Reflections as I start a new chapter..

I am a traditionalist and a loyalist - so when I joined HUL 15 years back I also set my eyes on the role I wanted to do someday. It was the CIO role.

The first time it opened up 2 years back I was returning from my maternity leave and applied, all starry eyed, only to not be selected. It was generally a low point of time in my life, and this was the one thing I needed to feel good about myself. But it didn’t happen and left me feeling lost and disappointed. There were constant thoughts of “but they always said I’m so good / but I landed abc and xyz projects that won awards”. So why not me??

Having finally taken the role now there’s a few reflections I wanted to share which I’m sure are applicable to a lot of us at several different points of our careers.

1. There will be times when you will not get the roles / jobs / promotions you want. And sometimes there are no reasons. The most the reassuring call I got 2 years back was from Sanjiv Mehta, our CEO who told me that there is no feedback he has for me, I am amazing but at a point in time someone else is deemed to be a better fit for the role. He didnt have to make that call, but he did, as the CEO he has a thousand things on his mind, but he still reached out, and offered to mentor me as well. It is this kind of leadership that makes Unilever and specifically HUL an organisation you dont want to leave.
2. The age old saying of “everything happens for a reason” is true. If I had got that role 2 years back I wouldn’t have got the most amazing opportunity to lead and land Indian FMCG industry’s largest merger (HUL-GSK). A role like that not only grooms you as a leader but builds character. And to land it successfully in the times of COVID builds resilience.
3. When I took on the lead role for the GSK merger I was asked to report to my peer, instead of a VP as I was earlier. Several people told me this was a step down, how could I think about it and so on. But experience trumps reporting lines. It also helped that I was able to build an understanding with my line manager who gave me complete freedom to operate how I wanted. So a lot of these problems are really in people’s heads. I still remember what one of my mentors said to me “don’t let shitty org structures come in the way of you not taking a great role”. There.
4. Working on the merger was taxing, it was crazy hours, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of travel and not like any other day job. It took its toll - and I had to make choices. Choices like not traveling because I didnt have adequate support at times. Things were said about my absence, and the work stress coupled with the family stress pulled me down into depression. I have only one thing to say, Reach out. I did, I formally enrolled for therapy. I was debating for months in my head if I should open up to my bosses, but eventually I did and I am so glad, I couldnt be more grateful to have had someone who not only understood but went out of his way to run meetings in Bangalore only so I wouldnt have to travel. Krishnan Sundaram, for this and more you will always be the most amazing boss ever.
5. Last and most important is the learning on people. Ultimately what takes you forward and makes your successful is a team of unconditional supporters - these can be friends who will pull you up in your bad times, your team who would go out of their way for you, your network of mentors and coaches who invested in you all through your career or your family who step in day in and out for you to take that meeting or that unplanned trip.