What do you remember the most from your childhood? Is there any special memory you’d like to share?

When I think about my childhood, two distinct memories come to mind. The first one is the way my father brought me up. He constantly empowered me, let me make decisions… he gave me the freedom to make choices, to make mistakes, and learn from them. He was a great teacher and raised me without being influenced by the stereotypes of a girl child.  He believed that I would be able to handle any situation. This has really shaped the person that I am today- confident to take charge, lead and accept responsibility. I owe this aspect of my personality to my father.

The second memory is growing up in a Vatara (similar to Chawls in Mumbai) in Bangalore. It was a melting pot of people from different cultures and backgrounds across India. It’s here that I experienced true community living. I think one recognizes the strength of such a model of co-existence during a time of crisis – when the whole community comes together to support one another and help each other out. Even though we were from different cultures, we always came together as one big family in good times and bad. It was also through this diverse community that I learned to appreciate the many cultural nuances like dance, music, food – I even learned multiple languages as a result!

This community is where my passion for D and I took its roots, and where I realized the meaning of making our differences our strength.

Growing up, what were those habits that made you the person that you are today?

My parents placed a strong emphasis on living ethically and this has become ingrained in me. No matter what the circumstance, truth, and integrity were emphasized in our household. This is core to who I am and I’m glad that my upbringing makes it easy for me to practice it.

Also, I recognized early on that you need to work hard to accomplish your dreams. And when you are willing to roll up your sleeves, opportunities open up and amazing things can happen in your life. I’m glad that my workplace makes it easy for me to me to dream big, take risks, challenge status quo and unlock my true potential. I started my career in Finance, then moving on to become a six sigma professional. I’ve since seized the opportunities that came my way to work in multiple domains including digital and store operations; now leading the Human Resources team at Target in India.

What would you like to share about your family, your bond with them, how do you stay together despite the busy lives we live?

I am an out and out people person. I draw my energy from meeting different people and investing in building a connection with them. These days, it’s easy to take relationships for granted because there are easy ways to 'stay in touch’ without establishing deep ‘human’ connections; but I strongly believe in giving people dedicated time, to help the relationship I have with them grow. I try to find common interests with the ones I love and use those interests to spend time and enjoy with them.

With my husband, those common interests are topics as varied as cricket, travel, and exploring our love for food together visiting iconic eateries across Bangalore. Despite the hectic schedules between the two of us (my husband is a doctor), we make it a point to create certain moments and stick to a few routines that help us connect with each other through the day. For example, my husband and I make it a point to not get distracted or carry out other activities – like talking on the phone, or watching TV – during our mealtime. We know that this is our time together to have conversations, learn about each other’s day and we like to keep that sacred.

I’m also very close to the rest of my family. My mother and I also share a love for food. I simply enjoy bonding with her over cooking, sharing recipes, and getting tips to get better at cooking. My sister loves shopping and that’s how we spend time together – she has some great recommendations when it comes to shopping and offers me some practical and valuable life advice on the side. She’s also my fashion consultant and wellness guru!

Everybody has a different way of building bonds, but I have learned that no matter what, being there for each other when it’s needed the most and really making the time to listen to each other’s needs is the most important thing.

Where do you draw your strengths from? Who or what are the biggest inspirations of your life? 

I draw my strength from my mother and I’m fortunate to have inherited two core traits from her. The first one is resilience. My mother is someone who has fought against all odds and taken real ownership of her life. She has never relied on anyone else to take care of her – in fact, she has taken care of herself and her family. She was a homemaker but when the time came she took charge of my father’s business and also tutored to support the family’s financial situation. She never had the experience to run a business but had to build the credibility and step outside the comforts of home to ensure we were provided for. 

The other thing I picked up from her is hard work and selflessness. She is the epitome of servant leadership in my mind. Her focus is always on others and not so much on herself. So many of these strengths that she has displayed have shaped who I am as a leader today.

What is your formula of balancing your work and personal lives and being an ace in both? 

I don’t think there’s a formula for balance, honestly. Balance for me is living in the moment fully, at work or outside of it. What’s worked for me is work-life integration. So when I am spending time with family, I avoid thinking about work, or constantly checking my work emails; my team knows they can connect with me via WhatsApp if there is something urgent. Similarly at work, I avoid taking calls from home unless there is an emergency. Being fully present in what you do is really important.

I’ve also accepted that sometimes you can’t have it all, and that’s okay. You have to be as kind and caring with yourself as you are with others. And you absolutely have to prioritize the things that are most important to you, then give your 100% to them. That’s what really matters.

What disparity do you still see on the gender front at the workplace? 

I have been fortunate to work with some best-in-class leaders and role models during my career, hence I don’t have a personal experience of gender disparity. My learning on gender disparity has come from interactions with friends, peers helping me realize that the disparity is deeply rooted in our society. Women and men are expected to play specific gender roles… they don’t even have the same role models! When we’re embedded in these societal structures, it becomes difficult sometimes to understand the impact of our actions.

Women feel the burden of domestic responsibilities much more due to this structure and tend to be less intentional about their careers compared to their male peers. I think it’s important for women to recognize this and take charge of their own empowerment and feel less guilty about making choices. 

On the other hand, men who often ask the question about why there is a focus and investment on developing and supporting women at the workplace. It’s time that they recognize and acknowledge the centuries of differentiation. Instead of asking the question ‘Why’, they should ask how they can help in creating a more equitable workplace. We need more male allies who understand their roles both at home and at work!

I believe the theme for this International Women’s Day – ‘#ChoosetoChallenge’ is apt in this context. It’s a great opportunity for each one of us to challenge these inherent structures and strive to create greater equity between men and women at the workplace and beyond.

If you would be given the superpower for one day to do something for Women, what would be that?

It would be to give all of the womankind the confidence to say YES to new adventures. I want them to believe in themselves and own the world – we all have it in us to make it happen.

What were some of the leadership lessons that you learned from 2020?

The learning has been huge, both personally and as a leader. Each person I have met has had a different response to the pandemic and a different level of acceptance. This has created a massive opportunity for empathetic leadership. I’m talking about the kind of leadership that involves listening intently, looking at things from a team member’s perspective, and responding to their needs accordingly. While leading the crisis management efforts for Target in India during the pandemic, listening played a very important role for us to make the best decisions for our team and keeping team members health, safety at the core of every decision we made.

Empathy and human connection are important skills in the new world. Today, with everything going virtual, it’s easy to be disconnected and disengaged from the teams that you work with because of fewer personal and physical interactions. It has never been more important for leaders to demonstrate kindness, understanding, and compassion for their teams and for themselves.

Resilience is another valuable skill in this changing world. We all have a moment in life when we hit rock-bottom; it is the choices we make from there that define us, each time we have the choice to fight back harder.

And finally, I believe that for the new-age leader, inclusive leadership must become a part of who they are. We have a huge responsibility as leaders to create space for teams to be vulnerable and authentic, be open to diverse perspectives, and ensure everyone has equitable opportunities to succeed.

What is the edge that women leaders have in the workplace?

I have a leadership mantra that I keep going back to when I need to anchor myself: you can’t lead with titles, rules or just words. You must lead with trust, compassion and listening instead. I think every woman leader has these personality traits and that’s what makes her unique. The empathy, resilience and strength that women leaders bring to the workplace shows up in everything we do. The fact that women are able to play multiple roles such as a mother, wife, daughter, professional and more, and play each role successfully gives women an edge at the workplace. Emotional intelligence and balancing the needs of everyone around them comes naturally to women and brings joy to the people around them.

Share any initiative/s you have taken to empower other women? 

Many initiatives come to mind – almost all of them about helping women take charge of their career growth and move into leadership positions. Diversity and Inclusion are core to Target, so there are several ways to empower women within Target as well as the broader ecosystem. I want to touch upon some of the key ones.

Ignite is a home-grown initiative at Target in India, designed to empower women with the skills to take on leadership roles. The program is spread over nine months and builds on four key themes – personal branding, mindset change, building effective networks and learning to negotiate.

Engineering Manager Immersion Program is an initiative that helps achieve a deep pipeline of qualified and diverse women Senior Engineering Manager (SEM) candidates. Participants are given immersive and personalized development opportunities to gain unique career experiences and really test existing leadership skills while learning new ones. 

At an ecosystem level, Ignite+ (Plus) provides soft/strategic skills, which studies show are critical to succeed in technology, to women studying STEM subjects in Tier 3 colleges. I’m a program sponsor and can’t begin to express how proud I was to see our first batch of Ignite+ girls graduate last year. This year, we have even bigger plans for Ignite+, with a nation-wide roll-out of the program.

Target Elevate is another initiative that seeks to empower women engineers looking to get ahead in their career (or return to the workforce). Our vision is to create an army of strong, ambitious and confident decision-makers who can pass on their learning to other women and eventually create a tribe that’s diverse, inclusive and powerful.

We are also providing opportunities for women to return to work after a career break. The BounceBack program focuses on continuous learning, coupled with guided mentorship to help empower women to restart their careers after a break. Candidates get the opportunity to gain relevant work experience while being a part of collaborative, fun and engaging teams. They get to work across various businesses for a stipulated time frame, to help build the skills gap and ease into the learning curve.

Define in your own words - #WorkingWomenWonders

A working woman has the incredible opportunity to build an identity of her own and drive change for not just her, but all of humankind. We often confuse ‘working women’ for work that is paid for and has a monetary benefit. What’s important to recognize is that every woman is a working woman – as a wife, a mother, a daughter, a peer, a boss or a colleague – selflessly giving and making an impact on people within their own circle of influence.

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