Try Something New And Watch How Your Life Unfolds In Wonderful Ways With Churni Bhattacharya

 

I have a wonderful repeat guest today, Churni Bhattacharya. Churni and I can talk for hours, and every time I speak with her, I feel like I’m talking with an old friend.

Churni has so much wisdom to share in today’s show and her prior appearance, episode 141, which launched on August 31st, 2023. You’ll definitely want to grab a notebook and listen to both of these shows twice to catch all of the great advice and information.

During our conversation, Churni and I talked about:

1. Her journey to becoming a contributing author in the women’s anthology, “Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership.”
2. Churni’s learnings throughout the publication process.
3. How Churni has changed because of this experience.
4. What recommendations Churni has for anyone who wants to step out and try something new, whether it’s writing a book, starting a project, beginning a new job, and more.
5. Churni’s advice for other women navigating the IT/Digital Industry.
6. Her favorite book.
7. What’s on the horizon for Churni moving forward.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Try Something New And Watch How Your Life Unfolds In Wonderful Ways With Churni Bhattacharya

How are you doing out there? I am excited. I have a wonderful repeat guest, Churni Bhattacharya. Churni and I can talk for hours and hours, and I know you all don’t have that much time. We did cut it off at a certain point, but every time I speak with her, I feel like I am talking to an old friend. I have to say I did say this on our first show together.   

I want to thank sincerely some old friends, John and Carrie, in the investment space for just following that inner knowing and saying, “Churni and Jen, Jen and Churni, they need to be together.” I need Churni on Brave Woman at Work. Thank you guys much for listening to that gut feeling and getting us introduced.

Churni has much wisdom to share in this episode and her prior episode, which I looked up for you. It’s episode 141, and that launched way back on August 31, 2023, which is a long time. You’re going to want to go back. I’m going to challenge and welcome you to go back and read that one and this one. You’re going to want to grab a notebook, take notes on your phone, and read both of these episodes. I would say, of course, at least once, but maybe even twice to catch all of the great advice and information from Churni.

In this conversation, Churni and I chatted about her journey after we talked in August of 2023. As you’ll read, I encourage Churni. I was that fire starter within her. I said, “Churni, you need to be an author. Your stories are fabulous.” She said, “No.” but then guess what? She became a contributing author in the latest women’s anthology, Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership.

I love her chapter, which is Life Is Not a Straight Line. Your career is not a straight line. Everything is not a straight line. Churni also shares her learnings throughout the publication process as a first-time author and how she has changed as a result of this experience. One thing that I love about Churni is there are so many things, but one thing I love about her is that she is not afraid of failure.

As a recovering perfectionist, that is something that still gets me when I say, “Do I want to fail?” She’s pushing. I know that if I gave her an idea of something I wanted to do, she would say, “Yes, you need to go do that.” She embraced something new, and she’s now changed and better for it. What recommendations Churni has for anyone who wants to step out and try something new, whether it’s writing that book, starting a project, beginning a new job or a new career, and so much more.

Churni also shared her advice for other women navigating the IT and digital industry, which has been predominantly male-driven, and she is a powerhouse in that space. I also asked her about her favorite book and/or resources besides, of course, Brave Woman at Work: Lessons in Leadership, which she graciously shared. We learn about what’s on the horizon for churning moving forward because she is onto new pastures and new horizons in her career.

Let’s learn more about Churni. Churni Bhattacharya is a digital transformation leader with extensive experience in technology transformation, focusing on vision, strategy, road map, and implementation to enable best-of-class customer experience and measurable success. She has a proven track record of transforming the legacy landscape into next-generation SaaS platforms, transformational change, leadership building, high-performing teams, and delivering outstanding results. She has worked in financial services for most of her career, focused on capital markets, commercial banking, mortgage banking, insurance, and wealth management. In doing so, she partnered with C-level executives to define and deliver on technology road maps.

Most recently, Churni served as the Chief Application Officer at AssetMark Inc., where she was responsible for over 75% of the capital budget of the company, leading the portfolio of strategic initiatives. She was instrumental in the largest transformational initiatives at AssetMark, and a few examples are custodial system management, a new tax management system, and more digital transformation.

Before AssetMark, she was the VP of Business Technology Partner for deposits at First Republic Bank. Then, before First Republic, she was the director of technology and PMO for the small business care group at Intuit, which you may have heard of. She has also worked at Accenture, JMM Consulting, and Ernst and Young.

She led technology strategy initiatives for many Fortune 500 Financial Services Companies, and of course, she has delivered on numerous large technical implementations. Interestingly enough, as we’re rounding out her bio, she started her career as a software engineer, not in financial services, but as a software engineer in Tokyo, which is interesting.

She is an MS in Computer Science from Poon University and a BS in Physics from Jadavpur University. If Brave Woman at Work has made an impact on you, like I share every week, please share this show or the entire series of shows with a family member, friend, or colleague. Of course, your ratings and reviews help the show continue to gain traction and grow.

Thank you so much for your support. I can’t tell you how much it means to me. If you haven’t downloaded one or all the freebies from my site, check them out at BraveWomenAtWork.com. The freebies are 24 Career and Leadership Affirmations, 5 Ways To Managing Your Imposter Syndrome and Getting Paid 10 Negotiation Tips.

Out of the 3, I would say go get Getting Paid 10 Negotiation Tips. Go get them all because, ladies, they are free. How can we beat that? Go for sure and get Getting Paid 10 Negotiation Tips as we’re rounding out the year and getting close to those year-end reviews. We want to start preparing all year, but if you haven’t started, please start today by getting those freebies.

The freebies are workbook-style guides and I’ve left space for you to take notes, to dream, to go through those exercises and those prompts. They’re just for you. Check them out on my website, BraveWomenAtWork.com. One last thing. I’m very excited. My latest book, again, Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership, is now available in hardcover and eBook, but hardcover launched on September 24, 2024. You can order a copy of a hardcover book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, or wherever books are sold.

A little preview. We’re just about to kick off our next book in the series, which I will say for my show people are going to be on the idea of letting go. If you want to learn more about surrender and letting go, stay tuned. That book will be out in 2025. I don’t have dates, but it is coming. Let’s welcome Churni to the show.

 

 

Churni, welcome back to the show. How are you?

I’m doing fantastic. How are you doing?

The day is good when I get to talk to you, Churni. It’s just very good. It’s amazing. As we’re recording this, we’re just under a year since you and I first got to know one another. They are our dear friends, John and Carrie. Shout out to them again. Hasn’t it been such a fun partnership and a fun friendship we’ve built? I’ve had such a good time getting to know you over the last year.

Sometimes, the right people show up in your life and transform your life before you know it, in the most unexpected way. You are one of my transformers. You are my catalyst and change. I will always be grateful to you.

Of course, some people may have not read it yet. If you haven’t read it, go back to I think it’s August of 2023 when we first had Churni on the show. Go and read to that first show, but if you are just jumping in now, of course, welcome, and we’re happy to have you. Why don’t you, Charny, tell us a little bit about your background story and how you’ve gotten to where you are now?

Churni’s Career Journey In Technology

This is going to be a repeat of what I said in the show. The people who are reading again, sorry about that. I come from a highly educated family in India with lots and lots of PhD and post-Master’s degrees. I have a Master’s in Computer Science, and I’m the least dedicated in my generation. Everybody thought I’d be a professor, like all of them.

Most of the people in my family are professors, but I was not. I chose to be a software engineer. I started in a consulting company in India, which took me to Tokyo. I landed a job at Citibank in Tokyo, and I moved to New York Citibank. That time, I was in global derivatives, managing all their technology portfolio, and it was much fun.

I left to join management consulting. At that time, I thought management consulting was for MBAs and not for engineers. It was such a fun ride, and I thought I would retire as a consultant. Consulting brought me from New York to San Francisco, and that is where I met my husband. All that good stuff happened. I had a son, and that is when I realized that getting on a plane every Monday and coming home every Thursday was not doable anymore.

I left, and life took me to a very interesting place. I joined a leading software company called Intuit, which makes TurboTax and QuickBooks. I learned product management from Intuit. It’s just like learning music from a maestro, and that is how I feel that I learned product management from Intuit. Unfortunately, the commute got too much where we bought the house and Intuit is two hours driving each way. That’s the reason I left.

I joined the most amazing company that I’ve ever worked for in my career, the First Republic Bank, as a divisional CIO for the deposits business. We were called Business Technology Partners, but that is what I did. I manage all the technology initiatives for the deposits business. During COVID, I left and joined the company called AssetMark, which is a wealth management platform.

I joined them as the chief application officer, managing the entire tech portfolio. I will tell you that the collapse of First Republic broke my heart because that was the only company I would have considered rejoining. My heart goes out to all the people who lost their jobs and are now trying to find a new place. I keep reaching out to them and telling them that we are all there for each other.

Here I am, and then I met you when I was at Assetmark. My life changed because you convinced me that I had a compelling story to tell after I did the show. That is when I thought about writing, and that is how I partnered with you in co-authoring a book. It is just like an addiction right now for me to write. My god. Every two weeks, I have to write a new article and things like that. I’m enjoying the space of leaning into thought leadership, leaning into insights, writing, and sharing stories of my life. What a fun ride it has been.

Of course,  getting to know you and walking with you on this journey is a pleasure and a privilege. I have to say one more time, go back to that episode in August 2023 in the library because it was obvious to me, Churni, you tell such rich stories and have such deep wisdom. I was telling our friends, our colleagues, John and Carrie after that I could have listened to your stories and your wisdom all day long.  That is when I told you, “Come and join us and be part of this women’s anthology, which is The Brave Women at Work: Lessons In Leadership.” It just felt like a natural fit for me. We are blessed that we’ve had you in this book.

Thank you very much. It was beyond a privilege and an interesting learning. I feel that what makes us who we are is our desire to learn new things and to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. That’s exactly what you enabled me to do.

The Journey To Becoming An Author

Why don’t you dive into that a little bit more? What were some of those learnings when you reached the end of your comfort zone? You and I met, and I said, “I think there’s a story to tell.” Why don’t you share what you felt in that decision-making process and then in the publishing process because it’s new? It can be scary for a first-time author, and then now you have the bug. You just are asking, “Where else can I write?” “What else can I do?” “How else can I expand?” Which is cool. Take us on that journey of your learnings throughout this process.

I don’t know whether you know this, but I get tongue-tied speaking.

I did not know that.

It is because English is not my first language. I started speaking English when I was 24. I’m a very late learner, and I always felt that my vocabulary was poor. I do not have the right grasp of the language, and I always get a little, I would say, stage fright in speaking because I always feel that when I’m talking about things, the right words will not come to me.

The same thing applies to writing because I can write business proposals and PowerPoint decks and all that stuff all day long, but writing your unique thoughts and putting them on paper requires mastery of language, which I always thought I didn’t have. When I started the process, I started pushing myself. That is when I said, “What’s the worst it can be?” I will make myself look horrible. That’s okay. I’m too old for that.

The worst thing that is going to happen is that I’ll embarrass myself. Fine, but let me try. Let me at least make an effort to put it down on a piece of paper. I saved my first draft of the chapter that I wrote, and it’s horrible because I keep looking back. It reads like a long, meandering email with bullet points, bold fonts, and exclamation marks. It’s bad and that was the starting point.

You say, “This is the worst.” I can only have one way to go and it is up. You can always improve. You can learn to write. For me, writing is like a project that you have to think about. You’d have to organize it, and you have to figure out how all these pieces come together. It is not just a word vomit. There has to be some structure in it. It’s a very beautiful process.

Learning and finding my voice was the hardest thing to do because when you see how people write business articles, it’s very formulaic, I would say. You have to put in 4 references and 5 graphs and charts and all these things. You have to follow the Harvard Business Review templates and things like that. People fall into that, whereas I wanted to tell stories because that is the biggest learning in my life is when you communicate, people don’t remember. When people read all these Harvard articles, they cannot remember after they finish. Even when they create, these are the five things you need to understand about this.

You will remember the next day, you come back and say, “Yes, I think I remember two.” What are the other three? It is because you do not have anything to tie it to. That’s why I feel that the best thing you can do is storytelling, that people remember stories. When you can make something real by storytelling that, “This is what has happened.”

It may be an embarrassing story. It may be a fun story, but that resides and resonates with people, and that’s why people remember it more. I think another thing is humor. When you can inject humor in writing, in speaking, that is much more fun than when it’s too serious. I don’t take myself seriously at all, that’s why it’s much easier for me to bring in humor in my writing, my speaking, and in general, I would say.

There are some good learnings I want to readily highlight, if we will, for folks who are asking, “How does this apply to me?” The first thing is to go try even if you’re scared and if you’re on the edge of your comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be writing a chapter. Maybe it’s starting a different project, starting a business, running a marathon, or running a 5k. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t have to be those. It could be whatever you want, but just getting out of your comfort zone. I love that, and I use this with my coaching clients’ journey.

We play the worst-scenario game. “What is the worst that could happen? Let’s go there.” Then we hang out for five to ten minutes, and then they paint the whole picture. I’m not trying to diminish. There are some situations, some spaces, and some places that are detrimental, damaging, dangerous, and hard, but most of the time, they are just worries in our heads. It’s for us to fail because it shows that we’ve gone for it. In this case, you went for it, and you are better for it.

Thank you very much. I would share that one bit with people that you can never be better at it unless you try. You are doing what you are doing. That’s almost the status quo. Unless you push the boundaries and take that risk, you cannot go to that next level.

You’ve talked a lot about finding your voice in English, not in your native language, but finding your voice here. I would guess you would have to tell me in your native language and English. I think you’re funny, fun, and sarcastic. They probably all come through. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, you don’t take yourself too seriously. How would you say, as a whole, in regards to your voice, how have you changed as a result of this publishing experience?

I never thought I had anything worthwhile to share. When you are in a field like mine, I have been in technology all my life in financial services, life becomes in a very certain way. You have all these major projects and many people to manage, and you do it in a certain way. That has been the formula for me for the longest period I can remember.

You have these 8 to 10 meetings every single day. You structure your day in a certain way. You measure success in a certain way. Your internal or personal KPIs are very different. That is all about, “How am I going to get this done?” “What am I going to accomplish?” “How am I going to enable my team?” “What am I going to do?”

I never allow myself to take a step back to think and say, “Here is what I have learned. Let me share my learnings and my failings so that before you take on another thing, pause and think about the bigger picture before you jump into action.” That was my biggest flaw. I was always jumping into action. Now, I have learned to pause.

That is good. That is powerful. I’m hearing that this writing process gives you a chance to sit and pause with the learnings or pause with the stories so that you’re ready to take the next action before jumping from one to the next. Is that correct?

The Importance Of Simmering

That’s right. It’s like cooking. Sometimes, you just stir things and you have to let it simmer. If you don’t let it simmer, you will not get all the flavors. They have to incorporate all the flavors by simmering, and that was missing in my life. I was not permitting myself to simmer. You think taking a pause is inaction, and that is not true. Taking a pause is simmering.

Sometimes, when I’m on the show, I’m being ministered to and I am being taught. Guess what? I am your student, officially now. Let’s give everyone and every woman the permission. You and I can do it or not do it, but I’m going to tell everyone is reading. Take a deep breath. I love what you just said. Let that marinate in. Take a deep breath, and let the idea of just simmering sink in. I love that idea.

The question back to you, Churni, is how can we give ourselves more permission to do that? You and I are in different sectors of business. I’m in financial services. You generally were on the investment side, not too far, but more on the technology side of financial services and investment wealth management.

However, both were raised to just go go go, especially as you’re getting to certain levels or aspiring to be on a certain level. There are many days where I have eight meetings in a day. How is that even humanly possible? That’s how women at certain levels live their lives. I don’t permit myself to simmer. What would be some wisdom that you want to share there?

Challenging Stereotypes About Women In Tech

One thing I would say is that all these generalizations of women, most of them are garbage. That women are bad in math or bad in science. They’re not risk-takers. They’re not aggressive. None of that is true. I love math more than most people. I cannot tell you how much I still love doing high school math with my son. I am telling you, I oddly learned trigonometry in India a long time ago, and I’m relearning trigonometry and calculus. I’m just having a lot of fun.

Before you go on, I know I’m going to be Zooming with you in the future as my daughter gets older. I’m going to phone a friend literally because I don’t know this new math. Anyway, go ahead.

It’s a lot of fun. That’s the stereotype that women are bad in math or bad in science. It’s wrong. I know a lot of women who went to school with me, who studied physics with me and who studied computer science with me. They are brilliant at what they do. They are brilliant scientists. They’re brilliant computer scientists, and they are because the brain operates in a very different way because women see the big picture and then bring it all together.

The only thing I have seen, the consistent stereotype, is that women suffer from one thing, which is a lack of confidence. Men become confident weirdly, and they don’t care. They are more comfortable making a fool of themselves, I guess. Since college days, boys have gotten into more crazy trouble than a girl will think about. They just get more comfortable in their skin earlier.

 

Whereas women, I think, suffer from that one thing, the lack of confidence. It manifests in two things. One is women continue to try too hard. I see that all the time and in everything. They’re trying to be a great mother. They’re trying to be an awesome partner. They are trying to be the best worker. They’re trying to be everything.

The best parent, teacher, or conference lady, whatever it is, they’re always trying too hard because they do not give themselves back permission that I’m awesome, that I’m okay, and what I am is good. I can be better, but not by trying too hard. I can be better by taking risks and doing something else, but not by trying too hard.

Don't try too hard. Give yourself permission to be awesome as you are. You can improve by taking risks and trying new things, not by constantly striving to be perfect in everything you do. Share on X

Another story I would say is it’s like singing. When you try too hard to hit a high note, you’re pitchy, you’re off-key. You sing beautifully whenever you’re relaxed and your vocal cords are relaxed because you’re not trying too hard. That is what happens to women. That when you try too hard, you’re pitchy. That is what I want people to understand. Just get comfortable. You are awesome. That is the thing. It’s not about being lazy.

It is not about anything. Simmer is not being lazy. Simmer is being wise, and there is a big difference between true inaction and wisdom. What I would say is that, yes, we suffer from a lack of confidence. I started being confident in my mid-30s, and I truly became confident after my son was born, and that was my early 40s. What I would say is that that is what I’ve seen is how you just don’t try too hard. Just do your thing and understand that you’re good enough.

Confidence comes with time and experience. I started being confident in my mid-thirties and truly became competent in my early 40s. It's a journey, not a destination. Share on X

I do word of the year. I don’t know if anyone knows what that is, but anyway, you can pick a word of the year. It’s the overarching theme of the year or where we do action or whatever. I don’t know. I might file this one away as a possible potential for 2025 as we’re reporting this and have the word simmer as my word. A reminder of this conversation because it is such a good reminder that we don’t have to be in constant frenetic action. We can give ourselves that permission to marinate in the learnings before getting right back in the race.

Yes, and there is one more thing I will add to that. If you see that somebody is not doing something, a woman is sitting on her phone. If you’re flipping through Facebook or social media, you are doing something and actually in that genetic energy. Whenever you are going through all that stuff and collecting that much information, you are again trying to part.

Yes. I have to just share it as a sidebar here. Sorry. I’m full of the sidebars. Whoever’s reading, if you’re a parent, I’m struggling with my daughter, my preteen daughter, about being on social media. Churni, just because you’re in this industry, I’d love your opinion on this. She’s twelve, and I am holding firm as much as I can so that she isn’t in frenetic action while being on her phone.

I was wondering what you thought about being in the digital spaces on that because I’m teaching her the idea of simmering as a young woman. This is making a mark on me, and I’m thinking, if she’s on social media all the time, what is that teaching her about having imagination, being still, or, God forbid, being bored? Remember when we were bored as children? You can actually get super creative in boredom. Any thoughts on social media in our teens?

Social media is the most heartbreaking thing for me because when social media came about, I was excited about that technology. I thought that this was how we would connect the world. The boundaries are going to disappear, and you will truly have collaboration, but you could not. For example, I lost touch with my friends from high school, my college, and my master’s because I went from one place to the other.

I left India. I went to Japan. From there, to New York, then to San Francisco, and because of social media, we reconnected. I am in these two or three WhatsApp groups and that’s how we connect. That’s how we share things, and technology was supposed to do that differently from what has happened on social media. It is like any other technology. It has been abused to the point that it has become a place for bullying.

That we are seeing the worst of human nature, not the best. That people are staying anonymous and saying the worst thing because it’s almost like giving a megaphone to people everywhere, and they’re all shouting. Think about it, if you think like everybody in a supermarket, everybody has a megaphone, and everybody’s talking, how loud it is, that is how feel social media has become. Completely useless.

I also trust my son that he will learn to figure out what not to use, and if I’m too strict, he will say, “Don’t use.” That is when he will be drawn to it. It’s just like kids. When they go to college, “Don’t drink alcohol.” They will drink. That’s exactly similar to that. For me, it’s just like, “Check it out. It’s okay, but understand what you are seeing is 90% garbage.

How are you going to find out that 10% which are the true gems? That is what I think is more important than teaching them that, “Yes, go look at it. It’s 90% is garbage.” As long as you understand 90% is garbage, then go figure out what you want to do. That’s why I see my son will do this thing, and then he will just disconnect to downplay his guitar. That is his way of unwinding, and every kid should have something like that when you know that social media is not just a fun place, that it’s boring. It’s just not a good use of your time. I think that’s how they will learn that it is a place for bullies. It is a place for not good humans.

Very good. Thank you for that. That was helpful for me when parenting a young teen. One thing I know you’re very excited about is AI. I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on that and how you think that it is going to be a world disruptor.

The Democratization Of AI

AI is nothing new. I wrote two articles on that. It’s been there. What has changed is the democratization of AI. Think about it. If the Internet was a product, then you had to buy the Internet, it wouldn’t have been what it is, because it was free and the technology became available to all of us, it fundamentally changed our life. That was the beginning of digital disruption. I can’t think about how I lived in the 90s. It’s just like, “How did I do this?” “What’s life all about?” “How did I find information?”

Encyclopedia Britannica. That’s how.

I cannot think about living without the Internet because it is democratized. AI has been going on for a long time since the 1940s, but it was so expensive that we could not leverage it. Now, with our computing power, AI is becoming democratized, and ChatGPT is a perfect example of democratizing. That is why the change has happened in the last few years.

It’s no longer that very expensive thing that is only used by tech giants and their server farms. It is now available to all of us, and that is what we will see. It’s just the shift is going to be way more, not similar, way more than when we had the internet. When we started changing our lives with that. AI is fundamentally going to change things, and I cannot be more excited about this because we are at that cusp of knowledge and wisdom.

 

All the tasks we are doing, the mindless tasks we spend time doing, my hope is AI is going to automate that. AI is going to take it all away. That is going to be where we will take a step back and think about the beauty of design, our wisdom, what makes us unique, and what makes us human. I couldn’t be more excited about what the world is going to be like ten years from now because it’s going to be a beautiful world.

Advice For Women In Technology

I love your positivity. That’s just infectious. Just one more question. Since you are a female executive in the information technology and the digital space, if any other women are reading, and I think this applies to all women, but specifically in your industry, what best practices or what are some that you would share if they aspiring to get to higher levels?

The first thing that I would say is that many times, again, doing the person who’s constantly getting stuff done is good, but listen and learn. It is extremely important to do that because that is how you will get hurt. It’s an odd thing to say. I have been going to industry conferences, god knows how many, very few women even now, especially for technology and financial services, mostly men.

They’re going, they’re being seen, they’re talking loudly, and they’re doing all sorts of stuff. Women are rarely there, and if you see that there is a disparity, it is our job to make sure that we do something to correct it. What I would say is to send women to as many conferences because women are better listeners. That they will go, they will listen, they will assimilate, and they’ll come back, and then they have more to share.

Do you know why it is much more important to be in places where you need to listen? Is that quiet your inner voice or your inner turmoil? What I mean by that is you’re constantly having that self-doubt. You’re struggling with that little lack of confidence that I have to try harder, and this validation from outside is critical.

I have been thinking about this, “I was too scared to talk about this in my peer group, but here, I went to a conference, and this so-and-so was talking about the same thing. Wow. I was on the right track.” Sometimes, these validations are very critical. That’s why when you talk about networking, many times it just becomes chitchat and just a glass of wine, and you just spend time collecting business cards or exchanging LinkedIn and then do anything else.

For me, networking is all about validation. That, I’m thinking about this. Am I getting validated, or am I sharing my point of view? Are there others who are? It is all about the exchange of thought leadership. When you think about it that way, it’s going to be super helpful. That is one thing I would say. Just listen. The other thing is don’t be afraid to share. What is the worst it can be? You will embarrass yourself or you think you will embarrass yourself.

I have had many times where I had somebody, a woman, who said something or who went up to the state and came back and said, “I was horrible.” I said, “What are you talking about? You are fantastic.” We are our worst critics. It is also very important to get that validation. Sometimes, we talk about the women’s network as support, and it’s not a big station. It’s validation. Change it from that to validation. Are we validating each other, and are we providing confidence to each other?

That’s good. I like the validation and you’re bringing back ideas to your company that may be new. It gives you a reason to speak up at the next meeting, the next project update, or what have you because you’ve learned.

That’s exactly right. Yes.

That’s good. I think that applies to all women. Again, if you’re not in the IT digital space, please still read into that. We’re coming as we’re recording this up to the corporate world budget planning season and things like that, or if you have academic reimbursement. Look, leadership is about pouring into yourself.

It’s not about just waiting for your manager to tell you what you’re going to go to in terms of your education. If you can get some sponsorship to go to a conference, especially now post-COVID, those are happening now. It’s not all digital, and you can do both, but I love the idea of a good old-fashioned in-person conference.

More I see that women are there. Also, another thing is just to speak up. You do not have anything stupid. Trust me. You’re not stupid. You’re not going to say something stupid. Even when I go to conferences, how many questions are asked by women? All the men are jumping up and asking stupid questions, especially when I’m a speaker. I’m like, “Really? Are you asking that question? Did you ask me really, or did you want to hear yourself talk?” Most of them are like that. Don’t be afraid to just say what is in your mind.

Just we’re all clear, Churni and I do not hate men by any means. We love our men, but we just want you to understand it goes back to confidence that they don’t care about the question. They just care about getting the question. They’re not saying, “This is a a gold star question or a silver star question or a failed question. They’re just getting the question out there.

There’s a lesson in that. That just gets the question or gets your statement out there. Not to just hear yourself talk, but if you have something to say, then then say it. I love it. Thank you so much for sharing that. I’ve asked this of my guests lately, and I’m just curious. Some people read the same book, they have a favorite book or resource. My question to you, Churni, is what is your favorite personal development or business book of all time? I’m going to say besides ours.

That’s a good one, though. I feel like it’s in our book. It is awesome. It changes with time. When I was thinking back, then I thought about earlier, you know The Black Swan was fantastic for me. It was Malcolm Gladwell’s books and things like that, but now, I was just thinking, what book did I go back to read last year? It’s Pat Lencioni’s book, The 5 Dysfunctions of Team. It is because maybe I was just fighting a bloody and unwinnable battle. Going back there and revisiting that was very important for me to figure out how to truly think about multiple teams working together and how to think about corporate culture.

That’s good. We’ve not mentioned that one on the show, but I know that that’s a classic. Did you say The 5 Dysfunctions of Team? One that I will share is Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead. That’s one of my faves. I was reading one more for our fall book list. Why don’t we just put a quick one together here, Churni? Gay Hendricks.

It applies to what we’re talking about. It’s called The Big Leap and it applies all of these, like Daring To Lead or The 5 Dysfunctions of Teams. You can learn how to better lead through maybe challenges. Of course, The Big Leap. Put those on your fall reading list and, of course, our book. We’ve got to plug our book. I would recommend all of those for your fall enjoyment reading. A little light reading in there. Since we last talked, you have parted ways with AssetMark, and you have been doing some cool projects, working on the book, of course, and some other things. Anything on the horizon for you that you want to or can share right now?

I realized that I’m a horrible corporate leader.

I didn’t know that. I don’t think that’s true, but okay. Share more, do tell.

I wrote an article about that. It’s just the CIO role is where I’m bad at. I realized that that is not who I am, and I shine in making things grow. I shine in scale. I shine in bringing teams together. It was just awesome to figure out myself and what I’m good at, and that’s why I’m looking at a few startups and very early-stage companies and not going back to a more established company. That is where I am. That is where my mind is. How do I take something from a very small place to a bigger place? I’m super excited about that. Super passionate about that.

Yes. I’m going to give a small preview. It just started. I’m going to give you a little shout-out, Churni. Churni is building a website. It’s called ChurniSpeaks.com. If you’ve enjoyed our banter and Churni’s stories, she has her blog out there. She’s going to have, I’m sure, speaking topics out there. Our book is out there.

It is her newer or new website, ChurniSpeaks.com. Please go and check that out and, of course, connect with her there. You already answered this throughout this conversation, but can you summarize what you believe now, a year later since we’ve met? What are one to two ways that you believe women can be braver at work?

Speak up. That’s one thing. Speak up. It’s okay, but remember to speak in your indoor voice. What do I mean by that? It’s that when you are struggling with confidence, you are either quiet or either too loud. Many times, I see women or anybody struggling with confidence speak almost too loudly. That tells me that it is coming from a place of insecurity. I would say, speak and use your indoor voice. That is the thing.

Speak up, but use your indoor voice. When we struggle with confidence, we tend to be either too quiet or too loud. Find your authentic voice and be comfortable in your skin. Share on X

Just speak the way you speak because the most important thing for women to find is authenticity. Be comfortable in your skin. Don’t take yourself seriously. I know it sounds crazy, but I am who I am because I can laugh at myself. I can say, “I was so bad. I was silly.” It’s fine because I’m not punishing myself. I’m laughing at myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m criticizing myself or I’m punishing myself. It is just that beautiful way of telling me that I can be better or I did something stupid or silly. It’s fine.

That is the thing. That is very important. Another thing I would say is to find somebody, and we keep talking about mentors. Typically, mentors are higher up, who you go for a certain thing, you’re trying to get a promotion, or something like that. That’s why when we reach out to mentors, I don’t quite like that model because that model is not always very good.  I would say find somebody who will validate you.

Find somebody who will focus on just one thing: how to make yourself confident. That’s it. That can be your peer. That can be somebody who works for you. That can be somebody senior to you. It doesn’t matter. You are there to feel validated, and you are there to find your confidence. Everything else will fall into place. You don’t have to try too hard. That is another thing. Don’t try too hard.

Don't just seek mentors for promotions. Find someone who validates you and focuses on building your confidence. That person could be a peer, a subordinate, or a senior - it doesn't matter. Share on X

The word simmer. Starting and ending with simmering and being okay with where you are, that purposeful inaction can be a state of action.

That’s right.

I think I just made a mathematical equation with words, Churni.

You made me so happy. You know?

Let’s wrap up just one more time. I’m going to mention a little bit about our book. As this episode was published, I want to ask everyone’s help. You read this probably at the start when I was doing the introduction that our book, Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership, is going to be coming out in late September 2024.

This will come out before that time, but we would love it if you would preorder a hard copy because the authors and I, Churni included, are trying to get to the New York Times bestseller. If you could help us, we would appreciate your support. Of course, you can reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you. Churni, how can women connect with you online?

You can go to www.ChurniSpeaks.com, and you can connect with me there, or you can go to LinkedIn. The two easiest ways to find me.

Churni, you and I can go on forever. It’s always fun to talk with you. Thank you very much for the beautiful work you’re putting out in the world and for being here on this episode.

Thank you so much. You’re my catalyst and you’re my transformer.

—

That does it for my discussion with Churni. I hope you found our conversation both valuable and inspiring. Until next time, journal or think about the following questions and comments. What is something in your heart that you would like to try and that gives you butterflies in your stomach? When you feel that 1st day of school jitters or that just nervous joy, follow those feelings.

I’m giving you a permission slip to try. Just try something new. What is one small step you can take now to get in the right mindset to begin? As a reminder, please rate, review, and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The show is also available on any other platform you enjoy. Until next time, show up, try something new, and be brave.

 

Important Links

• Churni Bhattacharya
• Our Inner Wisdom: Your Guide Towards Personal And Professional Growth With Churni Bhattacharya – Past Episode
• Brave Women at Work Lessons in Leadership
• 24 Career and Leadership Affirmations
• 5 Ways To Managing Your Imposter Syndrome
• Getting Paid 10 Negotiation Tips
• Barnes & Noble – Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership
• Books A Million – Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership
• The Black Swan
• The 5 Dysfunctions of Team
• Dare to Lead
• The Big Leap
• LinkedIn – Churni Bhattacharya
• Apple Podcasts – Brave Women at Work
• Spotify – Brave Women at Work

 

About Churni Bhattacharya

Churni Bhattacharya is a Digital transformation leader with extensive experience in technology transformation, focusing on vision, strategy, roadmap, and implementation to enable best-of-class customer experience and measurable success. She has a proven track record of transforming the legacy landscape into next-generation SaaS platforms, transformational change, leadership building, high-performing teams, and delivering outstanding results.

She has worked in financial services for most of her career, focusing on capital markets, commercial banking, mortgage banking, insurance, and wealth management. In doing so, partnering with C-level executives to define and deliver on technology roadmaps.

Most recently, Churni served as the Chief Application Officer at AssetMark Inc. where she had the responsibility for over 75% of the capital budget of the company, leading the portfolio of strategic initiatives. She has been instrumental in the largest transformational initiatives AssetMark undertook, namely custodial system replacement, implementation of a new tax management system, a new billing system and digital transformation. She also led the productization and agile transformation at AssetMark.

Prior to joining AssetMark, she was the VP of Business Technology Partner for Deposits at First Republic Bank. In that role, she worked as the Divisional CIO, which is the Chief Information Officer, providing end-to-end technology services and experiences for the largest business of the bank.

Prior to the First Republic, she served as the Director of Technology and PMO for the small business care group at Intuit. She has also worked at Accenture, JMN Consulting, and Ernst & Young. She led a technology strategy initiative for many different Fortune 500 financial services companies. She has delivered numerous large technical implementations.

Interestingly enough, she started her career as a software engineer at Citibank in Tokyo. Churni has an MS in Computer Science from Pune University and a BS in Physics from Jadavpur University.