The lessons I take from my mother are simple yet profound: Sujit Patil
In today’s ‘In her footstep’ series, Godrej Industries' Sujit Patil shares the valuable lessons he has learned throughout his journey from women
‘Behind every successful man, there’s a woman’!
Women are the bedrock of society and inspire men and almost everyone to do great things in their lives. So, this International Women's Day, we celebrate and honor the women behind the success stories – the mothers, daughters, sisters, and partners, who empower the men we laud as leaders.
In our ‘In Her Footsteps’ series, we have shared excerpts and perspectives of prominent male leaders on the women who inspires them, provides invaluable support, help, advice, a listening ear, and is a reason to keep going and achieve great things.
Today, we have Sujit Patil, Vice President & Head - Corporate Brand and Communications, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies who put a spotlight on the remarkable women who have shaped his journey and have had a great influence on his success.
Excerpts:
Who do you consider your primary female role model and how has she played a significant role in your success?
My primary role model has to be my mother. Retired as a high school principal, I have seen her managing multiple fronts effortlessly. From managing our home, to the school to multiple government engagements and leading an active social life with a smile on her face truly inspires me. At about 80, her energy still remains infectious. The lessons I take from her are simple yet profound – a smiling face always makes tasks easier, sharing goodness with everyone in a genuine manner attracts people to rally for you, demonstrating positive energy and leading from the front helps mobilize support easily and most importantly being genuinely interested in people helps build good relations. I try to practice these lessons as I find them extremely valuable.
What specific lessons or qualities have you learned from the women you've worked with or encountered throughout your career?
Have had the fortune of working with and knowing some amazing women throughout my career. The humility, empathy and the warmth demonstrated by Tanya Dubash (my boss at Godrej), in her conversations and dealings with everyone is something very inspiring. Shubhangi (my spouse) for taking a backseat in her career for me and my family, Dr Pragnya Ram (ABGL) for her intellect, language skills and stature, my colleague Michelle, for the passion she has for PR and communications, my dear friend Swati Khandelwal (ex-Zee Business, now Mahindra’s) for the business understanding and ability to articulate, Shalini Singh (RPG) for her go-getters attitude, Minari Shah (Amazon) for her vast knowledge, Natasha Pal (I was a client for her during her Vaishnavi PR days) for her amazing confidence and management skills, Ayumi (my EA) for her hustling skills and knowledge of food, Shaheen Mistry (Teach For India) for her commitment towards education, Nisaba Godrej (Chairperson GCPL) for her passion around DEI, and a large number of women, a list that can go on and on have shaped my thinking.
What unique qualities or perspectives do women bring to the PR industry, and how has this diversity contributed to the success of your agency?
The subtle ability to multitask, think in an empathetic way, bring different perspectives, collaborate and deal with multiple stakeholders are some primary qualities that any PR professional needs to have. These are apart from the ability to understand business, think strategically, and manage deadlines. I think both women and men need to have these qualities.
According to Wikipedia, women tend to score higher than men on measures of emotional intelligence (EI). However, the difference is small to moderate, inconsistent, and often influenced by the person's motivations, stereotypes or social environment. I have been fortunate to have a large women representation in my team and they are no less than their male counterparts. In fact, in some areas they have proven to be much more effective.
How do you ensure that women are given equal opportunities for career advancement, leadership roles, and recognition within your organization?
At Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies, an absolute non-negotiable is ensuring there's no discrimination across the board and this extends to no discrimination in ratings, promotions, roles etc. We ensure there's a gender parity check that's done during key individual moments like the annual appraisals, promotions, increments etc. Any gaps are questioned and corrected.
Second, is affirmative actions to really invest in top women talent. For example, Accel was a significant capability investment program we brought in to ensure our high potential women leadership talent are set up for success. We have since then opened it up to all genders while ensuring fair representation. There are several other critical interventions, for example, Talent War Room that our Godrej Properties does to move people from within to early leadership roles has significant gender representation. Similarly, development programs for early leadership talent like Catalyse which is in its second year has supported women talent in accelerating their Leadership journey. There are several other success stories, like women in top P&L positions - our fastest growing and biggest zone at Godrej properties is led by a woman leader. Similarly, we have our first woman Project Construction Head for one of our projects in Pune shattering myths around women in construction.
