SUMMARY
Curiosity. Care. Compassion. Connection. As we learn on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times with Host Chris Schembra, these words define Kapil Sharma’s highly successful career as a leader known for bringing out the best in his teams. As Chief Transformation Officer at Microsoft India, he has brought home tools and lessons learned over 12 years living abroad in order to pay forward to others – particularly those who are fearful or marginalized. Throughout his career Kapil has seized opportunities and pushed himself hard, always with a sense of gratitude and commitment to giving back the gifts he has received. And for that deep well of both humanity and tenacity? Kapil gives a big tip of the hat to his mother, who lavished care and support on him from an early age. It was this foundation that enabled Kapil to take off, broaden his horizons and return to inspire others through his work transforming workplace cultures, tech stacks and customer relationships in Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore) and beyond.
You’ll learn about the Five Sage Powers for developing Positive Intelligence that have guided Kapil and the heightened acuity he attributes to both risk-taking and fear. He’s also sharing professional and personal development resources that have influenced his management style as well as the ways in which his children’s wonder and positivity are like a battery refresh when his energy runs low. Even with all today’s unsettling challenges, Kapil finds tremendous promise in human, scientific and technological advances. Pandemic has been a great leveler, he says, inviting us to take stock, prioritize and most of all model gratitude and empathy: “If we can teach (our children) to be compassionate, caring, loving, I think there will be a great outcome that they will be able to create – if they remain connected as human beings.” It’s a heartening outlook – one that we have it within us to make real!
Kapil’s engaging postings on a range of topics are available @LinkedIn.
KEY TOPICS:
- Chris opens by asking: If you could give thanks to one person you don’t credit enough, who would that be? Kapil gives a shout out to his mom, who supported her only son’s decision to leave his hometown in India to explore – which became 15 years in London. She encouraged him in every way throughout that journey.
- Based in Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore) the past four years, Kapil sees his return as an opportunity to educate his children to Indian culture as well as to show his mom gratitude and respect for all her hard work as a parent.
- About Kapil’s Sense of Service: As a young man he was driven to achieve and benefited from the generosity of wise elders and mentors. He sees his role today as one of providing the same to young people coming up behind him in India.
- Taking Risk: In order to live to his fullest potential, Kapil regularly sets challenges for himself – especially those that stretch him in ways that might be of service to others (like the decision to move his family back to India).
- Why Kapil is very tuned into inspiring hope in younger people – especially those who are unsure, overwhelmed or marginalized.
- Changing Questions, Changing Life: Kapil shares brave questions that have shaped his trajectory, which include:
- Turning Fear and Danger to Advantage: Kapil sees in today’s unsettled crypto, stock and real estate markets an opportunity to hustle. And therein are gifts:
- How Covid19 has proved a great leveler, forcing all of us to ask:
- Kapil rejects the idea that we can’t change the system. We can spur small changes in one person’s world that chip away at larger systemic issues.
- Reframing hustling as staying positive, active and growth-oriented.
- About Shirzad Chamine’s Five Sage Powers for developing Positive Intelligence – or hustle with humility:
- A recap of what has factored into Kapil’s vision:
- Cogs in a Wheel: How Kapil evolved his management style and emphasis on providing smart people with understanding, validation, empathy and space to be vulnerable.
- Three Things that Kapil Requires:
- Democratized Leadership: Kapil enables his teams to do what they do best by inspiring high levels of commitment and accountability. It’s a recipe that generates camaraderie and positive, self-reinforcing results.
- The Demands of Caring: Empathetic leadership can be grinding at times, but Kapil’s two kids recharge his batteries. Their positive energy and wonder are therapeutic.
- Kapil shares an anecdote about a team member who was falling short of expectation and tried to take himself out of the position. Because of his skills and EQ, along with the right encouragement, he went on to flourish. Hire the right people and they will eventually succeed!
- Transgenerational Learning: Kapil is most excited to see his children inherit from his mother (and father) a living, daily example of caring and compassion. And honesty! Where they fall short, his parents will call them out!
- The Power of Human Connection: Kapil’s wish for future generations, who will have tremendous technological and scientific advantages, is that they are intentional about maintaining connections to one another – not just machines.
- In closing, this conversation illuminated for Kapil a sense of gratitude for the opportunities he’s had thus far – and excitement about what lies ahead as an aspirational son, husband, father, mentor and community leader.
QUOTABLE
- “Sometimes gratitude is untold. It’s the way you do things for someone without saying and maybe that’s what’s happening. In my own way, I think I am thanking (my mother) … but sometimes it’s also about being intentional in saying thank you.”
- “I believe there’s so much more potential I can achieve as a human being … It is about making an impact on people’s lives. It’s about giving back to people in terms of knowledge. It’s about giving back to young people.” (Kapil)
- “It’s not about becoming immune to the dangers that exist around us, but how do we learn to find opportunity in the hard times? It’s a question not only for a business landscape, but a human landscape.” (Chris)
- “Hustling is part of life. You need to be continually hustling … It keeps you sharp. It makes you look four steps ahead. It gives you options.” (Kapil)
- “(Teams) are looking to me to care and to be okay with their vulnerability and be vulnerable at the same time with them. To be a highly emotional leader, you need (these qualities) to be successful long-term.” (Kapil)
- “I’ve had many difficult conversations in my career and I always went into those with the view that I have the best for you in my mind and this is the right thing.” (Kapil)
- “If you’re not looking at your peers’ outcomes and what’s stopping then from becoming successful, then you’re not really operating as one tribe.” (Kapil)
- “To get vulnerability and trust and safety and care (from a leader) is the best thing you can do as a human being, let alone a leader in the corporate world.” (Chris)
- “If you hire the right people with the right EQ, they eventually come out on the right side. It takes some time, but if you create the right environment for them they will be successful.” (Kapil)
- “Eight out of 10 top performers have high EQ. It’s the EQ that determines earning potential as well as Positive Intelligence … and the good news is that they can be developed over time.” (Chris)
- “If we can teach (our children) to be compassionate, caring, loving, I think there will be a great outcome that they will be able to create – if they remain connected as human beings.” (Kapil)
LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:
Click here to listen to Chris’s conversation about "The Quest for Passion" with Tony Safoian.
Further Reading: "Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Work and Life," by Marilee G. Adams,
"Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours," by Shirzad Chamine.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
As the Chief Transformation Officer at Microsoft India, Kapil Sharma leads the Field Transformation agenda that help us shape how customers, partners and employees feel about their experience with Microsoft. He works closely with the India Leadership team to help land the entire gamut of transformation initiatives across our field organization. Prior to Microsoft, he was Managing Director, Sales and GTM at Rackspace Technology. He created the strategy and led the execution that has resulted in tremendous business growth between 2019 - 2022 for India & SAARC region. In his 20+ years of career, Kapil has had the fortune of leading and building technology businesses across EMEA and APAC markets, hiring new successful teams, leveraging diverse commercial models, and working with enterprises and startups.
FOLLOW KAPIL:
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ABOUT OUR HOST:
Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours," he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.
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