She is a smart, intelligent and successful woman. A consistent top performer, she is an epitome of what every career woman dreams to be. Depending on which part of the day you meet her, you are going to meet either a warm hearted friend who believes practicality comes before emotions or a don’t-mess-with-me professional who knows exactly what’s to be said, done and thought! Meet Gayatri Taragi, Head Talent Acquisition at the largest telecom player in India-Bharti Airtel.
Gayatri along with her team of 24 young HR professionals, devises plans & strategies to attract and hire the best talent for airtel. Not only is she heading the always-on-fire vertical, but she is also part of the HR leadership team of airtel where she contributes to the achievement of larger HR milestones. Her journey up the corporate ladder has been full of learning, hard work, determination & commitment. In her 17 years of experience, she has worked in Perfetti Van Melle, Pepsico, Indiatimes and Airtel.
She was beaming with pride last week and excitedly shared with us that her son Aayan Taragi, 16 years old, scored 2 goals in Haryana’s 5-2 victory over Bihar in the final of National Talent Search and Nurture football championship. How amazingly awesome that moment is for any parent, let alone a working mother.
Working Mother, a term that’s used to describe mothers who go out of the house and work. Knowing Gayatri, she would hate to be categorized into one particular segment and hence likes to call herself a HR professional, just that. Her superiors and colleagues would vouch for the fact that she has never brought her personal challenges on the office table for anyone to know, let alone empathize with her. Silently, she has managed to work around all of them without affecting her professional commitments and duties.
We insist that Gayatri shares her inspiring story with our readers and here’s what she has to say.
It’s important for every woman to be engaged & financially independent. Life is all about choices! You either choose to give your child more and better resources OR spend time with them. I chose the former and am happy about it! Whatever you choose, never allow yourself to feel guilty about your choice at any stage in your life.
It is imperative for working women to build a support system at home that allows them the peace of mind that’s required to bring their best at work. We have seen many women drop out of corporates because of lack of a working system at home. I left my child with my parents for first 2.5 years of his life and then for approx. 2.5 years, I depended on a crèche. Finally, when he was grown up enough to express himself, I got a full-time nanny at home.
Always remember, you’re a human without superhero powers, so don’t try to do everything (cooking, cleaning, other household chores etc) on your own. We women are sensitive beings and then being a mother who is not always around her child can surely get pretty overwhelming. But you need to learn to rationalize your thoughts and emotions, that’s the only way you can sustain this journey of work and home.
In today’s time considering, work schedules, high work pressures, traffic situations etc., we get to spend lesser time with our kids. I know it sounds clichéd but I believe quality is more important than quantity! My definition of quality is ‘’building that emotional connect with your child”. At the end of the day, we all expect our kids to grow into great human beings, and it is that emotional connect that will help your child to navigate well in all situations of life including the difficult ones.
When due to a work assignment, I had to shift to Jaipur for 18 months, we sat down as a family and discussed it. It was only after my son agreed to it that I said yes and moved to Jaipur as the Head HR for Rajasthan circle. Every weekend, I would travel to Gurgaon. While that weekly train journey was extremely painful for me (both emotionally and physically), I believe I gained a lot from that experience.
Another important thing to consider for any professional is the number of variables you keep in your life. For me its myself, my family (including very few close friends) and my work. I believe limited variables help me do justice with each one of them. It’s all about managing energy and not really about managing time.
She is also a marathon runner and before we end our chat with her, we ask her why she never misses her early morning runs! I derive my source of energy from my daily runs. Running is my passion. It clears out stress and gives me immense energy and happiness that helps me manage things at work and home.
What’s evident in the enthusiasm and positivity with which Gayatri speaks is that once you defined your priorities well, there are hardly any obstacles that can’t be crossed.
From all the readers of Story Side Up, may you keep soaring high, Gayatri.
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