We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sumit Gupta a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sumit, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I often say that I’m living an impossible life. What do I mean by that? I want to share a little bit more by drawing out three stories from my life.

My first story is from my early childhood when I was studying in a private school in Delhi. In so many ways, that was an impossible life for me because I wasn’t supposed to be there. Given the condition of my household and where I was from, that was not the place for me but for kids with more privilege and money. I never felt in place or belonged to that peer group that I was suddenly calling my classmates.

I could never dress like them, go to activities that required expenses, or even have a fancy school bag or pencil case like many of my classmates did. I never belonged and always felt like I was living an impossible life, to the credit of my parents who put me in that school despite going through multiple hardships on their own. They gave me this impossible life, but during my entire schooling, I always felt out of place.

I was always trying to fit in but also knowing I could never fit in or belong there.

The second story I want to share is of a protest march I organized in 2011. I heard of a protest march against corruption when I was working as a techie at Yahoo. I was very good with computers but had no idea how to deal with or talk to people. I reached out to the organizers, asking how I could join the march. They replied that there was no march planned for my city, Bangalore, and asked if I wanted to organize one. I don’t know what happened, but I said YES.

I had no idea about social politics, activism, or organizing a march against corruption, yet I was suddenly tasked with organizing one in my city 40 days later. That led to a chain of events which still surprises me. I made the impossible happen – 400 people walked 11 kilometers to protest corruption.

I had to reach out to the media, raise funds, get police permission, mobilize activists, politicians, prominent people from various fields to do what was required. I had no idea I could do that. It was an impossible event for me.

Ever since, I’ve been thinking – if I could do that, what else can I do? That question has become embroiled in my mind. I always share this story, that if I can do this, what else can I do?

Impossible is just an idea – there is no such thing as an impossible task or activity. It’s the idea that I think it’s impossible which most often stops me from taking action. Just like I discovered in 2011 when I organized this march.

The third story I want to share is from just four years ago when I decided to let go of my IT career and jump full time into coaching leaders. As I started to understand what coaching is and went through certifications, suddenly everybody started telling me what a coach is supposed to do and not do.

Just like when I was in school and when I was a techie, I was fighting that I wanted to be a coach but in my own way. There was a time when I let go and said I do what I do – I don’t call it coaching or mentoring, but I do what I do. I am living an impossible life. What I decided to do is simply help, guide, and support others who want to make the impossible happen in their journey.

A key part of that is stopping the struggle to belong and fit in. A lot of people, especially high performers and leaders, have something different about them – either by choice, conditioning, or situation early in childhood. There’s something unique and different. But we live trying to fit in when we’re actually made to stand out.

There was a time when I finally embraced my impossible life. I simply started saying I live an impossible life and do what I think is impossible almost every day, and in my own unique and impossible way.

Now this is who I am and what I do. I call myself an entrepreneur and sometimes still use the word coach, but I don’t think I’m doing conventional coaching.

I’m going much beyond, mixing in meditation, somatics, and breathing exercises. I have no idea what will happen when I enter a coaching conversation because I’m just doing the impossible.

I have totally embraced the impossibility of my life and now help others do the same. More than anything, it’s tremendously freeing and relaxing that I don’t have to put on a mask or be the nice person or say things just because I’m supposed to.

After all, why would you fit in when you’re made to stand out?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

What most people know about me is that I have been a software engineer, manager, serial entrepreneur, and photographer.

What most people don’t know about me is that I have spent a lifetime staying invisible. I have used my computer and camera as tools to hide behind.

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮?
I have been there multiple times. and I have completely reinvented myself.

Today I am living an 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 life – I never even dreamed of the life I am living today.

📌 I do what nobody else does. The best of the science and art of leadership.

🔥 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐲.

My clients include leaders from multinationals such as Amazon, unicorns such as Swiggy, as well as startups and nonprofits. Here are the results my clients routinely get:

✅ Feel a sense of calm and grounded confidence
✅ Productivity goes UP to a level previously unimagined
✅ Teams are united, strong, and focused
✅ People laugh and cry together as ONE team
✅ Have freedom and time to spend with family and other passions of life

I got into this work after letting go of my career in IT. I was previously a software engineer but felt drawn to support others in unique ways. I

What I provide is not traditional coaching but rather a mix of different modalities – meditation, somatics, breathing exercises – combined in dynamic ways. My approach is to embrace the impossibility of life and make space for my clients to stand out rather than fit in.

I help high performers and leaders seeking to bring their bold dreams into reality.

A key problem I solve is the struggle many feel to pursue their own path. Whether due to societal conditioning, childhood dynamics, or institutional barriers, gifted individuals often dim their light to conform.

I unlock the potential in those made to stand out. My work draws from my own experiences feeling out of place and my journey to inner freedom.

I’m proud to model a life without limits, helping guide others to reject the impossible as just an idea stopping them. I offer a space where my clients can be radically authentic while transforming dreams into reality with enjoyment and ease.

Any advice for managing a team?

I want to argue that feedback is important, but it has its place. There are more powerful tools any leader can use to improve performance and keep people motivated and morale high. These tools are acknowledgment, attention, opportunity, and caring.

The four things mentioned above focus on the future, while feedback is glued to the past. And they must be done before and more often than giving feedback. People don’t need (just) feedback. Here are the 4 things they need if you want to improve morale:-

They Need Acknowledgement

Good leaders see people for who they are (values), what they bring to the table (skills), and where they want to go (future ambitions). They understand and listen to them as human beings, and not just for the role they were hired for. This creates psychological safety, which is the first step needed for people to perform without fear and apprehensions. Good leaders trust people by default, and that creates a solid foundation for all future performances.

As a leader, your biggest job is to create an environment where people can do their best work. By listening to people about their dreams, fears, and ambitions, leaders can sure people look forward to coming to work each day. In addition to helping with business productivity, it will also impact the well-being of employees.

When leaders communicate transparently, authentically, and check in regularly to ask what people need, it deepens engagement and instills confidence as people know that their leaders have their back.

“People change by feeling good, not by feeling bad.” – BJ Fogg

They Need Positive Attention

Strong leaders believe in their people and their abilities, often more than people themselves do. When someone does a job well, good leaders notice and let their people know. Research has repeatedly proven that positive attention is more powerful than negative attention to improving performance. Nobody shows up at work to do a job poorly, and if we only focus on moments of mistakes and failures, we are killing the enormous potential for good that people have.

Good leaders understand that performance is not static, and everyone makes mistakes or fails to do a “perfect” job occasionally. Strong leaders focus on what people do well and not on their shortcomings, and understand that positive attention leads to engagement and exponential performance in the future.

For example – A simple email showcasing major accomplishments or any behavior you want to encourage can go a long way in setting the right example.

They Need Opportunity

People need opportunities to contribute to something bigger than themselves. It is a common human desire to belong and contribute to a larger cause or mission. Leaders need to keep this in mind when they find and present work opportunities for people.

If work doesn’t provide a way for your employees to belong and contribute, people will get bored and leave, or get used to mediocrity, which is even worse. The question every leader must ask themselves is – Can I give people the opportunity to do the work of their lives?

They Need Caring

Above everything else, people need caring. We all have a need to belong, to love, and to be loved by others. Good leaders know this and care for those around them like a fellow soldier. They enrich their relationship in every moment, by every word they say and every action they take.

A caring leader notices small changes and inquires about people’s wellbeing and growth. Strong leaders demonstrate their care by coaching people to find their own way, which builds confidence and momentum as people take on and complete challenging projects. A good leader knows what their people care about, and she shows her care by taking care of that.

For example – many companies offer the option for people to work flexible hours or to work from home, while others have an on-premises creche facility to better support employees who are parents.

“Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Simply being authentic and powerfully serving the person in front of me has worked well for me.

This is why most of my clients stay on for multiple years and I get new clients from referrals or from people who already know me.

My motto is – “the person in front of me is the most important person in my life”

When I able to remember this and live by it, the other person immediately feels my listening, care, and love for them. That allows me to listen to their dreams and fears even when they don’t articulate it out loud, and then I also powerfully step in to help them whichever way I can.

Ask yourself – if you meet everyone like the most important person in your life and treat each conversation like the most important conversation of your life – how would you show up and what new results could become possible?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.deployyourself.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumitguptacoach/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumit4all/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leadership-sumit
• Other: https://www.deployyourself.com/masterclass/