Episode 129: Resilience, Leadership, and the Power of Communication: An Interview with Amit Khanna, Author-Corporate Circus

In this compelling episode, Dr. John Dentico sits down with Amit Khanna, a senior project manager, Agile leadership expert, and international author with over 21 years of IT experience. Amit's remarkable journey from orphaned teenager working odd jobs to leading enterprise-level projects worth millions demonstrates the power of resilience and strategic communication. Having survived four episodes of facial paralysis and financial hardship, Amit worked his way up from factory floors to bartending before establishing himself as a sought-after leader across seven countries with global brands like Volvo Cars and Teradata. As the creator of the Confident Corporate Communication Framework and author of "Corporate Circus," Amit shares profound insights on navigating office politics, empowering teams, and the evolving nature of leadership in our post-COVID, AI-driven world. The conversation culminates in a fascinating exploration of empowerment versus subsidiarity—challenging the traditional one-way view of delegation by examining how employees also empower organizations through their knowledge, experience, and expertise. This fresh perspective on workplace power dynamics offers a more nuanced understanding of how true collaboration functions in modern organizations. Notable Quotes "If I want to grow, I really need to break the ties of the current work... your goal towards the end of the project or mid project, is to kick Amit Khanna out of the project." "Don't they empower the organization with the knowledge, background, and experience they bring... there is the subsidiarity of them taking their knowledge and power of information, of experience, of background and saying, I'm delegating that to the organization." Chapter Headings 00:00 - Introduction and Amit's Background 03:01 - Early Life Challenges and Influences 06:12 - Balancing Structure and Flexibility in Agile Leadership 13:20 - The Confident Corporate Communication Framework 16:21 - Overcoming "Death by PowerPoint" and Technical Communication 19:06 - Navigating Office Politics with the Three-Strike Rule 23:07 - Leadership Evolution in the Post-COVID AI Era 25:01 - The Future of Leadership: Responsibility and Infinite Games 30:39 - Magic Wand Question: Empowering Others 32:09 - Empowerment vs. Subsidiarity: A Two-Way Street 37:17 - Closing Thoughts and Book Offer If you enjoy our podcasts please like, share and subscribe we genuinely appreciate your support. For a free E-copy of Amit's book Corporate Circus just follow the link. https://www.communicatewithimpact.com.au/checkout/DigitalDownload/853