This Week's Spotlight - Sakshi Sahni, General Manager - Business Services of SYC Limited
- Rana Kordahi
- Jul 8
- 4 min read
This week we shine the spotlight on Sakshi Sahni, General Manager – Business Services at SYC Limited.
Sakshi’s journey into Employment Services wasn’t something she carefully planned, but it quickly became a career she grew deeply passionate about. Driven by a strong belief in the power of people, purpose, and genuine support, she has built a leadership style centered on clarity, trust, and creating opportunities for others to succeed.
From helping her very first job seeker gain confidence and independence, to leading teams through the complexities of people, processes, and systems, Sakshi has gathered valuable insights that continue to shape her approach today.
Check out her responses below and discover the lessons, experiences, and wisdom she brings to the Employment Services sector.
1. How did you get your start in Employment Services?
Honestly, it was not a calculated decision. I came across the role while looking for something that aligned with my education and previous experience, it was the right fit on paper, so I took the chance.
What I did not expect was how quickly the work got under my skin. The combination of people, purpose, and the need to think on your feet suited me in ways I had not anticipated. What started as a practical step became something I genuinely cared about.
Sometimes the roles that find you are the ones that fit best.
"Leadership is not about being indispensable. It is about building the conditions in which others can lead well without you."
2. What advice would you give to leaders who carry a lot on their shoulders, managing people, processes, and systems all at once?
Leadership at scale is rarely about doing more. It is about knowing precisely where your attention belongs. I work across people, processes, and systems simultaneously, which means the most important skill I have developed is not capacity, but clarity.
I have learned that sustainable leadership is not about being indispensable. It is about building the conditions in which others can lead well without you. That means setting expectations with precision, trusting people to meet them, and intervening only when it genuinely matters.
The leaders I respect most are not those who carry the most, but they are those who have built something that does not collapse when they step back.
3. Employment Services is incredibly rewarding, but the first year can take real resilience. What advice would you give to a new employment consultant starting out?
Employment services will stretch you in ways most roles do not. The work is meaningful precisely because the stakes for clients are real and that same quality is what makes the first year demanding.
The most important thing I have learned is to distinguish between what is within your influence and what is not. You cannot want employment for someone more than they want it for themselves. What you can do is build genuine trust, offer honest guidance, and stay consistent even when progress is slow.
Get on top of the administrative requirements early and keep them there. Compliance is not separate from the work; it protects your clients and your practice.
Lean on experienced colleagues without hesitation. The first year is a legitimate learning period, not a test of whether you already know everything.
The professionals who last in this field are not those who carry the most. They are those who stay curious, maintain boundaries, and measure progress in smaller, more honest units.
"The professionals who last in this field are not those who carry the most. They are those who stay curious, maintain boundaries, and measure progress in smaller, more honest units."
4. Can you share a memorable moment when something you did, a conversation, piece of advice, or action, made a positive difference to a staff member, peer, or job seeker?
My most memorable moment goes back to the very first person I helped into employment.
She was a mother of five, recently separated after eighteen years of marriage, with limited English skills and education and no work history. She had no support around her and very little belief in herself. We worked together and found her a position as a childcare worker, not an obvious fit on paper, but the right one for who she was.
She was apprehensive. Genuinely so. But she found the courage, showed up, and did the work.
I called her after her first week. She had just received her first ever salary. I will never forget the way she sounded. Mixture of disbelief and quiet pride! It was the moment I understood what this work is actually for.
That call has stayed with me ever since. It is a reminder that employment is rarely just about a job. For many people, it is the beginning of something they did not think was possible for them.
5. What surprised you most about working in Employment Services once you were actually in the role?
What surprised me most was the degree of impact a single person can have when they genuinely want to help.
I came into the role understanding the process. What I did not fully anticipate was how rarely people in difficult circumstances had experienced someone who simply did the right thing - followed through, took ownership, and stayed committed without cutting corners.
When you approach this work that way, people notice. Not because the bar is high, but because consistency and genuine care are rarer than they should be.
That realisation changed how I approached everything. Extreme ownership is not a management principle to me, it is the difference between someone getting a real outcome and being processed through a system.
6. What keeps you motivated in this industry, even on the hard days?
On the hard days, I come back to the same thing- The People.
Not the outcomes, not the metrics, but the specific moments when someone who had very little belief in themselves takes a step they did not think was possible. I have seen what genuine support, at the right time, can do for a person. That does not leave you.
This industry can be demanding and at times disheartening. Caseloads are heavy, progress is rarely linear, and not every story ends the way you hoped. But I have learned that motivation does not have to come from constant wins. It comes from knowing that how you show up, the care you bring, the ownership you take matters to real people in real circumstances.
That is enough to keep going.
Connect with Sakshi Sahni on LinkedIn
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