I’m Usha Jamadagni, Managing Director at Accenture, and this is how I Lead from Within
Usha Jamadagni, Managing Director at Accenture, is an out-and-out people’s person. Treating everyone with kindness, equality and respect is the bedrock of everything she does. A Mrs. India 2018 finalist, Jamadagni embodies confidence. Her journey of how she got where she is in her professional life makes her a relatable and inspiring leader. She speaks to Shenomics about her transition from working in the US to working in India, on avoiding burnout in the early stages of one’s career, and how now is the best time to be a working woman.
My Journey to Confidence
I graduated from Mysore Engineering College and moved to the US to do my masters. My first job there – my first job ever – was a 6-month internship at IBM. Everything was a little disorienting and overwhelming, from the American accent to how the big corporate world functioned. I found myself not being able to utter a single sentence in the meetings. I knew what to say but I just could not get myself to be vocal and participate in a discussion. I felt a certain inferiority complex, I guess, because everyone around me was an experienced leader. I was interning with the marketing team, which comprised a lot of smart, inspiring women. I wanted to be able to command respect like them. So I worked on myself. Before any meeting, I practiced what and how I would say things, in front of a mirror. There was no forum or support system that I could turn to for these nuanced skills. I worked on my interpersonal and communication skills myself – by observing those who were doing it right.
Few years later when I moved into a team-lead role, everything I had worked on came in handy. I would still rehearse all night before presenting a 2-page demo at a meeting. But after a while I started to gain confidence. That, for me, was a defining point in my career.
After moving back to India, I was hired as a program manager by SAIC, a US-based IT and services firm. From managing a 20-people team in the US to leading a team of almost 200 – it was a whole other game. I was not planning on leading such a large team but Krishna Rao, the India Lead at SAIC at that time, was part of my interviewing panel and saw something in me that I could not. I have to say, I thrived. I enjoyed my interactions with my team, the clients and my colleagues in different parts of the world. I was always good with people but I’d never before got an opportunity to lead such a big team. By the time I left SAIC, I was leading the largest client engagement. I surprised myself!
My Core Values
I don’t believe in hierarchy. I believe in treating everyone equally. I believe in acknowledging people’s work and developing their strengths. At work, as much as possible, I go and talk to people on their floor instead of speaking to them only in one-on-one meetings. I want to make them realise, in person, the value of their work and what they bring to the table.
As a leader, I ensure that I nurture a strong connection with the people with whom I work; it’s not simply a tick-in-the-box exercise. I’m intentional about building a genuine rapport with them and I make efforts towards it.
Skills for Success
> Develop an emotional connect with people: This is not the same as leading with empathy; this is about sharing your story authentically so that someone else may feel comfortable to open up and share their story. You can’t expect to connect with someone at an emotional level in the first couple of meetings. Take your time and tread with care but nurture these connections – they will take you a long way ahead.
> Don’t limit yourself: In my organisation and sector, I see very few women applying for a high-end tech role. Far greater number of men sign up for such roles that require (perceived) advanced technical skills. Women, on the contrary, are happy to move to management roles. Those will come to them anyway! You will become a leader and a manager but before you get there, explore all your paths. Know your destination but don’t limit yourself with what you want to do or can do. I feel that most working women have a boxed mindset – they are open to challenges in the paths that they choose but they are not open to try what they don’t want to try.
On Avoiding Burnout
It’s easy to get bogged down by the change and chaos in our professional lives especially when we are starting out, and to ignore personal development altogether. It’s easy to over commit to work in the hope of early success but that approach is only going to leave you burnt out. Work is important but it’s not everything. Prioritise personal care and development equally. Spend time honing your passions, engaging in hobbies and creating a strong support system outside of work.
A lot of women, after 8-10 years of work, are totally burnt out from putting all their energy and focus into their jobs. It’s also the phase in their lives where they are getting married or planning a family. Burnout is often the reason why they either do not join back into the workforce or opt only for part-time work. This is why I emphasise on personal care from the start of one’s career, especially for women, because we juggle so many roles and each one can be more demanding than the other.
What Energises Me
> I’m at a stage in my career where I’m financially stable and have enough savings to retire. There are moments when I feel that I should quit and take it easy. What keeps me going though is my work – I truly enjoy what I do. My work keeps my energy levels up.
> I keep myself engaged in community and cultural events. Back in the US, it started off as something fun but today I thoroughly enjoy planning and organising community events, and even participating in them.
> I try to connect with my children’s friends. I visit my son once every month since he moved to the university and take all his friends and him out for dinner. Becoming a part of my children’s environment is my way of staying connected to them. It makes me happy.
On How Times Have Changed
When I graduated in 1989, companies that came for campus recruitment would openly discriminate. They’d tell us girls not to even bother sitting for the test/interview because no one would hire us and invest in our training when, in a couple of months, we would get married and leave anyway. Today, the environment is completely different. When we (from Accenture) go for campus recruitment, we clearly say that our drive is for bridging the gender-diversity gap and so, “sorry guys, but we will be targeting 90% women candidates.”
It is not just the company policies and systems that have changed. I also notice a shift in the mindset of young girls joining the workforce. It’s very different from ours because of greater awareness in today’s corporate world and otherwise. These women are very clear about what they want; for a lot of them, career is a clear priority.
Maybe in a few years we will have new issues arising out of this individualistic, liberated and opinionated way of living of the current generation. But now is the best time to be a working woman. The level of awareness and support – in terms of programs, workshops and forums available – is better than it ever was in the past.
