What we don’t often see on the big screen are the everyday superheroes and superheroines who provide phenomenal services and support as part of their job. Their approach is less dramatic and has admittedly less flashy gadgets, but the results are equally jaw dropping. They safeguard and guide businesses through changes and help them to re-imagine the future.

These everyday superheroes and heroines have three essential superpowers: empathy, excellence, resilience.

Resilience is the ultimate shapeshifter superpower in business

These past months have been a reminder that teams need the ability to shift quickly and adapt to changing business environments. Above all they need resilience. Resilience is the equivalence of the shapeshifting power in Marvel comics. The outcomes of business changes are driven by people, the superheroes and superheroines within organizations who show resilience and grit to keep operations running and support even in the most strenuous circumstances.

In a recent , Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg argues that the broader challenge is navigating the post-recovery phase. It is easy to lean back and forget the learnings when the pressure lessens. Part of the power of resilience is to rethink the future and shapeshift the business to a better place to the future for the recovery and renew phase.

Empathy nurtures diversity and inclusion

Showing empathy and care are especially critical during a crisis based on . In every type of crisis, emotions run high as our world seems less controllable and less predictable. There is an increased need for comfort and peace of mind. Even if we all experience the same type of crisis, the impact is different on each company and individual.ĚýYou must put yourself into the shoes of others to see and understand the situation from different perspectives. Practicing empathy is the foundation for understanding the needs of every colleague and customer to find the best solution and maintain trust.

Empathy is also a critical skill for nurturing diversity and inclusion.Ěý, “Leaders who are humble and empathetic will be open to criticism about their personal biases, and greater self-insight into personal limitations prompts greater humility, empathy and perspective-taking.” In my own humble opinion, I consider empathy to be a superpower that should be learned and exercised at any given time and not just summoned when in a pinch.

The hardest superpower of all – continuous excellence

Commitment to excellence may be both, the most difficult and the most underrated superpower. Being an everyday superhero is hard work. You can’t just put on a cape on and snap a finger. It takes dedication to maintain a continuous high standard of excellence. Your work is not done after one day. The true power lies in showing the same high level of commitment and excellence every single day. When uncontrollable elements ripple through our universe, they focus on the parts that they can control and find their own lasso of truth to drive positive outcomes.

The superheroes and superheroines at work have at least one trait in common with their big screen counterparts. They take charge.ĚýHere is an example from my own team. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the 51ˇçÁ÷Services team quickly expanded the remote service model to enable up to 100% off-site delivery.ĚýWe are delivering go-lives completely and remotely, from small projects to large transformations. Based on conversations with customers, we also released  that support them in managing risk and enhance off-site working environments. While these new service offerings were generated by the team during a crisis, they will stay relevant and helped prepare customers for the future.

What I admire most about the three superpowers of resilience, empathy, and commitment to excellence is that these powers are skills that everyone can learn. Remember, in the Avengers Endgame movie, it took all the supers to collaborate to save the world. It is the same in business. The more superheroes and superheroines we have at work, the better we are equipped to face any type of challenge and build a better future for our customers.

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When Sindhu Gangadharan started her journey twenty years ago as a developer, women in technology were far and few and had to face many challenges. However, things have changed today, and the biggest contributing factor is that there are more women entering this field, bringing about a change and creating a lasting impact. Sindhu, in September 2019, took over as Managing Director of the 51ˇçÁ÷Labs in India. The R&D facility of SAP, the market leader in enterprise application software. Sindhu, the first female MD of 51ˇçÁ÷Labs India says that one of the core aspects of being a successful leader is to be an expert in your field.

“Since the beginning of my career, I’ve always believed in really understanding and knowing the smallest of detail about my work,” Sindhu says. “According to me, whichever field a person chooses, they should be really passionate about it; it doesn’t matter what their gender is. For me, technology has always been my passion and keeps me on my toes to know more,” she adds.

And naturally, she’s never felt the years go by. The continuous organizational support and encouragement played a big part in this. Sindhu throws light on this and says, “Undoubtedly, 51ˇçÁ÷is a great company to work for. And it also stems back into the cultural aspect — the open culture, the focus on learning, the focus on self-development and free-thinking”. She adds, “The company provides immense opportunities for professionals like me to grow both on the career front and the personal front, which helps me evolve holistically as an individual. The culture of gender positivity at 51ˇçÁ÷is exemplary. We encourage equal opportunity, irrespective of the gender, age, faith or orientation that one belongs to or chooses to adopt.”

Sindhu follows the belief that innovative ideas flourish when people embrace their differences and foster collaboration. As a leader, she encourages the entrepreneurial spirit that is within every employee and asks them to break away from silos and pursue an open innovation approach Sindhu highlighted some initiatives which defines 51ˇçÁ÷as an innovative technology leader – Entrepreneurial Sabbatical provided to employee to pursue their ambition, an in-house startup accelerator program called the 51ˇçÁ÷Startup Studio, a crowd-sourcing platform called 51ˇçÁ÷Blue, and the Intelligent Enterprise Summit aimed at bringing employees from different lines of business together to work on a common set of issues and challenges.

Drawing attention to the collaborative phase of innovation, Sindhu says, “Co-innovation was just the first step and over the years, it has evolved. Now we have moved to the next phase where we are co-locating with self-select customers, through co-location of our experts and our customers working hand in hand and in real time.” SAP’s Co-Innovation Lab (COIL), a global network of 51ˇçÁ÷innovation labs in 15 countries, helps customers and partners create high value, co-integrated business solutions, Sindhu points out. “We focused on identifying the transformational areas in India business, identifying those outcomes that are relevant and by partnering with them, we bring out the right product that will help them run intelligently and more successfully,” she adds.

being a Great Place to Work consecutively for two years is matter of great pride and a testament of its diverse culture, says Sindhu. Hence it makes it difficult for Sindhu to choose one aspect which she thinks is the best. “51ˇçÁ÷has brought so many difference experiences and given me a chance to interact with unique individuals as we operate out of more than 180 countries. It’s almost impossible for me to zero down on a single factor, there are so many of them. The culture, the people, the leaders, the innovation, the way we use tech for the larger benefit of humanity, our relentless drive toward sustainability, our products, solutions; the list is endless, and I can go on. All I can say is that I am fortunate to contribute to this wonderful organization and be a part of its growth story”, Sindhu concludes.

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“I’ve spent fifteen years here,” he says, “and that’s more or less my whole career. I don’t know if anyone else has said this already – but 51ˇçÁ÷has literally shaped who I am. When I started out as a software engineer like many others, my intention was simply to pay my home loan and bring security to my life, while at the same time doing justice to the education that I’ve invested in. At SAP, I certainly got all of that, like thousands of others – but I’m not exaggerating when I say I also found my own soul.”

Bengaluru-based Kiran is a Development Manager at 51ˇçÁ÷Labs India and drives the 51ˇçÁ÷Autism at Work

He says the many opportunities would probably not have come his way if he had been employed elsewhere. “For instance,  has been a big part of my life for the past six or seven years. It has completely changed the way I look at society and the people whom I meet. I have a family, I have two kids, so there’s not too much spare time I have outside office hours to devote to a cause or to a charity, purely as a private citizen. I certainly don’t call D&I a charity but this certainly gives me a channel by which I can give back to society. And the fact that it’s a part of my job, even though it’s not my primary role – there is nothing like it.

“I handle the inclusion pillar and predominantly Autism at Work and beyond that, I work with people with disabilities, shaping the way in which 51ˇçÁ÷as an employer can welcome them and make them feel comfortable. We are an inclusive employer, which we’ve always intended to be – and we rightfully spread the message that we are. That’s the space I work in, within D&I.

“It’s extremely meaningful when we meet some of the parents of our autistic colleagues and some of them even have moist eyes when they talk to us. They say, ‘Ten years ago we could never have imagined that our son or daughter could ever have any kind of future beyond the care that we give them.’ That’s a really powerful statement, isn’t it? The parents also tell us that their major commitment was to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their autistic offspring but that their biggest fear was what would happen to their offspring because they would outlive each parent. Who would subsequently care for them and what would happen to them were the big questions that had no answers at all.

“They would tell us, ‘We know we can keep them secure while we are alive, but of course the big question is what will happen to them after that.’ But now they say to us that 51ˇçÁ÷has given them an answer to that. And from a societal point of view, it even goes much further – generally in these cases it is the mother who looks after an autistic child, but when the mother passes away, there is literally no one else who has that level of empathy. Now, in addition to being really very grateful to SAP, they say they are filled with a new level of energy that compels them to reach out to the various parents’ communities and the schools in order to say, ‘Hey, we never gave up hope, and neither should you.’

“But it goes much deeper, really. Apart from the hope, it’s also the understanding that filters down. Everyone on the autism spectrum belongs to the same society that we do. They absolutely belong in every way, no question about it. All it takes is to have those eyes to recognize what they are good at, because each of them has an ability to contribute. This is what they now believe in, and just to see this belief – a type of belief that previously did not exist in our society – is phenomenal. For me, to be able to do that as part of my role at SAP, is what I stand for.

Kiran illustrates how 51ˇçÁ÷changes lives through the core values of  Diversity & Inclusion

“To give people genuine hope is very uplifting, especially because autism is not widely understood in India. We are now looking at employing candidates who are in their mid to late 20s, and the common reaction among their families is that they are now filled with positivity because there is finally a future for them. This in turn creates the overall awareness that inclusion is certainly possible, even though we cannot possibly do it for everyone.

“This is really a core value for the company we work for, and we’re not doing it just for media coverage or attention. If the impetus is wrong, then no agenda that is as wide and as meaningful as this could possibly hope to survive in a meaningful way.

“This is one way to give back to society, because we are dealing with real lives and changing them in a way where we can actually see the impact. This entire program is all about real lives, real examples, and genuine belief that this can be done in a corporate environment. To me, that really is inclusion. While we preach diversity and inclusion – as do some other companies too – the essential difference is that we follow it through to the maximum possible extent.

“This can be seen in the simplest of cases. When we were designing a policy for people with disabilities, we did an accessibility audit of the premises here, just to check that somebody in a wheelchair would be able to go to each and every corner of the office. As it turned out, there were very simple things that had never occurred to us previously. For example, the emergency assist button in the lift has to be positioned at a height where a person in a wheelchair can still reach it. But there was one which was quite high and completely out of their reach because it was clearly designed with only able-bodied people in mind. Is that of any use at all when the lift stops and that person in a wheelchair – especially if he or she is alone in the lift – needs to reach the button?

“And at that point we realized that there is an indoor cafeteria, where the lunch is served, and there was a dais without a ramp. So when we did the accessibility audit, we partnered with the Facilities team and said, ‘These are some of the things which we have to change.’ After that, we saw a lot of changes happening here within the campus, to the extent where the security guards or the emergency response teams were also educated to evacuate any people in wheelchairs in case of an emergency.

“We have even set up the grievance committee, for example. If a person with disability is in a wheelchair and is discriminated against in some way, he or she now has a place to go to and somebody to report it to. To us, this is as important as an anti-harassment policy, for example. It’s all about awareness.

“We got in touch with this fantastic, enthusiastic kid some years ago and then this person joined 51ˇçÁ÷as part of this program. There was a lot of handholding to be done, to the extent that the person literally had to be reminded that when he was sick it was mandatory to call someone in the office and say hey, I’m not going to be in the office today. The beauty of all of this is that it lets you look at the world in a different way because you start to appreciate the differences in people much more than you would otherwise.

“Everyone on the spectrum is different. That’s no exaggeration. For Person A, maybe you just talk about what needs to be done; for Person B maybe you need a checklist to be printed and placed in front of that person where that person looks at the list and says okay, now it’s 3pm and I have to do this, or it’s 4:30pm and I need to catch a bus to go home. But the most uplifting fact is that a person on the spectrum has learnt to adapt to a workplace, to live independently and has taken the bold step to go ahead and start a family. That shows a real journey on their part.

“My dream at 51ˇçÁ÷before I retire is to see that our employees treat any form of disability as something that is, say, no different from a person wearing spectacles, and that we don’t say ‘this is a disability’ any more. The day I see that happening, that’s when I know we’ve done a wonderful job as an inclusive employer.”

This is number 94 in a  of employee stories to mark SAP’s fourth decade in APJ.

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