Women leadership series - In conversation with Banu Pavithra V

How would you introduce yourself?

I would like to introduce myself as a passionate IT professional who also is a competent mother of a 9 year old son. There are other hats that I wear both in professional and personal life, but these two - IT professional & a mother stands out the most to me

Can you tell me a bit about your career journey? When did you first get into a leadership role?

I started my career as a Software Developer - Trainee in 2005 in NTT Data in Bangalore. I played different roles and had very career growth opportunities in my first company and within 5 years of my experience I had played the roles of Analyst, Designer, Onsite Coordinator,Team Lead, Tech Lead and a Assistant Project Manager. Then I moved on to Harman where I spent close to 8 years solidly playing the role of Project Manager across a wide range of projects and clients.

In my recent experience with Thoughtworks for about 3 years I have a couple of hats - of a lead project manager, delivery principal and program manager.

My leadership journey stems from my schooling time period itself, where I was the class pupil leader from my 6th Grade.

What were the top challenges you faced during your journey and how did you overcome them?

One of the key challenges that I faced early in my career was leading teams that had team members who were senior to me in their work experience. I tackled this challenge by working more closely with them and by understanding tech involved in depth.

The second key challenge I would quote is being too hard on myself that I would attribute any failure to myself - This is because of trying to get done a lot of things myself without understanding that I have the strength of the team. Once I had this moment of realization of the team's backup and strength, I was able to get out of the challenge quite easily.

What motivates you?

Appreciation and recognition motivates me quite a bit. Just a small thank you note is good enough to keep me up and running for a few weeks!

Do you have a role model in your life? Can you name a few people who you look up to?

Come to think of it, I owe a lot of my success to my mom - She was a working woman and right from my childhood I have seen her juggle work and home and she is a pretty successful woman who was able to balance her work aspirations and the responsibilities at home quite well. I have had very low moments unable to manage work and life and everytime she has been my go to person who would constantly encourage me to get back up again.

I have a solid mentor and guide at Thoughtworks, Sasikala Mahesh who is one of my key inspirations and role models.

What does leadership mean to you? How would you describe your leadership style?

Leadership is common sense for me. There is a prescribed format - it just is about how to grasp the context of the situation in hand and try to come up with a win-win situation for the parties involved wherever possible. Leadership is also a form of courage for me to assume accountability and responsibility for a value driven purpose.

People say that I practice a people oriented non-conflicting leadership style, which I think suits my personality quite well.

What would be your advice to young leaders?

Hard work always brings in success. Discipline is key.

My mantra [from Jim Rohn] for career progression and even personal progression has been the following in the last few years - “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”