In an exclusive interview with All Things Talent, Arti Mittal, Director of Kreate Lights Pvt. Ltd., shares her views on the holistic approach to leadership, workforce dynamism and balancing gender roles in the organization.
Arti Mittal has to her credit over 15 years of experience in manufacturing and entrepreneurship. As a Director of Kreate Lights Pvt. Ltd., a division under Kreate Global, she holds responsibility for the entire segment. As a passionate professional with an entrepreneurial drive for execution and transformation, her mission is to help her clients adapt to the ever-changing needs and evolved user habits, focusing on both, functionality as well as aesthetics. She plans to take the organization forward and achieve her desired mission with the help of innovative and reliable lighting solution
Q. Where did you start your career and how has the journey been?
I have been associated with Kreate since the very beginning of the company. Fifteen years ago, this is where my journey started and so far, I have been a part of almost all divisions that are under the Kreate Global umbrella. As of today, I head Kreate Lights as a Director. To elaborate on my journey in the industry so far, I would like to emphasize that resilience and a knack for creating new opportunities was among the core tools that brought me so far. Over the years, working in different fields has extensively added to my knowledge and has motivated me to keep grasping new concepts. One can say that the learning has never stopped and this is what I find most exciting about my work.
“A leader is only as effective as his team. Leadership to me is not about a title or a designation. It’s about a clear purpose, building trust, and inspiration.”
Q. What does leadership mean to you?
A leader is only as effective as his team. But building trust takes time and conscious effort. These factors help you become a part of the group, rather than just being a ‘role model’. One must make this crucial choice when they are at such an influential pedestrian of decision making. I strongly believe that leadership is practiced not so much in attitude and actions as in words. It must reflect in one’s behavior. Leadership comes into play when faith and confidence exist in the team. As a leader, when your team confides in your thoughts and beliefs, half the journey is complete. This, I believe, is all about having an objective bigger and more important than oneself and basing your approach on holism. As a leader, this is one of the most important values that I would like to earnestly advocate.
Q. How is the culture of your organization?
A company’s culture is its identity. It is how the company views itself. Our workplace is dynamic in nature and is constantly evolving. A certain set of values define us, Meaningful relationships being one of them. Another important value that is core to our organization is openness and innovation. While openness emphasizes the free-spoken and unfenced communication internally and externally, innovation is based on the belief that new ideas are dependent on courage and fearlessness. It requires us to step out of our comfort zone and think out of the box. At Kreate, we believe in breaking away from the conventional way of thinking and taking inspiration from the minutest of things around. The idea is to think universally, as a whole. The aim here is to get better, together.
Q. How do you enable HR strategy as a growth enabler for your Business?
As the war for talent continues, companies are going all out to reinvent their recruitment strategies in order to pick the very best candidates. We make a conscious effort to have a mix in our talent strategy. Both conventional methods of hiring and experimenting with means of hire. Our focus, at Kreate Lights has always been to eye on the best talent. We are committed towards bringing together a team of passionate individuals, who can help our clients thrive. We realise that in today’s fast-changing and ever-demanding marketplace, we must transform constantly and prepare ourselves for the future. The organization is proactive in adapting and bringing new technologies to the market. Our HR strategy is a reflection of the same. Our focus is on strengthening and increasing our R&D team to cater to the needs of the market for higher efficiency and lower cost in the industry. With strong sales and increased attention from the investment community, the manufacturing industry requires human capital now more than ever, as it is said to be the fastest growing service sector. Many small and large enterprises are now identifying the value of effective human capital and their essential contribution towards business success.
“We acknowledge a healthy gender balance in the company. In the male-dominated manufacturing industry, we aim at bringing women forward and empowering them with technical as well as managerial skills. To advance in this direction, we have over 60% of female employees working at the manufacturing facility.”
Q. What does diversity mean to you and what steps do you take at your organization to implement diversity?
For me, Diversity and inclusion goes hand in hand. Understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing and incorporating those individual differences. The diversity of the workforce at any organization exemplifies teamwork. We, as an organization value diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. We acknowledge a healthy gender balance in the company. In the male-dominated manufacturing industry, we aim at bringing women forward and empowering them with technical as well as managerial skills. We are working towards creating a future-ready, forward organization, which promotes the concept of gender equality in the society. To advance in this direction, we have over 60% of female employees working at the manufacturing facility in Haryana. From the smallest of the responsibilities to making decisions that affect the organization, the female employees are provided with all opportunities. The workforce is also imparted with special tutoring on teamwork, since in a profession like ours; good teamwork creates synergy, where the combined effect of the team is greater than the sum of individual efforts.
