“When faced with challenges, women turn into superwomen and use their strength”

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. W-SUITE is a special initiative from Adgully that has been turning the spotlight on some of the most remarkable women achievers in M&E, Advertising & Marketing, PR & Communication industry. In the refurbished series, we seek to find out how women leaders have been managing their teams and work as well as how they have been navigating through the toughest and most challenging times brought about by the global pandemic.

Shilpa Khanna Thakkar, Co-founder, Chicnutrix and CFO at Fullife Healthcare has an MBA degree from Cardiff University and a decade’s experience working at Morgan Stanley as the youngest Training and Development Head. She decided to venture out on her own, with an entrepreneurial spirit running in her family and she joined Chicnutrix. It was born with the idea of having an easy connect with women, and understanding their needs for healthy and beautiful skin and hair and helping them resolve these issues.

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Shilpa Khanna Thakkar speaks about work-life balance, delaying with pandemic, qualities that a woman possesses, Lessons she learned as a woman leader, gender-sensitivity and more.

How do you think the role and scope of women leaders has widened in the post-pandemic world?

When Covid-19 hit us, it put us all in uncharted territory. We were all a little lost as to what would happen, what was expected and how to find our own path. Be it man or woman, it was challenging and a tough time for all. But more so for a woman because a lot of pressure between managing your home and work came about. For working mothers with young children, it was even more strenuous. However in the face of adversity, we proved to be tough and resilient even though it did put us off track. We came back better than ever as that is how we are built. The pandemic brought about the hybrid model of working and proved that working from home was a possibility, which was not the case before. This model called for the beginning of new work opportunities especially for a working mother where it allows you to pace your day - by attending to your work and simultaneously getting to look after your child. As organizations also, we need to understand that providing our employees with this model is fantastic as it gives them the flexibility they need wherein they didn’t have to come into office if it did not require them to. In recent years, research has shown that gender equality can garner economic growth and can have an impact on macro-level growth as well as human capital. So this is the best time for organizations to capitalize and we women are ready to take up the challenge.

The rapid transition to digital, an uncertain economic landscape, charting unknown waters, working from home – how have you been navigating during the COVID-19 times? How are you maintaining work-life balance in the new normal?

The new work-life balance has definitely been a task, it's evolving. From day one, it wasn't hunky-dory for us. We realized that this is what the norm would be and so we evolved with it. It was equally difficult for me because I was working from home and that lack of social interaction cuts you off from the world making it feel like you’re working 24x7. As time passed, I focused on the need for a schedule to carve out some time just for myself as I had before the pandemic. We made a conscious effort for everyone to do the same at our organization too which has led to us being in sync and being agreeable to the hybrid model being the way of the future.

Multiple studies have shown how women leaders performed better during the COVID-19 crisis. According to you, what makes women the best in crisis management?

Two important qualities that a woman possesses are mental strength and the ability to multitask without difficulty. These qualities really set us apart and allow us to adapt to new situations like the onset of the pandemic which reinforced the need to stay calm, manage situations and accept changes by adapting to them. I also believe that when faced with challenges, women turn into superwomen and use their strength which lets them sail through various problems accordingly.

What are the five most effective lessons that you have learned as a woman leader?

Two immensely important things that I have learned as a woman leader in the last few years are, one, don't hesitate to ask for help or support. Often, during the process of doing it all and being a superwoman, a supermom, and fulfilling all the other necessary duties, it can be uncomfortable to ask for assistance or support, and due to this, we tend to do it all on our own. But, girls, you need support sometimes, and asking for support is not wrong. And that's what I have learned. Do not try to do it all by yourself. Many times, you need a solid support system to be productive in all of the varied tasks a woman does because the process can be sometimes overwhelming. A little support here from someone will help you stay calmer. Second, plan some time for yourself. We often forget that we need some time in the midst of juggling, multitasking, and performing several roles. As a result, we must be able to disconnect from all commitments and do something just for ourselves and our sanity. Many women tend to put themselves last on their priority list and gradually feel bad when they do give themselves some personal space. But, once again, enjoy your me-time, girl. Take a break and unplug for a while! It is critical to maintain proper equilibrium.

Stagnancy and inconsistency can make you lag. As a leader, whether a woman or a man, I feel a leader must ensure that he/she/other is contemplating enough in future plans. One is continuously innovating and thinking what is going to be the next move, being curious and asking questions like, what more or what new and how can I do better? Be it in the form of a product, a method of inventing or executing it, a method of marketing, technology, a process, or anything else, it is necessary to constantly think and innovate. Another area or quality in which I believe a leader should excel is through the ability to learn from mistakes. It is critical to understand that there is no shame in making errors, and as humans, this is something that cannot be ignored or avoided. As a leader, I constantly push my team to learn from mistakes and confess them so that they are completely allowing themselves to embrace the drawbacks and learn from them since this will help them avoid repeating it in the future. As humans, we aim to always be proactive and not make mistakes but even if that happens, learn from it.

Last but not least, one crucial thing I've learned over the last few years is that even inexperienced people can make terrific team members or leaders. Today's generation, the millennials and GenZ are always coming up with exciting ideas emphasizing that one should not look at experience as the key to becoming a leader, but rather the thought process, attitude, and enthusiasm, which is what I believe forms the best team. So, one should look for such people rather than changing or creating roles or levels based on experience.

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

While most people's lives and jobs were negatively impacted by the crisis, several studies have shown that women's jobs and livelihoods were more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the fact that a significant increase in labour participation by women has contributed to economic growth in several countries in recent years. Despite this significant gain, major gender discrepancies exist. Organizations should start with promoting women leaders to create a culture of Conscious Inclusion. The primary goal should be to develop the company's culture with the vision of leading, thinking, and acting. It should be with a clear intent of involving everyone without any discrimination based on gender roles. Since our organization is led by women for women, our primary principle has been to empower women and provide everyone an equal chance. Teams led by women should be encouraged and supported; in turn, this will assist empower women on a smaller scale, but with a larger and more powerful influence in the long run.