At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate and purpose-driven entrepreneur Srividya Shivkumar for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Coach, Mentor, Teacher, Career Consultant, Influencer and Change Enabler. Srivdiya is the Founder of Maze2Amaze. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Srivdiya:
We are aware of your contributions to the ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey, please;
Hailing from a family of surgeons, more specifically Neurosurgeons from Trivandrum, the pressure to enter the medical field or should I say, professional career was pretty high for me. Surprisingly, this pressure was not so much from my family as from extended family and society.
I knew the sciences never really interested me to take it up as a career. I went on to pursue a Bachelor’s in Economics from Kerala University and completed it with distinction. Having married off early just after graduation, I could not settle down to domesticated life.”
What followed was a Masters’s in Sociology from Pune University, where I topped. After a one-year stint at CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) as a Corporate Analyst, my husband had to move out to the Middle East on an overseas assignment. I then realized that teaching would be a good option and so completed an International Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy from MCI (London). From classroom teacher to head teacher and then Curriculum Coordinator has donned various roles.
But my learning never stopped. While in Muscat, my school Principal coaxed me to do a Trainer’s Course from London, which eventually gave me the opportunity to train teachers in Montessori Pedagogy. With over 15 plus years of teaching and training experience in the Middle East, eventually returned to India in Sep 2019. All through my husband always encouraged me to follow my passion and cruise into unchartered territories.
Someone rightly said, “If you do the same things, you get the same results”, that way I have always challenged myself and tried to come out of my comfort zone.
The Montessori method of education and its principles helped me in understanding children and their sensibilities. It included questioning my own prejudices, predispositions, accepting children as they are. I had to prepare myself spiritually for working with children. For many of us, learning how to deeply respect children requires a transformation of the societal conditioning that adults are in charge, know best and are to be obeyed.”
These deep-rooted defects, in fact, impede relations with children. My journey as a Montessori Directress was deeply fulfilling and transformational, in helping children realize their true potential, activate their natural desire to learn.
How did you discover your passion in ‘Coaching’?
As a natural extension of Montessori teaching and training, I wanted to extend the same into the realm of coaching for older children, even transcending into adults as well. The aim of education is not just about preparing them for school or exams, but for life.
As I was already into preparing and training teachers, I soon realized the fact that my own children were growing up and they needed guidance and support as well. That is when I thought of taking ‘Coaching’ seriously, resulting in my Foundation, Advanced, Masters and finally, Overseas education program from NCDA (USA) and Mindler to become an Internationally Certified Career Coach.
Maze2Amaze Career Coaching was started with the purpose of gaining clarity in career choices for students. Given the plethora of career options available and the continuously evolving career domain, students naturally go through a lot of confusion in this maze of choices.”
At Maze2Amaze they are able to unravel the mystery in terms of understanding their strengths, areas of improvement and take informed decisions on career choices. It is a platform, which is student-centric, focusing more on the present, empowering students to see new possibilities, recognize resources, develop a sense of self-efficacy to create a roadmap to career success.
In this new era of complex changing connections, students will benefit from career coaching given its future focus. Bridging the gap between wanting a successful career and pursuing interests continues to be a touchstone for our work with students as they seek that overlap among their interests, skills and values.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes them meaningful.
We are often tested not to display our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths. If life gives lemon to you, make a lemonade out of it!
My father, an eminent Neurosurgeon, once told me when I felt really low, “Have you seen the ECG graph, it is never a straight line, it has ups and downs. If there is life, it should have ups and downs, if a straight line means there is no life, we are dead!” These are the words that drive me in spite of challenges one should keep moving ahead.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
I believe that the biggest source of motivation is our own thoughts, which have the power to make or break. It is not easy to pinpoint one person who could be the biggest source of motivation in my daily life.”
Charity begins at home; therefore, my biggest source of motivation is my family, right from my parents, husband, children, friends who constantly nudge me to be a better version of myself. In fact, it is my husband who constantly encouraged me to push my limits and identify my innate potential.
Above all my students and their families who impose trust in me are my constant source of motivation.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Here are a few:
> Practice daily gratitude and forgiveness.
> Being sincere, committed, respectful and helpful.
> Be open to change.
> Try/learn something new as there is always room for improvement, but still remain confident in my strengths.
> Establishing healthy communications to enhance interpersonal skills.
> Accepting feedback in a positive manner for self-improvement, because feedback is the breakfast of Champions.
> Maintaining a daily log that enables to set SMART goals
> Reverse goal setting
> Importance of being assertive and learning to say ‘No’ when necessary.
> Maintaining a healthy lifestyle – Sound mind in a sound body
> Meditate and pray
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
I strongly believe in a student-centric approach because it is vital to understand that it is not about me but them. As a facilitator, my role lies in making the students realize their inherent potentials, belief in their self-worth to embark on a journey through school, college and life. In short, to empower them.
Steve Jobs once famously said that ‘people with passion can change the world’, and he was definitely not exaggerating. Helping them identify their passion, interests, aptitudes and letting them explore various career options keeps them motivated to charter a roadmap for the future.
Developing pre-requisite skills and resources for implementation which could include profile-building activities (internships, online courses, summer programs, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities) could all help them stay motivated in terms of career goals (courses, college/university selection) for the future.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
Self-discipline is very important in my daily life. I have a set time to wake up (early), do my tasks for the day, in short, a time for everything. Physical fitness too becomes part of the routine, ranging from daily brisk walks, stretches, yoga and Zumba.
Looking into the needs of my family, especially my children along with the needs of my clients, all form part of my positivity and motivation to stay focused. I begin my day with a positive affirmation and manifest in my life.
Regularly reviewing personal goals is a great motivator in itself, helps improve my self-esteem. This in turn helps me set new goals, breaking it down further into smaller and more achievable goals. Reading a book, talking to mentors and friends in the same as well as other professions who have reached similar goals all help to keep me going.”
An important ingredient to add in life, which I learnt from my husband, is a sense of humour. Often, we take everything so seriously that we forget to laugh. “Laughter is the best medicine”. Learn to laugh at oneself and see the lighter side of everything, as setbacks and challenges are part and parcel of life. Even in my interaction with clients/students, this helps in breaking the ice.
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
Career Coaching being an ever-evolving field, it constantly keeps me on the toes, researching and understanding the various nuances involved, especially when it comes to students. Students themselves are my source of inspiration, as the kind of queries/doubts, they ask actually widens my knowledge horizon.
As a Coach, it is equally important to understand that each student is unique, has a different learning style and pace. Every student responds in a different way. So each time a student signs up with me, it is a whole new experience for me, a mutually beneficial and enjoyable journey.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Success is a very relative term, could mean many things to different people. It should be about adding value to others, not playing around with numbers. Self-belief and hard work or should I say SMART work would be key to success.
Read somewhere, “Work hard in silence; let success make the noise”. It is also important to keep in mind that one should refrain from bragging about one’s skills as well as plans.
Action speaks definitely louder than words. If my actions or work could impact one person and make a difference, that itself is success to me. Again, success is a continuous journey, observe, listen, be curious and continue to learn. We need to learn new skills, view failures as learning experiences, maintain good habits and develop a growth mindset.
As the famous philosopher, Lao Tzu put forth: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Well begun is surely half done! If you have a dream and you want it to come true, then a clear action plan is crucial. A goal without a plan is just a wish.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
We live in a highly competitive, transient and unpredictable world where the careers of yesterday have become irrelevant and new, emerging careers capture our imagination. It is really important for students to not just rely on information available on the internet or falling to peer pressure, rather take complete career guidance early on to take informed career decisions.
Career planning helps students realize their inherent strengths and potentials in a scientific manner with the help of tests to evaluate their interests, personality, and aptitude. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
In order to be successful in any career, it is important to:
– When in doubt, ask. This is the best way to improve.
– Establish productive daily habits (waking up early, exercising regularly, setting daily goals and journaling)
– Developing a special skill outside your field could enrich your work, expand opportunities, and be a talking point in interviews/conversations.
– Following good work ethics, helping teammates and establishing boundaries.
– If a plan does not work then change the plan not the goal.
– Backward planning, where you start with your ultimate objective, your end goal and then work reverse from there to develop your plan.
– Learn when to say NO.
– Maintain good time management and avoid procrastination.
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.
