I came across this amazing story of P Gopichand (2002 All England Badminton title winner) who is transforming the lives of athletes, mired in poverty and empowering them to win accolades for India

Some success stories:

1. Agsara Nandini, the daughter of a domestic help who won a bronze medal at the Asian games
2. Kunja Rajitha went from collecting firewood from the forest to accumulating medals at international meets
3. Internationally celebrated para athlete Deepthi Jevanji, at one time did not even have money for a bus ticket to come to the academy

All this started when Gopichand noticed that several women athletes would periodically miss practice sessions. He learned that many were too poor to afford sanitary pads, and would need to miss training during periods.

This discovery led to an initiative that has now produced several national and international athletes for India.

The journey:

1. To help, Gopichand started weekly races and give cash price to participants. This amount care of basic needs and buying food items
2. The Mytrah group stepped in and the Gopichand- Mytrah foundation was born. A system was put in place where identified talented athletes were brought to the Academy which gave them accommodation food and training.
3. Even if they could not win medals, the Academy helped them find some government job. It pulled the athletes out of poverty, and gave them a life of dignity

This is really a story of finding true purpose, service and transforming lives of those around us !!!!!

Do women get better returns on Financial Investments or men? I asked 20 people around me this question. 18 out of 20 people, from across the spectrum said….Men. Data tells us differently. Survey results released by ET Money on International Women’s Day:

1. Women investors were found to be more disciplined while investing
2. Better adherence to asset allocation, based on age than men
3. Stick to a systematic investment plan better, as compared to men
4. Over a 4 year period, women recorded better returns on investment than men
5. In 2020, a challenging year for investors globally, women recorded returns of 14% on average while men recorded returns of 11%

A large percentage of women I know (including serious career women), shy away from handling their finances (me included, till a couple of years ago). This survey gives a clear reason why, we as women should step up and get involved in our financial planning. For me it was a little bit of a comfort zone to leave the stress to someone else. Once I started, I found it liberating. There was a sense of taking control.

I believe each of us should take up tasks based on our core competence but till we don’t try, how do we know how good we can be.

To all the super talented & intelligent women I know: stretch your comfort zone and step up!!!!!!

I came across a fascinating analogy to explain cultural differences. Peach and Coconut cultures. Peaches are soft on the outside with a hard nut concealed, at the core. Coconuts are hard on the outside but completely soft and pliable as we move within.

Ring any bells?

Several colleagues and clients are taken aback by the friendly demeanour they encounter when they travel to certain cultures in the West. A story to illustrate. A colleague, on a long-haul flight, had a very friendly American gentleman sitting next to him. They had a long, warm and interesting conversation on places to go visit, things to do etc. While disembarking, our colleague asked for his co-travellers number, in case he needed any information. The gentleman just walked on. An example of the Peaches Culture.

Conversely, I’ve had conversations with American friends who often say; it’s so hard to connect with Indians. They tend to be so reserved and formal. Even in something as basic as a greeting. A great example of a coconut culture

Our take: Cultivating cultural intelligence is essential. It is often achieved through initiatives such as cross-cultural training and open conversations.

Listening, observing and adapting communication styles to accommodate varying preferences for directness and assertiveness across cultures fosters effective interaction, understanding and communication

Mission Mangal gives a fascinating story on how leaders should behave, when the chips are down. It is based on a true story of Dr. Satish Dhawan and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

In the opening scene in Mission Mangal, the leader takes responsibility for the unsuccessful mission, even though his team member is at fault. A year later when the launch is successful, he lets the team member take the credit.

This is modelled around a famous incident that took place when Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was faced with the SLV-3 failure.

Prof. Satish Dhawan took upon himself the failure of the SLV-3 Mission at a public Press conference. A year later, after a successful launch he attributed the success of the subsequent Mission to his team.

Dr Kalam said “I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organisation owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.”

We automatically assume that technology can’t have biases. Only humans have biases. Objective decision making is a compelling reason for technology adoption. However, data tells us a different story. Some interesting data to reflect on:

1. A couple of years ago, Google announced their speech recognition had a 95% accuracy rate. However, voice-activated searches still carry gender biases.
2. Meredith Whittaker, director of the AI Now Institute at New York University, noted that voice-recognition tools that rely on AI often don’t recognize higher-pitched voices. These mainly belong to women. The systems are not as well equipped to interact with women as with men.
3. Research by Rachael Tatman from the University of Washington indicated that Google’s speech recognition is 13% more accurate for men than it is for women.

Why do we see these results?

Tech is largely male-dominated. Recent studies found:

1. 18% of authors at leading AI conferences are women.
2. 80% of AI professors are men, globally.
3. Women comprise only 15% of AI research staff at Facebook & 10% at Google.

Technologies often reflect the gender biases in society and the lack of diversity in the design teams

Designers and software architects have their own biases. These are reflected in the way they create and train the technologies they work on.

Source: “Sway” by Pragya Agarwal

Ownership and accountability is an oft repeated corporate mantra. Recently came across this story in the TOI that embodies these principles. Not set in corporate corridors, it’s the story of 29 year old Yashoda Lodhi, a Youtuber with nearly 2.9 lakh subscribers and 2.6 crore views.

Her USP: Teaching spoken English

Her Background: A resident of Sirathu Kaushambi in rural Uttar Pradesh. Broken education till class 12, married to a daily wage earner, who was robbed temporarily of his earning capacity by an accident, family saddled with a bank loan that paid for her husband’s medical care.

Her Skills: No English speaking that a city private school would hire her for

Her earnings today: Rs. 25,000 a month (which is a large sum in her village)

How she did it:
A great sense of branding. Embracing her social reality and using it as a pull, she calls her YouTube channel “EnglishwithdehatiMadam ”.

Madam has a key understanding of pedagogic fundamentals. Her videos have titles like “how to create an English speaking environment ”, “is grammar important?”, mistake-having a fear of making mistakes. Often her lessons are from a slice of life-conversation between 2 neighbours.

Her journey:
She started with the channels on desi cooking, embroidery and decoration. None worked out. Next, she spent hours on the Internet learning about content creation video editing and ways to gain online traction.

After listening to several motivational speakers fluent in English, she decided to become a motivational dehati speaker who can communicate in English, in May 2022. She says, “I taught herself English and used my dehati identity to gain viewership.”

WOW!!!!!!

What do companies look for while hiring CEO’s? Statistics from the top recruiters in India tell us-70% of organizations in India were looking for a CEO who is humble, has a high EQ with good people skills. This was clearly called out when they received the hiring mandate from their clients. I read an article a while ago where a senior executive being considered for the position of a CEO was turned down because he was extremely rude to the driver that had come to pick him up for the job interview. The prospective CEO was running late and passed his anxiety and frustration onto the driver who had come to pick him up.

Several companies may overlook senior leaders riding roughshod over the emotions of team members, however we see this trend changing. Slowly but surely, the value of control over one’s emotions, demonstrating emotional intelligence and being empathetic are slowly competencies that people hire for.

Way back in 2008, when ShradhaHRD was conducting an intervention on Conducting appraisals for a Global Bank, it was interesting that the only thing that managers scored their team members on were hard skills. Even though there was a detailed matrix describing expected behaviors to be demonstrated, these were largely overlooked. Less than an hour in an entire year was spent talking about these competencies!!!!!!!!

Thankfully change , ushered in by the growing Millennial population in the workforce and other factors has brought emotional intelligence to the forefront.

A million dollar rescue machine or “semi-skilled” resources? Most of us would choose the first option for a rescue mission. The rescue of 41 miners by “rat miners” turns conventional wisdom on its head. The learnings are immense:

We often need a multi-pronged approach, that will get the job done. The heavy duty technology, created the path; manpower with relevant skills completed the job.

The rescue effort was a multi-agency collaboration-National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indian Army, local authorities, experts most notably, Chris Cooper (Micro-tunnelling expert), Tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, Retired Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain. Completely different approaches, yet worked together to achieve success.

In an effort that took over 24 hours, the miners worked in two teams of three each, with one person drilling, the second collecting the debris and the third pushing it out of the pipe. It was boiling hot and there were no special suits for protection. Yet the teams worked non-stop till the miners were rescued. Ownership of the task, without considering personal benefits.

A fantastic example of leadership, collaboration and working with a solutions mindset, to achieve a difficult goal.

It’s always a pleasure to work on events like breaking biases and breaking barriers with the Thought Leadership team at CII-IWN. Truly women supporting women.

The key note speakers and panelists were a diverse group with hugely interesting perspectives-the high commissioner of Rwanda, Deputy country rep United Nations India…

A panel of women from completely different walks of lives…what they have in common…breaking the glass ceiling in male dominated environments

And a group of individuals-performers, filmmaker’s, journalists that had shattered stereotypes and broken the mould.

My take away’s

The positives:

1. India has a very progressive constitution with respect to gender equality and a robust legal framework to support.
2. 4,200 women directors in over 3200 companies. A lot of these numbers have come about in the last 10 years
3. Women shattering the glass ceiling and moving into domains where they were  never present before – the Armed Forces, on assembly lines in heavy manufacturing, as heads of multinational organizations and agencies

Work still to be done:

1. 13% of the world’s land is owned by women
2. In India, only 24% of women participate in the workforce
3. 40% women in IT at the entry level, moves to 3% at top management levels

Above all, if women support women…we can create magic. I see it everyday, at Shradha HRD, where we are 90% women dominated and at platforms like CII-IWN where women truly support women!!!!!!!

Is your Heart at Peace or at War? Resolving the Heart of the Conflict

During a recent Webinar that I co-facilitated, a participant asked me a question most of us have grappled with at some point in our careers:

How do I deal with a stakeholder that is nasty and argumentative?

My mind immediately went to: “Is your heart at Peace or at War”?

This is the foundational principle of the Anatomy of Peace, a book which is the story of Yusuf al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each lost his father in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

When we approach a conflict, most often we do it with a heart that is full of anger and a mind that says “I am right”. This comes in the way of us being able to see the other person’s perspective, leading to a far deeper conflict.

The solution is really simple, when you walk into a conflict situation, you need to ask yourself, “do I really want to find a solution or do I want to be proven right”?

When you approach a conflict situation, ask yourself the following questions:
1.    What is it that I really want from this situation? What is my best case scenario?
2.    What could the other person be thinking, feeling, seeing, hearing?
3.    What can I do that could move the situations towards a resolution?

The next time you walk into a conflict, just ask yourself “Is my heart at peace or is at war”?

Read on & Try it…the results may surprise you !!!!!!!!!!!!

We started a learning journey at hashtag#IIMLucknow, a couple of days ago. Amul S. Bahl, the founder of  Shradha HRD facilitated the session on “Building Capabilities to Realize Potential”. Based on 2 sutras from the Cipher, this session was a starting point, with endless possibilities to delve deep in one’s own self and broaden learning.

Conscious leadership and leadership with a conscience is critical today for a more humane and productive workplace. This is the over-arching theme for the learning journey.

The key session objectives were:

1. To bring greater clarity to participants with respect to their own self
2. Empowering self
3. Understanding the karma matrix of essential and non-essential actions
4. Tackling adverse results

The session focused on the linkages between the inner self, evolution and external achievements. Appreciating these linkages resulted in the cohort feeling more enlightened and confident of their inner selves.

We would like to thank Prof. Anita Goyal for organizing this session flawlessly. It was a fantastic start to the journey of inner evolution and external success!!!!!

Its always refreshing to train new entrants to the workspace. ShradhaHRD ran learning interventions for executives joining Automobiles, Pharma, Alco-bev, electronic goods, IT and ITES. This year, we covered the entire gamut.

What is refreshing about these programs is, often an hashtag#unconventional way of looking at things and a fresh and everchanging perspective to life.

Some themes that we see prominently reflected in GenZ:

1. A growing confidence to speak about what is on their mind and ask for what they need
2. An expectation of super-fast growth, coupled with ongoing learning
3. A need for constant newness/stimulation and some resistance to perform repetitive, everyday, mundane task
4. The need to belong (to a team, an organization)
5. Time to pursue their own interests (beyond work), often travel

While some of these hashtag#expectations might seem at odds with each other; we need to acknowledge the existing mindset. Only when we know and understand, can we work effectively.

For me, the one point that stood out was the strong need to belong and feel a part of a larger structure. This becomes tougher in a hybrid environment.

If you regret having lost your temper and acted in a manner you later regret, this post is for you….Some of us that are die-hard Football lovers, might remember the 2006 World Cup Final game. In front of 28.8 million viewers in 213 countries Zinedine Zidane, a world-wide soccer role model, lost his self-control and head butted Marco Materazzi. Zidane was kicked out of the game. France lost the World Cup to Italy and Zidane’s career ended in disgrace and wonderment

“What was he thinking?” Again, he wasn’t.

When faced with danger, the primitive flight, fight or freeze response kicks in. Even though we are not faced with physical danger, anything we perceive as a threat, our mind views as danger. This releases a flood of hormones and hijacks our better sense.

Examples of threatening situations in our daily work life:

1. An angry email from a key stakeholder
2. Being put on the spot to answer an uncomfortable question in front of your team
3. A crisis that came out of the blue

This phenomenon is known as the Amygdala Hijack!!!!!

Dealing with the Amygdala Hijack

1. Become aware of your “hot buttons”: Recognize the situations that cause you to lose your cool. This will help you respond effectively as opposed to react
2. Name the emotion: When faced with threatening situations, research has shown that naming/labelling the emotion helps calm you down
3. Practice using this technique regularly until it becomes a part of your mental routine

#AmosTversky and #DanielKahneman in their landmark work in 1983 asked participants to solve this problem. 80% of those that answered, gave a response that clearly proved they have a clear bias. How much have things changed in the last 40 years? The problem is given below….

Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations. Which is more probable?

1. Linda is a bank teller
2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement

More than 80% participants chose option 2, regardless of whether they were novice, intermediate or expert statisticians, even though the mathematical probability of Linda being both a bank teller and a feminist activist is much lower than the probability of her being a bank teller alone.

This example demonstrates how our brain makes connections where none exist: the #conjunctionfallacy.

We also have an inherent bias that detailed statements are more likely than general ones.

There has been criticism on this problem. It remains one of the earliest & most well-known examples of the way our brain interprets information, makes connections & deduces things about people.

A brilliant example of leaders supporting their employees, even when there has been a huge loss. This happened with the Late Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla and is often held up as a benchmark on treating employees at the Aditya Birla group

A senior employee at the Aditya Birla group had made a mistake that cost the company a lot of money. The incident was brought to the notice of the late Aditya Vikram Birla. He had to decide what to do with the employee.

He followed an unusual approach. He made a list of all the positives and the negatives of the employee, including the money the employee had made for the company. He then reviewed the lists carefully. The decision was clear. He decided to retain the employee. After due consideration and careful thought, Mr Birla decided that the gains the employee brought the company were much more than the losses that the company incurred due to the incident.

A leader sets the tone and molds the culture of the organization. By taking a decision like this, a clear message is sent out-the leadership has your back!!!!

The Disney movie #lionking opens with the mesmerizing song #Circleof life with its first few lines sung in Zulu. The powerful vocals and African drum heralding the new born lion cub! The circle of life – we go back to where we come from, and within and around this circle we encounter love, despair, success, failure, happiness, sadness, unexpected pathways and obstacles and back we come to where we began.- in one big circle – the circle of our lives.

Also, not so surprisingly, each of our circles are interconnected – crossing paths and intersecting at workplaces, homes, subway stations, online and god knows where else!!

#Ubuntu is a beautiful Zulu word that stands for this #interconnectedness. Ubuntu essential means #humanity but has gone on to have a more widespread meaning emphasizing on spreading kindness to connect people.

It is the understanding that we cannot exist in isolation and so Ubuntu is more commonly interpreted as “I am because we are”

#Ubuntu promotes the following:

• #Interconnectedness of everyone to each other and to their surroundings
• No one exists in isolation. We are all part of a larger circle, a #largesystem that effects us and that we are affected by
• It is every person’s duty to #share and #contribute to the system/ community/society
• Promote fairness and brotherhood. Spread love, integrity and acceptance

Africa’s, Ubuntu philosophy pervades almost all parts of the African continent. It is integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life and is a concept shared by all almost tribes.

The #Ubuntu philosophy has powerful lessons for all of us today-as individuals, managers of teams, leaders of organizations and most importantly members of society.

Our actions-good, bad and indifferent affect all those in the ecosystem. If we could truly internalize this important concept, our world would be a happier place!!!!

The Greek Goddess #Athena has left a legacy that is immortal and timeless. The lessons from 7000 BC are valid, even today for all #womeninLeadership positions. According to legend, the Athenian King Cecrops decided to have a contest amongst the Gods of the Acropolis, the winner of which will lend their name to the glorious city. The two most prominent Gods of that time, Poseidon and Athena, were the fiercest contenders.

The contest between them was so intense, they nearly went to #war with each other. Then, Athena had an idea. She #proposed that she and Poseidon present the city with a gift and the best gift would become the patron. King Cecrops and the people
of the city would decide the winner.

#Poseidon was the God of the Sea and gave the gift of #water, in the form of a massive foamy stream. This excited the people. But they found out quickly, the water was sea water and unfit for human consumption.

Athena, presented the city with an #olivetree. The olive seed bore fruit and proved to be a wonderful gift. It provided the people with sustenance, fuel, wood and a crop that was trade able. Athena was proclaimed the winner.

Thus #Athens got its name and Athena’s wisdom was immortalised.

Athena is considered the #GoddessofWisdom and a #War. She was a #prudent and #wise battle strategist.

1. She #creatively turned what could have been a destructive war into a gift for the people.
2. She ensured irrespective of who won the contest, the city and people won and #benefitted by default.
3. Athena is also considered the #Goddessofstrength, leadership, crafts (specially spinning and weaving) and was known for her generosity and kindness.

As women, in leadership roles much can be imbibed from these myths and legends of Athena. She embodied courage, wisdom as well as kindness and domesticity.

For us women striving to balance the home and workplace, we could, like Athena, embrace our feminity and yet, fiercely lead from the front line.

Is there a special secret quality that creative people have? One quality that I have seen in all the highly creative, innovative people that I have worked with is, they work on possibilities whereas most of us work on probabilities. Here in lies the difference between the creative and the mundane.

A brilliant piece extracted from the Cipher by Amul S. Bahl on the Code for creative excellence.

Most people live in the domain of probability, whereas excellence, actually resides in the domain of possibility. It needs a stretch.

Expand and enable the possibility. That’s excellence, and invariably results in innovation.

The expertise of probability is mundane. The out-of-box doesn’t apply; the lateral thought absent by a mile.

What is probable is all that is possible.

What is possible, is a danger to the probable, the status quo and the existing.

This is the difference between the probable and the possible.

A man who is aware of the possibility, even though with a poor probability, is thinking beyond the ordinary.

As they say, possibilities are endless. Probability is the refuge of certainty, for a man accustomed to a ‘life of ordinary’.