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Total Number of Subscribers: 464 |
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Date:6th September 2009 |
Compiled by: M Sathya Kumar |
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It feels good to introduce Lekha Sishta, Vice-President - HR
& Talent Management, SumTotal Systems and February 2009 recipient of
the Woman Super Achiever Award given by the World HRD Congress, a
gathering of HR (Human Resource) professionals with representation from 64
countries. A
rock solid foundation
The award, coming close on the heels of Sishta bagging the
2008 HR Manager of the Year Award from the Hyderabad Management
Association is a fitting tribute to her 28 years of experience spanning
the industry and academia. With over three decades in the field, Sishta
has made valuable contributions to HR practices and shaped the profession
by her visionary thought-leadership. Sishta's impressive career is rooted in a rock-solid
foundation of learning from some of the best academic institutions in
She launched her working life from the partially-state run
NTPC in 1980. A complete volte-face a few years later saw her gravitate
towards the private sector, and thereon, to engage herself with continuing
professional education for managers. Eight years of
teaching in management institutes succeeded by stints with leading
companies like Idea Cellular Limited, CnK Networks and Fouress offered her
ample opportunity to indulge her undying passion for facilitating and
training in the arena of commerce and development. A complete natural, she
was a much sought-after panelist for many a debate on Customer Value and
Strategy broadcast on national television. A
thumbs-up to lifelong learning Sessions conducted at the Administrative Staff College of
India soon followed, as did lectures delivered at training programmes,
seminars and workshops hosted by professional associations like the Public
Relations Society of India, Hyderabad Management Association, and
Hyderabad Marketing Association. As a trainer, she has served a multitude
of corporate clients including the likes of Idea Cellular, Indian
Airlines, CMC, BHEL, Infotech, Wipro e-Peripherals, Times of India, LIC,
New India Assurance, Coca-Cola, Malayala Manorama, and many others.
"During all these interactions, and even now," says Sishta,
"my sole aim has always been to instill my audience with a zest for living
and continual learning." It seems fitting that a professional committed to continual
learning should enthuse others to do likewise. After all, the past three
decades have necessitated HR professionals to evolve in-step with
advancements in the field. "HR has emerged as a vast arena...spanning
areas like IR, personnel & admin, OD, recruitment, grievance handling,
counseling, training & development, career planning, competency
mapping, talent development, employee engagement and so on. In the
manufacturing sector, on-site HR largely deals with IR and personnel and
admin. In IT, the focus is on recruiting, career growth, training &
development, etc. This is because of the intrinsic differences that exist
in the nature of employment, constitution of the workforce and work
output," says Sishta. Every time she has crossed over to a new vertical, Sishta
has gamely embraced a fresh set of challenges. In her current role at
SumTotal Systems, for instance, she is responsible for the end-to-end
human capital function for a young group of engineers, all technocrats,
highly intellectual and with an average age of 28 years, the number of
years Sishta has been working! Contributing
to innovation The role is challenging alright but also a lot of fun and
very satisfying, says Sishta. "I need to know enough about the business to
understand how HR and talent management can help create a culture that
helps people stay bonded to the company and focused to company vision. And
yet, I need to step back when it is decision-time, as my role is simply to
use policies and processes to guide managers to manage teams prone to
attrition and disengagement with equity and impetus, and encourage them to
adapt to rapidly changing needs." Sishta does, however, also have a hands-on role at SumTotal
Systems which relates to the business of this market leader and global
provider of talent development solutions. SumTotal Systems is developing a
product for the use of HR professionals, a process that is gaining
valuable inputs from Sishta, who is also well poised to take on the role
of product evangelism. This new product will add to SumTotal's solutions
aimed to accelerate performance and profits for companies and governments
of all sizes, which are currently deployed by some of the world's largest
pharmaceutical, automotive, airline, and specialty retail companies.
Balancing
family and work An active professional and home-maker who counts on her
family as her strength, Sishta has also always managed to squeeze in time
to serve on managing committees of groups like the Hyderabad Management
Association, Hymark (Hyderabad Marketing Association), IIM Bangalore
Alumni - Hyderabad Chapter and IIMNet, a global combine of alumni from all
the six IIMs. In her free time, which is rare, she loves to read,
contribute to social endeavours and interact with young minds, especially
to help them increase their employability and their impact on others.
Looking back, Sishta acknowledges that her activities have
done a great deal to enhance the image and function of the HR sector,
something that means a lot to this woman who has spent a lifetime in
male-dominated work spaces. Reflecting on working with mostly male colleagues, she says
"Being a woman works both to our advantage and disadvantage. We need to
constantly watch out to ensure that it is not just our presence that makes
an impact, but that our work speaks for itself. At the same time, when a
woman speaks, everyone stops to listen, as long as it makes sense, of
course. I really do not believe there is a glass ceiling for those women
who aim to make a difference...just wonderful blue sky that beckons
achievement and growth." Sishta spoke of such achievement and growth when she was accepting the World HRD Congress award, and expressed the desire to see more women scale pinnacles in the corporate world - a feat that she has perfectly exemplified. | |
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