Sampark Sachdeva, an experienced corporate trainer and founder of Sampark Se Sampark, recently found himself in the middle of an unexpected social media storm. A reflective note he posted on LinkedIn, intended to highlight the emotional weight of layoffs, was instead ridiculed after gaining traction on the subreddit LinkedIn Lunatics. What began as a deeply personal recollection of a painful professional moment quickly transformed into a debate about performative leadership and self-promotion.
Sachdeva’s post attempted to capture one of the most challenging days of his corporate journey: the day he was tasked with letting go of 25 employees in succession. His recollection painted a picture of human vulnerability in the corporate world—of tears, silences, and the unseen emotional toll carried by managers and employees alike.
A Day of Difficult Goodbyes
He described how the experience began with witnessing a tear fall from the eye of a woman seated across the table—a single mother who was about to lose her livelihood. The task before him was not only heartbreaking but also scripted, with managers instructed to remain detached. They were trained to avoid showing empathy, to refrain from apologizing, and to stick to a cold set of instructions: collect ID cards, hand over laptops, and inform employees that HR would be in touch.
"It remains one of the darkest days of my corporate career. The day I was asked to fire 25 people..." he wrote on LinkedIn.
Behind every name on the list was a personal struggle. Sachdeva recalled the father of two who worried about his family’s future, the young professional who had recently taken on a home loan, and the employee who had moved cities in pursuit of this career. One particularly striking moment came when an employee reminded him that it was his hiring decision that had once brought them to the company, and now it was his presence that marked their departure.
At the end of the day, Sachdeva admitted that the weight of the situation broke through his composure. He shed tears of his own, attempting to conceal them from the remaining team. That night, he could not sleep, consumed by a sense of guilt and helplessness. The experience, he suggested, made him feel less like a leader and more like an anonymous messenger delivering a system’s decree.
Lessons on Leadership and Humanity
Through his post, Sachdeva underlined a larger message: while corporate structures demand resilience and efficiency, they must not erase compassion. Every employee represents more than just a role or number on a payroll—they carry stories, families, and lives beyond office walls. Termination, while sometimes necessary, should not strip away dignity.
He emphasized that managers and leaders hold power not only through the decisions they make but also through the words they choose—and equally through the silence they keep. Years had passed since that day, yet the faces and stories of those 25 employees continued to stay with him. In quiet moments of reflection, he admitted, he was still haunted by that single tear, a lasting reminder that leadership is as much about living with decisions as it is about making them.
A Visual to Match the Words
To accompany the post, Sachdeva shared a photograph of himself seated pensively, staring into the distance. The contemplative image was seemingly intended to reinforce the gravity of his reflections, symbolizing the weight of leadership during hard decisions.
Reddit Turns Critical
However, once the post circulated beyond LinkedIn, it attracted sharp criticism on LinkedIn Lunatics, a Reddit community known for mocking self-congratulatory professional posts. Many Redditors accused Sachdeva of turning human tragedy into a performance designed to elevate his own profile.
One user compared the tone of the post to the self-indulgence of social media influencers, suggesting that it was less about compassion and more about “look at me” theatrics. Another questioned the staging of the photograph itself, sarcastically imagining the scene where he might have asked someone—possibly even a dismissed employee—to take a picture of him looking forlorn.
Skeptics went further, arguing that many LinkedIn storytellers often exaggerate their roles in such events. Some doubted whether Sachdeva had truly fired 25 employees in one day, speculating instead that he may have dismissed far fewer and inflated the account for dramatic impact. Others mockingly described his photo as resembling that of a war-weary soldier gazing into the distance after battle, highlighting the perceived melodrama.
The Divide Between Intention and Perception
What Sachdeva seemed to intend as a heartfelt reflection on leadership and compassion was received by many as self-promotion cloaked in sentiment. The backlash illustrated a growing cynicism toward LinkedIn storytelling, where users often share personal anecdotes designed to be inspirational but are criticized for being performative or insincere.
For Sachdeva, the episode highlights the double-edged nature of social media. While his story resonated with some as an honest portrayal of the hidden burdens of leadership, others dismissed it as another example of personal branding disguised as empathy.
Sachdeva’s post attempted to capture one of the most challenging days of his corporate journey: the day he was tasked with letting go of 25 employees in succession. His recollection painted a picture of human vulnerability in the corporate world—of tears, silences, and the unseen emotional toll carried by managers and employees alike.
A Day of Difficult Goodbyes
He described how the experience began with witnessing a tear fall from the eye of a woman seated across the table—a single mother who was about to lose her livelihood. The task before him was not only heartbreaking but also scripted, with managers instructed to remain detached. They were trained to avoid showing empathy, to refrain from apologizing, and to stick to a cold set of instructions: collect ID cards, hand over laptops, and inform employees that HR would be in touch.
"It remains one of the darkest days of my corporate career. The day I was asked to fire 25 people..." he wrote on LinkedIn.
Behind every name on the list was a personal struggle. Sachdeva recalled the father of two who worried about his family’s future, the young professional who had recently taken on a home loan, and the employee who had moved cities in pursuit of this career. One particularly striking moment came when an employee reminded him that it was his hiring decision that had once brought them to the company, and now it was his presence that marked their departure.
At the end of the day, Sachdeva admitted that the weight of the situation broke through his composure. He shed tears of his own, attempting to conceal them from the remaining team. That night, he could not sleep, consumed by a sense of guilt and helplessness. The experience, he suggested, made him feel less like a leader and more like an anonymous messenger delivering a system’s decree.
Lessons on Leadership and Humanity
Through his post, Sachdeva underlined a larger message: while corporate structures demand resilience and efficiency, they must not erase compassion. Every employee represents more than just a role or number on a payroll—they carry stories, families, and lives beyond office walls. Termination, while sometimes necessary, should not strip away dignity.
He emphasized that managers and leaders hold power not only through the decisions they make but also through the words they choose—and equally through the silence they keep. Years had passed since that day, yet the faces and stories of those 25 employees continued to stay with him. In quiet moments of reflection, he admitted, he was still haunted by that single tear, a lasting reminder that leadership is as much about living with decisions as it is about making them.
A Visual to Match the Words
To accompany the post, Sachdeva shared a photograph of himself seated pensively, staring into the distance. The contemplative image was seemingly intended to reinforce the gravity of his reflections, symbolizing the weight of leadership during hard decisions.
Reddit Turns Critical
However, once the post circulated beyond LinkedIn, it attracted sharp criticism on LinkedIn Lunatics, a Reddit community known for mocking self-congratulatory professional posts. Many Redditors accused Sachdeva of turning human tragedy into a performance designed to elevate his own profile.
One user compared the tone of the post to the self-indulgence of social media influencers, suggesting that it was less about compassion and more about “look at me” theatrics. Another questioned the staging of the photograph itself, sarcastically imagining the scene where he might have asked someone—possibly even a dismissed employee—to take a picture of him looking forlorn.
Skeptics went further, arguing that many LinkedIn storytellers often exaggerate their roles in such events. Some doubted whether Sachdeva had truly fired 25 employees in one day, speculating instead that he may have dismissed far fewer and inflated the account for dramatic impact. Others mockingly described his photo as resembling that of a war-weary soldier gazing into the distance after battle, highlighting the perceived melodrama.
The Divide Between Intention and Perception
What Sachdeva seemed to intend as a heartfelt reflection on leadership and compassion was received by many as self-promotion cloaked in sentiment. The backlash illustrated a growing cynicism toward LinkedIn storytelling, where users often share personal anecdotes designed to be inspirational but are criticized for being performative or insincere.
For Sachdeva, the episode highlights the double-edged nature of social media. While his story resonated with some as an honest portrayal of the hidden burdens of leadership, others dismissed it as another example of personal branding disguised as empathy.
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