IIT graduate CEO, after hiring 200+ people, realizes his biggest leadership mistake

When Harsh Pokharna, an IIT-Kanpur graduate and CEO, found himself frustrated with underperforming hires, he assumed the problem lay with them. He thought he had simply made poor choices. They weren’t driven enough. Not the right fit. And when they eventually quit, he felt disappointed and even angry. But with time—and painful lessons—Harsh came to a realisation that flipped his leadership style on its head: the problem wasn’t the people, it was the environment.


In a candid social media post, Harsh reflected on his journey of hiring over 200 employees and the mistakes he made along the way. Early in his leadership days, when team members didn’t perform, he’d write it off as a hiring error. He confessed, “I told myself they weren’t hungry enough… When they quit, I was angry. I kept wondering – Why can’t they handle it? Why can’t they perform?” But those exits, one after another, forced him to look inward. That’s when the hard truth surfaced.

Real problem wasn’t the people, but environment
Harsh admitted that his company’s work culture at the time lacked structure and clarity. There were unclear roles, confusing policies, no well-defined scopes, and a bureaucratic approach that left everyone running in circles. “Everyone was busy, but no one was aligned,” he wrote. And in the process, he lost some incredibly talented people—ones who could have made a big impact if only the conditions had allowed them to.

The transformation
It wasn’t an overnight fix. It took time, effort, and humility to accept the gaps and rebuild from the inside out. Today, Harsh says his company’s culture is “10x stronger.” So, what changed? Trust became central. Clear expectations were set from the beginning. Employees were given ownership and treated like adults. The company no longer operated on micromanagement or vague job descriptions. It grew on clarity, accountability, and mutual respect.

For founders, managers, or anyone leading a team, Harsh offers a powerful reminder: “If you’re struggling to hire or retain people, stop blaming them. Audit your culture. When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows—not the flower.”