I believe
I'm Hitesh Parmar. I'm still learning what it means to lead. This is my record of the journey.
My why
To help people grow faster than their titles.
Every team I've been part of has taught me the same thing. People do their best work when someone believes in them before the org chart does.
My journey
Ten years, four companies and one lesson that keeps repeating: it's always about people. I'm writing the chapters down so I don't forget.
Nine years of computer engineering: a diploma, a bachelor's degree from Saurashtra University and a master's degree, each with first class with distinction. In 2013 I published two papers, one comparing machine learning classifiers and one on big data in government.
Engineering taught me to break big problems into small ones. I still lead that way.
I joined as the company's first customer success person, with no team and no playbook. I built both, and looked after more than 50 enterprise clients, including names like Amul and Mahindra. Retention rose to around 95%.
Clients rarely leave over one problem. They leave when nobody calls before the problem.
As Chief Growth Officer, I took smart safety vests and helmets to factory leaders. I sat across the table from manufacturing CxOs and learned to sell a product that was still being built.
In a startup, nobody has one job. You learn fast or you don't last.
As Client Services Manager, I led a 15-person team in India across .NET, SQL, business analysis, DevOps and QA testing, working with the Professional Services team in Houston to deliver every client customisation on time. Beyond the daily work, I focused on resolving requests faster, bringing in new processes, and mentoring the team to go beyond what clients expected.
About a year and a half in, I was promoted to Sr. Director of Professional Services at Relay Human Cloud.
Distance doesn't break teams. Unclear expectations do.
In May 2021, I started at Relay Human Cloud as Sr. Director of Professional Services, with the job of building its India operation from a small base. Every hire felt personal, and every process had to be made from scratch. Twenty months later, I was asked to lead it as VP.
Early on, culture isn't a document. It's whatever you do on the hard days.
The team grew across Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Then I began supporting our Philippines team as well, helping with operations, hiring and the processes that keep a growing team running smoothly.
At scale, you stop leading people directly and start leading the leaders. Trust has to travel without you.
We celebrated five years of Relay India. Looking out at the room, I realised the numbers mattered less than the people who had grown into leaders along the way. And the next step was already underway: a third office, in Pune, opening in December.
The next chapter isn't about a bigger title. It's about helping one more person see the leader in themselves before anyone gives them permission. I want to help raise a generation of leaders from Gujarat and India who lead with purpose, grow people faster than titles, and pass it on.
Someday, I hope the best thing on this page is the list of people who went further than I did.
What I've learned · The 3G Framework
A title gives you a seat. Trust is what makes people follow you into the room.
Know who you are as a leader, and the role becomes a way to express it, not define it.
Build people first. Results, retention and promotions follow the growth.
Stories I keep coming back to
Stories from the leadership thinkers who shaped how I think, told simply, with what each one means to me.
Simon SinekStart With Why
Simon was working in advertising and doing well on paper, but he had lost all passion for his work. Trying to understand why, he noticed that the people and companies who inspire us all start from the same place: they know why they do what they do. He drew it as three circles, Why, How and What, and his talk about it became one of the most watched TED talks ever.
Lesson
People don't follow what you do. They follow why you do it.
What it means to meA team that knows the why will figure out the how on its own.
Tony RobbinsUnlimited Power
Tony grew up in a difficult home and left at 17 with almost nothing. He was working as a janitor when he went to a seminar by Jim Rohn, and it changed how he saw his own life. He decided that his past would not decide his future, and went on to coach millions of people around the world.
Lesson
Your life changes the moment you make a real decision, not when circumstances change.
What it means to meMost growth I've seen in people started with one decision, not one opportunity.
Brené BrownDaring Greatly
Brené spent years researching shame and vulnerability. In 2010 she gave a small TEDx talk in Houston and openly shared her own struggles. The next day she felt so exposed she hoped almost no one would watch it. Instead, millions did, because she had said out loud what most people feel but hide.
Lesson
There is no courage without vulnerability.
What it means to meWhen a leader admits they're unsure, the team stops pretending too.
John C. MaxwellThe 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
John often tells the story of the McDonald brothers. They invented a brilliant fast-food system, but their business stayed small. When Ray Kroc took over, he grew it into one of the biggest companies in the world. The idea was the same. The difference was the leadership. John calls this the Law of the Lid.
Lesson
A team can only grow as far as its leader's ability to lead.
What it means to meWhen my team gets stuck, the first place I look is in the mirror.
Stephen R. CoveyThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen was on a quiet subway in New York when a man got on with his children, who began running wild and disturbing everyone. The father just sat there. Irritated, Stephen asked him to control his kids. The man looked up and said they had just come from the hospital, where their mother had died an hour ago. In an instant, Stephen's irritation became compassion.
Lesson
Seek first to understand. Everyone is carrying something you can't see.
What it means to meBefore I judge someone's performance, I try to ask what's happening in their life.
Robin SharmaThe Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Robin was a successful litigation lawyer who felt empty inside. He left law to write about leadership and living well. No publisher wanted his first books, so he self-published them, printing copies at a local print shop with his mother helping to edit. One of them, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, went on to sell millions of copies worldwide.
Lesson
You don't need a title to lead. You need the courage to start.
What it means to meThis page is my own small version of that print shop.
Leadership in Gujarati
I share what I'm learning on Instagram, in Gujarati, for anyone growing into a bigger role.