The Power of Introspection: Healthcare Leader Namrata Mathur Shares 4 Questions Women Must Ask Themselves
“What made me happy this week, and why?” Today’s woman dreamer, Namrata Mathur is a Senior Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA (BCBSMA), with a passion for women empowerment and team building. In this inspiring interview, Namrata voices her thoughts on key topics including introspection, problem solving, and the importance of being a great listener. What are the four questions you must ask yourself? And why is it important for women to introspect? Enjoy Namrata’s inspiring story!
Tell us your story, what experiences shaped you into the inspiring healthcare leader and Empowerment Coach that you are today.
I was born in Mumbai, India to progressive parents who focused on educating their daughters to stand strong. As an observer, and an introvert fascinated by the unknown, I found it difficult to fit in with children my age. I sensed, felt, and deeply understood my environment with high empathy as a natural state of being. I was able to see the world from multiple perspectives, always stayed in the safety of the middle ground. As a teenager I came to the United States for my Undergraduate studies at Clark University. I secured a bachelor’s degree in psychology and management. l got my master’s degree from Boston University in General management and did certification courses in Computer Science for a well-rounded resume. In the year 2000, I got employment at a financial services company as a Systems Analyst, safely employed and steadily growing within the organization. As fate would have it, I suffered a personal tragedy in 2013. My father suffered a cardiac arrest induced brain injury that left him significantly debilitated. This was a catastrophe that really shook my foundation and, in the process, brought forth clarity that sometimes follows a tragedy. I understood mortality, that time is of the essence, and that safety is an illusion. Facing fear expands our perspective in ways safety cannot. Unbeknownst to me, this event was the start of my awakening.
Empowering back to a functional state from my personal calamity became a call to action. My purpose became to coach others to self-empower. This mindset gave me the courage to quit my job in financial services and get certified as a Coach from iPEC, an ICF accredited coaching institute. I started a coaching and consulting company called NamzCo. LLC. Coaching gave words to my wisdom, I was coaching individuals, and wanted to scale my impact, yet I was unsure how I would be able to do so and differentiate myself for a broader impact. A friend referred me for a Program Manager opening at my current workplace. When the recruiter called me to connect for this role, they felt strongly that my skills, clarity, and executive poise could be optimized at a higher-level role. I was hired into a management role on the Technology team, and I made it my mission to bring my passion for coaching to work with me. I saw firsthand how the Emotional Quotient of a leader can make all the difference. I began to make small changes towards creating a happy workplace on my team, creating happy workplaces steadily became a mission. I have consistently curated high performing teams, and inspired teams to unite for limitless wins. While my technical skills, academic capabilities and experience sharpen my impact, how I optimize the people who work for, and with me, wins the day every single time.
2. You recently wrote a beautiful post on introspection? What is Introspection, and why is it important that we as women take the time to introspect in our lives?
I am a fan of writing my own quotes, they inspire me to stay close to my goals so let me start with my quote on Introspection.
“To introspect is to acknowledge the possibility of something beyond the set patterns of our life. Introspection is essential to confirm or renovate the constructs that govern our perspectives”
The stories we are told as children and the stories we tell ourselves to prevent mass disruption of our belief systems sometimes hold us back for years. Safety is such a key aspect of the human mind that keeps us grounded in what we learn and stay on track as we know it. I understand that situational safety is needed when there are requirements to be met or needs to be fulfilled, and if safety is the source of a stable income, we continue without questioning our life’s purpose.
My aim in this quote is to request that we continue to question our purpose and go inward to assess our alignment to our purpose even when it seems difficult. Even though sometimes we do not overtly know it, we are all inwardly aware of our gifts. While we may not always succeed at the things we consider our calling, going to that space of awareness and giving something a try makes life much more meaningful. For the 10 times we fail, the once we succeed can be the once in a lifetime opportunity. My quote on Introspection simply requests that we especially women whose path may sometimes be harder, acknowledge the value of inquiry, take an objective view of our actions, and see if there are ways to stay aligned to what makes us holistically happy from the lens of our own existence and not as a part in someone else’s story.
Introspection sounds complex, but every moment presents a chance to get started. Below I have outlined 4 reflective questions I ask myself every Sunday in advance of the week ahead:
1. What made me happy this week, and why?
2. What part did I play in what made me happy?
3. What held me back? Why?
4. Are there opportunities in the week ahead to try overcoming what held me back the previous week?
As a woman to my peers, I request you to stay curious in self-awareness and get past the fixed constructs and thoughts that guide you. Self-awareness leads to self-love which is essential for self-advocacy. As women we need to know our agency and optimize the present moment!
3. You have shared your expertise in various aspects of leadership, from building a dream team, to being a great listener? Why are those skills so important in problem solving? What are your top tips for Women leaders?
Women have an innate desire to lead, our superpowers are sometimes overt, and at other times waiting in the wings for life to unleash. The foundation to leadership is self-awareness. Self-aware individuals fearlessly own their strengths and humbly work on their opportunities. Leadership in my view is the ability to create space for skills, strength, and opportunity to thrive. Leadership is not about solving the problem rather creating a space to let others bring their collective strengths together to create winning outcomes. Strength in the face of adversity, humility to learn, and unlearn fixed concepts, and the flexibility to be creative are the tenets of good leader. Some tips that I recommend as a servant leader are connected to problem solving. I enjoy a good problem statement, and my favorite part of curating a solution is have a listening session, agenda free, talk about anything that centers around the problem, including what it would feel like to solve the problem however no one is allowed to present solutions. The speed to solve misses the part where we need to savor the problem, marinate in it to enjoy the process of problem solving and finding solutions.
In a separate session called the evolution of the solution, I bring associates back to use what we hear in the listening session to evolve a solution. This type of engagement prevents the team members from feeling accomplished by solving quickly rather, opens the room for the introverted participants on the team, those that are shy and allows for the collective ideas to flourish. Therefore, I define the dream team as a team that “listens to listen first, and the leader brings the best minds to the table, leads with intention to empower the collective voice, and removes obstacles to let the team ignite in pursuit of optimal solutions”
4. As the platform for women dreamers what is your next big dream?
I am an entrepreneur at heart, my goal is human capital optimization with a focus on workplace happiness. I want to be an innovator in how we manage people programs by paying attention to the individuals that make up organizations. I hold value as the measure of success. I am looking for a consortium of likeminded professionals to coalesce with and innovate workplace happiness. I want to run a workplace happiness consulting practice in ways that I imagine will change the workplace, not only for the value we bring to an organization but the way my practice will be run shall role model workplace happiness in fantastic ways. While I am most certainly enjoying my current role as a Transformation leader in healthcare, and I am bringing many of the principles for workplace happiness to my current role, the entrepreneur in me is patiently waiting in the wings to leap forward and deliver my expanded capabilities in this space to corporations around the world.
5. You are certainly a busy woman. How do you find time to relax and unwind? What do you do to refresh?
As an introvert and a poet, I love to spend time alone, take in lots of information and synthesize it into knowledge for myself. I also love to sit and do absolutely nothing for hours on end on those days that my mind needs a rest. I love writing poetry, Yoga, meditating, learning astrology, tarot, and travelling for experiences, but the purpose central to my happiness is spending time with my husband of 22 years and my kids 16 and 12 years old respectively. Seeking their perspective and learning from their mental maps help me grow as a human. The pandemic has forced us to find new ways to stay connected, our family’s tradition is carpool sushi – a big order of sushi perfectly eaten in the car at a nearby parking lot, with music and conversation. Like the Mathur’s say – we are a party on wheels. We can have fun, anywhere if we are together. To sum it up, finding joy in every moment helps me relax. On that note, I leave you with a poem I have written on the ‘Melody of life’.
Melody ©
by Namrata Mathur
My mind is still
Meditating
My heart at ease
Just Beating
The melody of my life from one heartbeat to the next
The strength of this beat can surpass any test
Thank you Namrata for sharing your inspiring story with us! We are excited to share your story in our empowered women’s network!
Bio: Namrata Mathur, is Senior Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA (BCBSMA). She has 24 years of industry experience which includes time at Fidelity Investments, Family Guidance International (Canada) and John Hancock Financial prior to BCBSMA. As a leader Namrata constructs high performing teams to deliver complex programs, with a focus on strategy, culture and empowerment to raise the associate voice, and to positively impact workplace happiness. Namrata obtained her B.A. in Management and Psychology (Honors) from Clark University and an MBA from Boston University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Certified Professional Coach with a specialty leadership and empowerment coaching. Namrata is also a SAFE certified Agilist and a poet by passion. Namrata is married to her husband of 22 years, Anurag Mathur, who is a Risk and Compliance Professional in Massachusetts. She has two beautiful children Evanya (16), and Evan (12). Namrata is fascinated by nature and finding ways to seek joy in every moment.