In the majority of companies, leadership is taught in conference rooms and performance reviews. However, in the case of Byju Raveendran, the leader behind BYJU’s, some of the most effective leadership experiences occur way outside of the boardroom, usually on the football field. Byju is not only a CEO to his team. He’s a coach who believes that sports, spirit, and teamwork shape stronger people and stronger companies. His style is a mix of athletics and human-based leadership, which has resulted in a culture of energy, endurance and camaraderie as the primary values.
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From Player to Coach-CEO
Before he ever taught a classroom or built an edtech company, Byju grew up as a sports enthusiast. Read how he used to play football with team at midnight, deeply passionate about football and cricket. His early years were filled with matches, street tournaments, and the thrill of learning new skills through play.
Those years also shaped his philosophy: everything you learn in sports applies to life and leadership.
Teamwork teaches trust.
Perseverance teaches grit.
Adaptability teaches strategic thinking.
And sportsmanship teaches humility, win or lose.
These are the qualities he now instils in his teams, not through lectures, but through lived experiences.
Building Teams Like Sports Squads
For Byju, a great company functions like a well-assembled football squad: coordinated, agile, and united.
He often organises football matches with employees, 40 to 50 players competing together at a time, mixing departments, roles, and seniorities. These matches aren’t just recreational; they’re intentional cultural moments.
On the field, hierarchy dissolves.
Everyone becomes a teammate.
People bond over passes, misses, and victories.
These informal gatherings break silos, bring about friendships and give a feeling of unity that no workshop can emulate. At Byju, teamwork is not something that is tacked on the wall, but it is a practical on-field experience.
Sports as a Mirror of Business Challenges
Byju does not associate with sports purely on a philosophical level, it is also a personal bond that has been founded on resilience.
Over the years, he has endured multiple surgeries, at least four, from sports-related injuries. One of them is a characteristic chapter: his ACL injury, in which he fractured the same knee twice. The majority of the individuals would be discouraged. But Byju did things otherwise. After the second injury, he took his first steps within a day, savouring, in his own words, “the joy of learning to walk again.”
It’s this mindset, viewing setbacks as new beginnings, that fuels his leadership style.
Nonetheless, he went back to the football field even with the injuries, which strengthened the argument that passion has a second chance regardless of how hard the blow.
He tends to be inspired by such players as Lionel Messi, who had to wait 17 long years to win the World Cup. The story of Messi is a reflection of the spirit of perseverance: to fight to the end, no matter the odds.
For Byju, sports are a reflection of life and business.
In a match, you lose possession, you fight back.
In business, you face challenges, you rebuild.
In both worlds, resilience decides the outcome.
Leading with Energy and Empathy
While many leaders emphasise productivity and KPIs, Byju focuses on energy, positivity, and well-being. His belief is simple: a healthy mind and body produce better work, smarter ideas, and more motivated teams.
On the field or in the office, he promotes a culture whereby people are encouraged, revitalised and motivated to develop, not through being pressured, but through inspiration.
He guides through compassion, promotes equilibrium and reminds his teams that personal wellness is not a choice but a necessity.
Conclusion - The Motivator Who Leads from the Field
Byju Raveendran is a coach and a CEO in one. His leadership is not in the authority, but in the action, in his appearance on the football field, in the motivating of his team, in the sportsmanship, the victories, which are shared.
He has created a work environment that is characterised by trust, solidarity, industriousness, and optimism by combining the ethos of sport and the necessities of business.
In his world, success isn’t just measured in numbers.
It’s measured in energy.
It’s measured in resilience.
And above all, it’s measured in how strongly a team stands together, on the field and beyond.
