This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Juhi, founder and CEO at Divin Grow Private Limited and Divin Pro Foundation, as she shares her journey of empowering women through employment and social impact.

From her family's four-generation legacy of women's empowerment to her vision of becoming one of the most respected organizations globally by 2040, Juhi's story is a testament to perseverance and purpose-driven leadership.

Discover how she balances practical business strategies with her mission to create meaningful change, and learn valuable insights on leadership, financial empowerment, and prioritizing responsibilities.

Tune in for an episode packed with wisdom, passion, and actionable advice for leaders striving to make a difference.

You can find Juhi Garg at the below links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-juhi-garg/
• http://www.divinpro.com/

In the interview, Juhi shares

• "My great grandmother and her grandmother were working for women tirelessly before independence. This purpose is perhaps in my genes, and I don't credit myself for anything."
• "To be a leader, you must learn the art of following your purpose and listening to your inner call. And of course, learn from the worthy people around you."
• "Just be a parent, take leadership as a parenting job. If you take care of your employees' hearts, if you can empathize with them, everything will fall in place."
• "My clients are my investors. I have not raised any funds from any other party. I have not taken any loans. People believe in causes and good causes."
• "By 2040, I would like to be one of the most respected organizations across the globe. Respect doesn't come easily; you need to prove yourself at every step."
• "I would like to be more financially apprised and sensitized so that I can achieve what I want. I still feel that I somehow lack that now, and I am working towards that."
• "Perhaps my biggest strength is building institutions, teams that stick with me. Having people in my life and bringing them together and keeping them with me is my biggest strength."
• "Create that fertile land wherein you all work and bloom together. Respect differences, be vulnerable, and let people help each other grow."
• "Let people say whatever they want. Let me not doubt at least, let me be confident about myself. If I am confident, if I feel that what I know and what I do not know, I accept gracefully."
• "You need to make choices and take decisions. When you make choices, you will have to understand what is the right thing that is going to help you rise above."
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This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.

Join us in this insightful conversation with Shak, founder and CEO of VTest, as he shares his journey from being a tester to an entrepreneur.

Shak talks about the inspiration behind starting his software testing company and the invaluable lessons he learned from managing his family business.

With over 20 years of experience in software testing and an MBA in finance, Shak offers unique perspectives on entrepreneurship and leadership.

He discusses the importance of adaptability in today's rapidly evolving business landscape and shares his vision for scaling up while keeping client value and team satisfaction at the forefront.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned leader, Shak's story is sure to inspire and provide valuable insights for your own leadership journey.

You can find Shak Hanjgikar at the below links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/shakhanjgikar/
• https://www.vtestcorp.com/

In the interview, Shak shares

• "The motivation or the first step came from my wife. She used to be working for a recruitment company in New York that recruitment company was trying to build an application. And then we were like, okay, if you're building, they definitely want to test it."
• "I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but obviously we always have that dilemma that fixed salary."
• "The practical part, or let's say the understanding and the groundwork part of the MBA, I did it at my father's business, wherein I knew how to manage resources."
• "If you come from a business family, let's say everything that you do revolves around that business."
• "Scaling up has been on the anvil; there have been merger acquisitions or requests coming in terms of acquiring and so on, but we always kept them on the back seat because we're like, we try to grow ourselves and we try to work ourselves and then see once we get to that stage."
• "Nothing in terms of exit but definitely creating more value for the client. It's also an avenue for us to reward our team members."
• "Hitting the dead end is one of the important things in terms of individual growth. We do not want our senior leaders or any of the leaders to themselves they're dead ends, wherein they will not be able to figure out what they have to do, or whether they are not growing."
• "We do not want to be in that situation. So aligning what the individual wants with what VTEST wants in terms of the VTEST benchmark and the industry benchmark is something that keeps me more engaged in them."
• "In terms of pain point, we typically have the evolving landscape, I would say when things change by the day by the week. Adaptability is one of the challenges."
• "So adaptability is something one of my important, one of my tasks and one of the major of my time goes in finding out or researching or talking to people or talking to senior leaders and connects."

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.

Join us in this insightful interview with Manisha Kumar, Chief Operating Officer at Global Hospitals, as she shares her inspiring journey from an engineering background to leading a group of hospitals in India.

With over 12 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including managing hospitals during the challenging times of COVID-19, Manisha offers invaluable insights into leadership, navigating stereotypes, and the importance of intuition in decision-making.

Her story is not just about overcoming challenges, but also about finding strength in diversity and making a real impact in healthcare.

Tune in to gain practical wisdom for your own leadership journey!

You can find Manisha Kumar at the below links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumarmanisha/
• manisha.gemini@gmail.com

In the interview, Manisha shares

• "I've been in the healthcare industry for over 12 years now, I've run a lot of hospitals, large multi specialty hospitals, commissioned hospitals from scratch, managed COVID in the worst of times."
• "I was very interested in finance. So I majored in finance and I was trying for a lot of consulting placements, with McKinsey and the likes."
• "Healthcare was and has been, one of the most unrealized industries; it's just been up and up."
• "There were a lot of layers of stereotypes for me initially when I entered. I felt that there was some kind of at least an unconscious bias for somebody who didn't come from a medical background or didn't have that much experience."
• "I decided to play to my strengths and to deepen my learning curve, I moved out of my strategy role."
• "In healthcare, we are a service industry, and it's largely people-driven. Whatever digitization, automation, it's basically a people service industry."
• "I think intuition is very important. So as you were talking about the future, right? This is like there is something ahead for you that you have in your mind. I think more than your mind, if there's something which is more emotional or more heart-based for you."
• "I think for a leader, three things are very key. One is leading by example, which is what I practice, day in and day out. So I take the first step and then have everybody follow me."
• "First, I'll tell you about the COVID time. I think then it was very kind of, we had to think out of the box and think on our feet. We really had to invent solutions at times."
• "I try to detach myself from work as far as possible when I'm in my personal space. Because hospitals, we are a 24 by seven environment. It was inevitable for the first five, six years of my work, I would keep getting calls from work, even in the nights, and I'm continuously embroiled in work."