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🎤 The Pacesetter's Dilemma

Toastmasters Pathways – Understanding your Leadership Style

💡 The "Aha" Moment​

I recently had an important "aha" moment about my leadership style. I discovered that I am a "Pacesetter."

Now, I could spend five minutes explaining the textbook definition, but where's the fun in that? Instead, let me take you into a story that plays out in my head.

🎬 The Movie in My Head​

Imagine a dimly lit room. Arjun, the son of a corrupt politician who is now the Chief Minister, stands surrounded by secretaries who hold him in little respect.

But Arjun? He is on a mission. He is determined to bring clean politics. To set a powerful example, he does the unthinkable: He returns 20,000 crores of corrupt money amassed by his father.

The secretaries are shocked back to reality.

With this same fire, Arjun pushes to make zero tolerance of corruption into law. But shockingly, his own party members refuse to vote for it.

Faced with this resistance, Arjun makes a compromise—he exempts politicians from some parts of the law—and finally, the bill passes. Though not perfect, he has managed to reduce corruption significantly.

🏢 The Reality Check​

I see myself in Arjun’s shoes. (Though please understand, I don’t face political battles or have 20,000 crores to return!)

I lead a team of engineers at work. My inner pacesetter demands speed and perfection. I want us to be the Arjun of our domain—relentless, efficient, and uncompromising.

But here’s the difficult part. When performance review time comes, I feel as if I’ve been punched in the stomach.

🥊 The Conflict​

Because reality isn’t a movie. Reality isn’t perfect.

Many of my team members score around 3 out of 5. Not because they don’t try hard. Not because they lack talent.

But because of:

  • 📉 Tough circumstances
  • 📚 Steep learning curves
  • 🌪️ The complexities of corporate life beyond anyone’s control. Some of them are contractors.

Yet when I hand out final ratings, I often have to nudge these scores up to 4 out of 5. Not to fudge numbers. But to:

  • Protect morale
  • Maintain team spirit
  • Help my teammates keep their careers afloat in rough waters

⚖️ The Balance​

This tension tears at me each time.

My inner pacesetter screams for results. Yet my role—my true leadership—is about balancing that drive with empathy. About matching lofty ambitions with patience.

Like Arjun, I wrestle with the gap between ideals and reality.

Because leadership isn’t just about setting a furious pace. It’s about asking:

Who can truly run with you? And how fast can they go?

It’s about lifting those who struggle to keep up—without losing sight of the goal.

And here’s the hardest lesson I'm learning: Leading a team that isn’t always as fast as you dream, while knowing that slowing down too much means losing momentum.

Thank you.