My mission is to help women leaders in HR rediscover their inner brilliance and be seen, heard, and valued as a strategic leader.
Your Leadership Success coach, Akanksha Bansal, CEC, CLC
My Story...
Like many, especially women, I grew up feeling the weight of societal expectations. As the only child in a traditional Indian household, the pressure was even greater. Despite my parents’ support, I couldn’t escape the whispers about what a girl should or shouldn’t do.
My dreams often felt overshadowed by someone else’s idea of who I should be. Yet, deep down, I always craved to forge my own unique path.
This journey led me to an engineering degree in Biotechnology, a lesser-known field at the time, and then to a bold shift as the first woman in my family to earn an MBA—because it’s my life, and I get to choose what I do!
Eager to make my mark, I started my corporate career in Human Resource Consulting, navigating a male-dominated environment. Along with the excitement of new opportunities, I quickly faced harsh realities of discrimination and inequality.
I often felt invisible, excluded from the “boys’ club” that formed after hours, simply because I prioritized my personal time over office socializing.
My skills were dismissed, and my achievements were too often attributed to superficial factors – like my gender or appearance – instead of my hard work or talent.
As a Woman in HR
I often felt the pressure to be the “accommodator.”
Senior leaders pushed me to entertain unreasonable requests, like accepting late payroll submissions or managing refreshments in meetings.
I found myself pulled in all directions—balancing the needs of my manager and stakeholders while navigating sensitive issues.
My Leadership Journey
The Lonely Leader
As I stepped into leadership roles in HR, the scars of the past resurfaced, along with new challenges.
I was often seen as a “maternal figure” rather than a strategic leader.
Measured against traditional masculine norms, I was frequently told I was “too nice,” yet asserting myself would sometimes offend others—a type of feedback my male colleagues rarely faced.
I felt lonely and hesitant to reach out to mentors for each new challenge, fearing it would impact my performance ratings (and it did!).
I was expected to know everything—leadership, policies, and the whole shebang. The pressure was immense, but support felt inadequate, leaving me drained of energy and passion. Standard leadership training simply wasn’t enough to tackle the complexities of HR.
Most of my time and energy went into finding ways to fit in without sacrificing my identity, while also striving to stand out as a leader. This left little room for my own growth and development.
Keeping up with the evolving workplace landscape, balancing personal and professional life, and managing employee issues led to endless hours and emotional strain that often went unacknowledged and unrecognized.
Finding My Voice and Building My Influence
Just like many women leaders in the corporate world, there were times when I lost confidence and questioned my abilities. However, I refused to give up. I learned to stand my ground and prioritize my well-being.
Through trial and error, I discovered how to set boundaries and develop strategies to tackle challenges without compromising my values or who I am.
I understood that to go far, I needed to build strong connections, so I created a supportive network of allies, mentors, sponsors, and coaches.
I invested in building my reputation by leaning into my strengths and I stepped out of my comfort zone to advocate for myself at internal and external forums.
It paid off! My confidence soared, and I earned recognition as a top performer and key contributor, including awards such as the 40 Under 40 Future HR Leaders in India.
Why I decided to become a coach for women leaders in HR…
In 2022, I moved to the US with my husband and started working on the next chapter of my corporate journey.
During my exploration, I was frequently reminded of a memory from few years ago in which I was attending an external awards ceremony with a few team members and senior leadership. When it was time for a team picture, I was surprised to see that I was the only woman! I remember feeling a sense of pride, but also a pang of sadness and loneliness.
And just like that it became clear to me – I want to help women leaders in HR rise above all the noise, to be seen and heard, and to get the recognition they deserve.
Imagine a world where every woman leader is valued for their expertise and celebrated for their unique contributions!
As an Executive Leadership Coach and Facilitator, my mission is to empower experienced and emerging women leaders in HR build strong leadership presence rooted in an authentic and values-based leadership style which is true to who they are.
I’ve poured my decade of HR experience, my learning & development expertise and my coaching tools and a lifetime of reading and research to create a coaching program – “Amp up to Level Up” Your LeadHERship Success Blueprint. This program, not a one-size-fits-all approach, is designed to help uncover strengths and areas for growth, enable genuine connections and build personalized strategies to ensure your success as a Leader!
Experience & Credentials
- One of the Top 40Under40 future HR leaders in India
- 12+ years of corporate experience in various Human Resource functions and leading teams across Fortune 500 and global organization
- ICF accredited Certified Executive (CEC) and Life Coach (CLC), Symbiosis coaching; Certified Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner, Thought Labs
- Accredited Belbin Team Roles assessor and facilitator
- Jury and Mentor for Jombay’s 30Under30 HR programs; Mentor and coach Shenomics India
- Recognized as LinkedIn’s Top Leadership Development Coaching voice (top 1% of quality contributors)
- Coached, mentored, and trained more than 1500 individuals including leaders, spanning across global companies like Amazon, Oracle, Eli Lilly, EY to Indian startups and spread across multiple geographies.
Discover how I can help you shine as the leader you deserve to be!
What Makes Me Different from the Rest?
BEEN THERE DONE THAT
I spent 12 years in corporate navigating through the inequalities, the ever-increasing demands in HR roles and the challenges as a female leader in Human Resources and I used some of these very steps to build my visibility and influence.
EXCLUSIVELY FOR HR
With a decade of experience in Human Resources, I know firsthand the complexities of leadership in HR, especially for women. Unlike an internal coach, entrusting me as your personal leadership coach will give you freedom to openly discuss your challenges without concerns about any performance implications or divulging confidential matters.
WELL ROUNDED TOOLKIT
Being trained and certified in multiple modalities, I leverage a diverse range of coaching techniques and tools to suit different learning styles and client preferences, ensuring a dynamic and personalized coaching experience.
A Few Fun Facts
A peek into my other world – Exploring the “new” fuels my soul! When I am not working, you’ll find me gorging on desserts, sipping coffee at a new café, binge watching Netflix (share a show) with my husband or planning board game nights with friends. At the core, I love bringing out my silliness, blasting music, and jumping around the house.
