocking Your Breakthrough
  • Leadership Journeys [248] – Ryan Howsam -“With structure and the right direction, success becomes inevitable.”
  • Why People Are Not Getting Your Strategy (And How to Fix It)
  • Leadership Journeys – Steven Meersman – “ You can never achieve balance because then you’re standing still and you die”
  • Leadership Journeys [247] – Jag Dhanda – “Great teams grow from passion, clear vision, and strong communication.”
  • SALES – Three Levels of Communicating What You Do
  • The Stone in Your Shoe: Why Commitment Comes Before Everything Else
  • Leadership Journeys [246] – Tom Gegax – “The consultant said the problem was me—and after cancer, divorce, and a failing business, I was finally ready to hear it.”
  • Don’t Wait for Inspiration or Motivation. Create It Like Winners Do.
  • Leadership Journeys [245] – Syed Ahmed – “What people wouldn’t know around me is i prefer solitude”
  • The Invisible Weight of Success: What Nobody Tells You About Making It
  • Leadership Journeys [244] – Conor McGowan Smyth – “I have a deep hunger to explore—both the world and my spiritual side.”
  • The Leadership Loops Nobody Talks About (But Everyone Keeps The Drama Going)

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Looking for Podcast Guests

I am actively looking to interview and celebrate inspirational leaders on my podcast - for the choices they have made to get where they are today. If you are such a leader or if you know one, please reach out. These stories need to be shared and heard, and this is your opportunity to contribute.

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