Month: April 2024

Sometimes, the career path you’re on doesn’t allow you to achieve your full potential. At Koch, reaching out to your supervisor can help you better understand where you are and where you want to be.

Take Yashaswini B N, for instance. When Yashaswini (Yash for short) joined Koch Global Services in Bengaluru, India, she performed well as a Planview demand analyst. Still, she knew she had more to offer if given the opportunity. With her sights set on becoming a project manager, a role that would allow her gifts to truly flourish, Yash needed to find a viable path toward reaching her goal. She started that professional journey by initiating a dialogue with her supervisor, Suresh Sundaresan — a conversation about her future career aspirations that had actually first begun during her interview for the analyst role.

Taking the Next Steps Together

“I remember that, at the time, Suresh wasn’t just focused on the job’s role requirements,” says Yash. “He wanted to understand me, my broader gifts and talents and how we can grow together.” In fact, Suresh could see that Yash wanted to contribute in ways outside the typical role requirements for a demand analyst. Once she started at KGS, they met routinely to discuss her interests and how she could best use her gifts. “Yash had such a great aptitude and attitude,” Suresh says. “I could see she wanted and could do more, so I asked her about her aspirations. She answered, ‘Okay, what about project management?’”

“When I learned about the principle of self-actualizing, I realized I was missing out on something in my life. So first, I identified my interests and skill sets. Then I stopped and asked Suresh about them,” Yash says. Suresh decided the best way to determine if Yash would perform well in project management was to allow her to take on small projects alongside her regular duties and evaluate her performance. That methodical process allowed Yash to grow and learn in a safe environment. “We had a lot of good discussions along the way,” Suresh says. “Yash doesn’t just listen. She asks questions, gets answers and applies what she has learned. As a result, she was able to showcase her value to the organization quickly.”

Settling in and Taking Flight

Within five months of their initial conversation about becoming a project manager, Suresh completely moved Yash into her new role. Today, as a project manager for KGS, Yash helps own and drive projects from discovery to completion. “I’m an enabler for my team to succeed,” Yash says. “And it’s my responsibility to ensure I deliver projects on time.” Looking back, the deep trust she placed in her supervisor proved to be invaluable in her journey. “Nothing can happen unless and until I have a trusted, authentic relationship with an individual and understand what they are truly capable of,” Suresh says, “and helping colleagues to self-actualize by moving them into the right roles will maximize value for Koch.”

The Resources When You’re Ready

Are you a supervisor like Suresh looking to help your direct reports better achieve their full potential? You can start by tapping into our Supervisor Responsibilities and Expectations resource to maximize what you and your team can accomplish using the five dimensions as your guide. And for anyone looking to find a place where they can keep growing, you can learn more about how our roles are uniquely tailored to each individual here.

Insider Career Tip

Are you a Koch employee looking to find a role where you can continue growing? Our Internal Careers website is the perfect place to utilize our wealth of career navigation resources.

Register now for our next Impact Council session on Thurs, April 18, at 12pm ET / 9am PT where we will welcome Archie L. Jones, Jr., author, Harvard Business School Professor, and founder & CEO of NxGen COACH Network. 

Archie, the author of The Treasure You Seek and host of the Training Camp for Leaders podcast, brings extensive experience in coaching individuals to maximize their leadership potential. With his preeminent “5 Cs” framework, emphasizing communication and connection, Archie has guided professionals to harness their leadership capital effectively. He is also a social impact leader who has been driving change on campus, through partnerships, and board service for decades. 

Join us for an insightful conversation, presented by the Impact Communications Institute in partnership with 3BL Media, where Archie will share tangible insights, advice, and tips on leveraging leadership capital for social transformation. Learn how to confidently communicate your social impact goals and strategically leverage your network to drive meaningful change within and beyond your community.

 

Register now to secure your spot

 

Meet your speaker: 

Archie L. Jones, Jr. 
Author, Harvard Business School Professor, Founder & CEO of NxGen COACH Network. 

Leading transformation through social impact is a core tenet of his organization’s mission and has been a driving force for Archie L. Jones Jr.’s endeavors over the last 30 years. From his work with New Profit, Project Evident, and Year Up! to his current role as faculty lead for Harvard Business School’s Upswell Forum and NxGen COACH Network’s partnerships with the Elev8 Foundation and Innovarx Global Health, Archie is a firm believer in creating opportunities for the next generation of diverse leaders who are committed to having an impact beyond those they meet.

 

Meet your moderator:

Brad MacAfee 
Founder & CEO, Mission+Cause 

Brad maximizes the positive impact and profitability of socially responsible companies by connecting them with high-caliber, purpose-led communicators. By integrating purpose and growth, Brad helps leaders envision greater potential for themselves, their companies and their customers. After leading Porter Novelli through its four-year global transformation into a global purpose communications consultancy, Brad founded Mission+Cause to catalyze the success of communicators and businesses making the world a better place.

While at Porter Novelli, Brad delivered four of the agency’s top five profit years since 2000, exceeded 50% diversity on its executive committee and among managing directors, and 60% female leadership company-wide. Under Brad’s direction, as global CEO, the firm committed to socially responsible practices as a signatory and early adopter of industry initiatives, such as the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, #Valuable500, PR Council’s Action for Diversity & Inclusion, and Time to Vote.

 

Not able to attend the session? Make sure to register here to receive the link to the session afterward. 

What else would you like to learn during these sessions? Email your request to hello@impactcommsinstitute.org 

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming sessions!

 

Impact Communications Institute 
www.impactcommsinstitute.org