6D.Varsity Co-Founder and Vicechair, Ms.Usha Sripathineni, recently took the stage at the Reckitt Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad as part of the “Grit, Grace & Purpose” panel, offering deep insights into her two decades of professional experience and the founding philosophy behind 6D.Varsity.

The Panel discussion featured other industry leaders

• Anita K Manda Executive Vice President Broadridge | Founder of The ProjeKT40

• Kamini Jha Vice President - Clients & Industries EY

• Subhadra U SVP, Enterprise Data, AI and Automation Warner Bros. Discovery

• Swetha Yalamanchili Senior Director – Platform Engineering at ViaPlus by VINCI Highways

• Katie Moore Director Global Medical Tech & Sales, IT&D Mead Johnson Nutrition, Reckitt

• Carly Mason Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations Mead Johnson Nutrition, Reckitt

Usha Sripathineni's discussion on "Grit, Grace, & Purpose" was a reflection of her two-decade professional journey and the founding principles of 6D.Varsity. She detailed how these three concepts continue to guide her path and shape her unique leadership philosophy.

Grit

Usha explained that the concept of Grit was shaped by two unexpected teachers: her grandmother and fungus, the organism central to her research. She learned that fungus is "very hard to kill," teaching her resilience, and she noted that in times of crisis, fungus engages in autophagy (self-eating) to survive. This perspective on resilience became a significant inspiration for her journey in science.

Grace

She linked Grace to the journey of building 6D.Varsity. While the conventional global advice suggests that 6D.Varsity should "start in Silicon Valley," she explained that purpose led them to begin in Hyderabad, a choice she believes "time will validate".

Purpose

Usha defined Purpose as the force behind the 6D.Varsity micro-varsity ecosystem. This purpose drives the creation of specialized curriculums, such as Future-Scientist, Future-Techie, Future-Farmer, and Future-Preneur, designed to help young minds lead the future, not just adapt to it.

She detailed how her own journey was anchored in purpose, starting with an early inspiration to produce vaccines that were "very affordable for the third world country". A crucial realization came about 10 years ago when she saw a poster suggesting that humans would soon be "competed with artificial intelligence and bot software" for jobs. This solidified her purpose to focus on bringing in high-order talent and providing education centered on problem solving and thinking about the future.

Leadership and Transformation

Usha's leadership transition involved moving from an individual contributor role to establishing an entirely new learning ecosystem.

This required her to be highly resourceful, or to apply jugaad (the Indian term for resourceful problem-solving), as she had to "discover what is being done already" and what needed to be done differently.

Key aspects of her talk on leadership and transformation included:

• Being Resourceful: For 6D.Varsity, she had to literally "bring in your own job" and find all the resources necessary for her team. She "knocked doors across the globe," bringing in students and mentors from places like Carnegie Melon University, National University of Singapore, University of Cardiff, USA and the UK to help build solutions.

• Empowering Others: She emphasized that her goal is to be an "enabler," not a controller, recognizing the potential in others and driving initiatives that create business impact.

• Problem-Solving Focus: She highlighted the real-world impact of 6D.Varsity, such as the creation of Ask Anjlee, an internet-based solution built by students (ages 13 to 24) to deliver daily study packets to children who had fallen out of the education system during the COVID pandemic. This project demonstrated how students can learn how problems are solved and how real-age solutions are being produced.

• The Power of Choice: Usha shared that her early career involved working multiple disciplines, which forced her to become strong in learning and upgrading herself to create a personal purpose. She concluded that leadership comes naturally when it is "anchored in purpose".

  
  

Finally, Usha noted a positive shift in the movement for inclusion, stating that she sees it "evolving — moving from women-centric conversations to shared responsibility across genders," which she views as a shift worth celebrating.

The discussion included powerful stories from fellow distinguished influencers, who shared actionable insights on career advancement and managing multiple roles:

• Courage and Opportunity: They asserted that opportunities come to those who "run to the fire"—seeing problems and solving them instead of running away. The need for "courage to dream, pursue and fail," adding that difficult people often make you work harder to learn more.

• The Myth of Balance: Work-life balance as a "blissful chaos" and a myth. Professionals must identify their "life sentence" (when a strength, like ownership, becomes a limitation) and learn to ask for help.

• Visibility and Confidence: Panelists offered final motivating advice, encouraging women to be visible and confident. One key piece of advice was: "don't wait for anybody to get you a chair or a seat on the table. Sit on the table". Another offered a perspective shift on self-doubt: don't think, "What if I fail?" but rather, "What if you fly?"

• Communication is Key: They highlighted the necessity of speaking "in the language of the listener" to ensure coaching and messages are received by diverse teams, advising the use of communication training like DISC and Insights. (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness for DISC; Colors for Insights)

The session was hosted by the  Reckitt Global Capability Centre Hyderabad leadership team

• Chakravarthy Aravapalli Regional CIO (ASEAN/EU) - Mead Johnson Nutrition | Center Head

• Ishadarshi P Mishra Head of HR - Global Hub

• Sunil Pal HR Business Partner

The event served as a major platform for Reckitt, which also announced the launch of two new diversity initiatives, "Innovate Her" and "Lean In Circles," aimed at building a supportive ecosystem for women in technology, especially following an "exponential spike" that achieved 52% diversity in hiring for management and above this year.

#GritGracePurpose #Leadership #WomenInLeadership #Inclusivity #Empowerment #6DVarsity #FutureofWork #FutureofWorld #FutureScientists #FutureTechie #Reckitt #InnovateHer #LeanInCircle #VikasitBharat #Bharat2047 #TelanganaRising2047 #TelanganaRising #Telangana2047 #Hyderabad #Education #GlobalEducation #EconomicVision #Pharma #Lifesciences #Innovation #IndustryGrowth #Startups #SmartIndia #FutureReady #Leadership #Collaboration #SustainableDevelopment #Healthcare #TechEcosystem #BioProS #6DVarsity #6DWorks #6DThinking #SOIL #BioProS