The Five Success Petals of Indian Lotus Leaders

Indian women in the United States have been powering academia, business, entertainment, technology and beyond, but mostly remain hidden figures. Some exceptions are trailblazers like former Vice President Kamala Devi Harris, current Second Lady Usha Chilukuri Vance, former Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi, and Netflix favorite Mindy Kaling - who represent the community in all its richness. Along with these leaders, there are leading academics and a cohort of women in Silicon Valley who serve as CEOs and Csuite leaders of tech companies, have invested in and founded unicorn startups, and give back to the community as leaders of social impact organizations.

However, until now, no one has analyzed how these women lead and how their approach is different from their white male or, indeed, Indian male counterparts.

Lotus Leadership is the result of a year-long research project in which I had unprecedented access to nearly thirty top female Indian leaders in the fastest growing sectors of the American economy.

We discussed my view of a heritage-based leadership approach, which none of them had delved into before, but which resonated with all of them.  That, and my motivation to write this book to inspire rising stars in the Indian as well as other women of color communities, has resulted in a generous collaboration in which they have shared vulnerable crucible career and life moments.

There is something about the practice of yoga we can’t get enough of: The stories and chanting, the ancient wisdom and the poses, the duality of strength and surrender, the breath and balance it gives us in our lives off the mat, and all the effort that culminates in the permission to take a short nap. It gives you so much more than a workout.

In his book No Mud, No Lotus, the esteemed Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh describes how the lotus flower blooms out of a morass of mud. The national flower of India, the lotus is beautiful, but strong, with a will to flourish. It is a multi-faceted symbol, often with built-in dualities that don’t need to be resolved or tidied up. They just are.

The rare blue lotus can be an aphrodisiac and anxiety reliever. Lotus flowers are ornamental, but their roots are edible. They are seen as both narcotic and chakra-activating. In yoga, the lotus pose requires flexibility, as well as intense concentration and endurance. The Bhagavad Gita exhortation to “be like a lotus leaf,” implies equanimity, allowing water to roll off you. The 1000-petaled lotus ultimately symbolizes the manifold paths to enlightenment.

Lotus leadership evokes yoga’s essence of harmony in duality through five petals: 

·       Shiva/Shakti: A duality of “feminine” and “masculine” leadership traits that coexist in harmony;

·       Saraswati: Following your curiosity not just the community’s reverence for an elite education;

·       Parvati: A powerfully-balanced relationship with your life partner, with a dynamic hierarchy in who has the more dominant career;

·       Lakshmi: An unabashed enjoyment in and expansive definition of abundance;

·       Tridevi: A true-to-you way to combine these qualities that lets you own your vigorous power from your name to your heritage.

In our increasingly polarized world, and one in which so-called masculine energy seems to be dominating the airwaves, I feel the urgency to spotlight Lotus leadership - a calm, resilient, and powerful approach that thrives with harmony in duality - to inspire all women, but especially Rising Stars, who are surrounded by messages about broken rungs and bamboo ceilings.

Please join me on this journey!

February 2025

Image: Shiva/Shakti: Hindu icon of a fused female/male being