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Shalini Chandrashekar

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Shalini Chandrashekar

Senior Director

Oracle

Shalini Chandrashekar is a member of:

- Expert

My Introduction

I am a successful, fun loving, dedicated and extremely competitive woman who has spent almost 16 years in the IT industry in Sales and Business Development. I am an optimist and believe in putting my best foot forward in whatever I do. I am passionate about my work and family and strive to strike a healthy balance between the two. My children and family are what make me complete and I make the most of the time I spend with them.

I love listening to Kishore kumar and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan along with Sufi music. I am an avid reader and read fiction, non-fiction and Romantic novels. I love to watch movies with my family. I like travelling and seeing new and different places.

I have been blessed and privileged in a lot of ways and I contribute my bit to society. I am very passionate about the well being of children and education for the girl child.

Role I Play in My Company

I work for Oracle which is the largest Enterprise Software company in the World. I am a Senior Sales Director running the Transactional Systems business for India.

Making the Right Career Move During the Journey

Choosing a career in Sales was one of the biggest decisions that I made in my life. Sales was not considered the most preferred career option for women about 16 years back and I had to really work hard to prove myself in a profession dominated by men.
Over the years, I have made my decisions based on what was most important to me at that point in life. I have taken a back seat in my career when my children were young and needed me and let several tempting options pass by. My choices have depended upon what I wanted to do and therefore staying focused has been a key to what I am now.I also believe that you need to be comfortable with the choices you make.

My Personal Leadership Vision.

My vision is to "Build the Most Formidable Sales team in the Industry where people learn, grow and have fun”.

“Women leaders are a driving force for powering business” Explain

Women leaders bring a lot of great qualities to the table
Compassion and dealing with a diverse work force, Nurturing Ability, Successful Multitasking, Ability to communicate effectively, Ability to absorb and implement feedback from the marketplace, Decision making ability in uncertain times.
These are some of the reasons that companies today are looking at diverse workforce especially at the Senior Management levels.

The Challenges Faced Being a Woman

Some of the common ones are – Being Stereotyped, Balancing personal and work life, Holding on to your Values, The need to work 2X as hard to establish & maintain credibility.

I have never liked to distinguish myself by saying “I am a woman and hence…”. This has helped me be treated as an equal.
Our guilt of not being able to do justice to home and family is one that constantly drives us down. To help me through this I wear one hat at a time and that is what has kept me going. Work is work, play is play and family is family.

I have never compromised on my Values to get “to or through” anything. At times I have had to reinforce them so that they are clear and understood as non-negotiable . I have seen my co-workers respect me for this.

It is true that I have had to work 2X hard to get what I deserved. Hard work is an ethic that I follow to the core and I have transformed many a critic by constantly being ahead of the game.

Ways to Maintain a Healthy Work-life Balance

I have always believed that it is not how much time you spend with your family but the quality of the time that you spend with your family. I have a very supporting family who understand the demands of my job. I also try and wear One hat at a time, to avoid going down the guilt path.

Ways of Doing Things Differently if Given a Chance to Start from Scratch

I don’t think that I would do anything different. The only thing that I would have wanted to do is spend some more time in school which I was not able to due to personal circumstances.

Learning Process During my Career Days and Achievement Gained.

The most important lesson that I learn very early in my professional life is that there is no substitute to hard work and I am a big believer of the same. I also believe that you need to have a strong brand and people need to recognize that brand. All that you are and do should showcase your brand. The other very important lesson that I learn is “To have fun in what you do”. The moment the fun element goes out every task, goal becomes drudgery.

Couple of Years from Now

My philosophy is life has always been “Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!"
To that extent I will continue to work hard, do what I love to do, take risks and enjoy life. I have a lot of dreams on things that I want to do before I hang my boots but all of them will follow the same philosophy.

Career Accomplishment that I am proud of

There is not one that I can single out. Every time a new challenge has presented itself and I have overcome it successfully I have felt proud. Every time I have tried and built something new I have relished the experience. Every time I have stretched my boundaries I have rediscovered myself.

Advice/ suggestions

Advice is a big word. My only suggestion is
Let not anything hold you back, Pursue and persevere with your dreams, Do not let guilt stand between you are your dreams coz you have this one life to make good, be comfortable with the choices you make and never compromise with your values.