Vision. Direction. Innovation. Oversight. Accountability. Great leaders bring these and more to the table. Women Entrepreneur’s exclusive team engages in a conversation with one such accomplished HR leader, Neha Sharma, Partner – Social Impact practice at Executive Access India who is making a benchmark in the field of Executive Search & Coaching with the above-mentioned qualities coupled with a passion for identifying driven and competent leaders to the impact sector. Neha is a seasoned executive search professional with 21+ years of experience in executive search, coaching, and HR advisory. She has evolved a unique impact and development practice for the firm credited with over twenty country-level and other leadership hires in the sector. She is also a facilitator and mentor for the prestigious Jagriti Yatra, a certified ICF coach, and guest faculty for OD at leading b-schools. Let us hear it from her.

Talking about your previous experiences, can you tell us what made you persevere in the field of Search/HR?

I was fortunate to work with a few fantastic leaders at the very beginning of my career in executive search and later as well during my corporate stint at General Electric and Executive Access India. I got an opportunity where I was trusted to set up a staffing division from scratch at the age of 24 at Walsons, now Securitas. This experience brought me a lot of confidence in my ability to work like an entrepreneur and build a team. I would call that early entrepreneurial experience to set the platform for my subsequent experiences both as a Staffing Leader at GE Capital as well as setting up the Social Impact practice from scratch at Executive Access India. My core expertise was in financial services from where I transitioned to social impact, consulting, and coaching as well. I have experimented at multiple stages in my career from being in search, corporate HR, Staffing and even AML operations to finally discovering my true interest in search and coaching, especially in the Impact space. Being in Executive Search and HR brings an understanding of diverse sectors, organizations, and their cultures. It’s a people’s profession that I have loved and that is what has made me persevere in this space for a very long time.

Introduce us to Executive Access India Tell us about the various responsibilities you shoulder as a Partner at the firm.

Executive Access India is one of the oldest and most accomplished search firms in India with a global presence through Panorama partners. The firm has over nine accomplished industry practices and has executed over 2700 leadership mandates including over 200 plus CEO, Board, and Business head hires across practices. I personally lead the Social Impact and Development practice for the firm alongside evolving its leadership advisory and consulting practice. The Social Impact practice works with key stakeholders including those who are donors, grantmakers, impact investors, and non-profit institutions. We have also closely worked with government institutions including PPP, public policy think tanks, and mission-driven consulting firms helping them with their leadership hires and advisory work.

"Leadership needs to come from a space of clear thinking & should stem from the heart & a space of commitment"

What are some of the most critical challenges you encountered as an executive hiring professional, especially for the impact space?

The impact space yearns for great talent who have the bandwidth for complex problem solving, especially for larger platforms that are tackling critical issues at a national level and have multiple dynamics associated with it. Identifying the right fit for such unique roles can be challenging as this requires intensive as well as exhaustive engagement in the ecosystem to find committed leaders who are both willing and have the bandwidth. The other challenge was also how to evolve a balanced clientele across the impact sector so that we accelerate our own learning curve as well as find financial feasibility. There are not many search firms in India that had this dedicated practice when we initiated work in this space. Executive Access India as a firm takes pride in working in this space and has now worked with truly high-impact and excellent clients in this ecosystem.

What is your vision for this practice at Executive Access India in the next growth phase?

We have recently come up with a Collective Credit initiative bringing together some of the finest senior talents across functionalities and sectors including erstwhile and current CEOs, CFOs, CHROs, and Digital Leaders amongst others who have shown interest to work with Impact leadership and startups in varied capacities. We are also conversing with donors who are looking to improve capacity building for their portfolio through an effective cost model like this. Further, we have envisioned a Board Series with great leaders and existing board members who will share their practical insights with aspiring board leaders and first-time board hires to tackle various challenges as board professionals. We are also excited to explore these versions on digital mediums to make them more accessible in the long run.

"Once you are rooted in your own ‘self’, you can have a fair chance to lead others"

What would be your advice for budding leaders in the industry?

I feel leadership needs to come from a space of clear thinking and should stem from the heart and a space of commitment. There is a lot of literature available on developing competencies for leadership but I believe that it is very important to follow your inner voice and reflect on why and how you can add value to the chosen space. For young leaders and entrepreneurs, it is important that they take initiative, meet new people, travel, experiment, fail, and learn, as that will help them understand their own selves. Once you are rooted in your own ‘Self’, you can have a fair chance to lead others.

Neha Sharma, Partner & Leader – Social Impact, Executive Access INDIA

An experienced Executive Search professional with rich experience in leadership hiring, career coaching and transition, talent management, and leadership advisory. At Executive Access India, Neha is building strong teams and coaching leaders from various sectors who are keen to transition to the Impact & Development sector.