Chitra Shinde is the Company Director and Head of Operations at DHL Express New Zealand. She is focused on growing the company’s business and market share through a strong commitment to service quality, investing in motivated personnel, sustainable infrastructure, and adapting to new growth opportunities. Chitra began her career at DHL Express in India as a Management Trainee during a period of rapid growth in the logistics industry. She was fortunate to witness the implementation of automation, scalable software, and innovative processes.
Throughout the following fifteen years, Chitra held various positions in operations and IT, working across five different countries, including India, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand. She later moved to India, where she served as the Chief Business Chain Officer, Chief Operating Officer, President, and Board member of Gati KWE. Afterward, Chitra returned to DHL Express as the Customer Operations Group Manager in Australia and currently holds the position of Vice President Operations in New Zealand.
Below are highlights of the interview:
What motivated you to become a Vice President of Operations, and how did you progress to your current position at DHL?
When I joined as a trainee, I spent time in every department. I found Operations very interesting and dynamic. I learned to plan, organize, and execute well. I valued teamwork and leveraged the strengths of others around me. I was mobile and loved to travel. This enriched my experience working across different cultures. I worked hard, I showed initiative, and I volunteered to lead projects. I invested in my development by reaching out and grabbing the many opportunities DHL presented me with, including developing my strategic thinking. As I built my competencies, I was entrusted with higher responsibilities. Sometimes I found myself stretched, and other times I felt I was in my element. I realized that growth comes from being uncomfortable and being positive in difficult and challenging situations. I faced tough situations that moulded me into the resilient person I am today. I think, as I look back on my journey, I have had a great adventure. I was guided and trusted by some awesome people whom I looked up to. I, in turn, tried my best to grow that trust and reliability.
Tell us about DHL.
DHL Express is #1 Great Place to work in the world. The company started in 1969 by fulfilling a need to carry documents for preclearance of ships before they arrived at their destination port. On-board Couriers flew around the world carrying financial and business documents.
As a group, we offer the whole suite of logistics and supply chain products, including Postal services in Germany, Airline, Air freight, Sea Freight, Road transport, Rail transport, Express, Warehousing, distribution, and even Consulting services through the group companies. We are THE Logistics company for the world. DHL Express is a 28-billion-euro (2022) revenue company with over 120,000 employees. DHL Group is 95-billion-euro (2022).
How would you describe your leadership style? What are the key principles or values that guide your leadership approach?
I strive for a balanced approach across our people, our customers, and ensuring we deliver a good return to our investors. I am inclusive, collaborative, and consultative. I want to make a genuine difference and make myself, our people, our processes, or things better or bigger. I am authentic, open, approachable, and transparent, and I expect the same from others. I do try, sometimes like I fall short. I focus on sustainability and scalability. I think about what we need to do today to be successful in the next 5 years and beyond. I communicate proactively with stakeholders. I anticipate what may go wrong and mitigate or minimize the impact. I believe in doing the right thing at each moment in time because we never know long after that moment is gone, an epic is formed.
How do you motivate and inspire your team members to achieve their best performance?
I trust the team. I recognize their accomplishments as well as their effort. People have different motivational drivers, so I try to adapt to what they need while also being consistent and sincere. I ask the team to remind me to celebrate success and recognize the contribution of each member. Receiving and giving feedback is a good way of being heard and developing competence and confidence. After I have gone through the classic cycle of denial, emotional response, rationalisation and a desire to change, I intentionally work on it. I want it to be a great place to work for everyone. Empowered and enabled teams outperform and are much happier at work. Sometimes I have to make tough or unpopular decisions. If there is a high level of trust, then the team finds it easier to accept those decisions. I take the time to explain my position and my rationale. I keep an open mind and listen with an intent of being influenced. Often, I ask myself the question, t am I missing, someone else is seeing? Or What are others seeing that I am missing? Or What are we all missing? Sometimes I have to ask simple questions like, Why may this fail? Or Are you sure? Or What do you think? and we get a whole different perspective. I had to work on this.
What is your vision for DHL’s future? How do you see the company evolving and adapting to industry changes?
As a market leader, we have the responsibility of setting standards of excellence. We want to continually improve our people’s and customers’ experiences. We recognize that what worked in the past is not what may be needed in the future, so we stay close to management thinking, generational shifts, and technological advancements that can positively impact our organization. We want to futurize and humanize our successful 21st-century leaders into change agents who are passionate about making a great team better. We will see a lot more digitalization, inclusion, and collaboration within the company, and we will be an exemplary business partner to our suppliers and the best service provider to our customers.
What are the major challenges you face as a vice president of operations in the sector? How do you overcome these challenges?
Sometimes complex changes can take twice the time I anticipate. I need to get better at estimating it realistically. The pandemic has taught me to embrace change, challenge the status quo, and think creatively. We must be agile and make changes quickly. I link back to our customers to create a common understanding of the problem statement. When there is a lot going on, I prioritize by being guided by our three bottom lines of provider of Choice, employer of choice, and investment of Choice and our focus strategy. I categorize distractions into parked items and work on things that will deliver customer value. Sometimes even juggling the high demands of my professional and personal lives and weaving them so they flow seamlessly together to have balance and harmony I don’t try to be perfect, but I try hard to derive value from the time I invest.
As an executive, how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance? What practices or activities do you engage in outside of work to recharge and rejuvenate?
I have four children who keep me grounded. They keep me informed of my many flaws and things I am not allowed to say. I can also get to understand their generations perspective. I rise early and make time to read, meditate, journal, and reflect before the kids wake up. I monitor my sleep. This alone is perhaps the greatest contributor to good health. I work out at a gym just once a week. I would love to do more. I take breaks each quarter. I have a medical checkup each year. I fast occasionally for varying periods. It helps me develop self-control. I have great friends who enrich my life and leaders who mentor me. I organize and plan ahead. I count my blessings and have an attitude of gratitude. I have not quite understood what work-life balance really means. To me, it is harmony when one is not affecting the other adversely. All of us probably achieve that differently.
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders who are looking to make a significant impact in their respective industries?
Experience is a great teacher. Don’t be afraid to try. Embrace discomfort. When we get out of our comfort zone, we encounter the opportunity to grow. Demonstrate initiative and courage. Create Value, not work. Let go off any transactional and repetitive tasks you undertake. Develop self-awareness, it will create empathy. Teamwork is extremely important for our own success. Be your authentic self, so others can be themselves with you. Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness but authenticity, trust and humility. I surround myself with people who are better and smarter than me. I try to look for what lies beneath the surface. I am amazed at how unique and special every individual is. Above all, enjoy what you do or change what you don’t.
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