It is Just a Little More Hard Work for a Woman Date:   Thursday , June 03, 2010 She rubbishes the idea of the existence of a glass ceiling and believes that it is just one’s capability and competency that helps one grow in their career. “There is competition everywhere and much more when you climb up the management ladder. We women feel a sense of discrimination only because the higher we grow, the lesser our number becomes. But growing up the managements has nothing to do with one’s gender,” says Shikha Rai, CIO, Canon India. Her career is proof enough to justify her beliefs. A B.Tech graduate from IIT Kanpur, Shikha started her career working on the transformer shopfloor of BHEL in 1988. Seven years later she made a shift from the public sector to private sector when she joined Bausch and Lomb. Here, she joined the company’s manufacturing plant in Bhiwadi, where as a manger her primary role was to implement MRP system (now ERP) in their manufacturing plant. The implementation was one of the most successful ones in the industry back then and she received an award from FourthShift Corporation, US, for the same. It was when she was just reeling from the success she had attained that Shikha was approached by Duracell to spearhead a similar project in their manufacturing plant in Manesar. But with in a year the company closed its manufacturing in India she joined Canon India in 2002 and has been there since then. She joined as IT head and over the years has been entrusted with additional functions of Administration and Quality, Environment, Health & Safety. “The eight year long journey at Canon has been a challenging one. I remember the time when Alan Grant, then the company’s CEO, wanted to establish a strong quality process in the company and apply for a business excellence award given by CII EXIM. Since IT basically automates processes and has a link with all the departments, he thought I was the right person to spearhead the initiative, she remembers. Shikha was apprehensive initially but took the challenge. This was an organization wide initiative that demanded awareness and co-operation from all departments. Despite various challenges, she successfully carried out the project and the company also got the first level of the CII EXIM award. Similarly, there was another time when the admin head at Canon had resigned and Shikha was asked to take up the role. Canon was a much smaller organization then but was poised for a tremendous growth. In the last three years, the company has grown by leaps and bounds — opening up several showrooms, camera repair centers and expanding to multiple cities. For Shikha it was literally setting up a new office every quarter. The scope of role as an admin head was too big but she managed it well. Today, Shikha juggles multiple roles handling IT, admin, quality, environment, health and safety. The challenge is tremendous and it can often get stressful, but she has learned to cope up with the fast pace. “Multitasking comes naturally to woman so I’m not surprised at being able to juggle varied responsibilities. Though it is at times stressful but then I enjoy it. It gives a high to do challenging work like this. If it was any slower I may not be motivated to come to office everyday,” says Shikha. Looking back, Shikha is happy the way her career has shaped up. Though she was little skeptical when she made a shift from the public sector to private sector, today she is happy that she decided to make the change. Work in the public sector can often get very comfortable. Being in the private sector keeps her on her toes all the time and she loves it. There have been many people who have had a deep impact in her career both professionally and personally. At the professional front, she owes a lot of her leanings to two of her mentors, Alan Grant, the former CEO of Canon India and Kensaku Konishi, present CEO, Canon India. “Grant was a visionary who had an out of the box approach to applying IT in one’s business. It was he who had faith in me and challenged me to take up new roles. Konishi on the other hand is a very humble person with a keen sense of business. In the last three years, he has taken Canon India from a Rs. 400 crore company to a Rs. 1,100 crore organization. They have taught me to keep creativity alive in one’s job, the importance of looking at the bigger picture and how to remain humble even in success,” she says. Personally, her husband has been a pillar of strength for her. He has been a mentor and motivator and at many crucial junctures has positively influenced her career. In fact, it was he who was instrumental in making her look at IT as an option. She also derives a lot of inspiration from Dr. Kiran Bedi. It I sher crisp, no-nonsense approach and belief in her self that sets her apart, says Shikha. Having learnt well from her seniors, she hopes to pass on the same knowledge to her team. In the initial years, she would often be aggressive in her approach; but over the years she has mellowed down. “I have a good team that I can depend on and it is encouraging to see that my team has remained with me for the last eight years. From my end, I try to guide them in difficult phases and help develop the leader in them by giving them challenging opportunities. At the same time we have a very easy relation amongst us. I believe in being transparent in my approach and we celebrate even the smallest successes together as a team,” she explains. As a leader one ought to develop a high performing team, know their strengths and leverage them. Her basic leadership mantras — bring passion to work, keep creativity and innovation going, be ready for the long haul since there are no short-cuts, perseverance pays, take risks, and finally keep sharpening the saw because learning should not stop. Looking at the youth today, she is often disturbed by their attitude and approach to their career. More than often she comes across professionals who jump for the sake of better re-numeration and do not take much interest in steadying oneself and learning skills thoroughly. It is important that one stay and learn new skills and round up one’s knowledge. At Canon, there are varied sets of processes and she tries to engage the employees in every kind of project and motivate them to do something new and learn. “Most people end up changing because of money and end up half baked. They do not understand the dynamics of an organization which often reflects in their inefficiency while competing for a senior role. If you are committed and aspire to learn then you will succeed. I believe people who keep changing often are scared of learning,” she tells. Her advice to the young professional is simple enough — ‘there is no substitute to discipline and passion’. Though busy both at home and office, at the end of the day, Shikha loves spending quality time with family and friends. When not doing her great juggling act, she enjoys reading books and has recently completed Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies. She also enjoys gardening and after a stressful day loves to tend to her collection of 100 odd plants at her house. Shikha also actively works with an NGO. Working with the NGO Pragati in the field of education gives her great satisfaction. She believes that as a professional, the road for the woman is just a little bumpier because of her added responsibilities at home. But it is this that forms the strength with in us. Woman can go that extra mile and this coupled with passion and dedication to one’s work, there is nothing that can hold us from reaching the stars. No there is no class ceiling.