Each business beholds a distinct leader. While some trust their instincts and evolve as innovators, a few share an inspiring vision to succeed as active tycoons, and others turn opportunities into successful ventures. Well, only a handful of mandarins emerge as master-of-all-trades; just like Dhanya Narayanan, Chief Operating Officer of Rubicon Skill Development. Under her leadership, the organization is making learning aspirational, by developing & delivering the best-in-class learning solutions.

With extensive experience in operations in the Education and ITES sectors, Dhanya carries immense ability to manage large projects, inspire people to meet the objectives of projects, align employees to the vision and mission of the organization, and help them simplify processes using technology and standard SOPs. Sharing her journey in an interview with Women Entrepreneur India, Dhanya reminiscences some experiences that harnessed her while surging into the corporate world and becoming a leader.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

I’m a B.Com graduate and I have always been learning – by being a part of exciting projects that give me opportunities, confidence, and skills. The hands-on experiences have helped me navigate through the corporate ladder and evolve into an entrepreneur.Since my childhood, I was exposed to performing on stage (as a Bharatanatyam dancer), speaking without fear, and being confident.

My confident personality has been shaped by the impactful environment of Kolkata. The city raises women who know how to use their voice, express themselves and speak their thoughts. I moved to Kerala and pursued a commerce degree, which gave me a different perspective on various aspects of life. Subsequently, I shifted to Pune to pursue a career, which was the key to my financial independence. These 3 culturally diverse locations have played a substantial role in shaping my outlook toward my career and life in general.

My passion for skill development and creating value for different stakeholders led to the inception of Rubicon Skill Development. We at Rubicon, support first-time job seekers aspiring to start a corporate journey through customized and deeply engaging training programs.

My 15+ years career in HR and Talent Creation has been rewarding and helps me motivate lives of the younger minds who I interact with regularly.

"A considerable share of this journey is credited to all my mentors who have helped me with valuable career insights & opportunities at every turn"

Tell us about the underlying idea behind Rubicon and some of its most unique features.

Rubicon is a Zebra Company (one that focuses on profitability and along with being dedicated to making a social impact). We are driven by the vision, 'We dream of a world where every youth has the power to transform lives for themselves and others'. We believe that financial independence is vital for an individual to be able to take decisions for themselves. Hence, we empower people with competencies that ensure sustainable employment and financial independence. For our Corporate Customers, we strive to increase the talent pool available for hire. They are able to select from job-ready candidates who understand their unique business needs. We bridge the gap between existing and desired skills by collaborating with organizations and calibrating with their hiring & training departments. We understand their unique combination of competencies, then design and deliver a demand-driven training program. Thereby, creating an exciting solution to meet their entry-level talent need. Our technology-enabled skill development intervention fills the skills gap that exists in entry-level talent, across various industries. The Rubicon team prides itself in managing the process of assessing, training, and deploying resources, aided by technology thus providing customized solutions to its clients.

Throw some light on the most critical business challenges you face in your role as the COO. What steps do you take to overcome the roadblocks that you encounter?

We sometimes work with stringent timelines and find it difficult to follow our standard operating procedures. In such cases, we have to come up with innovative solutions to achieve the goals while keeping quality intact. When we are in a dynamic environment, aligning the team members and other stakeholders with those time limits becomes challenging. We set expectations about the possibility of such hurdles from the beginning and stay cautious by emphasizing on greater objectives and having a keen focus on transcending customer expectations. However, tough deadlines do put pressure on people and it is important to connect with them and help them tackle the situation.

As a professional with a strategic approach, I always plan for different risks that can hinder the organization's growth. Thus, building parallel plans and support systems for unforeseen situations. For instance, we had moved to the cloud way before Covid, just by pondering on some ‘what-ifs’. This helped us bounce back and continue business as usual within a fortnight.

What is your take on the current under-representation of women in top leadership roles? In your opinion how can we bridge this gap?

It is highly disappointing to see the representation of women narrowing as we go up the ladder. However, I feel women also have an equal role to play in this bias. We can’t always wait for someone to represent us better; the change needs to start with us. As Shirley Chisholm famously said, 'If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.' We are very fortunate to live in this era of immense opportunities. Women need to identify and stop overthinking and being overly self-analytical, while evaluating new opportunities. We should develop the courage to take ownership because it pays off in more than one way. It builds trust with seniors and improves self-confidence and self-worth. I attribute most of my growth and success to the ability to take ownership and accountability and then learning to deliver on the job.

My two cents to the young and ambitious women would be to identify your passion, have clarity on your goals, believe in yourself, and work towards it because you need to achieve financial independence, otherwise people who pay for your lunch will make decisions in your life.

Dhanya Narayanan, Chief Operating Officer,  Rubicon Skill Development

Dhanya is an expert in building capabilities, pre-sales, people management, and stakeholder management. She provides consulting on talent acquisition, talent retention, talent development and performance management and various other management skills.