Leading with Heart: Kalindi Thakrar Of FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership
An Interview With Pirie Jones Grossman
Visionary Growth: I have a true and clear vision of where I see FYZICAL in the next five to ten years. The brand recognition will be there because of the brand dedication excellence and bringing leading edge treatments and protocols to the patient population.
In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kalindi Thakrar.
Kalindi Thakrar was inspired by her father’s health challenges, including a stroke, to redirect her career towards empowering communities with pioneering therapies offered by FYZICAL.
Thakrar’s mission aligns with the pressing need for specialized balance therapy, especially for individuals aged 65 and older, aiming to improve patient outcomes and raise awareness about innovative therapies.
In addition to running a successful business, Thakrar has implemented innovative strategies to support her team of physical therapists, offering equity stakes in future clinics and developing apprenticeship programs to foster growth within the profession.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I’d spent over 25 years in the Software Services and Operations Industry and had been very blessed to be one of those people that truly enjoyed their work. After my father passed in 2021, I began to feel like what I was doing and what I had wished for didn’t really amount to much in the grand scheme of things. I had a period of soul searching that led to my decision to move on to something else, though I wasn’t entirely sure what that “something” was. I was already running a successful side business in fitness and realized I should look for something that had a similar appeal. I knew I wanted to stay community focused and be able to give back where I could. I also knew I didn’t want to play the boots on the ground role any longer.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
My entire journey with FYZICAL has been the “most interesting story.” From the point when I was initially introduced to the franchise through my most recent acquisition of additional territory in North VA and D.C. Everything has fallen into place, one piece at a time, from the people I’ve met to the franchisees that have bought into the territory, and even my expansions. I’ve never felt so confident in any role I’ve had. It’s like every step I’d taken led me to this point. Now I’m able to take a lifetime of experiences and use them to make all my dreams for this business come true.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
FYZICAL stands out due to its innovative Balance Program and proprietary therapies, like the Balance Paradigm and Sensory Mismatch Theory. The company’s supportive and knowledgeable operational team ensures franchisee success through comprehensive business development support. The best part is that we are also still growing as a franchise.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Resilience: Transitioning from a tech executive to a healthcare franchisee required adaptability and determination.
- Empathy: Personal experience with my father’s health motivated me to serve my community with compassion.
- Drive: I’ve always known that I can accomplish anything I put my heart and mind to, and this opportunity was something I had every intention to maximize the potential.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
My first promotion that led to a director position was the most difficult and challenging role I took on. This opportunity presented challenges that conflicted with my desire to be successful in my profession, while also being the best mom possible to my children. After a year of pushing harder than I’d ever pushed myself before, feeling like I placed my family in the backseat, and meeting or exceeded every goal, metric, and KPI defined for my position, I didn’t receive the acknowledgement I deserved during my first annual performance review. As a result, I decided right then and there that my success wasn’t going to be their decision. Although my family and all the other departments within the company were cheering me on and looking at me as finally crossing over the line and being the first women in leadership, I was disappointed because of what the reviewer thought. After that performance review, I realized my achievements and the success in my position were a result of my hard work and persistence. From this I learned never again to allow anyone else’s perception of my capabilities or success to diminish the value of my results.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?
In prior roles and my prior industry, things were obviously very metric driven without regard for the culture of the company or department. If people didn’t perform based on their assigned metric, then they were dinged accordingly in either their performance payouts or on promotion opportunities; it was that black & white. I can’t lead that way, and my teams always excelled because of it. My focus was on the team itself, their well-being, their growth — both professionally and personally, how they supported both their clients and their counterparts. I made it a point to get to know them on a personal level. And most importantly, they always knew I had their backs. I was very clear about my expectations. Just because I went above and beyond to make sure other needs were met, that didn’t mean metrics and performance weren’t important… they absolutely were. What I found was that if you took care of your team, they would take care of you. I always exceeded any performance expectations that were put out there for my team, but it was because they chose to go the extra mile because of how they were cared for.
In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?
Being raised as an only child, for the first 12 years of my life, in an Asian household where boys are typically given more opportunities for leadership, I was raised to learn and experience it all… My resilience comes from childhood experiences where I would try, possibly fail, try again and then likely succeed. Failing was just not an option… my mind wouldn’t allow it. However, on the flip side, I wear my heart on my sleeve and show my emotions freely. If I’m happy, sad, hurt, excited, upset, or whatever… it’s usually clear. That definitely makes me vulnerable, however, I have trained myself over the years to evaluate my thoughts and emotions before I blurt out words that I can’t take back. Ensuring I’m not speaking out of anger and frustration has been pivotal in my success. I know once spoken, words can never be unheard. It’s critical to have that self-restraint to evaluate where those words and thoughts are coming from. Working through this has given me immense strength and earned me much respect as well.
As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?
Operating in mostly male-dominated industries, I’ve always relied on authenticity and a mission-first approach. Specifically, at FYZICAL, I’ve built strategic partnerships with therapists and investors by promoting shared ownership, breaking traditional business norms and fostering more inclusive decision-making. Remaining true to my style means focusing on collaboration rather than competition, and leveraging emotional intelligence to build stronger, more cohesive teams. I make it a priority to listen and amplify diverse voices within teams in order to create an environment where innovation and diverse perspectives can thrive. To challenge stereotypes, I focus on leading by example — demonstrating that leadership doesn’t have to conform to a one-size-fits-all model. It isn’t difficult to prove that empathy and results-driven strategies can coexist. By staying committed to these values, I’ve built a culture that not only drives success but also redefines leadership for everyone.
How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?”
These two concepts are ones that I keep as part of my core. They go back to centuries old teachings that were “made new” again… “Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.” If you listen, and I mean truly listen, to what someone is saying and make them feel heard and understood while also engaging them with empathy and compassion, you gain their trust, respect, and loyalty. It’s more basic than most realize but it’s so fundamental to being able to develop true deep relationships. I’ve had teams practice active listening on a regular basis and given them the power to remind someone when they are not actively listening or being afforded the opportunity to speak and communicate without being interrupted. It builds a very connected and cohesive team, and things just run so much more smoothly. For example, when one of my employees was frustrated with a client that wouldn’t “listen” to her recommendations because they were constantly interrupting, assuming they already knew what she was going to recommend. I had her do the same exercise with that client, and they ended up turning their project around 180 degrees. They finished early and gave glowing reviews for the consultant! Later, the client even confided in me that they implemented this at home with their wife, and their personal life also took a HUGE turn for the better!
What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?
It is so unfortunate that too many people are too scared about sharing their knowledge because of the fear of not being needed anymore. I don’t buy into that philosophy at all. If anything, I tell people very frankly that it’s essential to share your knowledge and be willing and open to learning every day. What you are communicating by not being willing to mentor is that you, yourself, don’t want to grow. You only wish to stay as you are and where you are. By mentoring and willing to be mentored, you are saying “Please learn what I have to offer because once you have that part, I can move on to bigger and better things as well.” You must remove the fear of being left behind to open the mind to growth. This also feeds into building an excellent culture for your team/organization. As part of this belief, I walk the walk… not just talk the talk. As part of our growth and expansion strategy for the territory, I am working with the local school systems and community colleges to help create opportunities for mentorship-driven initiatives, like apprenticeship and bridge programs as well as internships for students from high school all the way through postgraduate.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”?
- Purpose-Driven Leadership: My mission stems from my personal experiences, creating a purpose-led business. If I hadn’t seen what struggles my dad went through and understood the impact this had on our whole family, what I strive for today — through FYZICAL — wouldn’t be meaningful or resonate with so many others I’ve met along this journey. The incredible thing I realized is that my story isn’t unique, nor is my dad unique in what he experienced as he aged and that’s the saddest part of all of it. This is so common and yet we struggle as a community to remedy the problems we all face as we age.
- Empathy and Care: We’ve built a supportive work environment emphasizing staff and community well-being. All our clinicians understand that if you are not in this to take care of your patients and provide the best service and care then don’t bother. On the flip side, someone needs to care for our clinicians so I tell all our owners and partner groups to be mindful and respectful of their clinicians because if they don’t treat them with the care and respect that they deserve, they cannot expect the clinicians to treat patients the same way.
- Visionary Growth: I have a true and clear vision of where I see FYZICAL in the next five to ten years. The brand recognition will be there because of the brand dedication excellence and bringing leading edge treatments and protocols to the patient population.
- Innovation and Adaptability: Due to the dedication the FYZICAL team at Headquarters has, continually searching for new and innovative ways to being the best at what we do, I now embrace a completely new and unique thought process. One that broadens the concept of physical therapy from just rehabilitation to the full spectrum of health and wellness, recovery and rehab. It’s now a full lifecycle approach to patient care. Expanding our service offerings, reducing our dependency on insurance reimbursements expands our patient demographic and approach to their well-being.
- Resilience through Adversity: Despite not having a healthcare background, I’ve excelled by leveraging my business expertise. Despite not being a practitioner, I am able to gain their trust and provide support and guidance while maintaining respect for their role. Hardship is a part of life. Without it, we would never experience the joys of overcoming adversity. Every morning, I start my day with a tap on the “RESET” button. I remind myself about the opportunities I’ve been blessed with, about the accomplishments I’ve achieved, about the goals I have yet to attain, but most of all, I remind myself that today is a gift… Do what I can now because tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.
Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?
Empathetic leadership can sometimes be viewed as weakness, and it can definitely cause emotional fatigue. I’ve mitigated this by setting clear business goals and maintaining a results-driven mindset so that empathy compliments, rather than compromises, efficiency and accountability. For example, when I strive to listen to and understand my team’s concerns, I anchor discussions in actionable outcomes. I also set boundaries to protect my own well-being and avoid emotional burnout, such as delegating responsibilities and leaning on trusted team members to share the load. For me, empathy doesn’t mean avoiding tough decisions — it means approaching them with fairness and understanding. By understanding compassion with clarity, I’ve been able to create a supportive environment without losing focus on the bigger picture. This balance fosters trust within the team, encourages open communication, and ultimately drives better business outcomes.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 😊
If I could start a movement, it would likely involve increasing public awareness of balance therapies and fall prevention. I’d work to ensure that innovative treatments like those offered by FYZICAL become standard care for aging populations. It is still unreal to me how many people, just like myself at one point, are unaware of how impactful just knowing about a business like FYZICAL could be. If I’d seen some sort of movement going around focusing on something that could’ve helped my dad, especially with the knowledge I have now of how important preventative care is, I would’ve jumped on it instantly. I remember looking for things that I could’ve done to help my dad, but none of the resources ever mentioned anything that could’ve helped him in the first place; something that could have prevented his fall.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I am still working on building my Instagram and X profiles but in the meantime, everyone is welcome to connect with me on LinkedIn.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Leading with Heart: Kalindi Thakrar Of FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers On The Power of… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.