The Beginning :
“I never dreamt of success, I worked for it”- Estee Lauder
My journey of last 23 years of professional career and 23 years of initial stages of life has been nothing short of a movie. It was way back in 2008 when I hung up my corporate boots and wanted to be there for my 1-year-old daughter; hence, I decided to take a sabbatical from my corporate life. However, it was not easy for a working woman like me to deal with this major change. During my career break, I went through an identity crisis and not feeling worthy. I started working on myself and exploring things I always loved. I also gave birth to my second baby, Drishtikone -A Personal Development Initiative for Women. My mission was to mentor and train ‘Career Come Back Women’ who were keen to create a work-life balance without having to sacrifice their kids' beautiful childhood moments. I had experienced this firsthand as a mother and understood the importance of these special moments of our kids.
Challenges
faced:
“Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated
is optional”- Roger Crawford
My biggest challenge in 2019 was going through a
separation followed by divorce. I was around 40 years old then and had to start
everything from scratch in a new city. I decided to move to Mumbai with my
daughter after 16 years of staying in my marital home in Gurgaon. It was not
only a culture shift for me and my then 10-year-old daughter but also a major
change in our lifestyle and habits. One thing that helped me sail through this
period was my hope that things would work out, and fortunately, I had enough
experience and connections to build my organisation back together.
Successful mantras that helped:
One thing that kept me going was my ability to come up
with Plans A, B, and C for my professional and personal goals. Second thing
that worked most was my authenticity and courage to be vulnerable on my talk
shows, panel discussions, and social media, that inspired many to stand and
speak up for themselves. My setbacks and my failures in life decisions made me
question my belief system. I used these moments of reflection and introspection
as my guiding light to accomplish goals in my life.
I have been helping professionals develop a similar
growth mind set and healthy belief system that helped me work on my setbacks.
Turning point in life:
The desire to be able to make optimum use of my experience and education made me launch my first training firm, Drishtikone. It was a personal development firm with training initiatives for women professionals and entrepreneurs that gifted them with the confidence and power to realize their dreams. What began as a project to assist women in 2012 has grown into a brand that assists not only women but any professional who is struggling to express their true, authentic self. My passion to help people express themselves has slowly become my purpose in life. I focus on working with 10,000 leaders every year to help them build a positive and healthy work culture through meaningful conversations and crucial dialogues.
Above all, the one person who has been my core
strength is my mother, Valsamma Pillai. I got my ‘Never Give Up Spirit’ and
‘Keep Smiling’ attitude from her. She has been an educator for more than 35
years and is a constant source of motivation and inspiration for me. In fact,
when it comes to being unbiased and non-judgmental, I have learned it from my
15-year-old daughter, Drishti. My first training firm, Drishtikone, is a legacy
inspired by her unique perspectives on looking at life.
Journey from being a Women Coach to being listed as Top Executive Communication Coach:
I had an Aha moment during a coaching session with one of my client, who discovered how one of her school experiences had made her question her decision-making. This lack of self- belief in her decisions led to procrastination and self-doubt.
I started noticing each client’s communication patterns stemming from past experiences that changed their inner dialogue and conversations. 10 years ago, this is how I started my journey as a Women’s Communication Coach.
I could help my clients transform their lives by changing the way they communicated. These transformative experiences made me believe in the processes of appreciative inquiry and intuitive listening.
Now, I work with C-suite and D-suite leaders from various domains and industries. I have mastered many coaching tools and modalities to help my executive level clients change their communication patterns for better business results and better relationships.
I am happy and content with my career as an Executive Coach. I am at peace with my 4 working days per week schedule. I love that I can spend quality time with myself and my lifelines –My daughter Drishti and my fur baby- Cooper.
“Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision, and change”- Richard Branson