CEO of Noida startup says he fired senior employee for asking 'what to do next'. Internet Divided

A Noida-based CEO has gone viral on social media after sharing the reason for firing a senior employee — a decision that has now sparked a debate about workplace expectations, leadership and accountability in modern corporate culture.

The debate began after Nitin Verma, founder and CEO of InstaAstro, posted on LinkedIn about an interaction with an executive who allegedly approached him with the question, “Sir, tell me what to do next.”

According to the CEO, the employee was hired specifically to independently manage a function within the company. He claimed the role comes with complete freedom, minimal supervision and no micromanagement. However, at the point the employee sought direct guidance on the next step, the CEO said he felt the person lacked the ownership expected of someone in a leadership position.

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CEO shares why he fired employees

The CEO detailed the incident, saying he decided to let the employee go after what he described as a revealing interview. Sharing the exchange in his LinkedIn post, he wrote:

“I fired someone because he asked me:

“Sir, tell me what to do next.

Someone I specifically brought in because I didn’t want to think about this feature anymore.

Someone to whom I gave full freedom on the first day.

No micromanagement. No daily check-in. No approvals are required.

And he came to me and asked what to do next.

I asked him what do you think should be done?

He said, “Sir, you know better.”

I asked why did I hire you then?

The CEO went on to say that the episode reinforced his views on ownership and initiative in leadership roles. According to him, senior professionals are expected to identify problems, take responsibility and make decisions independently instead of constantly seeking guidance from management.

With this experience in mind, he added:

“Here’s what I learned about ownership,

You can’t give it to someone.

They can either go with it.

Freedom without ownership is just confusion.

And I can’t build a company on people who need to be told what to think.

If you are an experienced professional reading this,

Your job is to come in every morning and ask yourself,

That’s what seniority really means.’

Social media users are divided over the CEO’s decision

The post quickly gained popularity online and drew strong reactions from professionals, founders and employees across platforms.

While some users agreed with the CEO’s view, saying that senior professionals are expected to solve problems independently, others said that leadership teams still need to clearly define priorities, expectations, and direction.

One user asked if the employee was given enough clarity from the start.

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“I feel like expectations may not have been clear from the beginning. Giving someone ‘full freedom’ without defining priorities, outcomes, decision boundaries, or what success looks like can create confusion rather than ownership.”

Another user argued that companies often expect employees to think like founders without giving them the authority or context that comes with that responsibility.

“That sounds more like expecting a co-founder mindset from an employee role. The senior employee should drive performance, but leadership still defines the direction, priorities, and business context. It also depends on the context, right? so you may be absolutely right in your situation. But you can’t generally agree. Employee ownership and co-founder mindset are not always the same.”

A third user shared a personal career lesson that resonated with many in the comments section.

“My first boss told me to never bring a problem to him without first bringing him three solutions. That advice changed my entire career.”

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Another commenter said the viral story lacked enough context to fairly judge both sides.

“I know you’re trying to imply ownership, but all you’ve done is provide a snapshot…how you saw it…without describing the journey to get to that point…without context, your story is incomplete and it’s hard to either agree or disagree with you.”

One user also highlighted the pressure that workplace autonomy brings.

“Most people say they want autonomy until they realize that means bearing the full weight of the blame when things go wrong,” wrote a fifth.