Nidhi Raina is Global Head, Personal Excellence and Organizational Transformation | Tata Consultancy Services | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Nidhi Raina is Global Head, Organisational Transformation in Tata Consultancy Services. With 20 years in business, of which several years were spent in Business Development, Sales and Consulting, Large Deals and Innovation across fortune 500 companies, Nidhi, an INSEAD Alumnus, moved to People Transformation for the last 3 years. 

For her efforts in providing substantial business returns through people interventions at scale, she has been named one of the ‘30 World Changing Women in Conscious Business’, ‘Exceptional Women of Excellence, 2018’, International Executive of the Year’,’ Business Maverick of the Year’, Product Innovation of the Year’, among many others.

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What do achievements mean to you?

Nidhi Raina: Achievements are a way to nourish the mind in its pursuit of excellence and helping the heart to continue to pursue it purpose.

What excites you most about the work that you do?

Nidhi Raina: That it has a compounding and infinite effect. Once one life is touched deeply and meaningfully, it will positively affect many others in an unending spherical – even after me. The best part is that human evolution is at the core of everything else – progressive use of technology, sustainable use of the planet and collective compassion for the living species. Everything.

Choice of purpose is important and so is the people you choose to pursue it with.

Nidhi Raina

Do you have a mantra or motto that you live by?

Nidhi Raina: “Know Thy Self”

The closer we are to our unique purpose, our strengths – the higher the chances of being happy and successful.

To really achieve eventually, though, is to redefine both success and happiness and make it more meaningful, expansive, inclusive and acceptable of its diversity. Eventually celebrating life for its variety than for its conformity.

What makes you yourself

Nidhi Raina: Authenticity, Compassion, Purpose, Inner Evolution.

Very early I remember forsaking fictional reads for spiritual and science reads. At 15 years old I had read Deepak Chopra, Neal Donald Walsch, Nisarg Dutta as well as Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Hawking.

It still challenges me. How I can be my highest self and be of best service?

Surround yourself with the people of the right energy or transform the energy of your team. This way you can fill them and they can fill you, if required.

Nidhi Raina

First job

Nidhi Raina: Tata Consultancy Services from the first job till date. I enjoyed the ability to create my own role and move from function to function – exploring IT development, business analysis, consulting, business development, large deals and innovation, Sales head for Asia, marketing and now people development and culture. Tata values of giving back to the society graciously, and in abundance, has definitely been a big influence.

Work philosophy

Nidhi Raina: Work to ‘Expand yourself’. Your work should make you feel alive – excite you a lot and challenge you a little every day.

Nidhi Raina: Also, don’t let the praises of others get you up nor the criticism of others pull you down. Surround yourself with people who make YOU a better person and professional- business and impact are a natural outcome – a win -win.

Have the strength to stand up and change it, if that is not the case. Today’s 12-18 hrs of your day, will become your life and then your legacy.

Currently occupied with (business/ job related activities)

Nidhi Raina: Evangelizing and exemplifying the Human angle to any transformation (including Digital).

Largely to enable organisations to avoid taking the myopic view of transformation by pursuing only business or technology disruption without equally potent people ones. Or the segmented isolated approach by taking all into consideration, yet unconsolidated at the top for real synergies- thereby unsustainable.

Recent successes

Nidhi Raina: Love, support and respect from my friends, family- at work and at home. The lives touched and their individual and inspiring-me-back success stories.

What was your journey like to get where you are today

Nidhi Raina: It was a great journey. Throughout, the hardest part was managing my mind and navigating the social conditioning in and around me. The easiest part was (and is) always following the heart.

I only wish I could take more and more people on it.

How do you stay motivated

Nidhi Raina: Keeping the energy high of you and your surrounding is key.

Surround yourself with the people of the right energy or transform the energy of your team. This way you can fill them and they can fill you, if required.

Goal yet to be achieved

Nidhi Raina: A better world for the future.

Best decision

Nidhi Raina: Pursuing meditation and following my heart

Worst decision

Nidhi Raina: None, since they all led to this point.

Definition of leadership

Nidhi Raina: Creating a purposeful and meaningful direction, with firm focus on the results and gentle care in its approach.

Biggest missed opportunity

Nidhi Raina: Adding holistic human growth to education in the UN SDG goals explicitly, if I had the chance.

Best mentor

Nidhi Raina: Surinder and Rani Raina – My Parents
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar- My Guru

One word that best describes you

Nidhi Raina: Eternal

What are you really into outside of work?

Nidhi Raina: Self Discovery (through spirituality), Self Expression (through hobbies) and Self reflection.

Most important lesson learned

Nidhi Raina: Choice of purpose is important and so is the people you choose to pursue it with.

What do you hope to achieve in your next position

Nidhi Raina: Bigger scale, greater impact and meaningful days.

Work to ‘Expand yourself’. Your work should make you feel alive – excite you a lot and challenge you a little every day.

Nidhi Raina

Most influential book read

Nidhi Raina: Biography of a Yogi – By Paramahansa Yogananda

Most ecstatic moment

Nidhi Raina: Realizing I had far more to give than I thought I could.

When it’s all over, how do you want to be remembered?

Nidhi Raina: A life well lived – in service , with gratitude for this lifetime and with graceful evolution.

Favorite word

Nidhi Raina: Thankyou

Favorite quote

Nidhi Raina: Existence is a fact; Living is an art.

Tata Consultancy Services, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India