Featuring: Vinutha Raja, Senior Director – HR at Sony India software Centre

Curated By: Chandrani Datta

How do women improve their own deservability in their own eyes?

I believe that being true to oneself is where it all begins. It’s important not to be overly influenced by what others say. Once you become swayed by the opinions of others, you tend to view yourself differently or simply follow others without introspection. Therefore, looking inward is crucially important. This is especially relevant in a professional environment, where it’s essential to evaluate one’s behavior, intentions, effort, genuineness, and integrity in any exercise or discussion. This self-evaluation allows for an objective assessment of oneself because you cannot deceive yourself. When others offer their opinions of your performance, you should take them with a grain of salt since they are merely perceptions. Although perceptions are important, it’s more important to credit your own thoughts about yourself. It’s vital to be honest with oneself and avoid camouflaging the truth. Doing so enables one to feel deserving of recognition because you’re true to your intentions. This approach has helped me, at least.

How can women go from being critically judgemental to compassionately curious?

Being very critical and judgmental was a part of my personality in the past, especially during my younger days. People from my previous organization probably remember me that way. However, my experiences have taught me well in this space. I used to judge people with a sense of feeling that everybody had to be the way I was, but that is not true. Respecting differences is fundamental in acknowledging that each person has their own strengths and capabilities, which I was not good at before. It didn’t help me when I was that way, and it put off a lot of people. I formed perceptions that were very strong, and it became challenging for me to overcome them, even if the person had changed.

I realized that in the process, I was creating a perception of myself to others. People started misunderstanding me, and I became known as stubborn, arrogant, snobbish, and not supportive. It wasn’t helping me move forward and groom myself as a leader. In the past 15 years, I’ve had great mentors in my life, and that has helped me change my perspective. I started to realize that everybody has a story behind them, and there is a reason why people behave the way they do or have different competencies and interests.

Today, when somebody comes with constraints or problems, I tend to go beyond what is obvious to understand if there is something that I can do to help correct or support them. The end objective is to get the task done or achieve a goal, and being aggressive or abrasive works negatively. It doesn’t help to get the outcome, and the person ends up avoiding conversations with you, leaving you with the task of doing everything yourself. That’s why I try to probe a little more and see if I can use my resources to support and handhold people to become better at what they’re doing. They all have the capability, but they may not be aware of it or lack a supportive environment.

What are some changes that you brought in yourself that got you better outcomes?

I think we all know that the last few years have been difficult for everybody, right? Especially with this pandemic and all. We were all spread across the globe, and critical decisions had to be made. It was challenging because we were not working in the office, but from our homes. We weren’t communicating as often as we used to. However, many new initiatives had to be rolled out in the organization, and we needed to stay updated with what was happening in the industry and regarding the pandemic. It would have been nearly impossible to handle everything alone, as it involved financial impact for the organization, and convincing others was necessary. There were also many leadership changes at that time. Fortunately, we got great leaders, but I still built close relationships with the existing leadership. Before the pandemic, I may not have been collaborating as closely with them, but the situation forced us to communicate frequently, openly, and timely, which helped me build alliances with the leadership. Our former MD, who had worked with us before, returned to the position, making it easier for us to connect and understand our objectives. Bringing people together frequently was essential, and everyone left everything else to prioritize the issue, as the impact was life-threatening. The last couple of years have taught us a lot, and even post-pandemic, we’ve built strong relationships, especially within the senior leadership. We have become more individually connected beyond the professional front. This rapport has strengthened our relationships and helped me in current situations, even though we’re not dealing with pandemic issues anymore.

Giving yourself strength and self-acceptance is important in achieving anything you set out to do. Everything available to a man is available to a woman; it’s just a matter of utilizing those resources.

What are your experiences about stretching boundaries to get results?

I think it’s important to go beyond your boundaries by being more collaborative and inclusive. When you want to do this, you have to come across as honest and genuine, without any hidden agendas. As human beings, we tend to have insecurities, so getting rid of those insecurities for both yourself and the person you’re communicating with can help make conversations more productive and effective. This helps you open up and discuss everything freely, including constraints and true intentions. Once there’s a sync in this aspect, the other person will come forward to support and help you, knowing that you’re both working towards the same goal. This will slowly help you overcome your boundaries, and people will begin to believe in you and trust you. They will see you as dependable and able to achieve what you set out to achieve without a personal agenda. This is what has helped me go beyond my defined boundaries.

What advice would you give for the women who aspire for more?

I think believing in yourself is key, and thinking that you are no less than anybody else is important. When I started my career 30 years ago, it was predominantly male-dominated, and things weren’t easy. But giving yourself strength and self-acceptance is important in achieving anything you set out to do. Everything available to a man is available to a woman; it’s just a matter of utilizing those resources. However, women sometimes discriminate against each other, and use gender as a trump card to achieve certain things. We need to forget about gender and compete equally. I know this is possible because I am a woman myself and have been able to achieve my goals, even while raising a child. Everyone is capable of doing the same, but the change needs to happen within yourself first, before seeking change from outside.

Vinutha Raja, Senior Director – HR at Sony India software Centre

Vinutha is a seasoned HR professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Currently, she is the Head of Human Resources at Sony India Software Centre in Bangalore, where she has been working for 11 years. Prior to that, she held various HR management positions at Samsung India Software Operations and Samsung for almost a decade. She also served as the Head of Consulting and Services at dWise Solutions & Services Pvt Ltd for two years. With her extensive experience, she has developed expertise in HR strategy, talent acquisition, employee engagement, and organizational development.