Srinivasan
Moderator
Talk by Meena Vaidyanathan
If I look back, the last 16 years of my career history could be a viewed as a lesson in intuitive decision making. Right from the time when I decided to give up my long cherished dream of doing a PhD in Biotechnology because I couldn't fathom myself behind a lab bench day after day half way through my Master's programme, despite being totally amazed by the possibility of changing the world with the aspects of technology I was learning; to throwing a cushy well-paying job as the global head of communications at a top league technology major to become a social entrepreneur, nothing in my life has been planned. I mean, "planned" in the more accepted sense of the word. But looking back today, there seems to a certain pattern, a certain predictability that I can see in some of those career decisions. The predictability of learning to listen to your gut and instinct over even "logical" reason sometimes. And being a woman, I think, gives me that extra edge to make these intuitive decisions more than the average man.
I shared these thoughts with a section of employees of the Delhi International Airport Authority on the occasion of International Woman's day.
Often, in a bid to outshine and prove one's worth, many managers choose to follow a track that is "defined" as successful even though a voice inside them tells them that perhaps they might be better suited to do something else, if only they'd keep their minds and heart open. And these decisions will have to be taken not once but at every stage of your life. These decisions become crucial especially for women managers who fight their "guilt" of neglecting(?
Let me give you an example. I joined HCL Technologies in 2006 to lead global communications. It was one of the most challenging assignments I had- and I say this despite the fact that I had past experience in managing some of the most challenging issues in the world of marketing and communications, including that of managing stakeholder perception to support the commercialization of Bt cotton, and around the acquisition of the Tata group shares by Honeywell over a weekend with 19 days to change the visible brand identity from that of Tata group to Honeywell across 16 different locations, to name a few. I had to build a team from scratch and create a global programme that builds up the HCL brand from being non-existent in certain geographies to being seen as a credible one among its key stakeholders. With the fantastic managers I had, to the complete empowerment I was given, be it in building the team, conceiving the programmes or in having the organization backing me up a 100% to execute them, it was the kind of dream job every senior professional would hope for. It was during those days that I happened to participate at a Dialogue in the Dark workshop in one of the World Economic Forum summits. And met with Andreas Heinecke, the founder and force behind this amazing concept. We became friends and promised to keep in touch, like we do with other interesting delegates we meet at various seminars and events. Over the next few months, I kept bumping into him at unexpected places and times. Now, one could have easily passed it off as coincidence, but something in me told me it was a sign. I chose to follow my gut and became a volunteer with Dialogue Social Enterprise. It took me another 2 years to move away from mainstream corporate life and finally take the plunge to become a social entrepreneur, but if I had simply followed the norms of what constitutes "success" and stayed at the wonderful job I was, I think I wouldn't be able to experience the deep sense of satisfaction that I do now, putting all my skill set and experience towards a larger objective, that is satisfying professionally of course, but also satisfying the soul.
I am reminded often of a line that I read in one of Stanley Baldwin's memoirs- "I would rather trust a women's instinct than a man's reason". Mr. Baldwin, having served as the PM of UK three times and a consummate politician, couldn't have said better. I do believe instinctive decision making comes naturally to women. Rather than fighting it as something that could be construed as weak and without reason, it could be turned into a strong base for their personal and professional success. Education and exposure further contribute to sharpening the womanly instinct aiding her further to have a crystal clear perspective towards life.
As someone who can say with reasonable confidence of having tasted success with trusting one's instinct, I can only say that the next time you feel the tug of your instinct calling out to you, adhere to the call. Putting your trust in that instinct may just be the wisest thing you've ever done. It may propel you ahead to that top position you've been working for or even moving away from it. Maybe the first step to learning how to trust your instincts is to test your "gut" on small decisions.
But instinctive decision making can only work when there is some level of self-belief.
How you think about yourself will determine your behaviour and whether or not your actions will lead to success or failure. There are many occasions when there is little difference between someone who is successful and someone who is not in terms of their actual abilities. Instead, the dividing line between them could simply be that one believed they were good enough and the other did not.
With a liberal dose of self-belief, trusting your instinct could give women this natural edge that could make them really special, not just in the way the world views them but in their own eyes. And while I don't really believe in celebrating any one particular day in the year as "Woman's" day, I think symbolic events like these help us, both men and women, to pause for a moment, step back and see the big picture! Happy Women's day!
Meena Vaidyanathan
Director for Development
Dialogue Social Enterprise GmbH
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20457 Hamburg
Germany
phone: +91-9818665523
fax: +91-11-2568 4554
mail: meena.vaidyanathan@
skype: meena.vaidyanathan
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