Meet Vaishali Joshi

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vaishali Joshi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Vaishali, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?

Thankfully, I have learned that others may see you as the only one in the room – but I don’t ever feel like I am – I feel I belong quite easily. The one thing I think that has made me effective and successful is knowing how to belong to myself and still be completely accessible and open with others. This requires a strong sense of self-awareness, a humility that its ok not know everything and the courage to take risks i.e. step into the room believing they will love you anyway.

I grew up feeling awkward and excluded. I was this tiny, fair Indian kid amidst a sea of much bigger and bolder black kids in Kenya. I was excluded for all kinds of reasons – I represented the “rich” minority, I was academically strong, had fresh food packed for me, my uniform was pressed, my long hair was oiled and neatly placed on my head with bright red ribbons etc, I was weak at sports etc! I mean – who thinks they can outrun world class Kenyan runners anyway? I was bullied a lot – went home hungry most days as my food got taken away everyday – by girls nonetheless! And then I developed a phobia of boys by age 10 so I was very shy and would not even eat around them – let alone talk to them. I tried so hard to fit in everywhere. Here I learned to be the underdog. I learned to became resilient.

But I also excelled in certain specific places as a teen that made me feel I belong. Like on stage – as a classical dancer. Or in the pool as a competitive swimmer. In fact, in high school, I became one of the top runners because it was an Indian dominated school and suddenly the gene pool was weaker in sports and by that time, I had trained with the best :)! High school presented the best lessons to me about how being accepted in any place is really not necessary. Here I learned that I really did not have to try that hard because I could decide where and who I fit in with. I learned to become more open and agile in my thinking.

And then I found myself in Canada at age 17 all alone. Over the last 30 years, I have navigated classrooms, boardrooms and ballrooms in multiple countries being the only female or the only coloured person or the only “non-tech” person. I think people just want to be feel seen and understood. And I did that by being vulnerable, warm and transparent.

I think one’s energetic presence shows in the inner work they have done through adversity and the diversity of experiences they have exposed themselves to. I took jobs I was not fully qualified for, I forged relationships with people who may have been a “stretch” for me, I learned from people who had nothing to do with my area of expertise, I built teams with people who knew their stuff well and I gave them a safe place to shine and be productive. I continually challenge my mindset with new challenges like climbing mountains. That always makes a good story when you are the “only one in the room”.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

After a rich 30 years as a corporate leader leading large scale business transformation globally in 8 verticals, I breathed life into a dream of 10 years – ORA Human. Our mission is to stand up calmer, mentally fit and connected communities that can adapt and thrive amidst the accelerating speed of change and unpredictability in our world today.

ORA Human℠ helps working professionals and teams put on their “oxygen masks” as they contend with change fatigue, burnout and disconnection and work hard to stay focussed, agile and high performing. Our programs and sustainment communities address the escalating stress and burnout epidemic that is diminishing the daily human experience of families, workplaces and communities. We teach people how to go beyond IQ & EQ to cultivate future-oriented human skills such as mental agility, empathy, curiosity and creativity.

Our two proprietary programs, ORA Experience℠ and ORA Teams℠, puts tools and skills in the hands of working professionals and parents that empower them to sharpen and manage their mindset and wellbeing on a daily basis, so they do not succumb to stress, burnout and change-fatigue and live confidently with vitality and clarity of purpose. We are putting the control of people’s minds back in their hands as schools and workplaces are still not investing and moving fast enough in this space.

I am now invited to speak about my work in business organizations, conferences and educational institutions.

I am deeply and sustainably inspired by this work because it creates alignment and synergy between my corporate experience leading people and 20 years of mindfulness and mindset training that I pursued as a passion project through schools like the Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening. And it serves a purpose that is extremely crucial to the health and sustainability of all generations today.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Self awareness and other-awareness – doing the work to really embrace my strengths, areas of development, limited beliefs and clarity of goals and doing the work to understand the same of others so I could forge positive impact with them
2) Communication skills that breed people connection and trust – skills like reflective listening and not just stopping at active listening, asking questions patiently before stating my position or preference, understanding the difference between feeling silenced and leveraging the power of silence etc.
3) Establishing clarity and structure that helps me lead others with transparency and helps others feel less stressed about the unknown.

Life and academic experience will teach you some of this but most people do not fully grasp how to become very good at these things and then leverage them properly. Optimizing your mental and physical health come first. My advice to others is to adopt a life-long mental fitness discipline that teaches you how to habitually Observe yourself, Release what does not serve your present moment and Activate your energy in alignment with your aspirations. Its a discipline that demands self leadership. It builds resilience and agility that really helps you to decrease stress, distraction and disconnection. There are no many ways to learn these three things on their own but integrating them is where you really start to transform your daily experience so I recommend working professionals and parents to seek a guide or coach.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Our typical clients for ORA Experience are working professionals aged 25-55 and often parents of young kids. We are also finding that more women over 50 are drawn to this program as they look to find inner calm and reinvent themselves for the next phase of their life. The testimonials on our website speak volumes about how applicable this program is for people going through any kind of change in their life.

ORA Human’s mission is big and so relevant for the chaotic and unpredictable times we are all living in.

As far as partnerships go, I know there are corporate leaders of people-first cultures out there trying to figure out how to provide proactive support for the epic levels of stress and burnout that are destroying our ability to connect and focus in all aspects of our lives. And even more leaders are aware that human skills for the future are what is most needed in the age of AI and this is what our programs focus on. Because we don’t get a formal education in those skills. So I am looking to partner with organizations concerned about these issues – HR, L&D leaders, DEI leaders, Employee Assistance Plan operators. We could partner to help rebuild trust and relatability for your people.

I also welcome event organizers of conferences, corporate events or off-sites and post secondary institutions to consider me as a speaker or facilitator on the subject of redefining mental strength, getting people to perceive opportunity vs adversity and bringing human skill development learning pathways into our many human cultures.

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Profile picture credit to SpeakerSlam Inc.

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