Monday, December 16, 2013

Emerging Leader Success Story: Pragati Rai, Chief Technology Evangelist at PayPal

By Jo Miller

Do you ever wonder what happens to the women that we profile in our Emerging Leader Spotlight? I was browsing LinkedIn last week and stumbled across the profile of Pragati Rai who we featured in June 2012. I was stunned and excited to see her new c-level job title. So naturally, I asked what factors led to her advancement. Here’s what Pragati has been up to.

What factors lead to your advancement into your current role? A lot of hard work went into taking me where I am today. Besides doing my assignments with all my heart, I started doing additional assignments like writing a book on the side. These assignments worked like "stars" on my profile. Finally I started evangelizing what I do and let it be known what I want to accomplish next.

How has your leadership style evolved since taking the role? I believe in people. I believe everyone wants to do their jobs well. But sometimes people get caught up in roles and responsibilities that do not excite them. It is important to find out what excites and motivates a person and what is that s/he wants to achieve. By giving a person an opportunity to thrive (maybe in a different group), we are doing a favor to the person, to ourselves, and to the company.

You attended the Poised for Leadership workshop in March 2012. What impact, if any, did it have on your career?
Poised for Leadership helped sort things out for me. It equipped me with tools and techniques to understand and navigate corporate dynamics. Personally, the most valuable learning from your class was the introduction to the concept of a shadow map – how people are connected and influence each other outside reporting boundaries. Thanks for running these classes; they are very valuable.