Leadership That Learns: Indra Nooyi on Staying Useful

Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo and current Amazon board member, shares a view of leadership shaped by years in senior roles. Her experience spans industries and cultures, giving her a clear sense of how real decisions take shape inside companies.

Her message focuses on credibility and ongoing learning. She challenges habits that hold organizations back and shows how even experienced leaders can get in their own way.

Boards Must Step Back to Be Useful

Nooyi prepared carefully for her move into board service. She’d served on boards before and knew what was expected.

Still, she describes a tension where part of her missed the pace of daily operations, while the rest appreciated being free from the pressure of earnings seasons.

She warns that many retired executives struggle to fully step back, and when they involve themselves in decisions that belong to current leaders, it creates friction and weakens the board’s role.

“If a board member believes that they cannot contribute as effectively to the company as they did five years ago, they should offer to step down.“

In her view, boards should be built with care and focused on relevance. Each seat should fit what the business needs now, whether in governance, technology, or policy expertise. Similar voices make it harder for a company to adapt.

Good Leadership Moves Between Detail and Distance

Nooyi has long learned by studying a subject in detail, then stepping back to see the full picture. She applies that same approach to her board work.

This habit helps board members ask more informed questions and understand what they’re being asked to approve while maintaining the right boundaries in their role.

Knowing the details isn’t a license to act on them.

This discipline separates healthy oversight from unwanted direction. It’s a line that’s easy to cross and hard to undo.

Change Needs a Reason, Not a Label

Nooyi rarely uses the word “transformation” without first defining it. She’s seen how the term can unsettle people and blur what needs to be done.

Her process begins with a simple question: Why now? Is the business weakening, or is the market shifting?

The reason must come first, because without it, even a solid plan can lose direction.

Once that reason is clear, the leader has to describe the end state. That means being open about risk and cost, and explaining what success will look like in concrete terms. The message has to stay steady through doubt and pressure.

Technology Alone Does Not Move the Business

When senior leaders don’t understand the systems they approve, the quality of their decisions declines. Nooyi emphasizes that technical knowledge shouldn’t be limited to a single function.

She believes leadership teams should learn together rather than through brief sessions. Training needs to be ongoing and collective. The CEO should take part directly, and the CTO should explain concepts in clear terms instead of relying on jargon.

During her time at PepsiCo, Nooyi believed in knowing the details. Before approving an ERP investment, she read thousands of pages of documentation to fully understand the decision. Her questions were precise and written out, and she expected direct answers.

When technology investments aren’t grounded in shared understanding, they often lead to waste. The same is true for training programs that lack a clear purpose, because they rarely deliver lasting results.

Culture Blocks Progress When Left Untouched

Projects often fail when an organization withholds support, even quietly. Resistance can appear in small ways, such as delays or silence.

The real work of leadership, Nooyi says, is to notice who’s learning and who’s holding back.

She believes a company cannot depend on hope. It has to be honest about who can adapt and be ready to make changes when people cannot.

Waiting Can Be the Bigger Risk

Nooyi explained that hesitation can be as damaging as a wrong decision.

In the past, expanding into China was seen as a sign of business strength. Now many companies are reducing their presence there. The same logic applies to technology. What seems like a cautious pause can quickly become a costly delay.

She noted that boards often focus on the risks of acting and failing but rarely on the risks of standing still. Risk itself keeps shifting with markets, regulations, and public trust, which means inaction can be just as expensive as a bad move.

Tech and Business Are Still Disconnected in Many Firms

Nooyi has observed that many organizations still treat technology as a separate function. Engineers focus on systems, business leaders review proposals, and the two groups often work in isolation rather than in partnership.

She believes this model no longer works. It creates backlogs, duplicate work, and shelves of unused tools. Budgets grow, but results stay the same.

“CTOs trying to drive the transformation on their own, big mistake.”

Real change, she says, begins when business leaders reach out to their technology teams, not the other way around. The CEO has to lead, and the rest of the leadership team must stay aligned on the same goals. When one side of the company is engaged and the other isn’t, progress stops.

These conversations need to happen among leaders. Scorecards should be reviewed regularly, and results tracked closely. Without that kind of attention, technology remains isolated from the business it’s meant to serve.

Effective Tech Leaders Know Business and Context

Nooyi was clear about what she values in a modern technology leader. She looks for people with depth and a range of experiences across industries, geographies, and project types.

When evaluating candidates, she listens to how they explain success and failure and how well they adjust to different roles. She also pays attention to whether they can link their work to real business results.

It is a visible role, and the decisions carry weight. Nooyi expects those who hold it to act with clarity and avoid unnecessary complexity.

Curiosity Is a Core Skill, Not a Trait

Throughout her career, Nooyi has approached learning with purpose. When she entered unfamiliar industries, she brought in professors to teach her the fundamentals. She also spent time in labs, factories, and test sites to see the work firsthand.

Nooyi believes leaders who stop learning eventually fall behind. Titles offer no protection to those who can’t keep up. Curious leaders make stronger decisions, while disengaged ones slow the organization down.

Leadership Requires Constant Work

Nooyi sees the role of a CEO or board member as a test of focus and restraint. These positions require attention to detail and a clear sense of purpose.

She believes organizations succeed when leaders stay engaged, ask thoughtful questions, and know when to listen.