Bringing Light

Emotionally intelligent leaders not only transform organizations, they impact people's lives. The pace of business and life today can often push us to move at speeds that are both imbalanced and ineffective. If we aren’t mindful, we can easily lose sight of our vision, our purpose - our internal compass. Throughout my life and career, I’ve been guided by a strong internal desire to move beyond barriers, influence cultures, and affect change within settings that lack a guiding light on their broader objectives.

Growing Up in India

Growing up in India, I witnessed the vast gap in the financial and social statuses of people belonging to different castes, the groupism due to subtle differences in skin color, and the limited opportunities in one’s life based on their community, religion or caste. I began to question these traditionalist rules at a young age, and I sought out opportunities to use my voice and my vision to shine a light on equal treatment and opportunities for women, immigrants, and people of color.

Little did I know that the thoughts I expressed in an essay written during my adolescence titled, “Social Equity in India – an Unfinished Task”, would be recognized by the Governor of my home state. Later, it served to ignite a deep passion within me as I navigated diverse situations as an immigrant, a scholar, and a human resource professional influencing the culture and climate of organizations in the United States.  

Evolving as an Academic & a Leader

Perhaps it’s no surprise that my knack for pushing beyond barriers and challenging the status quo would lead me abroad. After completing my undergraduate degree in India in Clinical Psychology and English Literature with a minor in Philosophy, my intrigue in balanced worldviews and holistic perspectives strengthened. It was a natural evolution from my Brahmin upbringing in which I was heavily nurtured in both spiritual and meditative practices. Spiritual in the sense of seeing and understanding situations beyond self in a diverse, balanced, and holistic manner. Meditative in the sense of knowing ways to find and center self, allowing me to rise above in situations that would otherwise pull me down to levels of dysfunction.

The challenges I faced in my life, studies, and career led me to mature into a leader that blends humanistic principles and mindfulness practices to bring about equitable and transformative change in organizations, most notably at three of the nation’s foremost institutes of higher education and academic medical centers.

My Vision & My Voice

In addition, my vision and my voice have influenced a generation of leaders across many industries through my Ph.D. in Organization and Management, my work as adjunct management faculty at prestigious higher education institutions teaching various undergraduate and MBA program courses, as well as serving on multiple boards, including the IHRIM Board of Directors and as a Forbes Human Resources Council member. Each of these avenues providing me the public speaking and publications platforms necessary to bring light to a variety of organizational management challenges impacting transformational change.

For it is change that is most constant – I see it in management, music, and motherhood. As an executive, I see it in the need to evolve oneself from simply managing to leading. As a musician, I see it in the pace and feel of my music. As a mother, I see it in the growth and development of my children. Each requiring just the right balance and timing to affect the desired outcome.

Direction is More Important than Speed

Such is the role of an effective leader in today’s world of unbelievable speed and change, where one is often defined more by their integrity and humility more than their competence and knowledge. The latter being subject to change at varying speeds, while the former should always point in the direction of one’s internal compass. And my internal compass always points towards helping teams, organizations, and leaders move beyond the barriers that undermine their direction, hard work, and obligation towards the greater good.

It’s an intrinsic focus on direction more than speed, through the constant pursuit of bringing light.