2011 was a harrowing year that turned my life upside-down. From my mother being hospitalized to the family battling financial insecurity—there was a sudden shift of responsibilities and I had to take charge of supporting my family. My friends and relatives condescended us, ignoring us in social gatherings, believing I would ask for financial support. Confidence absolutely shattered, I felt extremely depressed. It is while overcoming this critical phase of my life that I resolved to help all those who seek professional, academic or financial help.

When I began my career at TCS I realized that a lot of freshers who joined the company, especially the ones without a programming background, felt out of place because of the highly competitive environment. They were scared to ask their seniors for help, fearing that it would have a negative impact on their ratings, and suffered from severe stress. So, when I became the SPOC (single point of contact) for six freshers, I made a conscious effort to create an open culture within the team and encouraged the newcomers to freely speak about their concerns and apprehensions, and seek help whenever required, uninhibited.

Even at Genpact, as a COE lead who interacts with both business and technology teams, I maintained my principle of making people around feel comfortable. When stakeholders in different teams were unable to gauge the challenges faced by other teams, I acted as a bridge.

At Owen as well, I shall demonstrate inclusive leadership qualities. While working together in study groups or while handling case studies, because we will team up with people from diverse backgrounds and with different learning abilities, there might be delays in projects or in understanding profound topics. In such situations, I will encourage my teammates to be patient and help each other.