The Power of Positivity and Humility with Akanksha Adivarekar

Akanksha: 00:00:00

It was 2021 when I decided to make a career shift.

Akanksha: 00:00:03

I qualified as a dentist.

Akanksha: 00:00:06

a dental surgeon and things were not in favor.

Akanksha: 00:00:09

They were not working out for me.

Akanksha: 00:00:10

I tried, did my research, but it didn't work out for me.

Akanksha: 00:00:14

I wanted to change my career and I was thinking, what should I do?

Akanksha: 00:00:17

There are so many careers and I'm passionate about so many things.

Akanksha: 00:00:21

How do I get myself onto one path or just one journey?

Akanksha: 00:00:26

Then I just connected the dots.

Akanksha: 00:00:27

I came to the UK and I did random jobs, but let's connect the dots.

Akanksha: 00:00:31

Let's find a commonality between all those random jobs.

Akanksha: 00:00:34

And when I found the commonality, I realized that I

Akanksha: 00:00:38

was a very good collaborator.

Akanksha: 00:00:39

And despite of being in a current role, I always reached out to different

Akanksha: 00:00:44

other teams to do a collaboration and come up with either a DEI campaign

Akanksha: 00:00:49

or do some artwork or do some writing piece for the communications team.

Akanksha: 00:00:54

So that's when I realized, okay, this is the commonality people team it is.

Akanksha: 00:00:58

And I spoke to my manager and I said, this is where I want to grow.

Akanksha: 00:01:02

And this was back in Bupa when I was just a health care consultant.

Akanksha: 00:01:05

So I decided, okay, I'll grow here and it took me, I think six months.

Akanksha: 00:01:10

I took a break of six months to take care of my newborn because of course,

Akanksha: 00:01:15

I took a leave after my extended mat leave, I was home looking after him.

Akanksha: 00:01:20

And then I picked up a HR administrator role in a company

Akanksha: 00:01:24

called QA limited, which is in Slough.

Akanksha: 00:01:27

Great company enjoyed working there, however it was fast paced and I

Akanksha: 00:01:31

learned so much that they gave me a promotion within two months.

Akanksha: 00:01:35

Again, that was only because I carried.

Akanksha: 00:01:38

I think a lot of experiences from the past and the element of care, and this

Akanksha: 00:01:43

is where I started to understand that what works in HR is you really have to

Akanksha: 00:01:50

be authentic and care for the people.

Akanksha: 00:01:52

When you care, you just follow the process.

Akanksha: 00:01:54

You do what you can at your very best for them.

Akanksha: 00:01:58

And that, that certainly brings a great impact.

Akanksha: 00:02:01

as a HR professional on the organization.

Akanksha: 00:02:05

So this is me I've been very lucky because I approached the right mentor

Akanksha: 00:02:09

coach who shares similar value, it's very difficult to analyze that,

Akanksha: 00:02:14

especially when you want to start a journey, you don't know someone.

Akanksha: 00:02:17

So I've been very lucky on that end because I just tell them I'm struggling.

Akanksha: 00:02:21

Can you help me?

Akanksha: 00:02:22

That has made massive difference to my career path.

Akanksha: 00:02:26

I'm in HR now, currently on a break, but I have been a senior HR coordinator

Akanksha: 00:02:32

for the last two years, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my journey.

Rob: 00:02:35

What got you into dental surgery?

Akanksha: 00:02:37

So what got me into dental?

Akanksha: 00:02:39

That's a very good question.

Akanksha: 00:02:41

Honestly, I was 16 years age.

Akanksha: 00:02:44

And my father he's very disciplined.

Akanksha: 00:02:47

He made most of the decisions in terms of what career we should choose.

Akanksha: 00:02:51

He also funded them.

Akanksha: 00:02:53

So we didn't have such a concept.

Akanksha: 00:02:56

I would say as where you are a student and you can work, you wouldn't find that

Akanksha: 00:03:01

in India as much as You find it here.

Akanksha: 00:03:03

And I love it.

Akanksha: 00:03:04

I totally love that.

Akanksha: 00:03:05

Independence that you have to earn as well as when you're learning.

Akanksha: 00:03:10

In India, that's not the case.

Akanksha: 00:03:11

And it's a cultural thing.

Akanksha: 00:03:12

Most of the families, they just spend on their children until they get married.

Akanksha: 00:03:17

So coming with that background we tend to obey it.

Akanksha: 00:03:20

And listen to everything our parents have to say.

Akanksha: 00:03:22

He decided it's either engineering or dentistry for me.

Akanksha: 00:03:26

And I was like, no, engineering is not for me.

Akanksha: 00:03:29

Biology, I like science.

Akanksha: 00:03:31

I was not a bright student, but I wasn't that bad.

Akanksha: 00:03:34

I just followed what everyone else did.

Akanksha: 00:03:37

I didn't have a brain to myself when it came to choosing my career in my

Akanksha: 00:03:41

teens, but I passed all my five years of education that you contribute

Akanksha: 00:03:47

towards earning this qualification.

Akanksha: 00:03:49

And I passed with good grades.

Akanksha: 00:03:53

I started to practice as a dentist in the afternoon assisting some

Akanksha: 00:03:58

great practitioners around in Mumbai because that's where I come from.

Akanksha: 00:04:01

And I practiced for three and a half years.

Akanksha: 00:04:04

Then I got married and came to the UK.

Rob: 00:04:06

Given that your dad had made the choice and he'd funded

Rob: 00:04:09

it, was there a problem for you to give up or pressure not to?

Akanksha: 00:04:14

Pressure, definitely.

Akanksha: 00:04:15

I think I'm very emotionally attached to my parents.

Akanksha: 00:04:17

I am not a rebel.

Akanksha: 00:04:19

For me, the pressure was enormous.

Akanksha: 00:04:21

And during every examination, I used to think, how am I

Akanksha: 00:04:24

going to make my parents proud?

Akanksha: 00:04:26

So it was not about me.

Akanksha: 00:04:27

I'll be honest.

Akanksha: 00:04:28

It was always about my dad.

Akanksha: 00:04:30

Even if he put me in an activity it could be a singing, a classical

Akanksha: 00:04:34

Indian classical singing.

Akanksha: 00:04:36

I used to go there and I used to be like, how will I perform

Akanksha: 00:04:38

so that my parents are happy.

Akanksha: 00:04:39

And more than my mom, it used to be my dad, because for me, performing,

Akanksha: 00:04:44

was equal to making him feel proud.

Akanksha: 00:04:46

So yeah, a pressure, a lot of pressure, I would

Rob: 00:04:49

say.

Rob: 00:04:49

Has that changed now?

Akanksha: 00:04:51

A lot.

Akanksha: 00:04:51

I think I've become a free bird since I came to the UK.

Akanksha: 00:04:54

I think when I came to the UK, I saw the culture here.

Akanksha: 00:04:57

And I loved it as much as I love the Indian culture to some extent.

Akanksha: 00:05:01

It's all about what really feeds you in a good way.

Akanksha: 00:05:04

So when I came to the UK, I started to like the way, like I

Akanksha: 00:05:07

told you, students they do a job on the side, they earn money.

Akanksha: 00:05:11

They have the freedom to come home whenever they want to in the night.

Akanksha: 00:05:15

I didn't have that.

Akanksha: 00:05:16

So little things that I saw here in terms of the neighborhood.

Akanksha: 00:05:20

In the UK, which is totally different to India.

Akanksha: 00:05:24

And things like this.

Akanksha: 00:05:25

And I started to enjoy that freedom because I never had it.

Akanksha: 00:05:28

Let's say that.

Akanksha: 00:05:28

I was married when I came to the UK and when my husband used to go to work,

Akanksha: 00:05:33

I used to particularly just go on a day trip, like by myself, solo trips.

Akanksha: 00:05:40

And I used to just explore Manchester because that's where we started from.

Akanksha: 00:05:43

Then I think I did a lot of exploring, discovery.

Akanksha: 00:05:46

Then I just went for a job search.

Akanksha: 00:05:49

I was a dentist, but on my residence permit, it was written

Akanksha: 00:05:53

basically I'm restricted to do any dental work, a dentist work.

Akanksha: 00:05:58

So I couldn't even be a hygienist.

Akanksha: 00:06:00

Even if I gave any examinations the whole process was to go back

Akanksha: 00:06:03

to India apply for examinations, get a student visa, et cetera.

Akanksha: 00:06:07

But then I didn't know whether I live with my husband, if I get the

Akanksha: 00:06:10

same university, which is closer.

Akanksha: 00:06:12

So lots of ifs and buts and a lot of funds, which I didn't have at that

Akanksha: 00:06:16

point of time and I didn't want to ask my parents because they've done a lot.

Akanksha: 00:06:20

So yeah.

Akanksha: 00:06:21

Rob my answer would be yes to your question.

Akanksha: 00:06:24

A lot has changed because independency with freedom, what comes is

Akanksha: 00:06:28

also the courage to be yourself.

Akanksha: 00:06:30

I think until 27, I was just not myself.

Akanksha: 00:06:34

I was like how my parents wanted me to be.

Akanksha: 00:06:36

Which is a nice thing.

Akanksha: 00:06:37

I'm not saying it's, they didn't want me to be, in fact, they

Akanksha: 00:06:40

wanted me to be really perfect, approachable people should like me.

Akanksha: 00:06:45

So a lot of discipline came from that area and understanding.

Akanksha: 00:06:50

But when I came here, freedom got me independence.

Akanksha: 00:06:52

It got me courage to be myself.

Akanksha: 00:06:54

I started to talk.

Akanksha: 00:06:55

I started to talk about my failures.

Akanksha: 00:06:57

Then I started to write about it.

Akanksha: 00:06:59

I created an anonymous account on Instagram.

Akanksha: 00:07:02

Because I didn't know how would people take that, but when I started

Akanksha: 00:07:06

to win followers, I think I got around like 9, 000 followers and

Akanksha: 00:07:10

we shared the same commonality.

Akanksha: 00:07:12

So I was like, okay, it's time I just show them who am I.

Akanksha: 00:07:15

And then from there I started collaborating with fountain pen brands.

Akanksha: 00:07:18

So all this wouldn't really happen if I wouldn't know the culture here in the UK.

Rob: 00:07:23

So it sounds like it was a positive cultural shock.

Rob: 00:07:28

Was there any negative aspects?

Akanksha: 00:07:29

As a person, even if there is anything that is

Akanksha: 00:07:32

negative, I tend to forget it.

Akanksha: 00:07:35

And I've learned this over the years because in my initial twenties up until

Akanksha: 00:07:40

twenties, it never worked in my favor, even if I thought this is negative.

Akanksha: 00:07:44

Instead it backfired.

Akanksha: 00:07:45

So it, so I evolved as a woman and I tend to not think

Akanksha: 00:07:49

about the negative side of it.

Akanksha: 00:07:51

Even today, if someone comes and tells me, but this doesn't happen in India.

Akanksha: 00:07:54

So what?

Akanksha: 00:07:54

Embrace it.

Akanksha: 00:07:55

If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

Akanksha: 00:07:57

Just adapt, be flexible.

Akanksha: 00:07:58

And somehow that negative turns into a positive.

Akanksha: 00:08:01

It's the attitude that changes.

Rob: 00:08:03

What's clear is you have a very positive attitude.

Rob: 00:08:05

Now I'm trying to link the work that you do now so your HR And

Rob: 00:08:11

so I can see dental, I can see the reasons you went into dental.

Rob: 00:08:14

I can see, it's crazy that in the UK that you weren't allowed to practice

Rob: 00:08:19

when we're so short of dentists.

Rob: 00:08:22

And this.

Rob: 00:08:23

Such chaos in the NHS for dentistry.

Akanksha: 00:08:26

I'll be very honest, Roe.

Akanksha: 00:08:27

When I came here with the qualification, I was like, wow, I'm

Akanksha: 00:08:30

going to be such a good dentist here.

Akanksha: 00:08:32

And dentists earn so much here.

Akanksha: 00:08:34

This was all on my mind.

Akanksha: 00:08:35

And then I come down here.

Akanksha: 00:08:36

Okay, fine.

Akanksha: 00:08:37

It's not working out.

Akanksha: 00:08:38

Let's find about the visas.

Akanksha: 00:08:39

Not working out.

Akanksha: 00:08:40

I don't have the funds.

Akanksha: 00:08:41

Okay.

Akanksha: 00:08:42

So what next?

Akanksha: 00:08:43

And then I used to think about, I'm working in McDonald's.

Akanksha: 00:08:46

No, I'm not going to do that.

Akanksha: 00:08:48

I have a qualification in my hand, but then I did it

Akanksha: 00:08:51

because you have bills to pay.

Akanksha: 00:08:53

So I worked in McDonald's right from a crew member and the people

Akanksha: 00:08:56

manager really liked me there.

Akanksha: 00:08:57

So she trained me as a shift manager and then a training manager.

Akanksha: 00:09:01

And then I looked into the L and D side for all the employees who were hired.

Akanksha: 00:09:06

But this is what I mean to say I was not ready for this, but I was just.

Akanksha: 00:09:11

Stuck like your post said today and then I wanted to move out of it.

Akanksha: 00:09:14

So I was like, let's embrace it.

Akanksha: 00:09:16

It's okay.

Akanksha: 00:09:16

Even if I have a dentist qualification, I'm going to work in McDonald's.

Akanksha: 00:09:20

That's how it

Rob: 00:09:21

was.

Rob: 00:09:21

When you look at your work now, what has dentistry taught you, that's

Rob: 00:09:26

transferred into the HR realm?

Rob: 00:09:28

Is

Akanksha: 00:09:29

the fact that you have to care, the element of care.

Akanksha: 00:09:32

which comes with empathy, but you don't have to be emotionally

Akanksha: 00:09:35

attached to your patient.

Akanksha: 00:09:37

So to your employee, and that's very common here.

Akanksha: 00:09:40

And that's the power of empathy in HR professional, where you know how much

Akanksha: 00:09:45

to get involved and bring that person out of that problem as simple as that.

Akanksha: 00:09:50

And it's just like a patient coming to the clinic.

Akanksha: 00:09:52

I have massive pain.

Akanksha: 00:09:54

Care for the person.

Akanksha: 00:09:55

Give him the right medicaments.

Akanksha: 00:09:56

If you cannot do a root canal at that point of time, he may be having swelling.

Akanksha: 00:10:00

Give him antibiotics, anti inflammatory.

Akanksha: 00:10:02

Send him back home.

Akanksha: 00:10:04

Give them a good course of how do you put these hot and cold ice packs.

Akanksha: 00:10:07

And no warm fluffers, etc.

Akanksha: 00:10:10

But but that's the same thing you do in HR.

Akanksha: 00:10:12

It's just that they're not patients.

Akanksha: 00:10:13

They're employees.

Akanksha: 00:10:14

If they come to you with any concerns, don't get emotionally

Akanksha: 00:10:17

attached because that's where empathy can become your weakness.

Akanksha: 00:10:20

So keep it strong.

Rob: 00:10:21

Are you comfortable telling me what you like and dislike in HR?

Akanksha: 00:10:24

So what I like in HR is what I'll start with.

Akanksha: 00:10:27

I think teamwork is an integral part when it comes to Any successful organization.

Akanksha: 00:10:34

So you want to compare organizations with successful organizations,

Akanksha: 00:10:38

and I would say it's the teamwork that makes it successful.

Akanksha: 00:10:41

And what it means from HR perspective, Rob, is that HR is responsible for

Akanksha: 00:10:45

managing people and also monitoring so that management becomes a little easy.

Akanksha: 00:10:51

And hence it plays a very crucial role in fostering team efficacy or efficiency.

Akanksha: 00:10:56

So this is what I like about HR when it comes to understanding

Akanksha: 00:10:59

the role of different teams.

Akanksha: 00:11:01

Every team is different and every team has different common goals.

Akanksha: 00:11:05

So that is a step higher to understanding the role and then the

Akanksha: 00:11:09

common goal of that particular team.

Akanksha: 00:11:11

Then you also look like HR wouldn't view a team as just people.

Akanksha: 00:11:16

It's not just a collection of people.

Akanksha: 00:11:17

It's like a single unit and they're working towards a

Akanksha: 00:11:21

common goal, like I mentioned.

Akanksha: 00:11:22

So that is one part of HR that we understand.

Akanksha: 00:11:26

People as single unit and not as individual people

Akanksha: 00:11:30

when it comes to teamwork.

Akanksha: 00:11:32

Team and work together also means team is people for me, work is process.

Akanksha: 00:11:37

So people and process together make teamwork possible.

Akanksha: 00:11:41

So that is another aspect of HR that I like, that we look at it

Akanksha: 00:11:44

together and we balance it out.

Akanksha: 00:11:46

I think there's also team dynamics that I really enjoy as a HR professional,

Akanksha: 00:11:52

Rob, which is nothing but Paying very close to the behavioral relationships

Akanksha: 00:11:57

that people share with each other, and this is where it can get either

Akanksha: 00:12:01

too easy or too difficult at times, too challenging at times, because when

Akanksha: 00:12:05

you have effective team dynamics that can lead to improved communication,

Akanksha: 00:12:10

you will have Problem solvers.

Akanksha: 00:12:13

A great problem solving abilities and in house, you will have increased

Akanksha: 00:12:17

productivity, which is great performance.

Akanksha: 00:12:20

But when you have something that takes a team dynamics, say, poor team dynamic,

Akanksha: 00:12:25

then in that case, it would result in conflict in miscommunication and reduced

Akanksha: 00:12:31

efficiency, bringing the performance down.

Akanksha: 00:12:34

Hence, when it comes to managing people, it's important to monitor them as well.

Akanksha: 00:12:39

So that we can bring the best for them, because their success

Akanksha: 00:12:41

together is organization success.

Akanksha: 00:12:44

And what people look at HR is basically it's employment law and law is.

Akanksha: 00:12:49

Always looked at as a boundary or restriction limitations,

Akanksha: 00:12:55

but that's not true.

Akanksha: 00:12:56

It means to protect you.

Akanksha: 00:12:57

Law is to protect people.

Akanksha: 00:12:59

And if this is something that we understand our life as an employee

Akanksha: 00:13:03

gets very easy in any organization when it comes to the different laws

Akanksha: 00:13:08

and rules in place of following them.

Akanksha: 00:13:12

It really gets very easy.

Akanksha: 00:13:13

So yeah, team dynamics, like I said, and building effective teams as well.

Akanksha: 00:13:18

I really enjoy workplace development activities that we do as a HR

Akanksha: 00:13:24

professional and these activities, they just don't bring bonding.

Akanksha: 00:13:27

They also make you understand the different personalities in the team.

Akanksha: 00:13:30

And that opens up the communication.

Akanksha: 00:13:33

If there is confidentiality to be maintained.

Akanksha: 00:13:36

At some point, then even that is communicated in a way

Akanksha: 00:13:41

that it is not communicated.

Akanksha: 00:13:43

So I think that balance that HR brings when it comes to communication within

Akanksha: 00:13:49

a team in terms of confidentiality is also is also great that is also I would

Akanksha: 00:13:54

say something that I have learned in HR.

Akanksha: 00:13:58

Yes, so these are a few things that I like about HR.

Akanksha: 00:14:00

What I dislike

Akanksha: 00:14:01

I dislike that people are scared of HR.

Akanksha: 00:14:04

That's one thing I should say.

Akanksha: 00:14:05

I've seen most of the employees say this, that, ooh, HR is yours.

Akanksha: 00:14:09

No need to do that.

Akanksha: 00:14:10

It makes me feel like, Have I chosen the right career because I want to be

Akanksha: 00:14:14

really close to people and help them.

Akanksha: 00:14:16

So that is only one thing that I would say I dislike because HR needs

Akanksha: 00:14:22

to come out and tell people that we are monitoring you to protect you.

Akanksha: 00:14:27

As simple as that.

Akanksha: 00:14:28

And I think that would make a big difference, Rob.

Rob: 00:14:31

HR is an area I don't know a great deal.

Rob: 00:14:33

What I've noticed is in the time when things aren't going so well, there's

Rob: 00:14:37

downsizing or something like that.

Rob: 00:14:39

That's usually when you see HR.

Rob: 00:14:41

Maybe that's where Often the perception is it's about disciplinaries.

Rob: 00:14:45

It's about coming in when there's redundancies.

Rob: 00:14:48

And some of my observations have been, it's very much about, or the perception

Rob: 00:14:53

has been of it's protecting the company.

Rob: 00:14:56

And it hasn't always come across as protecting the people.

Rob: 00:15:00

But I suppose really the only times I've come across that is when it's as a group.

Rob: 00:15:06

So I suppose the individual one to one thing might be more supporting them.

Rob: 00:15:09

So I'd like to ask you about, the idea of human resources I think

Rob: 00:15:13

that name is outdated and it's comes from an idea, like in an old

Rob: 00:15:18

factory where people were resources.

Rob: 00:15:20

I understand at the time what is it, 100, 120 years ago, it was

Rob: 00:15:23

Frederick Taylor and then it was about let's make people better because

Rob: 00:15:26

then the business will be better.

Rob: 00:15:27

Through the thirties, forties, fifties, it was often used as,

Rob: 00:15:32

it made people more like numbers or certainly feel like numbers.

Rob: 00:15:36

Do you have a view on

Akanksha: 00:15:37

that or?

Akanksha: 00:15:38

So when it comes to thirties, forties, fifties, Rob, I would just say I haven't

Akanksha: 00:15:43

really traveled retrograde to that extent to understand how HR was understood at

Akanksha: 00:15:49

that point of time, but about today.

Akanksha: 00:15:52

The reason why I made a choice to get into this field and knowing me,

Akanksha: 00:15:57

people know how much I love people and I love working with people.

Akanksha: 00:16:00

So when my colleagues, my other dentist friends, they got to know that, okay,

Akanksha: 00:16:04

I've chosen HR as a career field.

Akanksha: 00:16:06

They were very happy for me.

Akanksha: 00:16:07

And they told me that AK you're going to do so good there

Akanksha: 00:16:10

because you're a people person.

Akanksha: 00:16:11

So that's the first thing when they complimented me, they also

Akanksha: 00:16:15

said and meant that HR is for you.

Akanksha: 00:16:18

Those were people person.

Akanksha: 00:16:20

When you say in terms of disciplinary grievances, yes, these are certain

Akanksha: 00:16:25

processes in an organization and an organization must must

Akanksha: 00:16:32

take into consideration the aspirations and its capability.

Akanksha: 00:16:35

And when there's a balance, I would say, if you exceed If everyone exceeds

Akanksha: 00:16:40

their aspirations over the capability of an organization, that is where most

Akanksha: 00:16:45

of the times you would come across certain unforeseen events, but that is

Akanksha: 00:16:50

all about management and how you look at it how you want to present it and

Akanksha: 00:16:55

hence we monitor and manage together.

Akanksha: 00:16:58

When I say that I have read this and learned this from

Akanksha: 00:17:02

the famous Dave Albridge.

Akanksha: 00:17:03

He said this in one of his videos that aspirations can

Akanksha: 00:17:06

definitely exceed the capability.

Akanksha: 00:17:08

But again, you need to keep some control over it.

Akanksha: 00:17:10

But this is where I think if we work on monitoring and managing them together, an

Akanksha: 00:17:17

organization can definitely be successful.

Akanksha: 00:17:19

In terms of disciplinary grievances, it's all a part of the culture.

Akanksha: 00:17:22

When the culture is thriving there's very less of it to to damage

Akanksha: 00:17:26

the organization's reputation.

Akanksha: 00:17:28

So I would say that, yes.

Rob: 00:17:31

What I'm reading into that is the role of HR depends on the

Rob: 00:17:36

way that the company is managed.

Rob: 00:17:37

So I'm thinking if you are in a company that is very beholden

Rob: 00:17:42

to next quarter's earnings.

Rob: 00:17:44

And it's okay, let's downsize.

Rob: 00:17:47

Then HR is probably often quite negatively seen, but if you're in a

Rob: 00:17:51

company that's growing and thriving, then HR is probably a positive impact.

Rob: 00:17:56

Does that make sense?

Akanksha: 00:17:57

It does.

Akanksha: 00:17:58

That is what companies and the nature of their work scope brings in like

Akanksha: 00:18:03

small companies, you have startups, you have ambitious companies, and you will

Akanksha: 00:18:09

see the cultures different everywhere.

Akanksha: 00:18:11

So when it comes to the type of the work scope that these companies bring

Akanksha: 00:18:16

along with them, I think every HR professional would act differently in

Akanksha: 00:18:21

the role that they've been given to be able to keep that team work together,

Akanksha: 00:18:26

which is people and process, like I said, so there has to be a balance.

Akanksha: 00:18:30

This only comes with effective communication from the

Akanksha: 00:18:33

leadership team as well.

Akanksha: 00:18:35

That is not to miss out.

Akanksha: 00:18:36

So the leaders who have led the organization all this while, they

Akanksha: 00:18:40

have a lot of insights to share, and this is what you build up your

Akanksha: 00:18:45

perspective on, your ideas on, and then yes, it's all a teamwork.

Akanksha: 00:18:50

So I would say yes.

Rob: 00:18:52

You've talked about monitoring and managing.

Rob: 00:18:54

I'm very interested in what that actually looks like and how you

Rob: 00:18:57

would do that from a HR perspective.

Akanksha: 00:18:59

In terms of monitoring and management, so when it comes

Akanksha: 00:19:02

to monitoring, this is where your disciplinaries come in and

Akanksha: 00:19:06

so that you don't have to end up having too many disciplinaries.

Akanksha: 00:19:10

You just have to monitor, pick up volunteers in the particular

Akanksha: 00:19:14

teams that you know need attention.

Akanksha: 00:19:18

Ask them to daily go through or weekly or monthly go through certain team huddles.

Akanksha: 00:19:24

Keeping them aligned with keeping their values aligned with the

Akanksha: 00:19:28

organizational goals as well.

Akanksha: 00:19:30

So there's a lot of work done behind in terms of bringing this to effect.

Akanksha: 00:19:35

We always want less reporting because that makes us feel that

Akanksha: 00:19:40

people are happy as simple as that.

Akanksha: 00:19:42

So in order to achieve that, I would say monitoring is all about

Akanksha: 00:19:46

placing volunteers in place.

Akanksha: 00:19:48

Having volunteers in place and ensuring that they are conveying the right

Akanksha: 00:19:54

strategies that we have planned in terms of increasing the team efficiency

Akanksha: 00:19:59

and morale because and that can be done through various workplace

Akanksha: 00:20:03

development activities as well.

Akanksha: 00:20:05

So yes, there's in terms of monitoring and managing, monitoring is more

Akanksha: 00:20:10

of a bit of a motivational zone as well, where we motivate people

Akanksha: 00:20:14

and managing becomes effective.

Rob: 00:20:17

Okay so my work is relationships, helping teams unite through relationships.

Rob: 00:20:23

And.

Rob: 00:20:23

I'm always obsessed about how do you measure improvements?

Rob: 00:20:28

And so it's a very difficult thing.

Rob: 00:20:29

And I came up with the idea that you should if people are working for a

Rob: 00:20:33

business and they're being paid then there should be a return on that.

Rob: 00:20:36

That's a measure.

Rob: 00:20:37

And I was Googling around and I understand that there is a measurement

Rob: 00:20:41

of employee return on investment or team return on investment.

Rob: 00:20:45

Is that one of the things that you would use in monitoring?

Rob: 00:20:47

So this is

Akanksha: 00:20:48

in

Rob: 00:20:49

terms of?

Rob: 00:20:49

I was looking at the concept.

Rob: 00:20:50

So I came up with an idea that really, if you're going to look at a team and you're

Rob: 00:20:54

going to look at individuals, you want to.

Rob: 00:20:57

In order to invest and to improve them to work better individually and as a team.

Rob: 00:21:02

Then you need to measure what impact that's having.

Rob: 00:21:06

So it seems to make sense that if you're paying like staff costs are

Rob: 00:21:10

pretty much fixed, but the return on those costs it could be minimal.

Rob: 00:21:15

It could even be negative or it could be usually.

Rob: 00:21:18

A great return, so it seemed like to make sense to measure that.

Rob: 00:21:23

When I Googled it to see if anyone else had that idea, there seems to be a

Rob: 00:21:26

concept of employee return on investment is, I was just wondering, is that

Rob: 00:21:31

the kind of tool that you would use?

Akanksha: 00:21:32

I think this would really sit in terms of even budget planning or

Akanksha: 00:21:38

even If any retention rate needs to be calculated, we look at costs occurred.

Akanksha: 00:21:44

So all of this would be sitting with the people partners at that level.

Akanksha: 00:21:48

So yeah I wasn't exposed to this level of involvement or even assistance.

Akanksha: 00:21:54

So it would be wrong if I comment without an experience in that particular area.

Rob: 00:21:59

So you're looking at helping people to thrive, helping a team to thrive.

Rob: 00:22:02

What in your experience, what do you see works?

Rob: 00:22:06

What do you see as most?

Rob: 00:22:07

I'm assuming that there's a budget and you have to look at

Rob: 00:22:10

how do you allocate that money?

Rob: 00:22:12

What are the things that you look at first?

Rob: 00:22:15

And in a ranking.

Akanksha: 00:22:16

I think recognition comes first to see them happy.

Akanksha: 00:22:20

So even if I have a team of four and they all have different strengths.

Akanksha: 00:22:24

That they bring to the team.

Akanksha: 00:22:25

Recognition and rewards.

Akanksha: 00:22:28

They could be For certain acts of kindness say if it's a customer service

Akanksha: 00:22:33

role, and we're doing daily calls maybe we are answering 20 calls per day,

Akanksha: 00:22:39

and if one customer was really lovely we do an act of kindness for them.

Akanksha: 00:22:44

When we do an act of kindness for a customer the customer also sometimes

Akanksha: 00:22:49

writes back saying, or giving a recommendation, feedback, or a

Akanksha: 00:22:55

review for the person who basically gave them a good customer service.

Akanksha: 00:23:00

So these things are also implemented, which is not just straight from,

Akanksha: 00:23:04

like sometimes recognition only comes from your manager or your seniors.

Akanksha: 00:23:09

But we also try to bring that recognition from the customer to the

Akanksha: 00:23:15

employee who's just dealt with them.

Akanksha: 00:23:16

So this is one of the things we also implement a tool where feedbacks can be

Akanksha: 00:23:22

so I would call it a performance tool.

Akanksha: 00:23:24

So you give a service, it could either be from sales, you could be from

Akanksha: 00:23:28

HR, but if you've given a service to someone and you've made them happy

Akanksha: 00:23:33

then this person comes back to you with a nice feedback and we pick up

Akanksha: 00:23:38

those nominations towards the end.

Akanksha: 00:23:40

We do a little Award ceremony, and we would have like top 50 nominations and a

Akanksha: 00:23:46

little party, which is well controlled.

Akanksha: 00:23:49

And and yeah, so recognitions like these, but there's a lot of strategies like we

Akanksha: 00:23:53

put in place, like a performance tool where this feedback can be gathered

Akanksha: 00:23:58

nominations for which value do you want to nominate this particular employee for?

Akanksha: 00:24:02

Not just for the last picture of holding an award in your hand, but it

Akanksha: 00:24:07

is also for basically going through that process, you received a feedback, Oh,

Akanksha: 00:24:11

this person has given me a nomination for this particular value that I

Akanksha: 00:24:15

aligned with that this organization.

Akanksha: 00:24:16

Oh, what does that mean?

Akanksha: 00:24:17

Okay.

Akanksha: 00:24:18

I'm going to try more on this particular value.

Akanksha: 00:24:20

It motivates you as well.

Akanksha: 00:24:21

So yeah I would say recognition comes first.

Akanksha: 00:24:24

Second thing is I would say check ins if it's your team,

Akanksha: 00:24:28

just do some regular check ins.

Akanksha: 00:24:30

Hi, are you okay?

Akanksha: 00:24:32

It's the energy in the end that we feel, Rob because when you do check

Akanksha: 00:24:36

ins, people feel nice about it.

Akanksha: 00:24:39

And there's no better feeling than just feeling nice sometimes.

Akanksha: 00:24:42

Then the third thing that I would say is help them manage their workload.

Akanksha: 00:24:47

throughout the day.

Akanksha: 00:24:48

If they need help, just a quick check in the morning.

Akanksha: 00:24:51

It barely takes two minutes when I used to do that in my previous workplace.

Akanksha: 00:24:54

Just ask them what's on your to do list today.

Akanksha: 00:24:57

Is everything manageable?

Akanksha: 00:24:59

And they will surely say, no, this is where I need help.

Akanksha: 00:25:02

Then just ask them, are you comfortable to reach out to this person?

Akanksha: 00:25:06

Because sometimes You may have introverts in your team who are

Akanksha: 00:25:09

not very comfortable reaching out.

Akanksha: 00:25:11

So knowing that personality type, it is your duty to know that, okay, you

Akanksha: 00:25:15

just need to reach out to someone.

Akanksha: 00:25:17

I can do that for you if you want, but if they say no, it's okay, I'll reach out.

Akanksha: 00:25:22

Then that's great.

Akanksha: 00:25:23

But having that conversation to just make them feel a little

Akanksha: 00:25:25

light to get that day started.

Akanksha: 00:25:28

So I think, yes, check the to do list.

Akanksha: 00:25:30

And then you can also check whether they're having their regular breaks,

Akanksha: 00:25:34

because it's very important that when you are working you take your breaks on time.

Akanksha: 00:25:40

And that has always been on my mind.

Akanksha: 00:25:42

Yeah.

Akanksha: 00:25:43

When it comes to a team that every member should take that break.

Akanksha: 00:25:47

It could be a different hour, not together.

Akanksha: 00:25:49

That's fine.

Akanksha: 00:25:49

We can manage the workload, but a break is a must.

Akanksha: 00:25:53

So that it just gives you some relaxation time, no burnout zones.

Akanksha: 00:25:58

It's just beneficial to take a break.

Akanksha: 00:26:00

I also check whether the employee is making, benefits

Akanksha: 00:26:03

from the benefits that we give.

Akanksha: 00:26:05

For example, you have gym membership, you have say early Friday

Akanksha: 00:26:09

finish in certain organizations.

Akanksha: 00:26:12

It could also be a well being hour that we give for meditation, yoga.

Akanksha: 00:26:16

So are employees really making the most of it?

Akanksha: 00:26:18

Why are they not making the most of it?

Akanksha: 00:26:20

check their workload, have a conversation.

Akanksha: 00:26:22

Do they want to have that kind of a benefit on their plate?

Akanksha: 00:26:26

If not, if they're not interested, for example, I was never

Akanksha: 00:26:29

interested in the gym membership because I hate going to the gym.

Akanksha: 00:26:32

So yeah, there could be someone like me who doesn't like going to the gym.

Akanksha: 00:26:36

So yeah, keeping a check on whether they are making the best of the

Akanksha: 00:26:39

benefits that have been provided.

Akanksha: 00:26:42

Keeping also a check on their sickness record.

Akanksha: 00:26:44

Why are they falling sick all over again, communicate with them and all

Akanksha: 00:26:49

these things, Rob, when you communicate with your team members when it comes

Akanksha: 00:26:53

to sickness, the annual leave, have you taken your leave why are you not

Akanksha: 00:26:57

taking your leave, just book them off, go somewhere, have a nice vacation,

Akanksha: 00:27:01

some people just want to work, work and work, and have seen them, they just

Akanksha: 00:27:04

don't want to take a leave, but having these conversations is very important,

Akanksha: 00:27:08

and this is where we monitor them, how they take their breaks, how they

Akanksha: 00:27:12

go on, whether they go on a leave.

Akanksha: 00:27:14

And this is to ensure that all the benefits that they have, they're really

Akanksha: 00:27:19

managing it really well and using it.

Akanksha: 00:27:21

So yeah, there are plenty, many others.

Akanksha: 00:27:23

This is the best I can think of so far.

Rob: 00:27:25

They're important ones.

Rob: 00:27:26

They're basically showing that you care and showing that

Rob: 00:27:29

you value them as a person.

Rob: 00:27:30

Which is fundamental core thing that people want.

Rob: 00:27:33

Okay.

Rob: 00:27:34

So you're giving me a different insight into HR.

Rob: 00:27:36

When I look and basically, like the environment, the business

Rob: 00:27:41

environment at the moment, I see you've got the problem of Gen Z.

Rob: 00:27:44

That's a lot of people talk about.

Rob: 00:27:46

You've got burnout is a big issue.

Rob: 00:27:48

Mental wellbeing.

Rob: 00:27:49

Increasing workload.

Rob: 00:27:51

So I'm just wondering, sorry, of all the issues that businesses are

Rob: 00:27:54

currently facing, what do you what have you noticed is impacting you in the

Rob: 00:27:59

HR sphere as the biggest constraints to teams working well together?

Rob: 00:28:05

I think, Rob, when

Akanksha: 00:28:08

one goes through burnouts or any such stressful events at

Akanksha: 00:28:13

workplace, they naturally stop or lower their pace, tone, and interest

Akanksha: 00:28:19

towards having a communication and that creates a communication gap.

Akanksha: 00:28:23

So for me, that's the first thing I see, even if someone is feeling

Akanksha: 00:28:27

low, they don't want to communicate.

Akanksha: 00:28:29

And this is where mental health plays a big role, especially with burnouts.

Akanksha: 00:28:32

We know what several burnouts and the effect that they can have.

Akanksha: 00:28:35

It all deals with hormones in the human body.

Akanksha: 00:28:38

So stress is not good.

Akanksha: 00:28:40

And the moment you feel that you're stressed or you're struggling to speak

Akanksha: 00:28:44

to someone, that's the first thing I would say open communication is a must.

Akanksha: 00:28:48

And this is where your relationships at workplace can help you.

Akanksha: 00:28:51

Whether that person is a leader Or your senior, or a

Akanksha: 00:28:54

manager, or just your colleague.

Akanksha: 00:28:55

Just have a conversation, because communication just opens all

Akanksha: 00:28:59

channels, and it brings opportunities that we can't even imagine.

Akanksha: 00:29:04

It's beyond our expectations as well, at times.

Akanksha: 00:29:07

We may be expecting really little, and what we get is a big reward.

Akanksha: 00:29:11

And communication can bring that in place.

Akanksha: 00:29:13

So I would say during any burnout, during any mental health any signals

Akanksha: 00:29:18

that you get that, okay, I'm not feeling well, psychologically, approach people.

Akanksha: 00:29:23

Only people can help you.

Rob: 00:29:24

When someone's going through something like that, often that's

Rob: 00:29:28

when they shut down communication.

Rob: 00:29:30

There is lots of this cultural stress, cultural shame, stress.

Rob: 00:29:37

Yeah, I'm guessing that's probably when it's difficult because I

Rob: 00:29:41

don't know, for whatever reason, we've always been told just stiff

Rob: 00:29:44

upper lip and just get on with it.

Rob: 00:29:45

And there's something wrong with you if you're not feeling like

Rob: 00:29:47

that, this is how people feel.

Rob: 00:29:49

So I can see where that would be so difficult.

Rob: 00:29:51

And it's probably also, I don't know if it's something you experienced,

Rob: 00:29:55

but it's difficult to open someone up when they're feeling like that.

Rob: 00:29:59

It's very difficult.

Akanksha: 00:30:00

It's very challenging.

Akanksha: 00:30:01

Yes.

Akanksha: 00:30:01

Rob, I agree with you to have someone open up their worries to you.

Akanksha: 00:30:05

The concerns.

Akanksha: 00:30:06

It takes a great deal of energy and commitment, and this can only be

Akanksha: 00:30:11

driven if you are genuinely interested in helping them come out of it.

Akanksha: 00:30:16

So I would say a lot comes with your maturity to handle

Akanksha: 00:30:21

such circumstances or events.

Akanksha: 00:30:23

This is where I always talk about maximizing well being.

Akanksha: 00:30:26

And for me, it's very important that.

Akanksha: 00:30:29

You take a point of your overall well being rather than just that one thing.

Akanksha: 00:30:33

Okay, I'm performing.

Akanksha: 00:30:34

I'm a great performer.

Akanksha: 00:30:35

Oh my God, I want to hit my targets.

Akanksha: 00:30:37

I want to achieve this.

Akanksha: 00:30:38

But are you happy doing all of this?

Akanksha: 00:30:40

Do you feel relaxed when you go back home?

Akanksha: 00:30:43

Do you get a good night's sleep?

Akanksha: 00:30:44

Do you drink plenty of water?

Akanksha: 00:30:46

Because that's essential for your brain to function in the long term.

Akanksha: 00:30:49

So asking these questions to yourself you will realize that you've come to

Akanksha: 00:30:54

this particular Questions regarding maximizing being and you have come to

Akanksha: 00:30:58

this particular stage of life where you can have these conversations with people

Akanksha: 00:31:02

who are facing mental health issues.

Akanksha: 00:31:04

It's very important because you've seen what stresses you've seen what challenges

Akanksha: 00:31:08

are, struggles are, and you just want to help someone, but that has to be genuinely

Akanksha: 00:31:13

felt, and I think everyone understands.

Akanksha: 00:31:16

the energy we give each other.

Akanksha: 00:31:18

So yeah.

Rob: 00:31:18

Okay.

Rob: 00:31:19

In terms of the constraints just to clarify that, would you say, what would

Rob: 00:31:24

you say was the biggest, would you say is burnout or would you say it's

Rob: 00:31:27

in terms of people working as a team?

Akanksha: 00:31:30

Maybe I would say it's culture and I will also give you an example

Akanksha: 00:31:36

around it because Most of the times when it comes to say, I was saying,

Akanksha: 00:31:41

I was speaking about this to another friend the other day about mentorship.

Akanksha: 00:31:45

I was four years old and I remember my mom teaching me a Sanskrit quote, which is on

Akanksha: 00:31:51

mentors and the importance in your life.

Akanksha: 00:31:54

So it's a little prayer that we offer to God.

Akanksha: 00:31:56

And we say that Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Maheshwara,

Akanksha: 00:32:01

Guru is Sakshat Parameshwara, Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha.

Akanksha: 00:32:05

In this quote, we are literally praising the mentor.

Akanksha: 00:32:08

We are saying that you are the creator.

Akanksha: 00:32:10

You are the one who is preserving our journey.

Akanksha: 00:32:12

And you're also the one who is destroying the weeds of ignorance in this journey.

Akanksha: 00:32:17

So for us, the role of mentor is Oh my God, it's next.

Akanksha: 00:32:20

We place them next to God.

Akanksha: 00:32:22

And when I speak about this to my colleagues, they're like, seriously, okay.

Akanksha: 00:32:25

And I'm like, yeah.

Akanksha: 00:32:27

It's a prayer we offer as a child, and this is what we've learned about.

Akanksha: 00:32:31

So culture plays a very important role.

Akanksha: 00:32:33

It's something that we bring along with us, especially when you

Akanksha: 00:32:35

change a geographical location.

Akanksha: 00:32:37

When it comes to being stressed out and not being able to talk about

Akanksha: 00:32:41

certain things, but I would say if I'm speaking to a mentor for me at

Akanksha: 00:32:45

my workplace during such times, for me, it's easy to open up myself.

Akanksha: 00:32:50

Rather than to someone who doesn't know where I come from because

Akanksha: 00:32:53

it's been because I've been made understand that mentors understand you.

Akanksha: 00:32:58

They want to help you.

Akanksha: 00:32:59

They want to destroy the weeds of ignorance that come in your journey.

Akanksha: 00:33:02

And that could be anything.

Akanksha: 00:33:03

So that's my understanding.

Akanksha: 00:33:04

So culture, definitely.

Akanksha: 00:33:05

Yes.

Akanksha: 00:33:06

Burnouts for sure.

Akanksha: 00:33:07

Sometimes you just don't know how to manage your workload.

Akanksha: 00:33:09

So in that case, you don't know what to say to your manager.

Akanksha: 00:33:13

You don't want to show that you're not worthy of the role

Akanksha: 00:33:16

that they have hired you for.

Akanksha: 00:33:17

And you just want to prove that, no, I have achieved so

Akanksha: 00:33:19

much and I will keep achieving.

Akanksha: 00:33:21

So you just want to run around the maze and there's no direction there,

Akanksha: 00:33:25

and hence you don't communicate because you're wanting to find your

Akanksha: 00:33:29

door but the door is already there.

Akanksha: 00:33:31

You just have to knock, talk, and just get it out.

Akanksha: 00:33:35

So I think burnouts, definitely.

Akanksha: 00:33:37

Culture, yes.

Akanksha: 00:33:38

Another thing that really holds them back, I feel, is their personal life.

Akanksha: 00:33:44

And personal life means when you come to work, you come with thoughts,

Akanksha: 00:33:48

you carry them from your home.

Akanksha: 00:33:50

Maybe a little fight that you had with your family, your partner, your

Akanksha: 00:33:54

husband, wife, or probably something where you feel you're not being a

Akanksha: 00:33:58

good parent because you're working.

Akanksha: 00:34:01

It could be anything.

Akanksha: 00:34:02

It could really be anything on the back of your mind and you don't

Akanksha: 00:34:04

want to communicate about that because it's very personal to you.

Akanksha: 00:34:07

You don't want people to know that, oh, she just had a fight.

Akanksha: 00:34:10

What are people thinking about me now?

Akanksha: 00:34:12

Am I arrogant?

Akanksha: 00:34:13

What's well?

Akanksha: 00:34:14

And then people have these judgments, they have these

Akanksha: 00:34:16

gossips, little gossips around you.

Akanksha: 00:34:18

Sometimes I think people don't want to talk about it because of the same.

Akanksha: 00:34:21

So it could be for any reasons.

Rob: 00:34:22

That's so true.

Rob: 00:34:23

I'm trying to remember this, there's some research, but about if you

Rob: 00:34:27

have a fight the night before, how much it affects your thinking.

Rob: 00:34:31

So like 15, 20, 30 percent of your Cognitive resources are

Rob: 00:34:35

going on what's gone before.

Rob: 00:34:37

And yet people are like, just be professional, leave

Rob: 00:34:40

your emotions at the door.

Rob: 00:34:41

It's not physically something that we can do.

Rob: 00:34:44

Okay, so I see a glimmer of something.

Rob: 00:34:46

If you were to give a TED Talk, write a book, what would be the topic?

Rob: 00:34:51

If you could wave a magic wand, right?

Rob: 00:34:53

And this is your moment, it's a TED Talk, it's a book.

Rob: 00:34:56

One thing that businesses should do to implement more, and because

Rob: 00:35:00

I've picked up an idea and I just want to see if that's true.

Rob: 00:35:03

What would it be on?

Akanksha: 00:35:04

I would say having a buddy, a coach, a mentor, in order to Emphasize

Akanksha: 00:35:10

on your overall well being in the workplace to enhance your performance.

Akanksha: 00:35:15

Is what I would talk about.

Rob: 00:35:16

Brilliant.

Rob: 00:35:16

Because that's what I thought.

Rob: 00:35:17

There there was a change in your energy when you talked about

Rob: 00:35:20

mentor and you talked about something deep from your childhood.

Rob: 00:35:23

And so that's where I wanted to a little more into that.

Rob: 00:35:26

So I understand the culture in India is very different from the culture here.

Rob: 00:35:30

It's collectivist and guru is a.

Rob: 00:35:34

I know the, like here, when you say guru, you being rude, like you're

Rob: 00:35:39

up yourself and you think that, everything, the best, everything.

Rob: 00:35:42

Whereas there's a different path in the Eastern traditions where it's

Rob: 00:35:47

about surrendering to the guru.

Rob: 00:35:49

And it's about the sanctity of a guru.

Rob: 00:35:52

I think perhaps in the West, we've had, if you look at almost every president.

Rob: 00:35:56

Prime Minister, anyone who's put in a guru position, they soon get

Rob: 00:36:00

exposed for abusing their powers.

Rob: 00:36:02

And while that happens in the East, it's traditionally hasn't or has,

Rob: 00:36:07

or I'm not aware of, but there seems to be a different relationship.

Rob: 00:36:11

So could you that quote guru, And so was that talking to the gods?

Rob: 00:36:15

Because you said a list of names.

Akanksha: 00:36:17

So it's a prayer we offer which goes like Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu,

Akanksha: 00:36:23

Gurur Devo Maheshwara, Gurur Sakshat Parameshwara, Tasmai Shri Gurve Namaha.

Akanksha: 00:36:28

So here we bow down to our Guru.

Akanksha: 00:36:32

To the mentor and the mentees praying to the mentor that you are my creator.

Akanksha: 00:36:36

You are the one who's helping me preserve my journey.

Akanksha: 00:36:39

And you are the one who's also helping me destroy the weeds of

Akanksha: 00:36:43

ignorance that is coming in my way.

Akanksha: 00:36:45

And.

Akanksha: 00:36:46

For all these acts of yours, I bow down to you and I want to offer my gratitude.

Akanksha: 00:36:51

So this is the prayer we say ever since I've been a child.

Akanksha: 00:36:55

And even today when I wake up in the morning, and now my son also,

Akanksha: 00:36:58

he's just picked it up from me.

Akanksha: 00:37:00

He'll sit beside me and we're praying to the God, Gods and When we ring the bell,

Akanksha: 00:37:05

we just say this very quickly, Maheshwara.

Akanksha: 00:37:09

It's just set now in, in the tone, in the genes, everything.

Akanksha: 00:37:12

So yeah.

Akanksha: 00:37:13

But that is where the whole thinking comes from, Rob.

Akanksha: 00:37:16

Can't separate it out of me and I cannot think of why my mentor is not great.

Akanksha: 00:37:22

Anyone who's helped me in my journey, where I was stuck, just even when

Akanksha: 00:37:27

they asked me, are you okay, AK?

Akanksha: 00:37:29

And I'm like, that makes a big difference to how I feel.

Rob: 00:37:32

Okay.

Rob: 00:37:32

So in the West.

Rob: 00:37:34

There's great pride.

Rob: 00:37:35

You get George Bush, Jr.

Rob: 00:37:37

So the son of the American president says, I'm a self made man.

Rob: 00:37:41

His dad was the American president, the most powerful man in the world.

Rob: 00:37:44

And he claims to be self made.

Rob: 00:37:45

Donald Trump got all his money from his dad.

Rob: 00:37:48

I'm a self made man.

Rob: 00:37:49

So the West is very much grandest on self made.

Rob: 00:37:53

We're maybe three, four by the time we have conscious four, so we've had several

Rob: 00:37:59

years, like 70 percent of our neural network is built up by the age of seven.

Rob: 00:38:05

And.

Rob: 00:38:05

I don't know about you, but by seven, I didn't have a lot of critical thought.

Rob: 00:38:09

So we're just taking everything in.

Rob: 00:38:11

We're built by our culture.

Rob: 00:38:13

And yet in the West we keep going by I'm self made.

Rob: 00:38:17

I did it myself.

Rob: 00:38:17

Nobody ever did because the richest people, they're not coming from

Rob: 00:38:21

Cambodia or Ethiopia or Vietnam.

Rob: 00:38:24

They're coming from somewhere where you've got a built platform where you've got

Rob: 00:38:28

access to money, you've got access to resources, you've got access to education.

Rob: 00:38:33

So all of that is what's making you successful.

Rob: 00:38:35

Not.

Rob: 00:38:36

Like I did it on my own will because, someone doesn't go to a desert

Rob: 00:38:39

island suddenly become a billionaire and say I'm a self made man.

Rob: 00:38:42

They did it from the structures that have been built.

Rob: 00:38:46

And what you've spoken of is entirely different orientation.

Rob: 00:38:51

And I think this is why you appreciate mentorship.

Rob: 00:38:53

Tell us if you can.

Rob: 00:38:55

Think about if you're going to give that TED talk and what you're saying is.

Rob: 00:38:59

You, we get stuck the weeds of ignorance is we don't know what we're in.

Rob: 00:39:04

And if we're going to go, I'm self made, I know it all.

Rob: 00:39:07

Then we can't learn.

Rob: 00:39:08

And we're just going to keep bashing our heads and failing.

Rob: 00:39:12

And what you're, I think what you're seeing is sometimes we need

Rob: 00:39:18

outside an outside perspective.

Rob: 00:39:20

We need fresh eyes.

Rob: 00:39:20

We need someone to tell us what we can't see ourselves.

Rob: 00:39:23

If you were to talk about the key three things, like if there's a structure

Rob: 00:39:28

of the book or the talk is going to have three points, what would they be?

Akanksha: 00:39:31

The first thing would be creating your journey.

Akanksha: 00:39:33

A mentee can be at different phases of their career.

Akanksha: 00:39:38

They could either be at the start and they don't know what to do in their life.

Akanksha: 00:39:41

They could either be right in the middle and they don't know how to

Akanksha: 00:39:45

manage that journey, how to preserve it.

Akanksha: 00:39:47

And towards the end or I'd say not towards the end, but when it comes to

Akanksha: 00:39:53

facing changes, challenges anything like deep fears, and you just want to have a

Akanksha: 00:39:59

communication with someone who understands you, can guide you through that path.

Akanksha: 00:40:04

So a guiding light throughout that journey.

Akanksha: 00:40:06

So I would say these three things, creating, preserving, and a guiding light.

Rob: 00:40:11

Are you familiar with the hero's journey?

Rob: 00:40:13

It comes from something called the Monomyth, but Joseph

Rob: 00:40:15

Campbell popularized it.

Rob: 00:40:17

And he basically he just spent five year, he wanted, he was

Rob: 00:40:20

gonna do a PhD on European fairy stories or European stories.

Rob: 00:40:25

And then he said I found all this stuff in the east and I wanna add this.

Rob: 00:40:29

And then I said, no, you've gotta stick to this.

Rob: 00:40:31

And he said sod it then.

Rob: 00:40:32

And he went off in the woods and he went five years just

Rob: 00:40:34

reading, literally 40 hours a week reading in a cabin by himself.

Rob: 00:40:39

And what he saw after that as he came out, he wrote this book,

Rob: 00:40:44

The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Rob: 00:40:46

And it's called The Hero's Journey.

Rob: 00:40:47

And so basically he says every great story has a, the same structure.

Rob: 00:40:53

And what you have is you have a hero.

Rob: 00:40:54

And something happens and he gets called to adventure.

Rob: 00:40:57

So are you familiar with Star Wars?

Rob: 00:41:00

Yes, star Wars.

Rob: 00:41:01

George Lucas had Star Wars for years and he couldn't write it

Rob: 00:41:05

and he read Joseph Campbell's book and he got, okay, this is it.

Rob: 00:41:08

So here is the archetypal hero's journey.

Rob: 00:41:11

So Luke Skywalker's off, feels like he's built for more, but he's there

Rob: 00:41:14

with the farm and he gets the call from Princess Leia and he's I want to do

Rob: 00:41:17

this, but no I've got my obligation.

Rob: 00:41:19

So he refuses the call and then the army comes in and raids or something like that.

Rob: 00:41:24

And then he's that's it.

Rob: 00:41:26

I'm going on the adventure.

Rob: 00:41:28

And then he's he's faces his fears.

Rob: 00:41:30

He faces.

Rob: 00:41:30

The enemies.

Rob: 00:41:31

So he, you've got the enemies of the empire and the storm troopers

Rob: 00:41:35

and then it's friends and allies.

Rob: 00:41:37

So he has these alliances, but a key part is the guide and the guide is

Rob: 00:41:43

the one that helps them make the jump.

Rob: 00:41:45

So the hero leaves the ordinary world.

Rob: 00:41:47

They go into this other world and they face tests and trials and they face

Rob: 00:41:51

the fear and the big like boss enemy at the end and they prove themselves

Rob: 00:41:55

and they cut and they learn something.

Rob: 00:41:56

And, but then the key is that they return they return to the ordinary

Rob: 00:42:00

world, but they return with a gift.

Rob: 00:42:02

And so they changed, like Buddha is a, is another story.

Rob: 00:42:05

So that, yeah, so that the Buddha did the 40, 40 days, 40 years, where he meditated.

Rob: 00:42:12

Yes, he had the trials of Krishna and every kind of.

Rob: 00:42:15

temptation or fear, he resisted it and he came back and his

Rob: 00:42:19

gift was to educate the world.

Rob: 00:42:21

Yes.

Rob: 00:42:21

So yeah, the hero's journey and that to me is the best use of the mentor.

Rob: 00:42:26

Because, like Yoda.

Rob: 00:42:28

Or Obi Wan or whatever, they are the one who's been through it.

Rob: 00:42:31

They know what you have to do.

Rob: 00:42:33

They're not in the fight, but they're just going to give you the tools.

Rob: 00:42:36

They see the path.

Rob: 00:42:37

You need this, and they, Mr.

Rob: 00:42:38

Miyagi in Karate Kid is another one.

Rob: 00:42:41

And.

Rob: 00:42:41

So that's what comes to mind when you're talking about, and I listening

Rob: 00:42:45

to you and I don't know a lot about HR, but I do know often people talk

Rob: 00:42:51

of them only when there's a problem.

Rob: 00:42:53

And it can seem like that, but you've given me an entirely

Rob: 00:42:56

different perspective.

Akanksha: 00:42:58

Yes.

Akanksha: 00:42:59

HR is lovely.

Akanksha: 00:43:00

It's

Rob: 00:43:00

lovely.

Rob: 00:43:00

It's like wherever I've worked, I've never really dealt, I've never been

Rob: 00:43:04

a problem that I've had to go to them or I've never the only time was like

Rob: 00:43:08

redundancies or something like that.

Rob: 00:43:10

What I see from you is you want to be like the person that sets up the makes

Rob: 00:43:17

his employee a hero on their journey.

Rob: 00:43:19

And

Akanksha: 00:43:19

that makes a huge difference.

Akanksha: 00:43:22

If anyone comes to me saying, Aki I don't know how to do this.

Akanksha: 00:43:25

And I'd be like, do you need help?

Akanksha: 00:43:26

Let's get you help.

Akanksha: 00:43:28

And someone who's done that with confidence.

Akanksha: 00:43:31

I would really enjoy if that person mentors that particular employee.

Akanksha: 00:43:35

Not just for the lessons, but also for confidence for their journey ahead

Akanksha: 00:43:39

in life and to understand that they also in return have to mentor someone.

Akanksha: 00:43:44

In the future.

Akanksha: 00:43:45

So I think it all comes with understanding and just filling in those needs and gaps.

Akanksha: 00:43:52

And you can do that only if you are, like I said, you can only

Akanksha: 00:43:55

manage it if you're monitoring it.

Rob: 00:43:56

I think absolutely this is where I looked and found out about the

Rob: 00:44:00

employee return on investment, which I understand it has a lot of criticism,

Rob: 00:44:05

but I think in the end of the day if we're working in a business, then

Rob: 00:44:09

the purpose is profit or purpose or whatever the goal of the business is.

Rob: 00:44:13

And we have to come together and we have to agree on, we work as a collective,

Rob: 00:44:17

this is the collective, this is our goal, this is what we're going to be

Rob: 00:44:20

measured by and we have to stand off.

Rob: 00:44:23

Or fall by the measurements and then it's only by measuring that we're going

Rob: 00:44:27

to know if we're doing a good job or not, because if we're doing a bad job,

Rob: 00:44:31

whatever, it's never going to work out.

Rob: 00:44:33

It's always going to crash.

Akanksha: 00:44:34

And so your relationships can only help you understand

Akanksha: 00:44:38

how you're doing in that job.

Akanksha: 00:44:40

Like I've had constructive feedback.

Akanksha: 00:44:42

And I've always chased people for feedback hi, I just assisted you on this.

Akanksha: 00:44:46

How do you think I was?

Akanksha: 00:44:48

Like, you'd see me after this call, I'd be like, hi, Ro, how was I?

Akanksha: 00:44:51

How can I be better?

Akanksha: 00:44:52

So I think this helps building relationships to understand where you are.

Akanksha: 00:44:56

It also helps to build your identity, your beliefs and set new habits.

Akanksha: 00:45:01

It just makes you improve yourself.

Akanksha: 00:45:03

And improvement is progress.

Akanksha: 00:45:05

So people should not think that I know it all.

Akanksha: 00:45:07

They should just learn and learn because there's

Rob: 00:45:10

lots to learn.

Rob: 00:45:11

Definitely.

Rob: 00:45:11

And for me learning is like oxygen.

Rob: 00:45:14

I it's what I have in orientation that the future is better.

Rob: 00:45:19

And the future is better.

Rob: 00:45:21

The more I learn today, the better the future is.

Rob: 00:45:24

And I don't know, it's deep rooted because for me, learning is.

Rob: 00:45:28

The way I feel more competent so I feel better about myself when I learn more and

Rob: 00:45:32

I feel like it opens up more potential.

Rob: 00:45:34

So let me just go back to what did you say?

Rob: 00:45:37

Beliefs

Akanksha: 00:45:38

identity beliefs, little habits, good

Rob: 00:45:40

habits.

Rob: 00:45:41

My thing is helping teams get to unified action.

Rob: 00:45:44

And I think it starts with trust trust.

Rob: 00:45:46

So then you have more communication when you have communication, then you

Rob: 00:45:49

can agree and you can have commitment and then you get unified action.

Rob: 00:45:52

But the last step, which is really key is feedback.

Rob: 00:45:56

And I think too many companies are, it's like an after thought.

Rob: 00:46:00

They do a one-to-one every year.

Rob: 00:46:02

I work somewhere and we used to do a one-to-one, and our boss was always

Rob: 00:46:05

busy, so we just used to do our own.

Rob: 00:46:07

And we'd just go to her with a wow

Rob: 00:46:09

And she was a great boss.

Rob: 00:46:10

She was the best boss I had.

Rob: 00:46:11

And so we would always be talking.

Rob: 00:46:14

Informally, like I used to give her a lift home cause she didn't drive.

Rob: 00:46:16

And we'd always be talking about what was going on and the challenges.

Rob: 00:46:20

And she was the kind of person that she would look at you and see what you were

Rob: 00:46:23

good at and shape your role to your thing.

Rob: 00:46:27

But she was just so busy that she wouldn't do a one to ones or, cause

Rob: 00:46:31

we'd do the other ones, and then my colleague and I would either do it.

Rob: 00:46:35

Do it together or each others and then just hand her the paperwork

Rob: 00:46:39

and she just sign off on it.

Rob: 00:46:40

But but yeah, a lot of organizations, it is just, okay, we're going to wait

Rob: 00:46:45

for a year and then suddenly it's a shock to someone to hear that they're

Rob: 00:46:49

not being seen as a team player.

Rob: 00:46:51

They're not being productive for or whatever.

Rob: 00:46:54

And it's and that's where people get resentful and feel

Rob: 00:46:57

they're being victimized.

Rob: 00:46:58

Where the earlier you can give feedback, the more productive and positive it is.

Akanksha: 00:47:02

I totally agree, Rob.

Akanksha: 00:47:03

And even if there are times when your manager can be busy and they want to

Akanksha: 00:47:08

postpone your one to one, I would say always make sure that it is in your diary.

Akanksha: 00:47:13

Check with your manager because yes, they can be busy.

Akanksha: 00:47:16

But one to ones are critical.

Akanksha: 00:47:19

They are like essential To basically just help you continue or to navigate.

Akanksha: 00:47:24

And still continue.

Akanksha: 00:47:26

So for me, my one to ones have always been about my personal journey in

Akanksha: 00:47:30

the company, my relationships with my colleagues in terms of benefits.

Akanksha: 00:47:35

How am I being benefited?

Akanksha: 00:47:37

For my growth, for recognition that I would like to receive.

Akanksha: 00:47:41

I've done this, how do you think I did it?

Akanksha: 00:47:44

And I love to have an eye to eye contact in my one-to-ones and speak about what

Akanksha: 00:47:50

is it that I wanna do in the future.

Akanksha: 00:47:52

I think that incredibly shows your commitment towards

Akanksha: 00:47:57

something that you want to do.

Akanksha: 00:47:59

Your body language.

Akanksha: 00:48:00

When you have your eye to eye contact made and you wanna say that this is what I want

Akanksha: 00:48:04

to do it has an impact on your manager.

Akanksha: 00:48:07

They know that you will do it.

Akanksha: 00:48:08

You don't feel daunted, you're confident and you'll take that up

Akanksha: 00:48:12

even if you've not done that before.

Akanksha: 00:48:13

And that is a risk taking ability.

Akanksha: 00:48:15

So there will be certain projects in the house which.

Akanksha: 00:48:18

otherwise wouldn't would remain untouched, but just show your excitement,

Akanksha: 00:48:23

show your nervousness as well.

Akanksha: 00:48:26

Say you need help, you need guidance, but you'll take a lead.

Akanksha: 00:48:29

This is all that you do in your one to ones.

Akanksha: 00:48:31

At least I do that.

Akanksha: 00:48:33

So yeah.

Rob: 00:48:33

Yeah, it all comes down to so important to have for people to

Rob: 00:48:37

feel that they trust and they feel safe in order to say that because

Rob: 00:48:39

it's difficult to say, I need help.

Rob: 00:48:41

Particularly, I think probably more for men.

Rob: 00:48:44

I think I don't know, but typically or men of my age, maybe.

Rob: 00:48:49

It's they typically don't ask for help.

Rob: 00:48:51

Why?

Rob: 00:48:51

Or is that not your experience?

Akanksha: 00:48:52

No, I haven't come across I've mostly worked with women around me.

Akanksha: 00:48:57

Even in my last job, no, there was my yeah, the team leader

Akanksha: 00:49:02

was but he was very young.

Akanksha: 00:49:03

He was younger to me.

Akanksha: 00:49:04

So I would say previous job, all women in the house empowering.

Akanksha: 00:49:09

But yeah, never came across someone of your age, Rob, who

Akanksha: 00:49:13

would not express himself.

Akanksha: 00:49:14

So yeah, no comments there, sorry.

Akanksha: 00:49:17

Okay.

Akanksha: 00:49:17

But why wouldn't you say, if I may ask you, why wouldn't you

Akanksha: 00:49:22

express yourself if I may ask you?

Akanksha: 00:49:24

Not

Rob: 00:49:24

so much me.

Rob: 00:49:25

But typically when you look at men.

Rob: 00:49:27

So men from teenage to 49, the biggest killer, second biggest

Rob: 00:49:31

killer of men is suicide.

Rob: 00:49:34

Just because they don't open up, they don't talk, they don't, typically

Rob: 00:49:38

I think it's been a an issue of patriarchy that to ask for help.

Rob: 00:49:42

Was a sign of weakness.

Rob: 00:49:43

So I'm talking stereotypically that yeah traditionally it's been a difficulty for

Rob: 00:49:49

men to ask for help, to show weakness.

Rob: 00:49:52

But I think things are probably changing now with Gen Z and

Rob: 00:49:56

millennials who are much more open, I think, than my generation.

Akanksha: 00:50:00

I would say so because I've worked with a few who've been younger

Akanksha: 00:50:04

than me and Yeah, they do express, it's, yeah, it's just that they don't

Akanksha: 00:50:08

express at a length, a woman does, so you're right there, I'd agree with that.

Akanksha: 00:50:14

It's just like you're just talking to the point and I'm yapping here.

Rob: 00:50:17

Yeah I think, yeah, there is a difference in Yeah, women

Rob: 00:50:21

have better social skills.

Rob: 00:50:22

Women are better on teams.

Rob: 00:50:23

I don't know if you've read Google's project Aristotle where like the presence

Rob: 00:50:27

of having a woman on the team, the social skills of a woman communication

Rob: 00:50:31

is much better for, from women.

Rob: 00:50:33

So yeah, that's yes, it seems to be some research,

Akanksha: 00:50:36

which I think they just have a natural nurturing side as well.

Akanksha: 00:50:40

to them.

Akanksha: 00:50:42

It just shows like it's natural.

Rob: 00:50:44

I think looking back reading from anthropologists and looking back at,

Rob: 00:50:48

if you look at hunter gatherer tribes and communities, men typically go off.

Rob: 00:50:52

Like when they're being shadowed by anthropologists, men will

Rob: 00:50:55

go off and they'll hunt.

Rob: 00:50:56

They don't talk because obviously if you're hunting something you, any noise.

Rob: 00:51:01

So it's all quiet and it's working on your own, but as a team.

Rob: 00:51:06

Whereas the women are, it's a very social thing.

Rob: 00:51:09

The women and the children, they all come out and they sit down and

Rob: 00:51:12

they start picking off the fruit.

Rob: 00:51:13

Yeah.

Rob: 00:51:14

They're having fun, they're chatting.

Rob: 00:51:16

I agree.

Rob: 00:51:16

Yeah.

Rob: 00:51:16

And so if you look at evolutionary, if that was the way that we evolved which it

Rob: 00:51:21

seems to be probably when you look at men are looking or more driven, tend to be

Rob: 00:51:28

more driven by accomplishment and women tend to be more driven by connection.

Rob: 00:51:32

So yeah, maybe that's the reason for the difference.

Akanksha: 00:51:34

I agree.

Akanksha: 00:51:35

I also agree with the patriarchal side that you spoke of.

Akanksha: 00:51:39

If you ask me, do your parents know what you're doing right now?

Akanksha: 00:51:41

No, like they think my ultimate job is to look after my husband,

Akanksha: 00:51:46

feed him twice a day, look after my son, all his needs, make sure

Akanksha: 00:51:50

everything he's receiving everything that he needs from both his parents.

Akanksha: 00:51:54

And that's it.

Akanksha: 00:51:55

That's your job.

Akanksha: 00:51:55

Okay.

Akanksha: 00:51:56

So even if he's been an ambitious father, even if he's given me all the resources

Akanksha: 00:52:02

he's Basically invested a lot of time, effort, money in me towards the end

Akanksha: 00:52:08

of the day, if you ask him, what is it that you want your daughter to be?

Akanksha: 00:52:11

I want her to be a good mother and I want her to be a good wife.

Akanksha: 00:52:14

So that's my father.

Akanksha: 00:52:15

Yeah.

Akanksha: 00:52:16

And this comes from.

Akanksha: 00:52:17

Like you said, yes.

Akanksha: 00:52:19

So it's very true what you said.

Rob: 00:52:20

So how does that feel like here you are setting people off on

Rob: 00:52:24

a hero's journey, helping them and providing the framework and the

Rob: 00:52:28

support that they need to thrive.

Rob: 00:52:30

Does it feel frustrating that you're not recognized for that?

Akanksha: 00:52:34

I feel amazing.

Akanksha: 00:52:35

I like the word performance and I'm quite a performer myself, Rob.

Akanksha: 00:52:40

And when it comes to work.

Akanksha: 00:52:43

People call me speedy Gonzales because they're like, Aki,

Akanksha: 00:52:46

you're speedy and accurate.

Akanksha: 00:52:47

How?

Akanksha: 00:52:48

For me, performance is the key to achieving maximized well being.

Akanksha: 00:52:53

And performance in all areas.

Akanksha: 00:52:55

It doesn't mean you have to be the best out of everyone.

Akanksha: 00:52:58

It just means your performance should make you feel satisfied.

Akanksha: 00:53:02

The quality of the work you do, whether it's the household chores you do, or you

Akanksha: 00:53:06

arrange a birthday party for your son.

Akanksha: 00:53:08

I like performing and my performance is to make everyone happy.

Akanksha: 00:53:13

It's not to put anyone down.

Akanksha: 00:53:14

It's basically to seed in the thoughts that we are a community.

Akanksha: 00:53:19

We need to perform together.

Akanksha: 00:53:20

So I always have this togetherness in my thoughts whenever I do anything.

Akanksha: 00:53:26

And that really shows.

Akanksha: 00:53:27

So for me, when somebody else performs, I'm like, well done.

Akanksha: 00:53:31

And that really comes from my heart.

Akanksha: 00:53:33

I love to see people perform thrive.

Akanksha: 00:53:36

We all have our ups and downs.

Akanksha: 00:53:38

I've seen my very own.

Akanksha: 00:53:39

And it is all temporary.

Akanksha: 00:53:41

Everything changes.

Akanksha: 00:53:42

There's nothing that's permanent in life.

Akanksha: 00:53:45

We don't stop or we don't hold, or we don't pause on high peaks.

Akanksha: 00:53:49

We all travel.

Akanksha: 00:53:50

So for me, just applaud, just make someone feel good.

Akanksha: 00:53:55

It's their time.

Akanksha: 00:53:56

Let them enjoy, celebrate themselves, and they will do it for you as well.

Akanksha: 00:54:01

It's all about being in a community.

Akanksha: 00:54:02

Thrive together.

Akanksha: 00:54:03

That's it.

Akanksha: 00:54:04

Yeah.

Rob: 00:54:04

Absolutely.

Rob: 00:54:05

And that, that sounds like a great ending for your TED talk.

Rob: 00:54:09

Thank you.

Rob: 00:54:09

Thank you.

Rob: 00:54:10

It's been lovely to speak to you and your positivity radiates through.

Rob: 00:54:14

And yeah, I can see how you perform and help other people perform.

Rob: 00:54:19

Thank you Rob.

Rob: 00:54:19

I think it's a gift that you bring.

Rob: 00:54:21

Oh, thank you.