Falguni Nayar inspires Women Professionals. The message is clear: it is never too late!
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity and privilege to meet and listen to Ms Falguni Nayar, Founder and CEO of Nykaa. Nykaa created a splash in the Indian Stock markets when it listed for trading and reached nearly double their issue price. The listing has moved Ms Nayar into the club of top billionaires with a net worth of $7.4 billion.
I would like to draw your attention to a question that was asked to Ms Nayar and her response to it. I would particularly ask all the professional women out there to reflect on her answer. The below is an excerpt from the same as reported in Economic Times.
Q: In India there are almost 70 unicorns, but the only one woman leading a $1-billion-plus company is you. What do you think can be done to change this glaring gender gap?
Ms. Nayar: I have always said there are no glass ceilings. I don’t think men are waiting to not allow women to do what they want. I think women have to want it for themselves. And if they want it for themselves, they will have it.
Ms. Nayar: Today, there is a generational shift happening. When I started, there were only nine women in a class of 150 students in our MBA school. When it came to their life journeys, a lot of women used to give up. But today’s new generation of women are not giving up. It is important to be able to juggle between personal life and work at that point of time (when you are getting married, becoming parents) because I feel you should continue working even if you take a break for some time.
The generational shift that Ms Nayar alluded to in her statement was quite apparent to me as several women hold leadership positions at Nykaa. These decisions and faith shown by Ms. Falguni Nayar and management team is an inspiration for all women professionals.
To an interview with CNBC-TV18 Padmaja Ruparel, Cofounder Indian Angel Network mentioned how Ms. Falguni Nayar is an inspiration for all women professionals and across genders. “I think she has not just been an inspiration for women, it has been for across genders. It just marks the growth of the start-up ecosystem in India – in nine years from start to IPO, is exactly what we are seeing in the ecosystem and it’s getting faster and faster and bigger and bigger. So, the defining moment is she has really set an aspiration for many, not only women start-ups, not only women-led companies emerging, but across the board, so for me, it was a huge inspiration,”
In her speech, Ms. Nayar mentioned grit, resilience and passion which are necessary to take you to success. In addition to these attributes, I have to specially mention the warmth and care Ms. Nayar and other co-founders from her family showed to the guests present at the event. The family made it a point to speak personally to everyone present.
This is something every leader should look at emulating; the care and warmth for the team by the leader; it leaves a very warm and positive impression on the team.
I would like to leave you with two messages to reflect on
1. If you are a woman and face challenges in your career, it is never too late to address them and put them to right.
If you want it, you can have it! The question is how strongly you want it?
2. As a leader, along with grit, resilience and passion, ensure that you care for every member in your team and that they know that you do.
Author: Johncey George is an International Coaching Federation accredited Leadership and Life Coach. He is ICF PCC.
Johncey coaches senior executives of organizations and help them unleash their potential.
Johncey has special interest in working with Introvert Professionals, helping them grow as leaders by uncovering their hidden strengths and talents. He helps introverts celebrate their strengths and become successful as leaders. Being an introvert himself, he understands their thinking process. He combines this knowledge, his corporate leadership experience and his coaching experience to help create more leaders among the Introverts.
Johncey has 23 years of corporate leadership experience and done his BE and Management Education from IIM Bangalore, Harvard Business School, ISB Hyderabad.
His company, Johncey George Consulting Pvt Ltd, does Leadership Development through Coaching, under the brand Coach Johncey (https://www.coachjohncey.com). Follow Johncey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncey