Women leadership series - In conversation with Deepthi K

How would you introduce yourself?

Hello there ! My name is Deepthi and I play the role of a Product Owner for the Data Platform team at Thoughtworks. I am passionate about working on social change initiatives and I truly believe we all are empowered to make a positive impact on the world. At home, I am raising a little lioness aged 4 who inspires me to be a better person everyday. These are the attributes that I think of when it comes to my identity.

Can you tell me a bit about your career journey?

After completing my MBA in Lean Operations and Systems I joined the IT fraternity in a pre-sales role. I loved to experiment with new projects and roles even early in my career . From my pre-sales role I moved on to be a Six-Sigma consultant. Soon after, I picked up the role of a business analyst for one of the world's largest consumer retail companies…and that got me hooked. I started my journey with Thoughtworks around 2.5 years back as a business analyst and have recently taken up the role of a product owner for the data platform team. It has been an interesting journey in the Data space with incredible opportunities to learn and experiment.

When did you first get into a leadership role?

I think I have been informally introduced into the leadership role ever since I joined my first project as a BA. Though there were no explicit expectations set on me as a leader, I found myself getting curious and learning on the job. This helped to grow my competencies to fit the needs of the project without much of a push and pull. Overtime I got the opportunity to work as the lead BA for the team, a part time PM role and now a PO role. Now that I look back, I can see how big a role autonomous teams and cultivators play in an organization.

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

'Imposter Syndrome' - Definitely. I had to take a career break in between for a couple of years and when I first joined back it was challenging to get into a creative problem solving mode without worrying about skewed outcomes and imagined hurdles. It took some time to gain confidence and what helped was - 1. focusing on the task at hand and thinking of it as an opportunity to exercise and learn new skills 2. Collecting feedback proactively 3. Measuring actual outcomes at each step.

What motivates you?

Many things - 1. Working with individuals who are passionate about their craft. 2. Learning new and interesting things at work 3. Being a part of a thriving community that fosters deep and candid communication.

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

My dad has been a great role model and influence. He kept widening my horizons and made me realize my own hidden strengths. This has shaped the way I think and act and I try to evolve and emulate these traits with all the great people around me.

When I joined Tw, I was amazed by how leaders shared their thoughts very candidly and productively, each one inspiring me in their own unique ways. The list is actually long but few whom I would like to mention are - Ruchika Bhargava (PM - Bahmni Project) , Sujitha Selvaraj- (Office Principal for Tw CBE) and Richa Trivedi ( my previous mentor).

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

For me a leader is someone who inspires you to elevate your thinking without a fear of failure. In short, that is the example that I would like to set for my team .

What would be your advice to young leaders?

Do not trivialize the impact that you as an individual can have on your project/ team/ goals. You can inspire people by setting an example of how things can be done. It doesn't matter how small you think the task is and whether anyone would notice it or not.

The other important thing is you pull others up on their journey as you grow. Listen, be empathetic and you will find opportunities to leverage the strengths and solve problems more efficiently.