OYP Episode 34: Shikha Bajaj

Shikha Bajaj, Senior Director of Agile Program Management at Publicis Sapient, tells us about her deep passion for elevating women in leadership through mentorship and the importance of stepping into your purpose and finding joy in your work.

Interview

Peter Szczerba - Welcome back to the Own Your Potential Podcast, where you'll hear stories from leaders across the globe, about how they've taken control of their career growth, and lessons on how you can too. I'm Peter Szczerba, and today I have the extreme pleasure of sitting down with Shikha Bajaj, Senior Director of Agile Program Management, at Publicis Sapient. Shikha, really great to have you on the podcast today. I'm super excited to jump into this conversation. Can you just start by taking us through your career journey up to this point?

Shikha Bajaj - Sure thanks for having me, Peter. I'm currently a senior director agile program management based out of New York office since August 2010. For whatever it's worth, this is my second stint here. And it's amazing how time flies when you're having fun heard of that, right. So my first stint at Sapient was also super special because I actually had the pleasure of joining the very first second office in New Delhi. And I recall, it was called Vidya Khan towers, were actually worked as a technologist creating very meaningful software. The one that comes to my mind right now is MIT OpenCourseWare, an initiative that sapient pioneered with MIT to offer education for free. After spending couple years in Sapient, New Delhi, I moved to Accenture, where I played a variety of roles for many financial clients. And I still recall, it was summer of 2010, when Sapient Global Markets was formed when I rejoined sapient. And yes, I'm a boomerang because I came back here. And one of the key reasons I came back here is because I love our culture, our focus on doing meaningful work for our clients, as well as our people. So it's been an all more than a dozen years if I combine both my stunts and I should have grown with the company. And I've seen a lot of changes all along. And in terms of my actual career journey with respect to the type of roles I've played, at Sapient, I have been a project manager, a program manager, an agile coach for service delivery lead, as well as a business lead responsible for growing the account or revenues, profits margins. And I've, I've always had more than one role, which, which keeps me on my toes, and I like it that way. One thing that I think I've really enjoyed at sapient, and my journey is that I've moved across many teams, I'm in a little known fact, or maybe it's no longer a little known fact, is, in my second stint, which is almost 11 years at sapient. I've only been at two clients. One client was nine plus. Yeah. So the first client was like, nine plus years. And it sounds like oh, that that could be boring. How can someone stay at one client doing the same thing like, but you know, what the interesting thing is, I moved across half a dozen business teams, and half a dozen different programs. And every time the challenge was different, sometimes creating a compelling client experience to setting up a near shore center to becoming a service delivery lead, or, you know, just doing it all. So it's been fun.

Peter Szczerba - I mean, I'm really excited to dig into this because I feel like there's a times on pack. Especially I wasn't aware of that, that two clients across 11 years. And you know, you talk about having a slew of different roles from agile coach delivery lead, project manager, Program Manager, business lead. So, you know, often when we have conversations about folks career journey, and the twists and turns that it took, I'm always curious, because there's so many factors that influence the decisions you make along your career. I'm always curious, did you find that as you were navigating those different roles within you know, these clients in these projects? Were you playing an active role in the decisions to, let's say, pivot away from being a delivery lead to an agile coach, or from project management or product management in general to business leadership? Was that something that you were driving? Or was that what sort of factors were influencing those shifts?

Shikha Bajaj - Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, the only thing I have actively done is just getting stuff done. And by becoming that problem solver, who's known for not only creating excellent outcomes for our clients, but also for business and most importantly for our people who want to grow and have an extended impact? So that's one thing that I think very quickly I have become to be known for. And the other thing that I think I would have done actively, which I can take credit for is that I'm always hungry for challenge, and I go hunting for it. So what I mean is like, you know, if I get a complex problem to solve, and I like it, and actually like it even more, when I don't know how to solve it. So anytime I feel that I'm in my comfort zone, I raise my hand saying, I want to do more, or I want to do different things, or I can do more than one thing that I'm doing. And I believe that's where learning and growth happens. And that's where my contribution towards my career progression or ability for people around me to feel confident and comfortable to give me that challenge has happened. And, yeah, I mean, if I look back, I guess, just in addition to different roles that I mentioned, that has also played a role in me, not really being stuck to a specific domain. But even within financial services, where I have been for last 10 plus years, doing stuff in insurance, to banking, to hedge funds to risk management. And right now I'm doing martec, which is actually industry agnostic. And the type of problems that I am, I have been getting thrill on around solving have also varied from like, you know, delivering a multimillion transformational program being distributed globally, to doing agile coaching, again, you know, globally distributed. And if I think about the business side, like talking to procurement and talking about our rate cards and right, like, let's not do nickel and dime, let's talk about value. So yeah.

Peter Szczerba - Yeah, I know, I find so interesting, because you're right in that, like, you're the active role you're taking in your career is about focusing on where you find the most personal attraction to the challenge or the problem that you're able to solve. So really, you're focusing on impact, right? And less about, well, what's my next step? What's my next level? Right? And and you're, you're really just focusing on the work and and, you know, doing it really well and driving impact? So I'm curious, though, because it seems like you see a challenge, regardless of whether it's in your current domain or your current role or not, you're like, I think I know, or I think I have what it takes to, to impact solving that challenge. And I want to pursue that. So then you make that known, right. So I'm curious, you know, it sounds like you've had a ton of success doing that. But are there any examples where maybe it didn't go as planned? And maybe it wasn't a setback, but you didn't necessarily experience the growth and learning and have the impact you wanted? And if that did happen? I'm curious, how did you bounce back from that?

Shikha Bajaj - I feel like, anytime you, you get in any situation, right? Whether it's a project or a role, or a client or a team, business unit, what have you internal external, every interaction or experience helps you grow either better or bitter. And I'm a die hard optimist. And I always find something good to take away from the worst situation ever. So it's hard for me to pinpoint a specific example where it didn't really pan out, because I feel like, yes, there have been times where I asked for expanding my role wanting to have a client see the value, but maybe the culture of the client is that they, they are still very cost conscious and non centric, you know? So should I take it as a failure, a personal failure, or a PS failure? Or is it that? Well, they're not ready right now, but they will be down the line. So let me switch to where I can add value, or where somebody will care for impact or a value proposition versus taking it as a setback. So I feel like any, and I have had an experience, the example that I just gave you, Peter, where we were in a spot where the where it was hard for a client to, you know, not nickel and dime, and just having the wisdom to know when to push hard versus when to retract and put your energies elsewhere is something I've learned over many years.

Peter Szczerba - Yeah, I think a lot of what you said resonates with me there and, you know, particularly this idea of being an optimist, I often find myself in a similar situation. But what I find admirable is, you know, especially in professional services or managed services that when, you know, very typical behavior, or response to adversity on account that we that we see is you folks would simply say, you know, I don't want to be on this account anymore. I don't want to work for this client anymore. I want a different project. Whereas, you know, I've also fallen into the camp of figuring out how to make the best of whatever the situation is and being optimistic that something good can be found of it. When Personally, I've always found that some pretty exponential growth can come out of being fine making a situation like that successful. Do you do and it sounds like you agree.

Shikha Bajaj - I totally do. I feel like sometimes actually failing at something that Do you believe that you are going to be successful? ends up being far more meaningful than always being a success? Because if you haven't really failed at anything, then you're not learning you're not growing and you're not actually testing your own limits.

Peter Szczerba - Yeah, absolutely. So now I'm curious. You know, it sounds like, especially if you've played so many different roles, you found so many different, you know, aspects of an organization or clients to impact across the time that you spent on them. So clearly, you're learning along the way a ton of different things, especially to be able to solve these new challenges. But, you know, a lot of folks also who find success in their careers are doing active learning over and above what's happening in on the job. So did you find that that was something you leaned into a lot to also find motivation and drive your curiosity and desire to solve new challenges? Like, were you picking up platforms or technologies are new techniques along the way, in parallel?

Shikha Bajaj - Yeah, definitely. And that's actually one of my favorite topics, which is always be a lifelong learner. And as you learn, also be focused on giving back by empowering others. So when I look back, and I think I've, I've had this constant thirst to learn more and more, and never be satisfied by it, because everything around me is changing. So if I want more challenges, I need to be ready for it. And, and the fact that I like the challenge more than I actually don't know how to solve it, there's a lot of learning on the job, but also extra courses or supplements, you know, that need to complement. So one, one example is when I actually started my career, way back, I was a Bachelor's and Master's in computer applications. And in my first year of joining work, I was like, just being a computer nerd is not good enough, and then trying to solve this problems. And for I mean, I just don't know business, as much as I know the technology. And unless I am able to learn business, I don't think I'll have the right impact. So I quickly while being on the job, enrolled myself in a Masters of Business Administration. And I think ever since I've been supplementing my, my experience with the skills, whether it's certifications around agile, or scaled agile, as well as, like, my recent example of the project, or the program that I'm on requires marketing technologies. And it's a new domain for me. So I just rolled up my sleeves. And I said, Well, I'm learning a lot, and I'm helping the client transform. But I think I need to learn more, in a formal way. So I enrolled myself in MIT courses and learned, you know, digital analytics, digital marketing, all about social media. And I'm leveraging the knowledge that I've gotten from the best in class professors, with the real time business, that I'm working to transform, in addition to everything that I've done so far. So ultimately, I believe the limits that I put on myself are the only limits that I have. And I also enrolled myself in the fellowship and transformation leadership, which made me further realize that you can't really succeed by working in a swim lane. So whether it's strategy or customer experience, or agile or business, like you just need to embrace it all. And whether you think you can, or you think you can't, however cliche that may sound is true.

Peter Szczerba - I mean, it's kind of over, it's overwhelming, just to hear the amount of learning that you've done in a formal capacity. And for the audience. The the fellowship of that you mentioned is really essentially like an organization run MBA that focuses on, you know, cross domain, cross discipline, leadership, development and learning and so makes you an effective leader, right. And I think you combine that with an actual MBA plus a Master's that's technology based or more technical, and then your, you know, and number of courses or certifications picked up along the way what, what I think is important to take away from that is in spite of having learning on the job, in spite of continuing solve problems, you know, to ascend beyond that, it takes a lot of learning on your own time. I think what you're doing there is this is the namesake of this podcast. So owning your potential by by leveling yourself up. And I think that's really important to recognize. So I'm glad that you said that, because I think a lot of people don't understand that that is really what it takes. You know, and one thing I want to circle back to though, is you mentioned specifically about every time you solve a problem that you want it to take a shot at tackling or or solving, you raise your hand. And that in itself, I think is a form of self advocacy. So what I want to talk about is Just your kind of approach or any lessons that you've learned in how you've taken or approach to self advocacy and whether you have any kind of thoughts for folks who may be struggling with that, given that, you know, the way that you self advocating for yourself was less about I want this new role or this new promotion it was it was more through the lens of I want to solve this problem. So I think that's really interesting.

Shikha Bajaj - Yeah, I'm really glad you asked that. Because I think there is for, for some reason, some amount of social stigma in some people's heads. And I think especially women, and women and minorities struggle with that, because it's like, oh, how can I say, I'm awesome, like, if I'm awesome, someone's gonna notice it, and give me the new project or the complex new problem to get solved. In my experience, it never ever happens. Because, first of all, self advocacy is nothing but the need for you to know who you are, what you want, and how do you go about getting it. And the moment you take the focus away from yourself, and think about, if you end up stepping in your purpose, the impact you will have on the world is going to be far larger than if you just sit in a corner, waiting for people to notice you. It just takes the pressure off. So my advice would be that, you know, it's not just your right and need to self advocate, it's actually your duty. So, you know, do it for others. So don't overthink it, and just do it. What I realized is when I introspect and reflect, I need to be clear on who I am, and what gives me joy. So always be confident and be authentic. Don't try, don't try to be someone else. Because you can't be that someone else. And there's only one unique person in the world, and that person is you. So you are special, stop doubting yourself, won't waste time, take time to, you know, recognize and acknowledge your strength, you are where you are, because you deserve to be there. And you actually are made for much bigger, better thinks. So just step in your purpose, and go do it.

Peter Szczerba - I love that. And I really particularly love the two of the words that you used, this idea of it being your duty to do it, especially for certain demographics in which it's the less common behavior. And I think, I think it's so important to frame it that way that it does establish a precedent, and it's one that it can only drive you forward. And then the second one, the second word that you use is, is joy. I think a lot of people when they talk about the importance of self advocacy, and let's say focusing on purpose, or passion, like those are super common words, but the idea of focusing on what brings you joy, I think that unlocks and taps into an emotion that is really important. And that can really help drive you and towards performing at your best. So I love the way that you frame that. And, you know, self advocacy, I there's no denying how important it is. That's why we do the podcast. But I'm also curious, then, you know, what's your opinion of the importance of advocating for others? Because your senior director, you're in a leadership role, on a senior leadership track? So how did you change your frame of mind Shikha towards, okay, I need to balance how I'm growing myself with also how I'm creating opportunities for all those people around me and advocate for others. So what's your opinion in that on that space?

Shikha Bajaj - Since you mentioned the word joy, I get most joy out of my work at PS or with clients and actually growing coaching and mentoring others. So when they see the hope in themselves, which they can't, but I'm able to help them see that there. They need to own their potential because they're made for greater greatness. If there is something like that. That's when I get my joy. So it comes naturally to me. And I'll share two quick examples. One is on the account that I was in for like nine plus years, I worked with my leadership to create a fake framework called be fun. It was called THEFUN as you can now imagine, I'm all about joy. And THEFUN stood for like it's an acronym for themes and functions. And the whole idea of that framework was that let's empower leadership at all levels by talking about what is this account trying to do for the clients and also bring in people in that journey so that it's so the responsibility of driving things further is not only limited to a certain level, like managers and above or what have you. So I feel pretty proud about what we created, because it was super special. So what we created was that team function concept, which enabled people across geographies, in the US, Canada, Costa Rica, wherever we were to raise their hand to talk about what is it that they are passionate for, and we had functions like you know Delivery metrics, if you want to just, you know, improve how we deliver for the client, but the one that I was leading that I feel very passionate about was called CCR, which was culture, community and recognition. And that was to recognize people and give them a way to say, how do they want to build a community around people and grow them. So we actually had great feedback because people across geographies, ranging from associates, all the way up to senior managers said, Oh, I want to, you know, be the leader on this track versus another track. And they form their own core teams, they actually ran it in an agile way. They had like their own sprint trackers, their tools, story points. And it just felt like it was a movement across geographies where it wasn't like the vision of what we were trying to achieve for the client and account was not being held or driven by like, you know, just the top honchos three or five people, but it was like 400 people coming together and driving things. And it just brought in so much of energy and diversity of perspectives that have enabled leadership at all levels, across geographies, across domains across, you know, everything.

Peter Szczerba - Yeah, I love that. I think both of those examples are so poignant. I'm curious, you know, and I know, I'm walking a little bit of a passion area for you here. But the idea of mentorship, I think, is something that I've touched on in some of these conversations before. I know you particularly are passionate about this space. And maybe I'd love for you to speak a little bit on your opinion of the importance of having opportunities for like formal mentorship, since we know that, you know, folks who want mentors or who are, you know, let's say, better at networking will naturally fall into mentorship relationships. But for those who maybe are not as comfortable with that, but still want that mentorship experience, why do you think let's say formal mentorship is so important and kind of what are you doing in that space?

Shikha Bajaj - Yeah, that's a great question. So I given I feel so strongly about the need for mentorship and coaching. And I think COVID was really, really hard on so many people, but mostly on women leaders, like there is research showing how millions and millions of women actually quit their job because they couldn't bear the pressure of meeting work demands, as well as being a mom and a wife, and even an educator for kids at home. I kick started a mentorship program, pilot in North America, for women leaders, managers and above, exactly to provide women a platform to either choose a mentor, or us as a committee, find them a mentor so that they get the support, they need to have someone advocate for them and understand what they're dealing with and have have them raise their voice. Because again, I think there's been a lot of research out there. So I won't share any or all of it. But the bottom line is, it's been proven that from a gender diversity perspective, women are great leaders, but they always guesstimate or self doubt. So they're very good at doing the job, but not really managing their career. So my thought was given that during COVID, they don't even have the ability to have a water cooler conversation, or meet someone in the office for a cup of coffee, or just talk about how hard it is to be a mom, while working and meeting client demands. And all that like having somebody to you know, just bounce off ideas and connect, even though it's going to be all virtual, will help in some ways to engage and retain and, you know, create a forum for advocating for our best talent. So the pilot really has been successful and working on figuring out how we expand across North America. I have to thank PS leadership, all those sponsors, specifically Alyssa, Lou-Ann and others to have, you know, seen the value in my idea and us taking it forward. So totally excited about being able to do my little bit towards mentorship, advocacy and elevating women leaders.

Peter Szczerba - Yeah, I think it's so powerful. I that's why I wanted to make sure we touched on that because I think whether NPS or in any organization, whether it's in consulting agency, side, client side, you know, small company, big company, I think the idea of for mentorship is so important because I think it opens the gates to mentorship for so many folks who otherwise may not, you know, naturally find themselves, having the ability to generate that sort of relationship and to your point, especially, you know, with women leaders being putting in some of the situations due to the circumstances socially and as well as, you know, just environmentally with COVID. And what that does, I think this is huge.

Shikha Bajaj - Yeah, take a moment to also thank my amazing mentorship committee, because I feel like they, they have been instrumental in making my vision a reality by, you know, walking along the way to do whatever it takes to help other women leaders. So it wouldn't have been possible if I didn't have that amazing team. And then talking about elevating and leadership, I see a huge change in each one of them, right. Like I have people in my team, who are just associate, senior associates, and the way they have stepped up with their ideas and their, and not being afraid of bringing diverse perspectives and then actually executing on them. It's just, it's just enjoy.

Peter Szczerba - I mean, I love I love that even took a second to do that, and even shouting out some of the senior female leaders that that helped bring this to life through executive sponsorship. Yeah, I mean, yourself at your, you're advocating for others right now. And I think it's just a testament to your, to your belief in the space. And, you know, so in combination with, with everything you just talked about, but then also, you know, your career journey, which, you know, you've developed a very strong, but also deep in many areas kind of generalist capability and, and ability just be a great consultant and impactful member of a team. So I'm curious, you know, as you navigated those different roles over time, as you kind of progressed, in your career, were you cognizant of how this was evolving your brand? Were you actively curating you're curating your brand? And I guess, as you're answering that I'd love for you maybe reflect a little bit and think about like, you know, in reflection, how would you describe your personal brand in let's say, two or three words,

Shikha Bajaj - oh, a lot of it has just organically happened. But if I reflect, I think if I have to pick three words, I believe the first word is going to be a change agent. I firmly believe whatever is the status quo can be improved. So wherever I go, whichever situation, I always step back and provide some kind of a system thinking in my own head around it, and, and tell myself that something can still change for better, and then try and find what that is, and then make that happen. So change agent is one. The other thing is, I believe, I'm futuristic. So one of the strengths I have is, again, just ability to look at it from a big picture standpoint, system thinking standpoint. And then, with my optimistic mindset, be able to create, like, visualize a picture. And then everybody around me, whether it's my clients, or my teams, or my senior leadership, or people who need to work for me, like bring them along that journey to see you know what, it can be better. And this is what that pattern looks like. So that they also get excited. So futuristic, is another word. And I think last but not least, and it won't be a surprise to you is, since I'm passionate about growing next generation leaders, I would call myself a multiplier because that gives me the most joy.

Peter Szczerba - I love those words. And I think even in description of your brand, I think folks can take a little bit of inspiration from that. Not to mention inspiration from your career journey and some of the initiatives you're driving so you know on that note, I think this is a great place to kind of close the conversation and and Shikha, I just want to say thank you for taking the time to share some of this with us. I've really enjoyed it and I look forward to checking in again sometime in the future and seeing all these things continue to develop.

Shikha Bajaj - Thank you so much for having me.