#nirvedha

In my overall experience of 25+ years as a professional, had a unique opportunity to work with three female bosses in succession very closely and observe their leadership style for over a period of close to six years. The way they have built their teams, interact with their teams, guide their teams, how they stand for their teams, the way they pull them up when they are in a lull.   

Also, as a leader, I had a unique opportunity to nurture and grow woman leaders from my team to take on future leadership roles, and I would always be amazed the way they have shown the dedication and grasp to take on the mantle and move on equally and at times far better than their male counterparts.

Now as I look back as an Executive cum Business Coach and while coaching my Female coaches I enjoy the entire coaching journey more than them as I am of a strong opinion that women have a natural tendency to become a coach leader and who can build bonds with their team members more naturally than men.  They are far more dedicated to their Goals and try to be on schedule in terms of not only creating the Goals but also achieving them.

Myths about Woman as Leaders

For years women struggled to fit into a man’s world. They dressed in dark suits like men, toughened up like men, and sought emotional attitudes of men. However, no more. Balance and success come from recognizing that while women may think and act differently, that brings diversity and strength to the workplace.

Harvard scientists discovered women use their brain differently than men. Women leaders who solve problems in business and industry, often think comprehensively. They may think longer than men before offering solutions as they consider it from all directions—including emotional fallout, the effect on people and other alternatives, as well as the bottom line.

Reasons why I feel Woman Leaders can be a natural Coach Leaders

There are many reasons why the woman, far from being ill-equipped to be good coach leaders, actually has natural advantages over men when it comes to coaching and makes excellent coach leaders.

·         Women leaders are natural teachers. Moreover, women generally have a better overall capacity to be organized and prepared to provide a quality experience to all team members.

·         Women leaders tend to be less authoritarian leaders. Women tend to lead by consensus, a leadership style that a majority may prefer, rather than employing a stricter form of leadership. Women tend to connect by empathizing and establishing relationships.  A mother's instinct to be a calming influence and peacemaker and to want to emphasize how every team member is the same, not different.

·         Women leaders are natural nurturers. Science has proven that women are generally more adept than men at detecting mood from facial expression, body posture, and gestures, and thus knowing if a team member is unhappy. Because they tend to be more emotionally open, and have excellent communication skills.

·         Women leaders tend to want to find a balance between competition and cooperation. A woman's focus is more on teamwork, arising out of her belief that the best result comes when everyone contributes, and the most is gotten from everyone's talents. Women tend to reject the common supposition that competition must consist of winning and losing and of displays of power, dominance, and control, for better or worse.

·         Women leaders care about all team member, not just their own.  Woman have a "special sense of responsibility for people in general."

·         Women are a process- rather than result-oriented. It is what the Organizations should be focusing on: an emphasis on the process (developing skills, and having fun) rather than the result (wins and losses).

·         Women leaders are generally safety conscious and risk-averse. Studies show that serotonin levels in the brain are inversely related to risk-taking behavior. Evolutionary biologists believe that a woman's higher levels of serotonin, combined with her instinct to survive by avoiding risk.  This risk-averse tendency prompt women leaders to be more careful about safety and prevent exposing their Organization's to any security or legal breaches in today's digital world.

·         Women coach leaders are role models for female employees and teach them to celebrate being a female professional. Women coach leaders break down gender stereotypes by proving that women can be just as competent and tough as men.  

How Woman Leaders can unearth their Natural tendency to Become Coach Leaders

“Women – even alpha women – can finally figure out how to curb the belligerence and channel the brilliance of their alpha male colleagues!  Work Ethic showed me how to leverage my own strengths and deal effectively with my alpha.” By Joyce Russell, COO, Adecco USA

When it comes to business, most executive women suspect that they are at a distinct disadvantage and unfortunately the statistics bear them out. Although women are on the playing field in unprecedented numbers they still find it difficult to be promoted at the same rate as men. Today only a small percentage of women hold high-ranking positions.

However, Organizations today are far more committed to developing women’s talents and leadership potential than in the past, and progressive companies recognize the value of workforce diversity. Yet many women executives do not feel they possess the power to shape the vision, strategic direction, and cultures of their firms.

There is an old saying: "Star players don't become star players on the field, they are merely recognized there." That is true. If you want to see where someone develops a desire to succeed you need to observe their daily preparations. Even if you have natural talent and leadership ability, there is a need to prepare and train. Becoming successful in the corporate world takes special dedication and commitment.

Someone once said that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game that matters. Engaging a coach would help woman executives understand their game and their organization.  It is a continuous process of evolution of an executive, helping her become more than what she is right now. The personal skill sets of an individual play as important a role in her development as a business plan plays in a company’s eventual success. This analogy applies to all the organizations, irrespective of their size and areas of operation. An ever-increasing need to reinvent oneself puts the executives under exceeding pressure. An executive coach can help the executive in embracing such a situation rather than bowing out due to pressure. This falls in line with the primary goal of executive coaching which is to maximize the executive’s growth.

Conclusion

Women deserve to be respected as much, if not more, as males. More often than not they are tagged as being ‘too emotional’, and their opinions are overlooked or taken lightly at the workplace. An executive coach can help women leaders not only to channelize such emotions to their advantage but also to bring them out in a manner that is perceived as strength and not a weakness. 

Call it unfair or unasked for, maintaining a work-life balance is much more critical for women than men. A common assumption related to women leaders is that they need to leave office on time since they have kids waiting for them at home and they cannot prioritize their work over their family. An executive coach can help the women leaders get rid of these assumptions and paint a different picture in the minds of her subordinates.

Lack of women leaders at the workplace is a problem that has been in existence since the beginning of the time and needed to confront face to face. If we have a chance to tackle this issue with the help of executive coaching then why not give it a shot?

In my overall experience of 25+ years as a professional, had a unique opportunity to work with three female bosses in succession very closely and observe their leadership style for over a period of close to six years. The way they have built their teams, interact with their teams, guide their teams, how they stand for their teams, the way they pull them up when they are in a lull.   

Also, as a leader, I had a unique opportunity to nurture and grow woman leaders from my team to take on future leadership roles, and I would always be amazed the way they have shown the dedication and grasp to take on the mantle and move on equally and at times far better than their male counterparts.

Now as I look back as an Executive cum Business Coach and while coaching my Female coaches I enjoy the entire coaching journey more than them as I am of a strong opinion that women have a natural tendency to become a coach leader and who can build bonds with their team members more naturally than men.  They are far more dedicated to their Goals and try to be on schedule in terms of not only creating the Goals but also achieving them.

Myths about Woman as Leaders

For years women struggled to fit into a man’s world. They dressed in dark suits like men, toughened up like men, and sought emotional attitudes of men. However, no more. Balance and success come from recognizing that while women may think and act differently, that brings diversity and strength to the workplace.

Harvard scientists discovered women use their brain differently than men. Women leaders who solve problems in business and industry, often think comprehensively. They may think longer than men before offering solutions as they consider it from all directions—including emotional fallout, the effect on people and other alternatives, as well as the bottom line.

Reasons why I feel Woman Leaders can be a natural Coach Leaders

There are many reasons why the woman, far from being ill-equipped to be good coach leaders, actually has natural advantages over men when it comes to coaching and makes excellent coach leaders.

·         Women leaders are natural teachers. Moreover, women generally have a better overall capacity to be organized and prepared to provide a quality experience to all team members.

·         Women leaders tend to be less authoritarian leaders. Women tend to lead by consensus, a leadership style that a majority may prefer, rather than employing a stricter form of leadership. Women tend to connect by empathizing and establishing relationships.  A mother's instinct to be a calming influence and peacemaker and to want to emphasize how every team member is the same, not different.

·         Women leaders are natural nurturers. Science has proven that women are generally more adept than men at detecting mood from facial expression, body posture, and gestures, and thus knowing if a team member is unhappy. Because they tend to be more emotionally open, and have excellent communication skills.

·         Women leaders tend to want to find a balance between competition and cooperation. A woman's focus is more on teamwork, arising out of her belief that the best result comes when everyone contributes, and the most is gotten from everyone's talents. Women tend to reject the common supposition that competition must consist of winning and losing and of displays of power, dominance, and control, for better or worse.

·         Women leaders care about all team member, not just their own.  Woman have a "special sense of responsibility for people in general."

·         Women are a process- rather than result-oriented. It is what the Organizations should be focusing on: an emphasis on the process (developing skills, and having fun) rather than the result (wins and losses).

·         Women leaders are generally safety conscious and risk-averse. Studies show that serotonin levels in the brain are inversely related to risk-taking behavior. Evolutionary biologists believe that a woman's higher levels of serotonin, combined with her instinct to survive by avoiding risk.  This risk-averse tendency prompt women leaders to be more careful about safety and prevent exposing their Organization's to any security or legal breaches in today's digital world.

·         Women coach leaders are role models for female employees and teach them to celebrate being a female professional. Women coach leaders break down gender stereotypes by proving that women can be just as competent and tough as men.  

How Woman Leaders can unearth their Natural tendency to Become Coach Leaders

“Women – even alpha women – can finally figure out how to curb the belligerence and channel the brilliance of their alpha male colleagues!  Work Ethic showed me how to leverage my own strengths and deal effectively with my alpha.” By Joyce Russell, COO, Adecco USA

When it comes to business, most executive women suspect that they are at a distinct disadvantage and unfortunately the statistics bear them out. Although women are on the playing field in unprecedented numbers they still find it difficult to be promoted at the same rate as men. Today only a small percentage of women hold high-ranking positions.

However, Organizations today are far more committed to developing women’s talents and leadership potential than in the past, and progressive companies recognize the value of workforce diversity. Yet many women executives do not feel they possess the power to shape the vision, strategic direction, and cultures of their firms.

There is an old saying: "Star players don't become star players on the field, they are merely recognized there." That is true. If you want to see where someone develops a desire to succeed you need to observe their daily preparations. Even if you have natural talent and leadership ability, there is a need to prepare and train. Becoming successful in the corporate world takes special dedication and commitment.

Someone once said that it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game that matters. Engaging a coach would help woman executives understand their game and their organization.  It is a continuous process of evolution of an executive, helping her become more than what she is right now. The personal skill sets of an individual play as important a role in her development as a business plan plays in a company’s eventual success. This analogy applies to all the organizations, irrespective of their size and areas of operation. An ever-increasing need to reinvent oneself puts the executives under exceeding pressure. An executive coach can help the executive in embracing such a situation rather than bowing out due to pressure. This falls in line with the primary goal of executive coaching which is to maximize the executive’s growth.

Conclusion

Women deserve to be respected as much, if not more, as males. More often than not they are tagged as being ‘too emotional’, and their opinions are overlooked or taken lightly at the workplace. An executive coach can help women leaders not only to channelize such emotions to their advantage but also to bring them out in a manner that is perceived as strength and not a weakness. 

Call it unfair or unasked for, maintaining a work-life balance is much more critical for women than men. A common assumption related to women leaders is that they need to leave office on time since they have kids waiting for them at home and they cannot prioritize their work over their family. An executive coach can help the women leaders get rid of these assumptions and paint a different picture in the minds of her subordinates.

Lack of women leaders at the workplace is a problem that has been in existence since the beginning of the time and needed to confront face to face. If we have a chance to tackle this issue with the help of executive coaching then why not give it a shot?

All organizations have access to more or less the same resources. They draw from the same pool of people in their markets or geographies. Moreover, they can all learn about the latest tools and techniques. However, not all organizations perform equally. There is a huge gap between high - and low - performing organizations. Leaders are the differentiating factors between high - and low - performing organizations and they have a vastly influential role to play in optimizing employees' performance.

 What accounts for this huge gap in leadership?

 Expectation mismatch : As many leaders behave as bosses, technocrats or even bullies. They kill team spirit, arouse mediocrity and eventually drain the energy out of the team. The results are poor morale, loss of talented people and low performance. Employees have reasonable expectations - treat me fairly, provide me with a leader whom I trust and respect, and give me an opportunity to be a significant contributor to the team. Employees join and stay with, organizations that honor these expectations.

 However, effective leaders, by contrast, develop people. Rather than running around solving problems, strong leaders empower and enable others to solve daily operational challenges.

 CUTE Leadership Style - Key Aspects

 According to me to a considerable extent, leaders' coaching skills can help employees' performance flourish or erode. I call this essential skill a C U T E Leadership skill - Coaching Ur Team to Excel.

 Everyone deserves a great leader. Also, great leaders are great coaches. Without great leader - coaches, employee performance, and therefore organizational performance, fails. It's right on any scale, from individual employees to high - performance teams, to business units or functions, even entire organizations. All rely on coaching to optimize performance. Strong leaders don't just see people as they are. They coach people into becoming what they can be.

 I think that leaders look into the following aspects while they are coaching their teams in their organization :

·         Making them aware of what they are choosing/not choosing (the decisions they are currently making that are causing them to underperform or feel unmotivated or uninspired).

·         Making them aware of why they make those choices (the professional or even personal reasons).

·         Making them be mindful of the impact/consequences of their decisions (on themselves, others, the team, and organization).

·         Making them responsible and accountable for their choices and current situation/performance (take ownership of what is and is not happening).

·         Expand their range of opportunities (open to more possibilities or options, new ways of doing things).

·         Move towards new decisions (create plans, clarify support structures and take specific empowered action).

Preparing them to be more self-directed/self-sufficient (take greater initiative in the future to reflect upon points 1-6 on their own and learn from their challenges).

 What I firmly believe is that the most potent way for a leader is Prompting teams' ideation by asking non-threatening questions; Helping employees see change as an opportunity, not a risk. To change people's mind is to help them to think more broadly for themselves using a coaching approach. Listening, reflecting on what you hear and sense, and then asking powerful questions can change how a person sees himself and the world around him. These discoveries lead to permanent and positive behavioural change in their teams.

 How Coach leaders are different from other leaders : 

 Three key aspects that differentiate coach leaders from others :

 ·         Coach leaders earn the right to coach through the quality of their character. They know themselves well, are confident in their roles as coaches, and are deeply committed to the success of the people they lead.

·         Coach leaders develop a right relationship a unique peer-to-peer connection which is built on mutual trust. This relationship is the medium through which the transformational process of coaching occurs, and the leader has the primary responsibility for creating this special relationship.

·         Coach leaders during coaching conversation with their teams use the dialog that challenges assumptions, that highlights passions, that helps surface obstructions, explore possibilities and charts exciting new pathways forward.  

The coach Leaders takes into account the fact that people are naturally creative, resourceful and capable - meaning, they have the answers within them and are capable of acting on them. When you lead from this operating assumption, you may find that you chase, nag, figure out for others, and impose agendas and expectations with less frequency, and instead support others to define their working parameters for themselves. You may notice that you hold people to a much higher standard of capacity and personal responsibility, and hold yourself with greater integrity, care, and ease.

 In a nutshell, by being what I call a coach Leader, you empower others and yourself at the same time. It is a win-win.

 Conclusion

Coaching is a new paradigm for organizations and relationships. More and more organizations, such as IBM, TCS, Tech Mahindra, GE, Accenture are creating a coaching culture that promotes collaborative - based, other - centered leadership models. It requires you to boldly refrain from leaning too much into (managing) other people's worlds and standing pat in your own. It necessitates that you hold people incredibly capable, perhaps more intelligent than they see themselves. It asks that you grant more power to the question than the answer - to not knowing more than knowing. Moreover, it demands that you surrender a degree of control so that you can empower others to gain greater control of their work and life.

Socialpost in conversation with Mr. Sudhakar Reddy- Founder-Executive Director, Nirvedha. He has been an accomplished senior leader for over two decades and inspirational executive coach and mentors for more than six years. He has previously served in organizations such as TCS, IMS Health, Raptakos, Brett & Co Ltd and Wallace Pharmaceuticals.

1) What has been the motivation for Mr.Sudhakar Reddy while forming Nirvedha?

In my over decades of industry experience as a leader in various fast-paced organizations, one thing which I have experienced and felt a huge gap is spending time with your Team members to develop, nurture to make them successful professionals and future leaders.

Though a leader’s prime responsibility is developing his team; unfortunately, there would be a handful of them doing this sincerely. With this as a backdrop and during my stint in Tata Consultancy Services I was introduced to coaching, soon I became a thorough fan and practitioner of it.

Majority of my Coachees (individuals whom I have coached/mentored) have opined that I should take Coaching as my acting profession as I am doing so good for them. These situations have hugely motivated me to form Nirvedha.

2) How has the whole domain of coaching/mentoring evolved in the last few decades?

Nowadays, executive coaching is back in vogue due to evolving corporate landscape. As businesses seek to take benefit of growth opportunities, this coaching develops an individual’s soft skills such as self-awareness, and interpersonal skills that are essential for today’s executives.

The application of executive coaching in the corporate world has been around since the 1980s, but it’s only now that businesses have started realizing its potential in cultivating leaders and lending them the competitive edge in today’s global business landscape.

According to a recently conducted study, it has been found this coaching is still a novice term for many with almost 85% of companies agreed that they had been organizing their coaching programs for more than a year, and only 33 percent asserted they had implemented it for over five years.

Considering the plethora of benefits associated with executive coaching for corporate executives, a large number of professionals are now choosing this way of development that let them open up and reveal their inner self like nothing else. These professionals’ performance demonstrates mental activeness and resilient persona of themselves.

If you think that the inner spark of your life is missing somewhere and you’re unable to locate it, consulting an executive coach would be the most sought-after way to unravel the prevailing complexities.

3) What are the biggest challenges to professionals in the current scenario?

India’s dynamic and high growth business landscape has resulted in shortened business cycles and a new set of challenges; professionals are required to face increasing market uncertainties. They often wanted to look, think and act in entirely new ways for growth and sustenance in the Indian as well as in the global market. This necessitates organizational leaders to strategize.

Amidst such complexity and shortened business cycles, executives are looking for a sounding board – an external confidant, who is a trusted friend, philosopher and guide (Executive Coach) who can help them DARE (dream, achieve, risk and excel) and take risks.

4) How has Nirvedha catered to the growing demands of the society?

Nirvedha has come up with some Industry firsts like “Coffee with Coach” through which we are reaching out to the professionals who are either unable to create a path for their future or don’t know that their abilities are outdated.

Through this Coaching outreach program, Nirvedha is creating awareness that there is professional help available for all busy and successful professionals who wanted to chase their Aspirations and enhance their leadership abilities to manage tomorrow’s workforce.

5) What are the future plans and programmes of Nirvedha?

Nirvedha is on the continuous lookout for new avenues and partnerships to enhance the entire Coaching experience. We are preparing to make our presence felt across the country, also, planning to develop a robust and self-sustained Platform through which Coaching is delivered to the larger pool of professionals and not limited to a few.

We are also in the process of creating a dedicated YouTube Channel and have named it as LEAD (Leadership Enablement And Development) through which we are going to provide byte sized leadership development concepts and tools/techniques. These videos would be in the range of 3-6 min which would be a quick recap of known leadership practices and intrigue the viewer to think beyond and apply them practically.

6) Why is India lagging behind in creating a quality human resource in the technical domain, in spite of best efforts and heavy investment?

I completely wouldn’t agree that we are lagging behind creating quality human resources; however, we are doing this in pockets like we have a significant gap between the A league Technology Institutions like IIT’s, NIT’s and IIIT’s, BITS Pilani etc.; to the other Technology Institutes.

We are a mass producers of B.Tech and B.E. graduates out of which only at the most 10% are employable, whereas the rest 90% struggle to get jobs. The primary issue with which we are struggling today is the quality of education; be it the curriculum, methodology or the faculty who is teaching. The whole education system has become a mere business rather than concentrating on creating future Technocrats.

The government’s best efforts and investment are not driving satisfactory results because of this; I believe it is high time to bring in stringent Accreditation norms so that the underperformers would either pull up their socks or shut their Institutes.