Individuals who prepare quietly often arrive suddenly

 

When Institutions Change Slowly and Individuals Rise Quietly

What Saee Jadhav’s IMA Milestone Teaches Us About Careers, Courage, and Character.

As a career coach, I am sometimes asked a deceptively simple question by young people and their parents:

“If talent exists, why does opportunity take so long?”

The story of Lieutenant Saee Jadhav from Kolhapur, who became the first woman officer to pass out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in its 93-year  history, offers a rare, living answer to that question.

This is not merely a story about gender. It is a story about institutions, identity, timing,  resilience, and the real anatomy of career breakthroughs.

IMA: Not Just an Academy, but a Cultural Stronghold

The Indian Military Academy, founded in 1932, is not simply a training centre. It is the symbolic nucleus of the Indian Army’s combat leadership tradition.

For generations, IMA has represented:

• Permanent Commission

• Command responsibility

• Long-term field leadership

• A life structured around sacrifice, discipline, and endurance

Its systems were built around an unspoken assumption:

The officer who trains here will command men in combat, repeatedly, for decades.

This assumption shaped everything—from pedagogy and evaluation to culture and infrastructure.

When we say that no woman passed out from IMA for 93 years, we must understand this clearly:

It was not because women lacked capability.

It was because the institution itself was designed around a very specific career architecture.

The 93-Year Gap: Capability Was Never the Problem

Women have served in the Indian Army since 1992.
They have excelled—as educators, lawyers, doctors, logisticians, engineers, and leaders.

So why not IMA?

Because careers are not built only on competence.
They are built on policy frameworks, legal clarity, posting structures, and long-term intent.

For decades:

• Women were inducted primarily on Short Service Commission

• Combat command roles were restricted

• Permanent Commission pathways evolved slowly

• Infrastructure and legal systems needed alignment

Institutions—especially military ones—do not pivot quickly. They evolve cautiously, because mistakes cost lives.

What changed was not standards.

What changed was institutional readiness to match capability.

What Makes Saee Jadhav’s Achievement Truly Extraordinary

Let us be honest and precise.

Saee Jadhav is not exceptional because she is a woman.

She is exceptional because she chose the hardest entry point available—psychologically, culturally, and professionally.

She did not enter an institution that was waiting to celebrate her.

She entered one that was neutral, demanding, and deeply traditional.

She did so:

• Without historical precedent

• Without a female cohort

• Without cultural cushioning

• Without narrative advantage

This matters.

Because careers are not built when environments are friendly.

They are built when individuals remain steady in indifferent or unfamiliar systems.

What IMA Really Tests (And Why Few Understand This)

From the outside, people believe IMA tests:

• Physical stamina

• Discipline

• Tactical skills

Those are entry-level requirements.

What IMA truly tests—and what Saee Jadhav had to demonstrate daily—are deeper qualities.

1. Psychological Loneliness

Being the only woman in a tightly bonded male cohort is not symbolic—it is emotionally real.

There is no shared identity group.

No “someone like me” reassurance.

No margin for emotional leakage.

This tests inner anchoring—the ability to remain composed without validation.

2. Identity Stability

She could not afford to:

• Prove a point

• Carry a banner

• Or disappear into invisibility

She had to exist as an officer cadet—nothing more, nothing less.

That requires self-awareness without defensiveness, confidence without noise.

3. Authority Without Entitlement

Leadership training demands giving and receiving orders under stress.

She could rely on neither sympathy nor exemption.

Respect had to be earned the IMA way:

• Performance

• Consistency

• Silence

This is an underestimated leadership skill—especially relevant in today’s professional world.

4. Emotional Regulation Under Constant Evaluation

When you are the first, every mistake is magnified—not officially, but psychologically.

Handling that pressure requires:

• Emotional intelligence

• Perspective

• Long-term thinking

These are not taught. They are cultivated.

What this teaches us about Career Building—for everyone

And this is where the story becomes universal.

1. Institutions Lag Talent—Almost Always

Young professionals often internalize rejection:

“Maybe I’m not good enough.”

In reality, many systems are simply not yet ready.

Talent must persist long enough for structures to catch up.

2. Real Inclusion Does Not Lower Standards

Saee Jadhav did not succeed because standards were diluted.

She succeeded because access expanded while standards remained intact.

This is a crucial career lesson:

• Seek opportunity

• But never negotiate competence

3. Modern Careers Demand Psychological Strength More Than Skills

Across domains—corporates, startups, academia, civil services—

Careers increasingly involve:

• Being the first

• Being different

• Working without precedents

• Managing visibility pressure

Technical skills get you shortlisted. Psychological resilience keeps you standing.

4. For Young Men: This Is Not Displacement, It Is Elevation

Her success does not shrink opportunity.

It raises the professional bar.

Healthy institutions thrive when excellence is broadened, not protected.

5. For Young Women: Aspiration Must Be Matched With Preparation

This is not a “dream and arrive” story.

It is a train relentlessly and wait patiently story.

Ambition without readiness collapses.

Readiness eventually finds its moment.

Saee Jadhav’s passing out from IMA is not the end of a journey.

It is a signal. A signal that:

• Institutions do change—slowly

• Standards can remain uncompromised

• And individuals who prepare quietly often arrive suddenly

For young professionals, the lesson is profound:

• Build depth before demanding doors. 
• Strengthen character before seeking recognition. 

 And remember—History is rarely made by noise. It is made by quiet, consistent readiness.

That is the real legacy of this moment.

Have a great time building your Life. 

Avinash Deshmukh 

Career Coach 

avinashdeshmukh@brainsmaart.com