From Pawn to Queen: The Unseen Psychology of a Truly Great Leader

I learnt chess on a coffee table with my Baba (father). He would pour himself a hot cup of chai, which often went cold mid-game, while I sat on the floor, trying to keep up with the rules and stories he had shared about each piece. He didn’t just teach me how to play. He actually taught me how to think.

Years later, I see those lessons come alive in the way teams work, leaders respond and decisions are made when the pressure builds up.

Here are some of those moments I witnessed. And here are some questions for you to reflect on your leadership journey.

Question 1: Are You Defending Too Quickly to Hear What Matters?

In a project review, a senior leader I once worked with was asked to reflect on a recent decision. The intent wasn’t to challenge his authority. It was genuine input from a team member. But instead of opening space for dialogue, he went straight into justification mode followed by lot of explaining, defending and holding his ground.

Slowly, the room fell silent, the ideas paused, the energy shifted from contribution to caution.

I was reminded of something from chess where the king is central, but he can’t do much alone. If you guard the king too much, you lose the momentum and eventually, the game, too.

Defending your decisions constantly can isolate you from your team.

So, what can you do in such situations?

Take a breath before responding
Ask, “What am I not seeing here?”
Stay open and listen, sometimes it may be hard, but try
Let the team feel seen, not shut down

Question 2: Are You Trying to Do It All and Losing Focus in the Process?

There was a first-time manager I knew well. She was involved in everything. She would reply to messages late at night, jump into tasks (sometimes uninvited), attended every meeting, stepped in wherever something was missing. In short, she was always available for her team, her family and always tried to keep everything together.

One day, she looked up and asked herself, “I don’t even know what my role is anymore.”

How do I know this story so well? Because that manager was me, a few years ago. I thought being everywhere made me reliable. But in truth was it made me unfocused and overwhelmed. That day, I remembered the queen in chess. She’s the most powerful piece on the board, able to move in any direction. But when she tries to do everything at once, she’s also the one who gets taken down first.

Doing everything doesn’t make you impactful.

It often makes you invisible, even to yourself!

Here’s the changes that I made and would recommend to you too:

Identify where your decisions truly matter
Say no with purpose so you can say yes with clarity
Delegate meaningfully, not out of guilt
Let others step in and lead too, let them own their space

Question 3: Are You Willing to Take the Non-Linear Path to Grow?

A few years ago, a colleague of mine did something unexpected. She left a fast-paced, high-visibility sales head role to take up a position in customer service.

At first, people didn’t get it, nor did I. I wondered why would she leave such a solid growth track? That certainly looked like a step down. But she had her reasons. She wanted to truly understand the customer’s voice through real conversations and pain points, which is not visible in the reports, feedback and testimonials.

A year later, she presented a revised process of the service. Her proposed changes were sharper with deepened empathy and deeper market knowledge. She started building bridges between delivery teams, redesigned workflow process and brought a kind of clarity the team that they didn’t even know they were missing.

She still reminds me of the knight in chess. The one piece that doesn’t move in straight lines. People often underestimate it, until it shows up exactly where it’s needed and changes everything.

The right move doesn’t always look like a step up. Sometimes it’s a step aside or even a step back; to leap forward with "Purpose".

Here’s a big lesson I learnt that every leader must know:

Define your progress by depth, not just height
Take risks that stretch you, not just impress others
Trust your inner compass more than external applause

Question 4: Are You Moving Too Fast for Your Team to Catch Up?

I once attended a session led by a team member, it was designed to help individual contributors prepare for future leadership roles. During the discussion, one participant raised a sincere question. They spoke about a time they had proposed an idea at work, something they were genuinely proud of. It was well thought out, aimed at reducing unnecessary tasks for the team and they were confident it could make a real difference for their team.

But to their surprise, the idea didn’t gain traction. The team didn’t rally behind it. It quietly faded out before it had a chance to create any impact.

You could hear the disappointment in their voice, not just about the idea being shelved, but about feeling unsupported by the very people it was meant to help. As I listened, I realized I’d seen this happen many times before.

Sometimes, when we get excited about a solution, we rush ahead. We forget to bring others into the process. We share the idea when it’s already done — not while it’s still evolving. And when people don’t feel a part of it, they rarely feel responsible for it.

It reminded me of the rook in chess — strong, straightforward, full of potential. But if you bring it out too early, it ends up exposed and ineffective.

Remember: Even the smartest idea needs emotional buy-in, not just logical validation.

What helps instead:

Invite your team into the problem before you pitch the solution
Build trust through co-creation, not just presentation
Sense timing and readiness before you move
Let people feel like partners, not recipients

Question 5: Are You Paying Attention to the Quiet Ones in the Room?

At a client site, I noticed an intern who rarely spoke up in team meetings. She was quiet, focused and always scribbling notes. For weeks, the team had been grappling with a backend issue that was slowing down their process. Everyone assumed it would need escalation to the tech lead. One morning, the issue was resolved. When the team traced back the fix, it led to her (the intern) who had been silently working on it in the background without any announcement or credit-seeking. Just with pure competence.

That day, her solution saved the team days of manual effort. It looked just like a bug fix but it actually changed how the team looked at her.

It reminded me of the pawn in chess, often overlooked, yet holding the potential to transform the entire game when given the chance.

Sometimes, your most valuable players aren’t the ones speaking the most. They’re the ones silently building something that matters.

Here’s how you can lead better in such moments:

Pay attention to contribution, not just communication
Make space for introverted talent to shine
Offer responsibility based on readiness, not visibility

Question 6: What’s the One Lesson That’s Stayed With You the Longest?

Out of all the games I played with Baba, I only won once. Just once!! Most parents let their kids win; but he didn’t. He believed growth came from the trying, not from easy victories.

That one win didn’t come easy; and maybe that’s why I still remember it, years later. It taught me that clarity, patience and discipline are more valuable than fast results. And in leadership, that’s often what really counts.

Like chess, leadership is NOT flashy moves or big titles. It’s staying present, reading the room, making space for others and knowing when to wait and when to move.

So tell me, who first introduced you to chess? Was it a parent, a grandparent, a friend or a teammate? Tag them today. Let them know they shaped how you think, lead and show up.

I’m tagging my Baba and all my people who’ve quietly, consistently shaped me into who I am today.

And if you’re up for it, let’s play a game over a coffee or online. Happy International Chess Day!

Ishita Mukherjee
A California-based travel writer, lover of food, oceans, and nature.

From Pawn to Queen: The Unseen Psychology of a Truly Great Leader

Defending your decisions constantly can isolate you from your team.

Question 3: Are You Willing to Take the Non-Linear Path to Grow?

Question 5: Are You Paying Attention to the Quiet Ones in the Room?

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