Ever met someone who helps individuals align one’s inner spiritual life with external life? Who has assisted many in the corporate world to explore their known & unknown capabilities for the maximum effectiveness? Who aids CxOs to create self-sustaining organisations and to clear away mental, emotional & physical clutter?

Meet Vishwapriya Kocchar, a transformation coach and an organisation development strategist, who, with over 16 years of experience in various facets of human resources, has co-founded Blew Minds that is helping clients in creating endless possibilities of growth by overcoming setbacks & using adversities as stepping-up challenges.

Excerpts from our conversation:

What drove you to start Blew Minds?

For one, after more than a decade of corporate experience, I felt like my time to move into doing my own work had arrived. Second, I had reached a phase where I was feeling a little too stifled with a lot of situations around me in the work context. So I really wanted to be able to work towards transformation, helping people do more meaningful work. Another factor that drove me was my young son. I started questioning if it was worth all the sacrifice. Why can’t I carve my own path? It was in 2016 that I decided to hang up my boots and start Blew Minds.

So one of the practices that Blew Minds follow is unconventional learning and consulting. Could you tell us more about it?

I think unique tools leave a very long-term impact on people. We apply concepts from theater, art, behavioral sciences, neuroscience, business simulation, etc. I use a lot of leadership modeling from mythology, with characters like Alexander, Athena, bringing in very fresh perspectives on leadership. Following these unconventional tactics, we are able to create a unique learner experience.

With what objectives do organisations reach out to you?

I have come across organisations who actually want to do some long-term transformation, like adding value to the relationship with their employees, especially at the leadership level. Some organisations aim to achieve diversity, not just gender but demographic diversity also. For them, such training programs play an essential role. We have CEOs coming to us who want to build their marketing skills, increase their social media presence, build their brand equity.

You have been in the HR industry for over 16 years. We still see the lack of women in leadership positions. How can we overcome this situation from the perspective of transformation at the organisational level?

I think a couple of things can be done. Firstly, there should be a metric put to the gender diversity agenda in organisations. I have come across many different opinions on this. People say you’re building another reservation thought process. But if you want to develop a sense of equality, you have to begin somewhere. For eg, while hiring, for every 20 CV’s you receive, 10 should be of women. So getting equal representation on the table in an organization is an excellent place to start. Another area is fair compensation. Thirdly, organisations should invest in sustaining women in their roles. I’ve seen that women are picked into corporate roles, but they are not able to continue due to the late hours, family responsibilities. A lot of mindset biases are still at play. We still have a long way to go.

Moving to your personal life, you call yourself a “crazy mommy.” Tell us about any mommy crisis management that you had to deal with.

I can think of one when my son was an infant. I remember, when he was 4 months old, he would howl at a particular time in the night for about a week continuously. As a new mother, you’re pretty enervated. I would check him all over to see if something was wrong. Although it is laughable now, it is quite hellish when you’re going through it. Also, my first year of being a mom was quite a struggle, while I was recuperating from labor. There were moments when I broke down. I went through postpartum depression which I didn’t know then.

You are also a mental and physical fitness freak. What is your mental fitness routine?

My mental fitness routine is connected to my physical fitness routine. I like to get one hour of exercise, sometimes more, because I sleep and think better. I invest a lot of my time in being by myself. So even at home, I’ve made my own working environment. I like finding my solutions in silence, and I think silence is meditative in a way. And I find that I can efficiently give 90% of my time to others only when I have this 10% to give to myself.

What are some HR strategies that you use to manage your eight-year-old which you think other mothers can try while parenting?

(laughs) I use feedback. All three of us, sit down, maybe once in a month, and give each other feedback. Secondly, I use a lot of personal power. I don’t use authority power. I try to win over him by influencing him, and sometimes using the reward strategy, rather than imposing my parental authority on him. I let my son lead. For example, the other day I couldn’t open a jar, and I handed it to him to open it. And he actually got the lid out. When you empower people, they perform to the best of their abilities. And that’s why I have been raising him while encouraging to contribute, be involved, express his voice.

Lastly, what is the scope of HR as a modern career?

HR is a pretty hot area now. Consulting is a tremendous field since you get so much variety in jobs you get to work on. It’s very fulfilling. You could become a coach, a recruiter, psychometrician, or you could do niche work like leadership development.