Driving force behind creating such a
distinctive career for yourself:
I
would say that my career has shaped up to be what it is due to the combination
of various factors like being at the right place at the right time, my
willingness to learn, my focus on continuous improvement, or in the ability to
take calculated risk and getting out of my comfort zone. Of course, the support of the Leaders,
Mentors and people who have worked alongside me have also played a big part in
this journey.
One common thread running through my career is the question that I ask myself and my team all the time i.e.“how can we work with our business partners in helping them succeed and make them better in what they are doing”.
Whether I was in
Business Transformation, Accounting Operations or in with current profile as a
Risk Professional, I don’t treat myself
as a support function but always believe that each one of us have a critical
role to play in the success of our business partners and in the broader
organization.
Biggest challenges you have
encountered in your career:
I
strongly believe that in the course of our long careers, we will have good
times and we will also have times when things will not work in our favour. How
you deal with these times when things are not working actually define you- as a
person and as a leader.
For me personally, one of the biggest challenges I faced was during the early phase of my career, when I took a move from a support role to Business facing role. This was my first brush with business facing role and I was totally lost for few weeks. Everything I was doing was being questioned on how it will help the business or what value will it add.
There were also questions around number of
resources and budget, as the business was going through tough times. In such a
case, I had to unlearn most of the things and had to spend time in
understanding the business to demonstrate the value that my team was bringing
to solve the business problems. During first few months in the job, I failed
multiple times but at the end of it I had better appreciation of the business
drivers, the value that I could add in achieving business objectives and a very
supportive business partner.
My
mantra to deal with failure is simple. “Fail early, and learn fast”. Be willing
to learn from your mistakes and don’t worry about the fear of failure.
How has mentoring shaped who you are
as leader today and the impact that it has on the upcoming youth:
I
would say, giving back to society through volunteering should be on top of list
for all of us who can help others in any way. It is not only what you can share
and see people benefitting from but there is so much to learn from these
experiences, which I think is a very overlooked aspect of volunteering. When I
was working with Literacy India, we helped to create a digital roadmap for them
and I learnt so much about the working of NGOs, how they manage their finances,
procurement practices, working of ecommerce sites and digital market platforms.
Similarly
with Freedom Employability Academy, I was mentoring a group of 15 boys and
girls in the age group of 14-20 years from underprivileged backgrounds. These
kids, despite their limited means had big dreams and burning desires to
succeed, were brilliant, full of confidence and very savvy with social media
and technology. I learnt so much about their dreams, aspirations, opportunities
and constraints that they face and how we could help them and in the process
create a more inclusive and equitable society.
These
volunteering opportunities provide you with such a diverse perspective that is
not available otherwise in your current jobs and thus they help a great deal to
transform you into a well rounded Leader.
How your mother had been the first
leadership mentor in your life:
My
mother retired as a school teacher and raised me and my sister as a single parent
after the unfortunate demise of my father at a very young age. The first thing
that I learnt from her was how to deal with adversity. We had limited means
while growing up and as a single parent, she faced multiple challenges on a
regular basis but seldom did I see her ruffled or getting intimidated with
those situations. She would take those challenges head on and always seemed to
have a solution for everything.
One
more learning that has stuck with me since my early years is about being
ethical in our dealings. This was before “Ethical Leadership” became a
fashionable buzzword. She used to say, “Money gone, nothing’s gone, Health
gone, something’s gone and reputation gone, everything’s gone”. She would ask us to treat everyone with
respect, be fair and transparent in our dealings.
She
also taught me to dream big and not be restricted in my thinking, I learned the
value of hard work, discipline and helping others despite possessing limited
resources. Most of these lessons have stayed with me and have served as
foundation of my leadership style, be it hard work, dealing with failures and
acting with Integrity.
Major learnings and some words of
wisdom that you live by and would like to share with others:
First
and foremost, I would say that we need to take care of your health- both
physical and mental. Spend quality time with your family and friends, pursue a
passion and lead a balanced life. This always has been very important but is
absolutely critical during the current times.
From
Career perspective, I would say, “Think of your career as a marathon, and not
as a sprint”. One advice I give to
everyone who is just starting their career or who are in the initial stage of
their career is to not get distracted by short term temptations and minor
setbacks but yet continue to stay course with the end objective in mind.
Second,
one needs to take calculated risks, especially during the initial years of
their career. Perform in a variety of roles, get out of your comfort zone,
challenge yourself and volunteer for roles that help organization solve their
big problems and contribute to a bigger cause.
Third
is to focus on Continuous learning, “Be the CEO of your own development” and
continue to invest in yourself.
Last but not the least- find a Mentor or a Coach. Create a personal brand, develop professional network, and don’t shy away from sharing your learnings with others.
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