A Leadership Vision That Turns Inclusion into Everyday Strength

By: Ruhie Pande, Group CHRO & CMO, Sterlite Electric

Ruhie Pande is an accomplished HR and leadership expert with two decades of experience shaping high-performance cultures across diverse industries. With a strong foundation in industrial and organizational psychology, she is recognised for her empathy-led approach, strategic vision, and award-winning contributions to developing talent and empowering women leaders.

In an insightful conversation with Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Ruhie shares her perspectives on inculcating belonging, inclusion, empathetic accountability, and the power of authentic leadership in shaping high-performance cultures. She also highlights how purpose, trust, and collaboration fuel collective growth across Sterlite.

To learn more about Ruhie’s approach to building inclusive, high-impact teams and transforming workplace culture, read the full article below.

When you step into a new ecosystem, how do you first start building a sense of belonging?

Sustaining belonging in high-performance cultures rests on the belief that growth is a shared journey. When trust, fairness, and purpose are deeply embedded in everyday actions, accountability becomes a collective commitment rather than an individual burden.

At Sterlite, belonging and ambition thrive together because every milestone is achieved through collaboration and mutual respect. Equally important is giving people the autonomy to make decisions that matter, so they feel a true sense of ownership and contribution. At Sterlite, we empower teams to take charge of outcomes — whether in operations, innovation, or people initiatives enabling them to see their impact firsthand. This ownership not only builds confidence but also strengthens belonging, as individuals feel trusted and valued for their judgment and expertise.

In fast-evolving sectors like energy and infrastructure, alignment stems from open dialogue and a shared sense of mission. When teams see themselves as partners in progress, performance transforms into a celebration of collective excellence and shared purpose.

How do you sustain belonging while driving performance and accountability?

Sustaining belonging in a high-performance environment is about nurturing a culture where progress is shared and every individual feels part of something larger. Growth at Sterlite is seen as a collective pursuit when one team succeeds, the entire organization moves forward. This sense of togetherness is strengthened through trust, fairness, and open communication. Our data-driven performance systems and transparent feedback frameworks are designed not to measure individuals in isolation, but to build collective strength and alignment. In an industry as dynamic as energy, ambition and belonging must coexist.

We consciously work to remove the fear of failure so employees feel empowered to take bold bets and innovate without hesitation. At Sterlite, success belongs to teams, and failure is owned by management this approach fosters psychological safety and encourages experimentation.

For me, authenticity is the bedrock of true belonging. Belonging asks us to “be who we are” while engaging in shared purpose and collective growth. I encourage people to bring their authentic selves to work, to be confident in who they are while staying open to new ideas and perspectives. When authenticity and openness come together, belonging deepens, and performance becomes a reflection of shared purpose and trust.

Where do leaders go wrong confusing inclusion with comfort and how can they balance empathy with performance?

Leaders often mistake inclusion for creating constant comfort, when in reality, true inclusion invites challenge, differing opinions, and sometimes discomfort that leads to growth. Empathy is not about easing every difficulty it’s about understanding perspectives while upholding shared responsibility for outcomes.

At Sterlite, the idea of “empathetic accountability” guides leadership behavior. It reflects a belief that fairness and compassion must coexist with clarity and performance standards. This approach encourages leaders to listen deeply, act transparently, and hold themselves to the same expectations they set for others. When empathy and accountability work together, teams feel respected, trusted, and inspired to push boundaries while knowing they are supported.

Can you share a moment when inclusion really changed a team's mindset or results?

One moment that really stays with me happened during the early phase of Project Shakti in Kishtwar. Our RoW teams were used to operating in a fairly traditional setup, so bringing women from local communities into frontline roles felt like a big shift for many of them.

There was a day when a landowner dispute had the potential to slow down the entire stretch of work. One of our new Shakti recruits stepped in because she knew the local language and understood the social dynamics far better than the rest of us. She approached the conversation with patience and confidence, and the issue that could have dragged on for days settled far more smoothly than anyone expected.

The team’s reaction was telling. You could see their mindset change almost instantly.

It helped them understand why tapping into talent pools beyond the usual ones matters, especially in RoW work where trust on the ground is everything.

For me, that moment summed up what the industry often misses. When you open frontline operations to communities that have traditionally been left out, you don’t just build a more representative workforce. You build stronger execution, healthier stakeholder relationships, and a culture where teams recognise that capability can come from places we never thought to look. And once a team sees that for themselves, inclusion stops being an HR initiative. It becomes a way of working.

How do you translate internal belonging into an external brand employees feel proud to represent?

A brand earns credibility when it reflects the everyday experiences of its people. Belonging inside an organization naturally translates into pride outside it. At Sterlite, this connection is nurtured by ensuring employees see their work as part of a larger purpose lighting homes, empowering industries, and shaping a sustainable future.

When teams feel seen, valued, and trusted, they become the brand’s most genuine storytellers. Initiatives like “People of Power” don’t just showcase achievements; they celebrate the spirit of togetherness that defines our culture. When employees believe in the organization’s vision, the brand becomes more than a logo it becomes a shared identity built on trust, purpose, and progress.

LAST WORD: Advice for Women Leaders

For women leaders, creating inclusive and high-performing cultures begins with believing that empathy and excellence can coexist. Leadership is not about standing apart it’s about building an ecosystem where everyone can rise together. In a supportive culture, inclusion becomes a shared responsibility, not a gendered one. At Sterlite, the focus is on enabling women to lead with confidence, backed by data-driven equity and allyship across teams. Credibility in industries like energy and infrastructure grows through consistency, collaboration, and courage. The goal is not to lead differently, but to lead authentically by using empathy as strength and performance as purpose, creating environments where others can also thrive and lead.