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Leadership Spotlight

Leadership Spotlight

By Plethora Learning

Learn the ins and outs of everyday leadership, what it means to be a leader, and all the learning and skilling that goes into making a successful leader that others want to follow. We are putting the spotlight on some of the industry's noted L&D and HR leaders in this exclusive podcast dedicated to all things learning.
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No Substitute for Hard Work & Dedication

Leadership Spotlight May 13, 2020

00:00
23:26
Building the Future L&D Professional

Building the Future L&D Professional

The future of work is here. Employees need to be upskilled today for the changing world of tomorrow. And playing a key role in this are the L&D professionals who not just have to be change makers but continuous learners as they cater to both the workforce and their own skilling. As they build a future-ready workforce they have to become a future-ready L&D professional themselves. Vijay Gogoi, Executive Director & Lead at KPMG Academy explains how. With over 22 years of experience in management consulting, sales, talent development, general management and even technology entrepreneurship, Vijay has been an advisor to Fortune 100 and blue chip clients on strategic talent and L&D issues, and has led the implementation of large initiatives. His work experience traverses industries and regions from telecom to retail, and from India to Indonesia, UK, US and South Africa.

Jun 09, 202126:08
Learning for the Hybrid Workplace

Learning for the Hybrid Workplace

Manavi Pathak, the current Head Talent and Leadership & Organizational Development at Tata Trent Ltd. and a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in the area of Talent Management, Assessment, Learning & Leadership Development and Executive Coaching, tells how L&D professionals can rethink the learning mandate for the hybrid workplace.

May 13, 202118:54
Changing Paradigm of Employee Engagement

Changing Paradigm of Employee Engagement

For businesses to stay relevant and thrive in today's virtual world of work and engaging employees is critical. The onus is on HR to drive organization-wide employee engagement. But, is HR alone enough to engage the dispersed and diverse workforce Sudhir Koka, Senior Director-Learning & OD at GVK Bio Sciences uncovers the role of frontline managers in employee engagement. With over 20 years of experience in L&D and a certified coach, Sudhir distills his expertise in managing HR, OD and talent management to share practical tips, tricks and best practices on making employee engagement a valuable activity for line managers.

Apr 14, 202126:60
Dealing with Ambiguity

Dealing with Ambiguity

Ambiguity is everywhere, in our everyday lives, in our workplace, and in the very abbreviation that encompasses the world of work today, VUCA. While there is a lot of talk about ambiguousness and its manifestations, it helps to have a know-how of the dealing mechanisms, especially in today's new normal. Medhika Sood, Associate Director-Talent Management & L&D at Uniphore walks the talk on dealing with ambiguity. An L&D pro with over 10 years of experience, she uncovers the various phases of ambiguity, while sharing anecdotes, skillsets and best practices to cope with awareness and clarity. 

Mar 31, 202130:50
L&D as Strategic Mission Enabler

L&D as Strategic Mission Enabler

What's the key role of a company's L&D? The short answer 'people development in light of business objectives and goals.' For Neerja Chauhan, Director of Learning at Jiva Ayurveda, the world's largest ayurveda treatment organization, it's about being a strategic mission enabler. With over 17 years of career invested in a brand that's now a household name for health & wellness, Neerja has made it her mission to make employee training and skilling an engaging & holistic journey for the company's 500+ health practitioners across India. Here she shares her experience, anecdotes and best practices for transforming you L&D into a strategic mission enabler for your business. 

Jan 20, 202137:16
Coaching, Self-Talk & Goal-Setting

Coaching, Self-Talk & Goal-Setting

Divya Amarnath, Head L&D-Strategic Consulting Practice at Infosys, has an illustrious career of over 17 years across diverse global corporate companies in 10 countries. A Researcher, Executive Coach, Award winning facilitator, Author, Keynote and TEDx Speaker, amongst others, Divya is passionate about coaching women in all spheres of life on self-talk, goal-setting and execution. An alumnus of Columbia University, Divya is a Talent & Leadership Development leader who walks the talk on People Development in her professional and personal life. Her understanding of human psychology and neuroscience makes her the perfect Culture Coach, a Design Thinking Practitioner, as a learning professional with hands-on L&D skills

Nov 04, 202033:35
Learning Communities of Practice

Learning Communities of Practice

‘A wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others’ mistakes. But the wisest of all learns from others’ successes’, goes a Zen proverb. A rather simplistic definition of learning communities but the very testimony to our evolution and existence. For Gautam Ghosh, Blogger, Speaker, Writer and ex. Talent Branding Director of Flipkart and ex. GM HR Strategy and Projects of Phillips, it is what sets the framework for organizational learning and development. An XLRI alumni, he specializes in areas of Human Resources, Organization Development and how businesses can leverage Social Learning for L&D. From building a business case for corporate Communities of Practice to giving practical easy-to-adopt tools and techniques for incorporating them in training interventions, Gautam demonstrates his authority and know-how on all things learning communities. Hear on as we unpack Communities of Practice.

Oct 21, 202026:38
Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership

Focusing on others, their needs, their views, their successes, doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Especially in a corporate dog-eat-dog world that’s me-centered. But for some, it’s not just a learning philosophy but a way of life. Dr. Madana Kumar has been walking the talk on Servant Leadership as he balances two roles: one as the Vice President and Global Head of Leadership Development at UST Global and, second, as a Servant Leadership Evangelist helping organizations implement and benefit from this new leadership paradigm. With a PhD in Servant Leadership, Dr. Madana leverages his doctoral know-how and close to 4 decades of experience across leading businesses to strategically transform the L&D function, shape the learning strategy of growing organizations, create and nurture a learning culture, and accelerate digital transformation with ‘people-first’ approach at its heart.

Oct 07, 202034:35
Management, Hard Work & Work-Life-Balance

Management, Hard Work & Work-Life-Balance

Susibel Perigault, Learning & Development (L&D) Head at Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) Panama, is a specialist in maritime administration with more than 22 years of experience. She manages the training of its 1200 white and blue collared employees spread across various locations. Her easy management expertise flows seamlessly into her personal life as she manages her hearth and heart, making time for her boy and her girl, attending every football match, music practice, parent teacher meeting and being there for their little joys and sorrows. She’s warm, hard-working and dedicated to her craft, making her a leader with the perfect work-life-balance.

Sep 16, 202016:47
Science, Spirituality & Purpose

Science, Spirituality & Purpose

What has spirituality to do with leadership and business? How can you go beyond the professional skill set and build spiritual fitness as part of your soul set? Addressing these and more is Surya Prakash Mohapatra,  a spiritual practitioner and the current Global Head-Talent Transformation at Wipro DOP. With over 20 years of experience in various leadership roles, across several leading IT & ITeS organizations, Surya has extensive experience setting up and running L&D functions, leadership development, capability building, and talent management initiatives in various business processes in India and overseas. For Surya, spirituality is pivotal in all aspects of life, personal, professional and social. It's his lens to the world that makes him a loving, empathetic and compassionate leader. 

Sep 02, 202023:31
Labels, Identities & Stereotyping

Labels, Identities & Stereotyping

In a career that spans leadership roles in blue chip organizations, epithets of the likes of talented, inspirational, empathetic, are more than your role or personality descriptors. They are labels and identities that precede you, set up expectations and define you. However, when we limit ourselves and others to the narrow definitions of these labels without awareness or lens of the bigger picture, we create a notion of a static identity that’s both disempowering and stagnating to growth. So how do you peel back the layers of personal and professional labels, identities and stereotypes that the society demands us to conform to? Meenalochani Kumar, Global Leadership Development and Talent Management at Sutherland, tells us how - as she distills over 2 decades of experience across diverse industries in Business HR and L&D transformation. An ex board member of International Mentoring Association, she brings expertise in building centers of excellence in Leadership Development, Learning and Corporate Mentoring, Learning design, Career Architecture, Organisation Culture Building and Neuroscience-based Coaching. 

Aug 19, 202025:37
The What, Why & How of Capability Development

The What, Why & How of Capability Development

Over 20 years of HR & L&D experience in diversified industries equips you with all the knowledge of leadership management, business transformation and employee capability development. But it's the understanding of human psychology and the mindset that enables you to tap into the intrinsic motivation of your people to help them leverage their resilience and research skills for growth. Walking the talk on this learning landscape transformation at scale is Dr. Sunil Singh, Founder & CEO of Mindstream Consulting and the ex-CHRO of Cadila Pharma. An IIM alumni, he is a leadership coach, business transformation expert, keynote speaker published author and researcher. His study and practice of human psychology coaching, leadership development, talent management, change management, HR systems & processes and HR automation enables him to decode the what, the why and the how of capability development.  


Aug 05, 202036:32
Leveraging Adversity for Opportunity

Leveraging Adversity for Opportunity

A result-driven L&D consultant helping individuals, teams and leadership figure out their WHY, while equipping them with the HOW, Rohit Bhasin, Learning & Development Manager at Doha Bank, has over 17 years of progressive work experience in a diverse multinational work environments. His commercial suaveness, ability to engage and influence senior teams and the C-suite, expertise in implementing and facilitating learn-tech solutions for employee learning and training is rooted in his passion for people development. He walks the talk on empathy, compassion, people-first approach in his personal and professional life as he strikes a balance between work and fun through daily meditation, mindfulness and gratitude practices. A well-kept secret - to his success and growth, his curiosity and optimism - that reveals itself in this conversation.

Jul 15, 202020:11
Resilience, Discipline and Adapting

Resilience, Discipline and Adapting

With the discipline to observe, learn & adapt in the evolving world of work and life, and the resilience to bounce back and rise higher, Chris Joshua, the multi-faceated & goal oriented Head of Talent Development for Arcolab, a wholly owned subsidiary of Strides Group, shares her leadership experience of over 35 years, her values & beliefs grounded in humanness & empathy, and her motto of 'drive, discipline and dedication' in today's changing times. 

Jul 01, 202025:05
Mindset, Curiosity & Openness to Learn

Mindset, Curiosity & Openness to Learn

From his humble beginning in Sales to becoming one of the most respected L&D leaders in the pharma industry, Anil Nair, COE Lead & Head - Organizational Learning & Leadership Development at Zydus, shares his extraordinary leadership journey, his motto of 'building people to build the business', the must-have traits for a successful leader, along with some powerful insights on organizational leadership development. 

Jun 17, 202019:09
Continuous Learning & the Value of Deliberate Practice

Continuous Learning & the Value of Deliberate Practice

A burning passion for one's work, coupled with a combination of technical, interpersonal and leadership skills, including empathy, creativity, innovation and active listening, lays the perfect foundation for the making of an ideal leader. In this podcast Sunandha Govindan, L&D professional at Strides Pharma Inc., shares her experience and expertise on what it takes to be a true leader.  

A Learning & Development professional at Strides Pharma Inc, Sunandha is a go-getter HR professional with over 10 years of experience in talent and performance management, employee training, digital learning, HR staffing and onboarding, with demonstrated excellence in the Pharmaceuticals, Automobile and ITES industry. Her attention to detail, focus on quality and deep interest in human beings, makes her an empathetic leader and a compassionate mother.   

Jun 03, 202018:31
Does Leadership have a Gender?

Does Leadership have a Gender?

Leadership is not a rank or a position, but an attribute to the position, where age, gender or any other criteria have little to do with leadership. In this insightful podcast with Anita Chhabria, Deputy General Manager, International HR at Gulf Oil, we explore why leadership is gender agnostic and how the world is slowly moving away from gender and towards capability when it comes to defining  a leader. 

Anita has over a decade of comprehensive human resources experience across diverse industries. She handles a global portfolio in Organizational Development, leads the Learning & Development practice and runs the communication and employee engagement initiatives for Gulf Oil India.

May 27, 202018:52
No Substitute for Hard Work & Dedication

No Substitute for Hard Work & Dedication

When it comes to leadership, learning to work hard and with absolute dedication, and 'getting it done' are some of the key prerequisites. Listen to this exclusive podcast with Lionel Wallace, HR Manager, Jamaica Public Service Pvt. Ltd., to learn why it's important to seize every opportunity, keep the best foot forward and go that extra mile to accomplish the best results.  

May 13, 202023:26