Shubhra Saxena.
1. You have spent years making decisions that impacted millions of lives as an IAS officer. What inspired you to step into writing, and why did you feel this was the right time to tell these stories through IT MATTERS A LOT?
In the course of my career, I have had the good fortune of making decisions that impacted millions of lives. At times, a decision or even a signature could deliver justice, protect people, or change someone's future. That gave my life a deep sense of purpose. My work also brought me in contact with people from different cultures, backgrounds and circumstances. But above everything else, it made me realise that while our fortunes may differ, our joys, fears and struggles are deeply similar. All of us are trying to make sense of life while being trapped in our daily routines. Based on my interactions with people, I developed an understanding of human life and its many challenges, and thus was able to help people gain a fresh perspective on life. IT MATTERS A LOT is my attempt to take those conversations beyond my immediate circle. Because what is the point of knowledge or wisdom if it is not passed on?
2. Your book explores identity, resilience, and self-awareness-qualities often overlooked in leadership conversations. In your experience, what separates an effective leader from a merely efficient administrator?
I believe we have started defining leadership too narrowly. We often equate it with power, position, authority or the ability to deliver results, but leadership is not just about achieving targets; it is about transforming people while achieving them. That is where identity and self-awareness become indispensable. A leader who is secure in their own identity is less driven by ego or validation and more invested in helping others grow. To me, an efficient administrator gets the job done. An effective leader, on the other hand, builds stronger individuals, stronger teams and consequently stronger institutions. Leadership is not merely a position one occupies; it is an example one sets. The true measure of leadership is not what you achieve, but who people become because you led them.
3. Having served as a District Magistrate during challenging times, including the COVID-19 pandemic, what were the biggest human lessons that shaped your understanding of empathy and resilience, and eventually found their way into this book?
I consider myself fortunate to have served on the front lines during COVID-19. As District Magistrate, and later as Special Secretary, Medical Education, I witnessed both extraordinary courage and unimaginable suffering. We enforced lockdowns, built quarantine facilities, expanded oxygen capacity and strengthened hospitals while confronting a crisis the world had never seen before. COVID reminded us how fragile life is and how precious our shared humanity is. It revealed the best of human nature: compassion, sacrifice and resilience, but also our fears and vulnerabilities. I believed those years would make us wiser. Looking at the world today, I am not sure they did. Perhaps that is why IT MATTERS A LOT had to be written now.
4. Professionals today often struggle with burnout, comparison, and constant pressure to perform. What practical shift in mindset do you believe can help people build a healthier relationship with ambition and success?
The first question we need to ask is: Who are we performing for? When you perform for someone else, there is pressure but when you perform for yourself, there is joy. Burnout often begins when we outsource our definition of success to the world around us- money, promotions, titles, or the carefully curated lives we see on social media. I have always believed in comparing myself only with myself. Even while preparing for the Civil Services Examination, my benchmark was simple: Am I better today than I was yesterday? That mindset kept me motivated rather than anxious. The healthiest relationship with ambition begins when you stop chasing someone else's definition of success and start pursuing your own growth, one day at a time.
5. If readers finish IT MATTERS A LOT with just one lasting insight or question, what do you hope stays with them long after they've turned the final page?
If readers finish IT MATTERS A LOT with just one lasting insight, I hope it is this: the quality of our lives is shaped less by what happens to us and more by how we experience it. We spend so much time trying to change the world around us that we rarely pause to understand the person experiencing it. This book is an invitation to begin a conversation with yourself- to look within with greater honesty, awareness and compassion. If that conversation helps someone find a little more clarity, a little more peace, or a more authentic way of living, the book will have served its purpose. Because every meaningful change in the world begins with a transformation within.
