Blend your personal goals with co’s to be successful
HR Policies Should
Focus On Integrating Work & Life
Over the years, whenever I would introduce myself to
someone, I would say, “My name is Manu Wadhwa and I work with a particular organisation.”
Little did I realise that in uttering those lines, my self-identity was taken
over by my professional identity and was I then losing a sense of myself as a
person, a wife, a mother and a citizen of this country?
After working for over two decades, I questioned if
we were so dependent on our professional identities that we have forgotten to
open up our real self to people, or has the world become so competitive and
impatient that no one has the time or interest in wanting to know the person that
we are. A thought that ran across my mind was, whether this comes from a
deep-seated insecurity of losing one’s professional identity, as that’s the
lynchpin, which has been defining our existence to the world till date. In
these fastmoving times, we forget to develop all the facets of our identity.
For instance, in my case, being a passionate art lover, a landscape artist,
someone who loves cooking, and entertaining friends & family with food
experiments, and loves to spend time with my children — these are all still
facets of my identity. But somewhere amidst the competition of the professional
world, they seem to have taken a backseat.
I also went through a phase where I was tempted to
give up my career and focus on everything else that mattered in life my health,
friends, family and my passions. All went in favour of this choice, with only
one glitch — the open question of how would I introduce myself ? It resulted in
me feeling like I would lose everything that I have worked for, if I chose to
follow my heart.
That’s when I took a step back and questioned: Do I
have to choose one of the two paths — follow my heart or follow my mind? Is
there a convergence of roads and purpose? Upon introspection and connecting
with people from all walks of life, especially millennials, I realised that
there is an innovative path where one really need not give one up over the
other and, as such, the organisation itself can play a role in creating a
culture which promotes and inspires individuals to be true to self, while being
a part of a professional identity. It was this journey of fighting with my
inner self, introspecting and realising that helped me coin #BEINSPIRED as our
employee’s value proposition (EVP) — defining our workplace to be an ecosystem
where employees can define their purpose and excel in all walks of their
personal and professional goals.
Today, it is an absolute necessity for people
practices to be centered on integrating work and life. I walk this EVP by
blending my personal goals and needs with that of the organisation. As an
example, my twin daughters, are more tuned into my workplace, know my
co-workers and can explain what goes into making a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Similarly, I am available as an active parent in heeding to all their life and
education needs without any hesitation or guilt in mind, as I know my
organisation backs me up.
Here are some mantras from my life experiences that
can help youngsters start thinking: › Never doubt yourself or your value to the
world in your own eyes.
› Fear makes you a follower. Work on breaking this
chain of fearing the invisible — “What will people say?”
› Understand that you are larger than your corporate
identity and are capable of achieving what you set your heart to.
› Keep a bucket list of your life goals/purpose and
work towards ticking off items — for my own self, to focus on building who I am
rather than what I do.
Outside of my organisation’s support and inclusion of
my personal choices, I try to make a conscious effort to develop other facets
of my identity by giving time and effort — in being a proud parent, an art
lover, a travel enthusiast, and so much more. After all, I will only live once
and my best is yet to come!
By Manu Narang Wadhwa
The author is VP (HR), Coca-Cola
India & South West A
TAS 22NOV17
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