At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the leadership world. As part of this endeavour, we invited a passionate leader – Nivarti Jayaram for an exclusive interview with us. He is an Author, Speaker, Business Leader and Startup Mentor. Let’s learn more about his exciting journey, background, and advice for our growing community.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Nivarti:
We are aware of your contributions to various organizations; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
My professional journey has been quite diverse and so far has helped me develop a greater awareness of “Who I am?” and “What my purpose is” which helps me continuously challenge myself to enhance my horizons by utilizing my strengths and also overcoming my limitations through continuous learning & unlearning.
I started my career with Indian Air Force as an Airwarrior and have served close to 23 Years before moving into a corporate environment. I have had the honour & privilege of being a member of the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission at the Democratic Republic of Congo during my service with IAF.
Post my move to the corporate world, I have worked with Mphasis & ANZ Bank in various capacities leading enterprise transformation initiatives across geographies.
Currently, I am Chief Data Officer with Societe Generale Global Solution Center leading the Data Management efforts for the group. I specialize in transforming organizations and helping people realize their full potential through coaching.
How did you discover your passion?
For me, I have been always passionate about people and it evolved from my experiences of working for the Indian Armed Forces and also being on the peacekeeping mission.
The joy and fulfilment you get from seeing someone succeed in accomplishing their aspirations are beyond anything that you could get from the materialistic outcome you accomplish for yourself.
It also helped me continuously evolve myself and be a better person through consistent self-reflection and learning & unlearning.
With so much going on, how do you start the day to keep your passion alive?
Focusing on short term goals, on what can be accomplished on daily basis, what value am I creating and what I need to learn/unlearn in order to continue to create value.
Also, look up to industry experts who are making a difference to the community, learn from them and take lead to further enhance my own efforts. I try to exhibit behaviours that I intend from others and always present my authentic self whatever the situation might be and the passion then takes care of itself as every decision I make and every action I undertake is driven by it.
How leadership qualities can help with your career or business growth?
It’s more about leadership behaviours than qualities, many a time we as leaders are so focused on upskilling & reskilling to accomplish our career goals and aspirations that we end up completely ignoring what behaviours are we exhibiting in the workplace and what impact those behaviours have on the people we interact with.
It’s not about what skillsets or competencies we have but how are we using them and for what reasons? Also, we need to be conscious of the fact that our behaviours and how we treat people in the organization influences how other people behave and treat their own team members based on where we are positioned in the hierarchy. The higher you place the higher influence you would have on cascading your behavioural elements as it would be taken as acceptable by leaders who are your next level & beyond.
The focus for me always is organizational growth and then my growth becomes more an organic outcome. The questions one should ask themselves when they are expecting growth are:
1 – Have you ensured you have become dispensable in the current role?
2 – How many leaders have you developed within your team who can take your place with minimal organizational intervention?
3 – What opportunities have you provided for your next level of leadership to showcase their capabilities & readiness for your role?
4 – If you feel your next level has certain gaps and need to be upskilled, what actions have you taken to provide the right feedback and co-create a development plan for them?
5 – If you have to bring in someone from outside, what level of acceptance have you built within the current leadership to avoid any adverse impact on the organization?
6 – What is the next role that you are aspiring for and what upskilling or reskilling have you undertaken to prepare yourself for the role?
7 – What do you think makes you the best fit for the role that you are aspiring for and how would the organization benefit from you taking up the role?
I strongly believe in succession planning and people development that can help me become dispensable in the current role which can provide me with the opportunity to look for the next challenge which can push me out of my comfort zone and drive me to learn new skills & competencies.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
~ Take up challenging assignments
~ Keep reflecting if I am getting to my comfort zone
~ Developing leadership at all levels so I become dispensable
~ Open to fail & accept rejection as a learning process
~ Treat all my team members as my peers
~ Seek continuous feedback
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Depends on what you define as success and how you like to measure it. Success is a subjective and relative term. Identifying the drivers & motivators, clear definition of success, the measurement criteria, and finally what purpose gets fulfilled by accomplishing the defined success are the keys which would help us stay on course even in dire circumstances.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
The ability to navigate through ambiguity, be certain about the uncertainty, foresee changes that might impact strategies, cocreate vision to drive collective ownership, build leadership at all levels and empower the teams to pivot faster to adapt to the environment.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
Be outcome-oriented, people-centric and continuously challenge myself to learn & unlearn, believe in becoming dispensable.
We know that you are continuously engaged in helping others achieve their goals. Why do you do that?
Purely because that’s what I am passionate about and I feel fulfilled when I can make a difference to anyone in whatever way they seem fit. Also, the fact that I end up learning a lot about myself during the process and interactions I have with people, I always look to see if my behaviours end efforts can influence others to follow suit and together, we can create a better world.”
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
The journey itself and the experiences you gather as you progress through it. It’s all about what you take out of every step in the journey to become the better version of yourself.
Focusing too much on rewards or recognitions only takes you that far. It’s all about being better than what you were yesterday and enhance your ability to add value to each and every one you interact with.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Firstly enjoy the journey and live life to the fullest every day. Challenge yourself continuously and never be content with who you have become. To stay relevant in the kind of world we are living in today, you have to consistently push yourself out of your comfort zone, look out for what the latest industry trends are, and continuously evolve yourself.
Identify your unique proposition that you bring to the table and build your brand right from early in your career. Identify your purpose, align your goals and aspirations to it. Working with your strengths only help you succeed to a certain extent, if you want to realize your full potential then you need to work on overcoming your limitations and extending your horizons.
What you visualize is what you become, always think big, believe you can get there and with the right actions, you will.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
