An evening with Ms Uma Rao
Introduction
On Friday, April 25, we had an engaging session by Ms Uma Rao, a seasoned HR professional. Ms Uma Rao began emphasising that there is no straightjacketed approach to building our career. It is simplistic to assume that if we study in the best college or have the right qualifications, we will get a good job in a great organization. This is where networking and relationship management have a role to play. Looking back, Ms Uma feels whatever has happened in her career is a product or an outcome of relationship management and networking. Ms Uma explained with various examples the benefits of networking and relationship building.
About Ms Uma Rao
Ms Uma Rao is an HR professional with experience in a wide gamut of HR areas over more than 3 decades. She has worked in leading organizations in different industries in reputed companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Idea Cellular, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, HIL, IBM, Mars International India, Ashok Leyland, Granules India. She has been in leadership positions for the last 22 years working very closely with business leaders. Additionally, she has been on the Board at Gulf Ashley Motors, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and served as their CEO too.
Ms Uma has extensive experience in both public and private sector companies. She has handled Industrial relations roles and worked in multi-cultural environments. Her international assignments have given her deep insights about managing diversity. Currently she works as CHRO at Sekhmet Pharmaventures Pvt Ltd and is a Board member with Optimus Drugs. Ms Uma is a postgraduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
For Ms Uma, interacting with students, women and young talent and mentoring them is a passion. She has been awarded for outstanding contribution by Women Economic Forum and HRD Congress. Ms Uma is an Academic Council Member at Pondicherry University, Reva University, Viswa Vishwani Institute of Management, Guru Nanak University and Woxen University. She is a Board Advisor with Womanice, a global diversity organization and National Chairperson of Global Human Resources and OD Council, GCPIT (a non-profit organization). She is also a visiting faculty in various institutions.
Networking
Networking is the process of building and maintaining professional relationships, connecting with others and exchanging information to advance personal and professional goals. It is not just about connecting with people but also about connecting with ideas and opportunities that people have to offer us. It is more than exchanging business cards.
The benefits of networking include:
- Career advancement: Networking can help us advance in our career.
- Access to opportunities: Often we come to know about job opportunities in a sector in which we are interested.
- Mentorship: Through networking, we can identify mentors. This is especially useful at the start of our career.
- Collaboration: People may approach us to jointly solve problems or handle projects.
- Personal growth: We can get inspired by someone we network with and become motivated to grow.
- Referrals: Through networking we may get referred to someone.
Relationship building
This is about establishing and nurturing genuine connections. It involves a deep understanding of the other person, building trust, fostering mutual respect and creating long lasting relationships based on shared values and interests.
Ms Uma explained that many product vendors keep sending her messages and information about their products. They do this even if she has already signed up with a company and there is no immediate prospect of getting an order. But when there is a plan to replace the existing system or vendor, these people come to her mind. There is instant recall. The best salespeople know that a sale is a transaction. But the build up to a sale takes time and is all about relationship building.
Building relationships is not a one-time event but rather an ongoing process. It requires consistent effort to maintain and strengthen over time. This can be achieved through regular communication such as catching up over coffee or lunch, attending social events together, or even collaborating on projects and initiatives.
Relationship building goes beyond simply exchanging pleasantries or engaging in small talk. It requires investing time and effort into getting to know someone at a deeper level. This involves engaging in meaningful conversations, actively listening to their thoughts and concerns and showing genuine empathy and support.
It takes time and effort to build a deeper relationship. For example, when we are going for a sales meeting, if we take the pain to know that person well, we can make a bigger impact though personalized engagement and messaging.
This applies at a company level too. For example, when entering a new market, we must understand the local culture well. That is how Honda was able to develop a car for the US market. The Americans are always in a hurry. They spend most of their time in their cars. So there has to be a place to keep their drink, beverages, plates, etc. Honda incorporated all these requirements in the design.
Relationship Building vs Networking
Networking opens doors. Relationship building keeps the doors open. Relationship building is a two-way street. But networking is not. It is like speed dating. We should not have too many expectations. Both are important. We should know when to use which.
In some situations, we may have to reach out to many people. So networking is important. Say we are launching a book. Maximizing reach is important. Networking can help. We could supplement this by contacting a few people with whom we have built a relationship for the book launch event.
Here are some key differences.
| Relationship Building | Networking | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Creating deep, meaningful connections based on trust and genuine interest. | Expanding professional contacts and uncovering opportunities. |
| Nature of Connection | Personal, long-term, emotionally close. | Professional, and often short-term. |
| Communication Style | Authentic, open, emotionally vulnerable. | Polished, professional and goal-focused. |
| Typical Activities | Active listening, meaningful conversations, mutual support. | Attending events, exchanging business cards, LinkedIn connections. |
| Focus | Trust, emotional connection, shared growth. | Career growth, collaborating, knowledge sharing. |
| Information Shared | Personal stories, challenges, values, and emotional insights. | Industry news, market trends, job opportunities, resources. |
| Emotional Investment | High – involves vulnerability and intimacy. | Low to moderate – usually professional and surface-level. |
| Longevity | Built to last: strengthens over time. | Often transactional or project-specific. |
Q&A
Sometimes we may go to a meeting with some intent. But we may end up finding some unexpected opportunities. Once Ms Uma went to a forum to sort out a problem regarding her property. She found some talented people from the pharma company, who she has recruited into her company. So, while networking can happen anywhere, the results can be unexpected.
Technology can provide us data driven insights. These insights can then be leveraged to drive engaging, personalized conversations. Thus, technology can arm us with the relevant information, enable us to script the narrative and help us move away from generic to personalized communication. This will raise the interest level of the other person.
We should avoid straightjacketed approaches. Thus, we may invite someone for discussion over a drink. But the other person may not like to drink. We also need not do everything the other person likes. In particular, women must define the boundaries in which they are comfortable.
Sometimes, we may not agree with the other person. But even having a counterview may lead to a rich and interesting discussion and provide valuable insights to the other person. We can engage with different perspectives and yet move forward by finding some common ground.
We should deal with GenZ as adult to adult. If we treat them like parents, it will kill the conversation. We cannot afford to be patronizing or prescriptive in our approach. We should also not expect a 25-year-old to behave today in the same way we behaved when we were 25. They work in a different environment and have a different set of variables, pressures and lifestyles. We should be willing to engage with them in a manner that matters. The fact that we are wanting to listen to them might itself break the barrier.
Employees and managers in India are in general much younger. They are not very experienced unlike their western counterparts. Communication breakdowns and attrition are common. But we must not say we cannot deal with them. We must express the business problem clearly and explain why their orientation (for example, the importance of patience, delegation, relationship building, taking the high ground when dealing with conflicts) needs to change to become better leaders.
We must give up our false prestige and ego that we are superior to them. We should be among them instead of creating a wall. We should have the humility to admit we do not know everything and try to understand them. We should find something common with them and then try to address the challenges.
It is difficult to respond to all requests. But we must also realize that we have grown in our careers because of mentors. So, we must make time for people and believe in their potential. Then people will reach out to us.
Of course, by virtue of our role, other people might find it useful to reach out to us. Ms Uma is an HR professional. So many people try to contact her for jobs. But today, increasingly, people are approaching her for mentorship.
Ms Uma tries to ensure that she spends time with women who need mentoring. She also feels it a moral possibility to help youngsters who are clueless. It is easy to reserve weekends for ourselves. But we must devote some time to help others.
It is less about finding the time and more about coming out of our comfort zone. Here, we should not hide under the excuse of being introverted.
Companies should not be too closed to the media. A company where Ms Uma worked earlier was media shy since it was not a listed company. It had many powerful brands which are very popular among customers. But because the company was closed to the media, bad coverage started in the media.
The lesson is that if we don’t network, people may not know who we are. They may form the wrong impression about us. If we are more proactive, we can control the narrative to our advantage.
Early career professionals must not think they are at a disadvantage when it comes to networking. As they are still young, they may not have so many contacts in the industry. But they can take the initiative to network. They can easily make the effort to reach out to people who come to their doorstep.
If they are students, they can connect with guest speakers who come to the campus and to their professors. They can reach out over LinkedIn to corporate executives. Through common connections, they can expand their network. When there is a will, there is a way.
We must also remember that there are only 6 degrees of separation between us and anyone in the world, however powerful or distant the person may be.
There are forums like T Hub which offer excellent networking opportunities to start ups. Startups can easily network with people who can mentor them, help them grow the business or raise funds. Entrepreneurs tend to underplay the importance of such events because they are tied down in their day-to-day activities. We should encourage entrepreneurs to find the time to attend such events by convincing them that their business interests will be furthered in the process.