PADMINI NIDUMOLU
Triggering a revamping bustle in Agile space
“It is high time we address the barriers, both internal and external, that impede the active involvement of women at all levels in the organization,” states an influential leader – Padmini Nidumolu
Padmini Nidumolu and Leila Rao co-founded Lean In Agile in 2018 to profile and promote women in Lean and Agile communities through podcasts, Spirals, recognitions and more. She asserts that quiescent engagement of women leaders in Agile organizations has spurred hindrance in value delivery as well as product innovation which are crucial for Business Agility. Through Lean In Agile (LIA), she co-created a collaborative platform for women to amplify their voices, showcase their stories and share valuable experiences.
“LIA is an avant-garde movement that has been initiated for women, by women and of women”, -Padmini Nidumolu.
The prodigious vision of LIA is to establish itself as an exemplary organization enabling women to build valuable networks in Lean and Agile spaces. Ensuring strategic alignment with the motive, facilitating personal as well as professional growth for women in this space, LIA also encourages women to ‘Lean In’ to each other. According to Padmini, the goal of LIA is to be a support structure for women in Agile, who can leverage Lean and Agile values, principles and practices to shape a collaborative global community.
LEAN IN AGILE – AN ENABLER OF GENDER INCLUSIVENESS
Padmini’s actionable insights compelled her to co-create the groundwork for the four instrumental pillars that drive the vision at LIA – Spirals, LIA100, LIANext Gen, and Women Inclusion Pledge (WIP).
Spirals, a local group of women Agilists, creates an impetus for mutual support and learning opportunities. Metaphor of a Spiral is to indicate the bonds that connect women together, with the open end of the Spiral as an indication that the invitation is always open for the next woman to join in, when she is ready. This aligns with the vision of LIA to help women learn, grow and succeed together.
“LIA 100”, is an initiative to identify and celebrate women making significant contributions in Lean and Agile spaces across the globe. LIA’s vision is to recognize the value these amazing women create for the Agile community. It is an attempt to understand the women behind the names, the challenges and opportunities that shaped them.
LIA Next Gen is an initiative to enable Agile and growth mindsets in the next generation of women. The program helps them discover their own values and talents, balance short-term tactical items with long-term goals, and build interpersonal skills. The goal of this effort is to promote Agile and Design thinking mindset with targeted activities that can be applied individually. Extending the runway for the next generation of women by lowering barriers is a way of enabling sustainable change.
Women Inclusion Pledge is a cohesive effort by LIA to become an associative diversity partner with various Agile organizations and communities for enhanced and intense engagement of women.
A MULTI-FACETED LEADER
Apart from being the leading face of LIA, Padmini is a well-trained classical Indian Dancer in Kuchipudi style, a TEDx speaker and a passionate international speaker. Her unequalled administrative traits and professional integrity enunciate excellence in each step she takes. Her unique persona and fascinating discernment are instrumental in positioning her as a leader among business fraternity.
Under the tutelage of her teacher Lakshmi Babu, Padmini performed classical dance at various prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts, Embassy of India to name a few . Padmini is a regular performer and enjoys dancing with her daughter.
Padmini is a two times TEDX speaker and performer where she shared creative ideas for personal development and community giveback. “Your box is as small or as big as you make it to be” – was her first TEDx presentation. Later, she shared a creative idea of giving back to the community through her second TEDx talk that spotlighted – “1% of your time can make the world a better place”. Her third TEDx performance was based on the theme – “Building bridges: Bridging generation through the art of dance” where she shared the idea through a dance, presented in Indian classical dance form called Kuchipudi.
In an endeavour to create an impactful assertion of her passion for dance and to ascertain dance as an effective medium, she is gearing up for a solo performance event through a very accomplished dance institution called Kuchipudi Dance Academy, in the year 2022.
THE VISION
The lofty vision behind Lean In Agile is to shatter the glass ceilings and glass cliffs in Agile organizations. “Gender imbalance is prominent in Agile/Lean organizations. We need revamping change to address this challenge. I aspire to help women finding their own North star, finding a seat at the decision-making tables and ask for what they deserve. And this inspired me to co-found ‘Lean In Agile’ for Women along with my colleague, Leila Rao,” shares Padmini, on the key driving force behind the inception of LIA.
Padmini shares that the organization continuously strives to encourage women to be self-reliant, confident of their competencies and “lean in” to their support networks. In this context, the women community needs to take a collaborative step to support each other for purposeful engagement.
On the platform of LIA, women exchange forward looking thoughts on how to address the conservative, hierarchical models and unleash their multi-disciplinary potential with the help of a unique support structure – “Team YOU’. Here, women recruit support from among their own network with coaching, mentoring, counselling skills, to enable their personal as well as professional development. In other words, they are “personal board of directors” of the women who can lean in as needed.
In the pursuit of “shifting left”, LIA’s community outreach programme mentors high school girls in adopting Agile mindset, apply Agile principles in academics, paving path to success for the next generation of women Agilists.
In a ceaseless effort to bring women voices on the decision making tables, LIA hosts speakers, facilitates panels and workshops at global level, with women who are making gargantuan impact. Social media articles, podcasts, global Spirals etc, are few channels through which the organisation keeps stirring unique perspectives within the women populace involved in the Agile space.
“We are actively seeking and promoting women Agilists at all levels. Also of importance, is identifying and coaching women candidates to generate a strong applicant pool for organizational strategy and shift of roles,”-Padmini.
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
As the organisation has witnessed a significant surge in the number of its valued subscribers to over 2000, LIA’s efforts are being recognized at global level. Being a phenomenal leader herself, Padmini elucidates that success of every woman who leverages the platform of LIA is well worth the efforts. Under the auspices of LIA, the global Spirals are forging ahead with an Agile mindset towards a brighter future.
LIA hopes to sustain its unwavering, international presence across different countries, where women have the support structure to amplify their voices.
A STIRRING MESSAGE BY THE ICONIC LEADER
Being a veteran in the respective industry, Padmini shares a few words of wisdom for the aspiring women leaders through Innovative Zone Magazine-
“Find a reason to contribute to your community. Believe in your vision, be true to it till it is realized. Consider impediments as incremental stepping stones towards larger purpose. Moreover, when women support each other, incredible things happen.”
