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Leadership, Legacy and the Courage to Crawl. Bhavika Sachdeva goes Beyond The Blend.

In this inspiring conversation, Bhavika Sachdeva, Director at Trinity Lubes & Greases FZC, reflects on the remarkable Journey that has shaped her leadership; one marked by courage, creativity and compassion. Speaking to Plan Grow Do’s Steve Knapp, Bhavika shares how stepping into a family business through an arranged marriage at 21 sparked a process of deep personal and professional transformation.

From advocating for women in male-dominated industries to encouraging authentic leadership that embraces motherhood, Bhavika offers listeners and readers a moving, practical and empowering take on how resilience, creativity and human connection can redefine what success looks like.

Stepping into Leadership through Uncertainty and Growth

Bhavika’s journey into business began unconventionally. Straight from university into an arranged marriage, and directly into a male-dominated family enterprise in India. With no time to settle, she found herself navigating new family dynamics and unfamiliar boardrooms in one breath. “Managing two life-changing transitions all at once” meant figuring out leadership by living it. Bhavika reflects on early challenges of credibility and confidence, but also highlights a pivotal moment of encouragement: a desk her father-in-law placed beside his, adorned with portraits of powerful women leaders and the words, “If they can do it, so can you.” From that moment, she began leading step by step.

Embracing the Full Self: Parenthood and
Professional Identity

For Bhavika, the path to authentic leadership began with embracing all parts of her identity, including being a mother. She describes the tension many women feel between performing as a professional and parenting as though work doesn’t exist. This changed when she began integrating the two roles: “I’m not a different Bhavika when I go to work, and I’m not a different Bhavika when I’m at home.” That mindset shift brought not only confidence but empathy. Referring to colleagues with the affectionate “bacha” (child), she brings warmth and non-judgement to her leadership. By accepting motherhood at work, she connected more deeply with others and led more humanely.

Showing Up – Even on Crawling Days

Bhavika shares a raw and relatable concept: “Crawling days.” These are the days where motivation lags, energy is low, and problems feel too heavy – but you still show up. After giving birth to her second child, amid personal and business challenges, Bhavika says she didn’t have all the answers but remained present: “Even if you didn’t feel like it… there are still five things you end up doing.” Naming those days helped her manage expectations and avoid burnout. “You don’t have to be perfect. You just keep showing up.” Her story normalises vulnerability in leadership and reframes resilience not as heroism but as quiet, consistent effort.

Advocating for Women in the Lubricants Industry

After attending an industry event where only five women stood among 500 delegates, Bhavika launched Women in Lubes and Greases on LinkedIn. This wasn’t just about equality, it was about visibility and connection. “It’s not that the industry doesn’t want women. It’s that women don’t always believe they belong,” she says. Her advocacy is about giving others the belief they can lead and contribute meaningfully in an often male-dominated environment. She emphasises that this isn’t about quotas, it’s about enabling more women to see opportunity in a warm, welcoming industry. Her platform helps women meet, share experiences and support
each other into leadership.

The Spark of Creativity in Work and Life

Creativity runs deep in Bhavika’s DNA; from childhood painting exhibitions to authoring a children’s mindset journal during COVID. That book, inspired by helping her daughter cope with social isolation, grew from personalised parenting tools into a wider resource shared with other mums. Her creativity spills into the workplace too. Whether it’s assigning colleagues animated nicknames for meetings or designing internal celebration videos, for Bhavika, creativity isn’t a side project – it’s how she solves problems, builds morale and shapes culture. “If I can’t find a solution, I create one,” she says, illustrating how creativity fuels both empathy and innovation in her leadership approach.

Summary and a follow!

Bhavika Sachdeva’s story is one of resilience, authenticity and purpose. From stepping into leadership at 21 through to embracing her roles as mother, mentor and creative thinker, Bhavika shows that leadership isn’t about perfection, it’s about showing up, day after day, with intention. Her advocacy for women, her emotional honesty, and her empowering message to “stick with it” offer lessons not just for the lubricants industry, but for all of us striving to do meaningful work while living full lives.

To hear more inspiring stories like Bhavika’s, subscribe to Beyond the Blend where
we bring you honest, human conversations from the heart of the lubricants market.

Available on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to the episode today on Spotify and Apple, and now also available on YouTube podcasts!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/39u0mik2BR8W8PHSQpz51K?si=fefad35289154915

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bhavika-sachdeva/id1782106682?i=1000716421338

https://youtu.be/Gk7n1UXqKUM?si=KB9dEwK_AsaYTbQ_

Beyond the Blend Podcast