Apurva Purohit’s 3-Part Model For Success

As we move forward in our leadership journeys, guidance becomes invaluable. There are new challenges and bigger, bolder decisions to make. Frameworks of success adopted by women leaders who’ve paved the way before us are indispensable – for advice, direction and inspiration.

Apurva Purohit, president of Jagran Group, one of India’s largest multi-media conglomerates, is an extraordinary leader. Spanning over three decades, her experience in the media and entertainment industry speaks volumes of her confidence and resolve. Among the most influential leaders in the industry today, she has witnessed the evolution of conversation around ‘women at work’ and ‘women in leadership’.

When Purohit entered corporate India 30 years ago, there were few women entering the workforce, fewer who were staying on and almost none at the top. Organisations that wanted to hire women were grappling to accommodate them in the absence of women-friendly policies. And on the other extreme, there was tokenism, where women were brought on board as a CSR initiative to appear diverse to the corporates’ international partners. “30 years later,” Purohit says, “the conversation has completely changed”. HR heads, leaders and organisations have realised that they are losing 50% of the talent pool, ideas and representation if they don’t have women in their workforce. And so, they are creating policies that address hiring, training and retaining women. As times change, the effectiveness of frameworks is tested and new ones, that address the current context, need to be instilled. 

Same goes for frameworks of success. Purohit wrote her first bestselling book Lady You’re Not a Man – Adventures of a Woman at Work, as a practical guide for women in the workforce, especially mid-level managers, who want to reach the top but are unable to figure out how. The book, skilfully and with compassion, articulates the challenges of a modern Indian woman – her dual life as a mom/partner and corporate employee/entrepreneur – and brings a lot into perspective. Purohit’s aim with the book was to address the leaking pipeline, which continues to be present despite the efforts by corporations to retain women. She shares her simple yet powerful 3-part model for success, as detailed in her book, which any woman can use at any stage in her career to fulfil her highest aspirations.

Accept

It’s not surprising that the presence of a far greater number of male role models than females makes working women believe that masculine leadership traits beget success, and thus, wanting to imbibe them. This is where we go wrong. Leaders are looking for diversity, and our story, perspective and experiences as women brings that to the table. Hiding/guising our femininity – and all the powerful characteristics that come with it like empathy, vulnerability, organisational skills and more – is counterproductive for us. 

We also must accept and become comfortable with the fact that our challenges will be very different from those of our male colleagues. But so will our problem-solving skills. Our being a woman is our superpower.

Increasingly our workforce is comprised of Gen Y, who doesn’t want an instructional or dictatorial work culture. They want to be seen and heard, they want their opinions considered and valued, and want to be part of strategic and implementation conversations. Women are excellent at leading this demographic. We are adeptly able to get diverse points of view together. As also collaborate, listen, communicate and nurture far better than men. 

Adapt

Adapt your environment to support you. Align it to help you achieve personal growth and success. Women often try to do everything on their own and ultimately burn out. We don’t like the loss of control or think we’ll be perceived a certain way if we asked for help. But we must build a supportive ecosystem at every level –  our partner, family and organisation.

Adapting essentially means to really use our environment. There are immense benefits that come from taking ownership of our success. Knowing what we want to achieve in our career, what kind of support we need, and where to get that support are extremely smart ways to shape our careers. Recognise that help is available. Tapping into it frees energy, time and focus so we may shine in other ways at work and home.

Achieve

We are solely responsible for the success or failure of our lives and our careers – we have to take personal accountability. The women who professionally do well are those who see themselves as being in charge, not a bystander to how their career is shaping. Once we take ownership, we develop a solution mindset, where we try our best to solve issues instead of brooding about them. Taking ownership allows us to be so much more resourceful because then we are not feeling helpless, we are geared to solve.

Sometimes women find it easy to abdicate responsibility for their lives. And this is not just when they fail but also when they succeed. We don’t own our success; we hand it over. We credit luck, our mentors, our team but the truth is we work hard and make a bunch of right decisions because of which we achieve what we achieve. We owe it ourselves to own our success.

About the Expert

Apurva Purohit is the president of the Jagran Group. In her illustrious career of over three decades she has successfully launched major TV brands like Zoom, India’s first lifestyle channel, and spearheaded the re-launch strategy for Zee TV. She also currently serves on the boards of multiple companies like Mindtree Ltd, Meru Travel Solutions Ltd and Midday Infomedia. Apurva is the author of the bestselling book ‘Lady, You’re not a Man – the Adventures of a Woman at Work’, and its sequel, the recently published ‘Lady, You’re the Boss!’. A passionate advocate for creating better opportunities for women at work, she regularly gives talks on women and leadership, writes blogs, records podcasts, and is a willing mentor to many.