Can you share some key moments or turning points in your career that shaped your leadership style?
I embarked on my professional journey with Oberoi Hotels 20 years ago and have since taken on various leadership roles. Today, I continue to learn and grow as the Chief Operating Officer at 91Springboard.
One of the most significant learning that stands out: while we often focus on errors, we overlook the masterpiece of effort. By applying the same rigour to good work as we do to mistakes, our teams can achieve incredible results. As leaders, we must balance our focus on errors with an appreciation for the overall effort and progress made.
This aligns with a broader leadership philosophy of mine: nurturing and recognising dedication is essential. Appreciating our team’s hard work unlocks their full potential and drives exceptional performance.
In a dynamic environment, leaders must absorb pressure and guide teams towards peak performance. We should foster a culture of collective problem-solving, trust, collaboration and productivity.
How do you define operational excellence, and what strategies do you implement to achieve it consistently across different hubs of 91Springboard?
Operational excellence can be defined through two primary lenses: customer satisfaction and returns. Achieving operational excellence requires a clear understanding of the business model, identifying the target customer, and outlining the promised deliverables. Ensuring that these commitments are consistently met is a key to operational excellence.
At 91Springboard, we emphasise that operational excellence is not solely a matter of strategy but also deeply rooted in organisational culture. It is driven by individuals at all levels who embody the company’s values and standards. In my experience, the most effective approach which we follow at 91Springboard involves – empowering team members, granting autonomy within defined parameters and establishing transparent expectations. By integrating these strategies, we strive to maintain a high level of operational excellence across all our hubs, ensuring that we deliver exceptional value to our members and stakeholders.
What motivated your move from the hospitality sector to 91Springboard, and how do you plan to leverage your extensive experience in this new role?
Having observed the increasing demand for flex workspaces within the commercial real estate sector, and with over two decades of experience in hospitality, I felt it was the right moment for a change that aligned with my professional interests and skill set.
At 91Springboard, our primary focus is on service excellence. Contrary to the common perception of flex workspaces as just a real estate segment, we approach them through the lens of a service industry. Similar to how a hotel provides a room to a guest, we offer a workspace. Both sectors require the same level of detailing, customer centricity, and attention to the entire customer journey. My goal is to bring this level of service to our community, ensuring that every member receives exceptional support and experience so that they can focus on their core need – their business.
With your experience in managing relationships between brands and hotel asset owners, what lessons have you learned that you plan to apply in your role at 91Springboard?
A commercial real estate asset owner, whether it is a hotel asset or an office CRE asset, faces similar expectations and demands, such as return on the asset, the quality and credibility of the occupier/operator, asset upkeep thereby preserving and delivering superior stable return. Working closely with hotel asset owners under various partnership models – conventional leases, management contracts, or franchise agreements, has equipped me with insights and competence to forge & nurture partner relationships.
Akin to hotels where asset owners and asset operators collaboratively work together for a mutually viable business, our view is that commercial real estate owners and office space managers and operators will also find this perfect balance. At the heart of this is value created for the end-user. Asset owners can focus on what they do best and operators at this value creation. Meeting point of the two is where magic happens. We at 91Springboard, given our hospitality and real-estate orientation, intend to deliver just that.
How have your academic achievements, such as your BA in hospitality management and certificate in revenue management, contributed to your professional growth and success?
Knowledge and its application (experience) leads to self-confidence. This in turn builds a radical mindset. Curiosity, deliberation, innovation, challenging the status quo, purpose driven working are manifestations. Delving deeper into skill sets needed via primary and secondary learning is constant evolution. It is what I love doing and applying. I am proud to work and create such work places for myself and our team.
What are your key principles for building and nurturing high-performing teams in a fast-paced environment like coworking spaces?
At the cost of sounding cliche, our asset is our team. At hotels, we were not in the business of providing accommodation. At 91Springboard we are not in the business of commercial real estate. We are in the purpose-driven business. Our purpose is to create a workspace for a company – agnostic of its phase. We strive to understand their needs and deliver them seamlessly with empathy, warmth, and efficiency. The hard product is not our competitive moat, our team & their behaviour at scale aka culture is what is our moat.
Key leadership tenets:
- Listening to team members – Effective ideas and solutions often originate from those on the ground rather than from boardrooms. Actively listening to team members ensures that valuable insights and practical solutions are harnessed, fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture.
- Be firm and fair towards performance – It is essential to set clear expectations and maintain fairness across teams which helps in setting high standards and team members feel respected and motivated to perform their best.
- Respond and not react – In a fast-paced environment, it is easy to react impulsively to challenges. Instead, focus on thoughtful responses. It helps in managing crises calmly and making well-considered decisions.
- Communicating the purpose of what is being done and making team members understand the broader objectives. This enhances alignment and motivation within the team.
What emerging trends in the coworking sector do you foresee having the most significant impact in this sector?
At 91Springboard, we have an office for a start-up, an SME and a large company/team – It’s all here!
A key trend that was accelerated by the pandemic is a de-risked balance sheet for companies and flexibility. It created a space where the need for an office has gone beyond conventional leasing and start-ups.
What will work for one customer cohort may not for the other as a whole. Anticipating and appreciating these needs, and evolving our offering is what we have done.
What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to leadership roles in the industry, especially regarding adapting to industry changes?
The most important piece of advice is to cultivate patience. Do not compare yourself to your batch mates, college mates, etc. In the long run, if you consistently do good work, the market will equalize everyone. I see many professionals making wrong career moves for instant gratification, which is short-lived. Additionally, prioritize reading extensively, as few people do, and it is crucial for success!