Scaling Fast. Leading Smarter.

Client: High-Growth Tech Services Firm | Pune

As this tech firm rapidly expanded across global markets—serving some of the world’s fastest-growing startups—it faced a familiar inflection point: growth was outpacing leadership.

The founders realised they didn’t just need more hands—they needed a new layer of leadership that could:

• Consult with global clients and manage shifting expectations

• Deliver high-value products that were faster, more agile, and tailored to evolving startup needs

• Inspire and guide tech teams without losing speed or innovation under pressure

The challenge?

Execution strength was high, but few mid-level professionals were equipped to lead through this complexity.

The Solution: A Behaviour-First Leadership Program

Bottomline designed a comprehensive program to identify and develop leaders who could handle scale, pressure, and responsibility—not just on paper, but in real situations.

Step 1: Leadership Simulation – Testing Mindset Under Fire. 25 mid-level professionals were assessed in a simulation replicating a high-stakes environment. Each participant was evaluated on decision-making, ownership, bias, empathy, and self-regulation in scenarios that demanded both urgency and thoughtfulness.

Insight: Participants discovered how their behaviours either enabled or blocked effective leadership. Quiet high performers emerged, and some over-confident but ineffective candidates were flagged early.

Step 2: Margin Call Workshop – Decision-Making in Noise. Next, leaders were placed in a simulated crisis scenario involving information overload, emotional volatility, and business risk. They had to sift through noise, find signals, and take decisions that balanced client expectations, delivery deadlines, and internal capacity.

Participants quickly realised that data isn't helpful unless it’s interpreted well and that leadership is as much about emotional control as it is about judgement.

Step 3: Embedded Learning Through Assessment. At every stage, participants weren’t just learning—they were being continuously assessed. This blend of simulation + scoring accelerated behaviour change and provided the company with real, observable leadership data.

Impact: The company saved up to $200K annually by avoiding mis-hires and instead promoting the right people, with confidence.Founder involvement in escalation and daily firefighting dropped by 8,000+ hours/year.

Step 4: Final Simulation – Business Leadership in ActionThe program concluded with a Bottomline Business Simulation. This live environment pushed participants to lead across multiple functions, navigate change, and align teams to business goals. The focus: agility, collaboration, and value creation under pressure.

This final run surfaced deep behavioural insights:

• Five high-potential leaders showed readiness across all dimensions—communication, resilience, empathy, and decision-making.

• Hidden gems were uncovered, while others—despite strong resumes—were found to have dark traits like blame-shifting and poor self-regulation. These were removed from succession plans.

The Outcome: A Leadership Bench You Can Bet On

• 5 new senior leaders were placed in roles that matched their behavioural strengths

• The transition was smooth, thanks to the transparency of the data and peer confidence in the process

• The company created a repeatable blueprint for succession and internal promotions

“We didn’t just promote faster. We promoted right. And that changed everything.”