Episode 16: Embracing #HelloHappiness: Purpose: I have a role which I find meaningful
Article posted on 25 January, 2024
Author: Vinayan Mohandas
I have been with KEC for more than five years and it has been a rewarding and happy journey. As I reflect on my experience, there are three aspects which make me happy here – Purpose, Growth and Balance.
Purpose
I have a role which I find meaningful. I have always been passionate about change management and solving business problems using technology. My role is to help build a World Class Engineering organization for KEC and it allows me to hone my problem-solving, process re-engineering, digital product management and team-building skills while contributing to the infrastructure growth story of India.
Growth
I have had many opportunities for learning and growth. Being part of the Future Leaders Board allowed me to work on cross-functional business critical problems, interact and learn from senior leadership across businesses of KEC and understand the perspective of investors by attending analyst calls. As part of RPG’s leadership development program, I had the opportunity to go back to Business School for a week with other top talent from across the RPG group. It was an enriching experience to relook at the case studies on strategy, operations, etc., from the perspective of RPG group companies.
My current aspiration is to build a team of change agents that can help KEC and other RPG companies to streamline their operations, adopt technology and be future-ready. The policy of hiring Group Management Resources (GMRs) from the best B Schools provides a good talent pool and the policy of ensuring job rotation within the company and between group companies provides the opportunity to gain diverse experience across industries like Infrastructure, automotive, IT, etc. These policies and the openness of the leadership to coach and mentor talent, give me the optimism that it is possible to achieve my aspiration of building an internal team that can do the work of management consulting firms like McKinsey.
Balance
RPG group has one of the most progressive HR policies amongst large conglomerates in India. There is a nudge to take adequate time off from work to recharge and it has been very helpful for someone like me who tends to not prioritize breaks. I have recently become a father and the flexible work policy has helped me spend adequate time with my family.
Happiness is when there is a good alignment between personal and professional values and aspirations. This has been true for my journey in RPG so far and I am optimistic that it will only get better in the future.