Leadership Beyond the Playbook

What kind of leader will you become? Whether you're in a corporate role, building a startup, or preparing for your next move, this book will help you chart a leadership path that's entirely your own. Leadership Beyond the Playbook offers no neatly packaged lists or formulas. Instead, it helps you become a better leader--with clarity, sharper judgment, and greater intention. Drawing on decades of experience across corporate, startup, and impact sectors, Roopa Kudva distills her insights from leading organizations, serving on top Indian boards, and contributing to public policy through regulatory committees. She explores what it truly takes to lead today--strategic thinking, execution, communication, stakeholder alignment, resilience, and purpose. Highly relevant and practical, the book tackles the realities of modern leadership--from AI and generational shifts to mental health and meaning at work--and includes tools you can apply immediately. True to its philosophy, Leadership Beyond the Playbook features a DIY Leadership Kit to help you design your own 90-day action plan. No acronyms. No frameworks. No slogans. Just leadership for tomorrow.

Roopa Kudva is a distinguished business leader, early-stage investor, and board director with nearly four decades of experience in the financial sector. Known for transformative leadership and a deep commitment to impact, she has built a career defined by innovation, integrity, and advocacy for inclusive development. As Chief Executive Officer of CRISIL, Roopa transformed India's leading credit rating agency into a global analytical powerhouse--quadrupling market capitalization and tripling revenues. She later led Omidyar Network India, where she invested in technology-driven solutions to improve the lives of India's "Next Half Billion." Roopa serves on several prominent boards, including Infosys, Nestlé India, Tata AIA Life Insurance, and The Global Impact Investing Network. She has also contributed to key policy committees of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Her many accolades include CNBC-TV18's Outstanding Woman Business Leader of the Year and repeated recognition on Business Today and Fortune India's lists of Most Powerful Women. A distinguished alumna of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Roopa continues to champion business as a force for positive social change through her writing and leadership.