“We Grew Up in the Backstage Light” — What TEDxThaltej Youth Taught Us About Leadership

By Ms. Pranjal Hirenbhai Koisa, Director of Marketing & TEDxThaltej Youth Reporter

You’d think leadership is loud.

The spotlight. The decisions. The applause.

But if there’s one thing TEDxThaltej Youth taught me — and honestly, taught all of us — it’s that leadership is actually very quiet.

It happens in shared Google Docs at midnight. In calm voice notes after a team member breaks down. In remembering that someone didn’t speak during a call — and checking in privately. It happens backstage.

And we grew up there.

When we started this journey, none of us had titles. No ISO certifications. No public support. Just a shared idea that we could build something that didn’t look “youth-led.” Something that looked world-class.

We didn’t know it yet, but TEDxThaltej Youth wasn’t just going to test our skills. It was going to test our selves.

Some of us learned how to lead people older than us.
Some of us learned how to say “no” to good ideas to protect great ones.
Some of us — including me — learned that leadership doesn’t mean being the loudest in the room. It means knowing when to step back and let the room speak for itself.

There were moments we felt invisible.
Moments when we thought the event might be too big.
Moments when we fought, paused, and got back on call to make it right.

And in between all those moments — we grew up.

We learned that discipline isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about showing up. On bad days. On exam days. On days where no one is watching.
Because what we’re building isn’t just an event. It’s a reflection of who we are becoming.

TEDxThaltej Youth gave us a stage. But more than that, it gave us a backstage — and that’s where the real lessons happened.

We built systems. Policies. Plans. We got ISO certified — and that was huge. But the thing I’m proudest of?

We learned to trust each other.

We learned to lead each other.

And we learned to believe in ourselves — not because someone told us to, but because we proved we could.

So if you’re reading this as a volunteer, or someone who thinks they’re “not ready” to lead anything — let me tell you this:

We weren’t either.

But here we are.

Still backstage. Still growing.

Still building something that matters.