HR, organisation leaders need to drop the one-size-fits-all approach: Geetika Mehta

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. Over the years, W-SUITE is a special initiative from Adgully that has been turning the spotlight on some of the most remarkable women achievers in the M&E, Advertising, Marketing, PR and Communications industry.

In conversation with Adgully, Geetika Mehta, CHRO & Operating Partner, Ananta Capital, speaks about more women now occupying leadership roles in various sectors, her emphasis on work-life integration, how organisations can encourage and groom more women leaders, and more.

How do you think the role and scope of women leaders have widened in the current market ecosystem?

It has been a gradual increase, but you see more women now occupying leadership roles in various sectors. Shift in societal attitudes, better access to education, focused efforts by organisations to build more inclusive environments, and policy level interventions by governments in some countries have definitely contributed to this. Having said that, while progress has been made, there are still challenges and barriers that women continue to face in leadership roles. Gender stereotypes, unconscious biases, work-life balance, and lack of representation in certain industries remain hurdles that need to be addressed for further progress.

What has been your major learning from the pandemic period?

Professionally, the learning has been that there are lot of old mental models related to work that can and will have to be unlearned. The talent dynamics have changed significantly. We are now working with a multi-generational workforce, which will need HR and organisation leaders to drop the one-size-fits-all approach. How we evaluate and define top talent has also gone through a huge shift. Past success, experience, qualifications are no longer the only predictors of future success. Work is increasingly becoming skill-based and hence, a lot of the predefined notions around talent are getting redefined.

What is your mantra for maintaining a successful work-life balance in the new normal? According to you, what makes women the best in crisis management?

The mantra is to shift from a work-life balance mindset to work-life integration one. At leadership levels, it’s not easy to compartmentalise both and disconnect from either. One has to constantly prioritise and ensure both are being done justice to.

I would rephrase this to say that women in general are better at crisis management. In my opinion, it’s a combination of the natural disposition, along with the social conditioning, because of the roles women play at home of caregiver, partner, nurturer. Women have traditionally done lot of multi-tasking and when things break down/ are in crisis, this experience comes handy to step back from the situation, analyse options, balance the human element with the practical business needs and problem solve accordingly.

What are the five most effective leadership lessons that you have learned?

I have been fortunate to work with some really good leaders and also been through complex professional situations that have shaped up my leadership style. My experiences have taught me that to be effective as a leader one needs to:

Be authentic
Non ambiguous in terms of direction and expectation setting with the team
Hire for attitude than aptitude
Nurture people
Trust and empower the teams and always back them up

Gender sensitivity and inclusion in the new normal – how can organisations effectively encourage and groom women leaders in challenging times?

We have miles to go before we can claim to be an equal world (talking only professionally; we are way behind when it comes to societal equality). Having said that, lot of good work has happened and continues to happen especially within more mature organisation on bridging the gender gap across levels. Organisations can encourage and groom more women leaders by:

Constant efforts to eliminate/ reduce the gender stereotypes at work place across the employee lifecycle - from hire to retire
Make the key HR processes like succession planning, stretch assignments, etc., robust to ensure they are absolutely free of bias and are designed without a specific gender profile in mind
Invest in sensitising the leaders and managers to uncover the subconscious biases they might have due to years of conditioning
Celebrate success stories that defy the gender stereotypes