Leaders are not born, they are made. The ability to lead and influence while lending a guiding hand to others makes a successful leader. Sheer will and hard work is the key to procuring the position. And leadership never represents particular gender. However, the concurring fact is there were always men who used to dominate the position. There are women who stand out and bags the position with brimming caliber. These badass leaders never fail to inspire other women to pursue their dream and strive to make them real.
On International Women’s Day, we are speaking with some fearless leaders, who always set a foot before and set an example for others. We are celebrating women leaders in the man’s world.
Women leadership Then and Now
Shefali Khalsa, Head – Brand & Marketing, Corporate Communications and CSR, SBI General Insurance: “The financial services sector has traditionally been male-dominated, especially in the leadership roles. In fact, as per Cataystorg, only 3.7% of CEOs and Managing Directors of NSE-listed companies were women in 2019, a number that has increased just slightly from 3.2% in 2014. Over the last decade, however, there has been a slow yet steady change. And it gives me great pleasure and a sense of pride to see women breaking the glass ceiling in multiple BFSI organizations, both large corporates and start-ups, and across functions. With women rising to the top of the leadership ladder in an industry that was always considered a male bastion, I have high hopes for the future of women in corporate India. Women also aspire to inspire other women to reach the top of the ladder and mentor them. We have covered a lot of territories, though there is still a long way to go. I personally believe this is the dawn of a brighter tomorrow and the next generation will take gender parity in senior management of corporate India even further.
Geetanjali Kothari, Head – Marketing and Corporate Communications, Bharti AXA Life Insurance: In the last 15 years, there have been many dos and don’ts that women leaders have shared. There was a time when women were not as actively involved in the decision-making process as their male counterparts. They were often uninterrupted or not allowed to express themselves freely. While this has reduced over the years, it still exists to a certain extent. However, today, we see a shift and male colleagues encourage their female peers to speak and be heard. They want to give recognition to other women in the room. Earlier, women also thought of consequences before making a point and this has reduced far more now because women are more confident and can put forth a point strongly.
Another thing was women used to think of the repercussions before making a point that they might have to face later on. It has reduced far more now because women are more confident now, so they put their point across.
Ambika Sharma, Founder & MD, Pulp Strategy: Leadership is a style No two people have exactly the same style. The first would be to embrace that style, unapologetically. In a position of power, embrace the power so it uplifts you without getting in your way.
Take the lead, without waiting for a request for acceptance of more responsibility. Women are more likely to multitask successfully and taking advantage of that trait should be without a second thought. With this comes the obvious practice of quick decision-making, there is nothing that reflects the lack of gracefulness like a leader who dilly-dallies decisions.
Network network network and be prepared to voice your opinion, why shouldn’t you? You worked hard to get where you are, celebrate, and keep walking.
Effective leadership lessons you learned as a women leader
Shradha Agarwal, CEO, Grapes: One always says that being a woman is performing different duties at one time. In businesses as well women’s capabilities counted on plenty of parameters. I think this is why women have made the best leaders in history.
For me, communicating with the team and working as a team was the biggest asset. When I joined Grapes we were in the process of making a new digital division altogether. And today we are one of the leading digital agencies in the country and the credit goes to teamwork. Keeping my communication channels open and a constant loop of feedback helped us to become stronger and more interactive among ourselves.
During the pandemic, the world flipped and things changed. It was transformation and adaptation to the changes that helped me to be the woman I am today. When the markets were crashing, I had my team looking forward to me with anticipation and hope. I was adamant that I will keep my team together. It was then that with no layoff and multiple new projects we were able to surpass such difficult times.
Soumini Sridhara Paul, Senior Vice President, Hungama ArtistAloud: I think the biggest lesson that I learned is you don’t stop learning. Every new subordinate or peer makes you learn something new. Every situation gives you an option to learn. In 2011, we started doing live streaming concerts. We faced many issues. We learned from the issues and then came up with a solution. Again there is another problem. So I think you have to keep learning.
Another thing that I learned is never to stop listening to ideas from people of different age groups. Sometimes young people bring you the most innovative and fresh idea that even an experienced head couldn’t provide. You have to lead by being a part of a team. Thankfully this is something that is consistent in my journey. It really helped me to keep innovating and evolving.
Shefali Khalsa, Head – Brand & Marketing, Corporate Communications and CSR, SBI General Insurance: Lead an example as a Leader, irrespective of the gender around you, especially in the professional role. Having said that, I generally feel, women are good team players and bring a different perspective in the role, apart from the generic empathy and loyalty aspects, in the team. I’m usually unfazed with the number of male peers around me especially in terms of professional capacity, as I hail from a family where all three sisters including me were given all the platforms for the possibilities.
Geetanjali Kothari, Head – Marketing and Corporate Communications, Bharti AXA Life Insurance: I was raised in a gender-neutral family and did not face any discrimination based on gender in my family. The credit for this goes to my father! My brother and I were always equal in every aspect of his view. Because of this, I come to work as an individual. However, over the years I have realized that while I did not face any discrimination where I came from; others may have faced it. These women seek support from other women in the workplace. Hence, I believe that we should all work with the brain and the heart, and it should not matter if the person speaking is a man or a woman, their opinion should be valued.
