Leadership Spotlight

The future of work is here. Employees need to be upskilled today for the changing world of tomorrow. And playing a key role in this are the L&D professionals who not just have to be change makers but continuous learners as they cater to both the workforce and their own skilling. As they build a future-ready workforce they have to become a future-ready L&D professional themselves. Vijay Gogoi, Executive Director & Lead at KPMG Academy explains how. With over 22 years of experience in management consulting, sales, talent development, general management and even technology entrepreneurship, Vijay has been an advisor to Fortune 100 and blue chip clients on strategic talent and L&D issues, and has led the implementation of large initiatives. His work experience traverses industries and regions from telecom to retail, and from India to Indonesia, UK, US and South Africa.

Manavi Pathak, the current Head Talent and Leadership & Organizational Development at Tata Trent Ltd. and a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in the area of Talent Management, Assessment, Learning & Leadership Development and Executive Coaching, tells how L&D professionals can rethink the learning mandate for the hybrid workplace.

For businesses to stay relevant and thrive in today's virtual world of work and engaging employees is critical. The onus is on HR to drive organization-wide employee engagement. But, is HR alone enough to engage the dispersed and diverse workforce Sudhir Koka, Senior Director-Learning & OD at GVK Bio Sciences uncovers the role of frontline managers in employee engagement. With over 20 years of experience in L&D and a certified coach, Sudhir distills his expertise in managing HR, OD and talent management to share practical tips, tricks and best practices on making employee engagement a valuable activity for line managers.

Ambiguity is everywhere, in our everyday lives, in our workplace, and in the very abbreviation that encompasses the world of work today, VUCA. While there is a lot of talk about ambiguousness and its manifestations, it helps to have a know-how of the dealing mechanisms, especially in today's new normal. Medhika Sood, Associate Director-Talent Management & L&D at Uniphore walks the talk on dealing with ambiguity. An L&D pro with over 10 years of experience, she uncovers the various phases of ambiguity, while sharing anecdotes, skillsets and best practices to cope with awareness and clarity. 

What's the key role of a company's L&D? The short answer 'people development in light of business objectives and goals.' For Neerja Chauhan, Director of Learning at Jiva Ayurveda, the world's largest ayurveda treatment organization, it's about being a strategic mission enabler. With over 17 years of career invested in a brand that's now a household name for health & wellness, Neerja has made it her mission to make employee training and skilling an engaging & holistic journey for the company's 500+ health practitioners across India. Here she shares her experience, anecdotes and best practices for transforming you L&D into a strategic mission enabler for your business. 

Divya Amarnath, Head L&D-Strategic Consulting Practice at Infosys, has an illustrious career of over 17 years across diverse global corporate companies in 10 countries. A Researcher, Executive Coach, Award winning facilitator, Author, Keynote and TEDx Speaker, amongst others, Divya is passionate about coaching women in all spheres of life on self-talk, goal-setting and execution. An alumnus of Columbia University, Divya is a Talent & Leadership Development leader who walks the talk on People Development in her professional and personal life. Her understanding of human psychology and neuroscience makes her the perfect Culture Coach, a Design Thinking Practitioner, as a learning professional with hands-on L&D skills

‘A wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others’ mistakes. But the wisest of all learns from others’ successes’, goes a Zen proverb. A rather simplistic definition of learning communities but the very testimony to our evolution and existence. For Gautam Ghosh, Blogger, Speaker, Writer and ex. Talent Branding Director of Flipkart and ex. GM HR Strategy and Projects of Phillips, it is what sets the framework for organizational learning and development. An XLRI alumni, he specializes in areas of Human Resources, Organization Development and how businesses can leverage Social Learning for L&D. From building a business case for corporate Communities of Practice to giving practical easy-to-adopt tools and techniques for incorporating them in training interventions, Gautam demonstrates his authority and know-how on all things learning communities. Hear on as we unpack Communities of Practice.

Focusing on others, their needs, their views, their successes, doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Especially in a corporate dog-eat-dog world that’s me-centered. But for some, it’s not just a learning philosophy but a way of life. Dr. Madana Kumar has been walking the talk on Servant Leadership as he balances two roles: one as the Vice President and Global Head of Leadership Development at UST Global and, second, as a Servant Leadership Evangelist helping organizations implement and benefit from this new leadership paradigm. With a PhD in Servant Leadership, Dr. Madana leverages his doctoral know-how and close to 4 decades of experience across leading businesses to strategically transform the L&D function, shape the learning strategy of growing organizations, create and nurture a learning culture, and accelerate digital transformation with ‘people-first’ approach at its heart.

Susibel Perigault, Learning & Development (L&D) Head at Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) Panama, is a specialist in maritime administration with more than 22 years of experience. She manages the training of its 1200 white and blue collared employees spread across various locations. Her easy management expertise flows seamlessly into her personal life as she manages her hearth and heart, making time for her boy and her girl, attending every football match, music practice, parent teacher meeting and being there for their little joys and sorrows. She’s warm, hard-working and dedicated to her craft, making her a leader with the perfect work-life-balance.

What has spirituality to do with leadership and business? How can you go beyond the professional skill set and build spiritual fitness as part of your soul set? Addressing these and more is Surya Prakash Mohapatra,  a spiritual practitioner and the current Global Head-Talent Transformation at Wipro DOP. With over 20 years of experience in various leadership roles, across several leading IT & ITeS organizations, Surya has extensive experience setting up and running L&D functions, leadership development, capability building, and talent management initiatives in various business processes in India and overseas. For Surya, spirituality is pivotal in all aspects of life, personal, professional and social. It's his lens to the world that makes him a loving, empathetic and compassionate leader.