Article: Meet Soniya Dabak, Are You In The List 2019 winner

Leadership

Meet Soniya Dabak, Are You In The List 2019 winner

The key priority for Soniya Dabak from GE India Technology is designing structures, systems and cultures that enable 'ambidexterity' or the ability to flexibly switch between ideation and action.
Meet Soniya Dabak, Are You In The List 2019 winner

Soniya Dabak | Organization & Talent Development Leader and Senior HRBP | GE India Technology

A research student of psychology, Soniya Dabak has always loved thinking and hypothesizing about the human behaviour. After completing her master’s from Tata Institute of Social Sciences she joined Nokia and in one year grew in the company to become the HRD Consultant. Then after two years she left and joined GE as HR Manager. Since 2012 she has taken on many roles within GE’s businesses and gained more knowledge of people processes, people behavior and business.

Finding the answers to complex people challenges

Fundamental questions like, 'What drives people to find meaning in their work?' or 'How do teams form and how do leaders emerge?' drove her to the world of HR. And as the business ecosystem becomes more complex and the ambiguity of people problem increases, working in HR has become more exciting for Soniya.

“As organizations face increasingly unpredictable and ambiguous problems that require interdisciplinary expertise, the opportunity is ripe for us to experiment with newer and more agile ways of organizing, teaming, problem-solving and leading,” says Soniya Dabak, Organization & Talent Development Leader and Senior HRBP, GE India Technology. 

Combining conceptual rigour and intuition to stand out from the crowd

The complex problems of today require a new approach. Soniya tries to see the various talent challenges from a different lens and brings in new ideas to the table. 

She shares that her ability to bring a combination of conceptual rigour and intuition in designing and implementing organizational interventions has made her a strong contributor to the team. Another differentiating quality Soniya identifies in herself is that she enjoys diagnosing problems by connecting the dots from data-driven and qualitative insights. 

Key talent priority

For Soniya the focus will be on designing structures, systems and cultures that enable 'ambidexterity' or the ability to flexibly switch between ideation and action. While businesses become busy in exploring the new, paying attention to delivering, and retaining the old will also be crucial. 

Let’s read how Soniya wants the HR function to evolve and learn more about her vision for HR's future growth. 

The one thing I will change in HR

Stop looking at HR from the lens of processes or practices and focus on organization development and employee experience as the core outcomes. I would also like to bring a more evidence-based approach to HR and increase the use of data and technology particularly to drive 'personalization' of experience at scale.

The one thing I will retain in HR

The opportunity to influence key levers of change - structure, talent and culture at multiple levels - employee, leader and organization.

Vision for HR's future growth

As the concepts of work and career are rapidly evolving with the integration of people and technology, a multi-generational workforce, increasing attractiveness of gigs / side hustles and fluid workforce models, an important focus area for HR professionals is creating 'meaning' in work by redesigning roles and defining careers as a series of experiences, rather than a series of jobs. 

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Topics: Leadership, #AreyouintheList?

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