Power Women

Q. As a woman boss, what has been your learning curve vis-a-vis managing a team?
A. I believe any leadership position comes with its own set of challenges that are not just restricted to gender. As a leader it is important to listen to your team and have a democratic approach, to believe on your instinct and leverage your gut feel. You need to trust and respect your team for them to reciprocate the same. I have learned to be more collaborative and to nurture relationships within and outside the company by understanding the person’s requirements and proactively providing solutions.

Q. Do you believe that you really need to work harder than your team in order to remain ahead and lead successfully?
A. Yes. But this is not just because I am a woman. Leading by example is the best form of motivation. I want my team and employees to work hard and explore their abilities to the utmost extent. I need to be a role model for them to do the same, showing them the way so that I can build a trustful and loyal relationship with them.

Q. Do you give enough leeway to your team members so that they can weave in their personal responsibilities into their professional lives (holidays, flexi-hours, perks, medical facilities)?
A. I believe in driving personal ownership in the team. I am myself a mother, a wife as well as a consummate professional and understand the importance of family. In addition, I also understand that for any organization to be successful it is essential for the employees to feel cared for. Therefore, I try o give ample space to my team and trust them to balance both their personal and professional life with great aplomb.

Q. What do you feel are the important qualifications that you need to have in the profession?
A. To look at the overall strategic picture and think long-term
B. Being a Team player, stand by with your team and trust them to do their jobs.

Q. Being the marketing director of one of India's most sought-after insurance company, what are the landmark developments and achievements that you have been able to bring on board at Max New York Life Insurance?
I joined Max New York Life Insurance in 2007. In these five years the growth in the life insurance market has been manifold. Under my leadership MNYL has become synonymous with child life insurance. We have adopted a 360-degree marketing approach to drive the brand campaign through product launches.
We have used extensive customer insights and launched the igenius initiative. Igenius is an unique parent-child program that promotes all-round child development. This initiative is now in its second year and has already 1 lak members on Facebook.
Apart from that, products such as Max New York Life Shiksha Plus II and Max New York Life College Plan were launched to provide resources for all round development for children under all uncertain circumstances.
Today, MNYL’s brand awareness score is on an all time high of 98% as of March 2011 as compared to 89% in March 2010 placing the brand at No. 4 rank amongst all private players. This was a result of creative TV Commercials, efficient media planning, public relations initiatives which focused on key industry issues and the launch of an innovative consumer engagement platform - igenius.

Q. Do companies with women in the leadership position perform better?
An organization does not function as a social structure. A man in a leadership position has to prove himself equally as a woman. He too has to deliver. In my opinion, companies perform better when they have a clear-sighted, visionary, democratic and nurturing leader. Gender really does not matter.

Q. How do developing nations perceive women entrepreneurs/leaders?
We had Mrs Indira Gandhi as India’s Prime Minister, even when our country was termed as a ‘third-world country’. Even Sri Lanka had a woman President long before any Western country had a woman leader. So even though the West thinks that women have better opportunities, I do not completely agree to it.
However, the countries have had very less women working in the corporate arena. And they are letting go of old stereotypes. Now companies are working out strategies not only to incorporate women employees in the work force but into the boardroom as well. Other strategies include flexible working arrangements and child care policies. But there is still a lot that needs to be done.
But developing countries should not only look at the top order in the ladder. Affirmative actions in areas of women harassments in workplace should be one of the major agendas in these countries.

Q. The glass ceiling: Does it still exist?
Yes, it does but it is gradually developing cracks. The real issue is societal. Until society catches up with the advances that have taken place within companies, women have to contend with discrimination. This only increases our determination and as more and more women take up leadership positions, they would help pave way for the younger generation and the ceiling would be broken automatically.

Q. Are women CEOs/CMOs better managers? Does gender define leadership skills? As I have commented earlier, gender does not define good leadership skills. It might make a difference in terms of leadership styles.
Having said that, I do think there are some skills that a women leader brings to the table, such as:-
1. Emotional connect – Women are generally better in understanding and connecting with the softer aspects of professionalism. We read faces and undertones better where men miss the subtlety.
2. We are more collaborative in our approach which makes us great team players.
3. Our ability to balance work and personal life makes sure that we do not go overboard with anything.
4. Women are more intuitive and hence pre-empt a lot of issues.

Q. What is your leadership style? What are the factors that attribute to your success?
A. I have no particular style of functioning. I believe, that a good leader creates followers but a great leader is instrumental in creating more leaders. We need to hand over the baton of our learnings to our team members so that they can be shaped into future leaders.

Q. What are the values which influence the leadership process?
A. The values of personal integrity, hard work, perseverance, and discipline are universal and always influence the leadership process.

Q. What are the challenges associated with leading effectively in a highly competitive market?
A. Well more than challenges, I personally would like to call them learnings. Every player is present because they are good, so we need to be creative, innovative and constantly striving to do our best and stand out from the clutter.

Q. How do you deal with success and failure? Which one teaches you the most?
A. Failure is unavoidable for anyone. But I treat it as a stepping stone to success. And when I am successful – I am humbled. It makes me more determined.

Q.What are her views on:1. Passion and Commitment to work (includes hard work put in, the right spirit when facing hurdles, persistence)
A. Are absolutely necessary for a successful professional. These values make a great leader stand out among the good ones.
2. Target setting
A. Every new challenge needs specific targets whether long-term or short. Well defined goals lead to well managed outputs.
3. Vision and leadership
A. Leadership vision should substantiate change in the organization. One needs to pursue their goal with passion and commitment and inspire your colleagues and customers as well.
4. Multi-tasking
A. In the present times it is as essential as breathing. This is one of the traits which all women usually possess as they are always multitasking between their professional and personal life.
5. Conflict management (this would include issues of circumventing biases, dealing with opposition to getting promoted, lack of co-operation from colleagues you supersede).
A. Conflicts are inevitable. It is best to deal with them as soon as they crop up. I believe in trusting my team and people so that they can come to me with their troubles and we can achieve proper resolution in an open and transparent manner.