There’s a quiet moment in every career when things start to feel different. Not wrong, just slightly out of place. For me, it showed up in the middle of work, and I was already doing well. In my role within the Talent Management team at Morningstar, I was working on initiatives that carried scale and complexity, impacting the experience of 12,000 employees globally.

And yet, somewhere between delivering outcomes and moving to the next task, I felt a gap I couldn’t quite name. I wasn’t struggling with what to do. I was beginning to question how I was thinking about it, and whether I was truly ready for what came next.

Operating in the Grey

My role was evolving. I was stepping into work that required more ownership, context, and judgment. On paper, I was still an individual contributor. But in reality, I was already operating in the grey, expected to think ahead, align stakeholders, and shape outcomes beyond my immediate scope.

There were moments I would walk out of discussions and replay them in my head: Did I really understand what mattered to everyone in the room? And moreover, if I were leading this end-to-end, would I approach it differently?

That’s when it became clear. I wasn’t preparing for a role. I was preparing for a shift.

Choosing to Prepare Early

The decision to join the Emerging Leaders Programme at ISB Executive Education came from that realisation. Not because I had already stepped into a people leadership role, but because I knew I soon would, and I wanted to be ready when it happened.

I didn’t want my first experience of leading people to be reactive. I wanted to understand how to think through complexity, navigate people dynamics, and make decisions with intent before I was expected to.

Seeing People Differently

One of the biggest shifts during the programme was realising how early this journey begins. You don’t start understanding people when you become a manager. You start much before that. Through classroom discussions and peer interactions, I began to see how differently individuals interpret the same situation.

What feels like feedback to one person can feel like judgment to another. What seems like structure to one can feel like restriction to someone else. It made me more aware, not just of others, but of myself. And that awareness began to show up in my work in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

From Structure to Experience

As I worked on introducing changes in talent and performance processes, my approach started to shift. Earlier, I would have focused on getting the structure right. This time, I found myself thinking more about the people.

What might they already be unsure about?

How do I make this feel like something they are part of, not something being rolled out?

The shift was subtle, but the conversations felt different. More open. More engaged.

Thinking at Scale

Around the same time, I had the opportunity to shape the AI learning strategy for a global workforce. It wasn’t something I had been working towards explicitly, but it aligned with how I had started thinking. Designing for 12,000 individuals meant moving beyond solutions and into experience.

What does this look like for someone just starting out?

How does it feel for someone already deep into their role?

What actually makes this useful, not just available?

There were no clear answers. But instead of rushing to define the solution, I found myself stepping back, understanding context, anticipating impact, and building with intent. Not everything became easier. But everything became clearer.

The Room that Changes You

What stayed with me most wasn’t just the programme, it was the room it created. A room where no two journeys looked the same. Every conversation offered a new lens. And somewhere between listening, questioning, and reflecting, I began to see my own journey more clearly.

There wasn’t a single moment that changed everything. Just a series of small shifts. In how I think, how I listen, and how I approach decisions. Because stepping into leadership isn’t just about managing work. It’s about shaping how others experience it.

Quiet Confidence

I know that this transition into a people leadership role is not far away. But for the first time, it doesn’t feel like something I need to catch up to. It feels like something I’ve been quietly preparing for.

It’s easy to believe that you will learn all of this when the role comes. But some things are better learned before you’re expected to know them. Because by then, you’re not just stepping into a role, you’re growing into it.

Synopsis

Riddhi Vartak, Senior Executive – Talent and Performance Management, Learning and Development, Morningstar, shapes AI-led learning strategies for a global workforce. An ISB Executive Education Emerging Leaders Programme alumna, she focuses on building perspective early, navigating complexity with intent, and preparing thoughtfully for future leadership roles that demand both clarity and empathy.