Sapna Chadha on building tenacity, dealing with imposter syndrome, authentic storytelling, organisational influence, doing transformational work [#25]

Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain".

Sapna Chadha is a dear friend and the VP of Marketing for India and SEA at Google. She is a force of nature, and there's a lot to learn from her career journey. Her early years of learning from her inspiring mother, her experience dealing with imposter syndrome and building tenacity, her journey in Google creating exceptional campaigns and leading large teams - all of these and more can serve as inspiration for many. This is a no-miss episode for all the young women listeners of this podcast.

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Timestamps:

• 1:33 Welcome and Intro.
• 4:00 Childhood, growing up in the US, immigrant hustle, learning from her parents, seeing men supporting women in their journeys.
• 10:54 Working moms of the past generation. Women in the work-force, and the issue of 'unpaid' labour. The power of having the right support network.
• 26:19 What could men do to enable women?
• 31:18 Tenacity and grit, in the face of imposter syndrome. The importance of having a good coach. Turning 'gremlins' into 'weapons'.
• 40:12 The balance between self-compassion and pushing oneself to achieve greatness. "Balance comes from purpose".
• 45:53 Storytelling and building a trusted 'real' brand with authentic stories. The story of 'Internet Saathi'. Her favourite Google campaigns.
• 54:47 Nuances about marketing to Indians. Differences between marketing to Indians vs folks from South-east Asia.
• 59:45 Building the skill of organisational influence. Understanding different perspectives, leveraging org behaviour, influencing without authority.
  • 1:05:31 Personal work habits, organisational processes and habits that help her lead a large org. "Multiplying herself" to increase leverage, by writing regularly to her team.
  • 1:12:00 Raising confident children, with a growth mindset.
  • 1:15:07 Meaning of success - "Doing transformational work".
  • 1:20:20 Dance and Pranic healing. Bringing positive energy into one's life.
• 1:24:54 Favourite quotes. "You can't make everyone happy, you are not pizza". "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain".

Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.