Parimaarjan
How walnut.coach helped Saviynt — a global leader in identity security software — transform 50–100 high-performing individual contributors into confident, self-aware, and effective first-time managers through a comprehensive 6-month learning journey.
Saviynt's Best Individual Contributors — Unprepared to Lead
Saviynt, a global identity security powerhouse, faced a challenge every fast-scaling tech company knows: their most talented engineers and contributors were being promoted into management — without the mindset, tools, or frameworks to thrive in their new roles.
From Doer to Leader — Without a Map
Saviynt's first-time managers were skilled and driven — but they had been promoted for their individual performance, not their leadership capability. Managing people required a completely different skillset that no one had explicitly taught them, and the gap was showing.
Leadership Identity Had Not Been Built
New managers were still operating with an individual contributor mindset — solving problems themselves instead of developing their teams, measuring their value by output rather than by the growth of the people around them.
Feedback & Performance Culture Was Weak
Without the skills or confidence to have structured performance conversations, first-time managers avoided difficult feedback. Goals were set but not owned, and performance reviews were reactive rather than developmental.
Managing People Was Harder Than Managing Tasks
The emotional, interpersonal, and motivational dimensions of management — assertiveness, conflict, empathy, delegation — were unfamiliar territory. Managers needed frameworks for the human side of leadership, not just the process side.
Parimaarjan — The 6-Month Manager Journey
Named Parimaarjan — Sanskrit for transformation and renewal — this 6-month journey took first-time managers from confusion to confidence through three structured camps, cohort coaching, and a learning methodology built around doing, not just knowing.
- Knowing the Role — why it exists, what would be lost without it, where it adds value
- Knowing Self — KSAOs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Other Attributes)
- Prioritisation using the Urgent–Important Matrix
- Planning for the month, week, and day with intention
- Living Saviynt's Core Values as a Team Lead: Innovate, Customer Focus, Deliver Results, Respect, Accountability
- Inducting new team members — setting standards, sharing vision and values
- Being assertive — how and when to say No
- Influencing — understanding types of power; leveraging Expertise Power
- Building knowledge & skills through On-the-Job Training (OJT)
- Building positive outlook through coaching-based counselling (TEL methodology)
- Organising and conducting effective meetings — Inform, Influence, Get Ideas
- Using core management tools — Job Descriptions, KRAs, Feedback Systems, Appraisals
- Goal setting using the SMART framework
- Conducting a meaningful review meeting
- Creating healthy competition and appreciation within the team
- Cross-functional team development — "Catch someone doing something right"
- Knowing Self through the Johari Window — understanding your Open, Blind, Hidden, and Unknown areas
- Fundamentals of analysing and planning using Cause & Effect frameworks
- Developing a feedback mechanism from seniors, peers, and team members for self-improvement
- Preparing for one-on-one and group communication with confidence and structure
- Striking the right balance of Relationship and Task using the Management Grid (9,9 · 5,5 · 9,1 · 1,9 · 1,1 leadership styles)
- Demonstrating Emotional Intelligence — Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation in real management situations
- Leading the team from Norming to Performing stage
- Preparing teams for innovation through brainstorming and creative problem-solving
- Managing team conflicts constructively
- Understanding success factors for each individual on the team
- Two-way, timely, and periodic feedback as a management discipline
- Planning for what may go wrong — anticipating failure modes
- Administering a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for a genuine turnaround
- Decision-Making Skills — understanding Black, White, and Grey decision situations
- Specifications of Decision Making using the SSA framework (Situation, Specifications, Actions)
- Right Compromise vs. Wrong Compromise — knowing the difference
- Converting a decision into clear, executable action
- Understanding the impact of stereotypes on leadership decisions
- Knowing the team through the Johari Window — mapping Open, Blind, Hidden areas for each team member
- Situational Leadership — flexing between Directing, Coaching, Participative, and Delegating styles based on individual readiness
- Negotiation Skills — Win-Lose, Win-Win, and BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)
- The Art & Science of Giving and Receiving Feedback — SBI Model (Situation · Behaviour · Impact)
- Problem Solving using the PMI Model (Plus · Minus · Interesting) and 5 Why's methodology
- Applying decision-making frameworks to real team performance challenges
Parimaarjan didn't just teach our managers tools — it changed how they think about their role. By the end of the journey, they weren't just managing their teams; they were genuinely developing them. That shift is irreversible.
What Changed After the Program
Across 50–100 first-time managers at Saviynt, the 6-month journey produced a measurable shift — not just in individual capability, but in how teams performed, how feedback flowed, and how the organisation's management culture evolved.
Genuinely Self-Aware Managers
The Johari Window, SMART frameworks, and structured self-reflection built real self-awareness — not just intellectual knowledge of it. Managers understood their strengths, blind spots, and patterns under pressure, and had tools to keep improving with or without a program.
Stronger Team Performance
Teams managed by Parimaarjan graduates showed visible improvement in coordination, accountability, and output. Managers who had learnt to delegate, develop, and direct situationally created teams that outperformed expectations — not because of harder pushing, but because of smarter leading.
Feedback Became a Habit, Not an Event
Using the SBI model and two-way feedback frameworks, managers began having regular, structured, honest performance conversations. What had previously been an annual anxiety became a daily discipline — and the quality of team relationships improved as a result.
Confident, Decisive Leadership
The Decision-Making module, combined with Situational Leadership and BATNA negotiation training, gave managers the frameworks to act with conviction — even in grey areas. Leaders stopped escalating every ambiguous decision and started owning them, earning trust from above and below.
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