Glow Worm’s Approach to OD: In Conversation with Soumya, Chapter 3

Our storyteller, Komal Srivastava, sits down with Soumya from Growth & Excellence at Glow Worm to talk about the world and work of OD.

In Chapter 1, Soumya took us on a fascinating exploration of the different hats she dons at Glow Worm Company and why she believes organizations must leverage an OD lens. And, in Chapter 2, we got a glimpse into how she makes herself at home within the different systems she works with.

As we step into Chapter 3, she shares insights into what she finds unique about the way Glow Worm approaches consulting, and what she imagines the legacy of Glow Worm would look like:

As you have explored your role here, what do you find unique or exciting about how we approach consulting at Glow Worm?

I’ll start off with how I love that we bring so many different schools of thought into the work that we do. From sociology, psychology, design, arts, learning principles, technology, to management philosophies and more. Every single day, we get to explore and integrate all these different perspectives into our work. In the morning, I might dive into an article on emotional intelligence, and by the afternoon, I’m learning about the impact of AI on something entirely different. And in the evening when I’m in a meeting I can use both of those together. That level of depth and breadth is just incredible!

I often hear people say that school or college was a waste of time for them, and it makes me really sad. But for me, I get to say that I use everything that I learnt and I continue to learn more here. And that’s what makes my eyes sparkle with excitement!

The next is the way we collaborate — it’s truly magical! I like to call it ‘collaborative divergence’.

Even though we may think differently, there’s space for the breadth and depth of ideas and thoughts. We build on each other’s ideas, and that’s what leads to transformative solutions.

Enough history has told me that you can’t build anything truly magical and transformative unless you’re inspired. And, people here inspire me every day!

Soumya with the team at one of our building retreats

The non-linearity of thinking and working is another aspect I love. Over these three years, I’ve explored numerous ways of approaching the same tasks.

And finally, one of the core principles that truly stands out to me is our human-centric approach. We deeply understand the organizations we work with, their history, the more tacit context of the organization, and the way people like to work. It’s like we know them inside out, and that level of understanding reflects in everything we do, right down to the presentations we create. We’ll never build the same presentation for two clients. We might actually not even present the same content in exactly the same way for two people from the same organization!

At Glow Worm, we have this remarkable ability to focus on what truly matters—the core of our work. We stay away from unnecessary jargon and complicated language, and instead, we know how to communicate the most important ideas in the simplest way without dumbing it down.

I also think our use of design thinking is remarkable. We really think about the design process and outcomes. New ideas get us genuinely excited, to the point where our voices may get so shrill with enthusiasm, that even I can’t hear them! Our purpose statement, “we all deserve a world where we can learn, grow and smile”, is profoundly meaningful. We create that in everything we do, and I think that’s the strength of our design thinking process.

The fact that you learn and perform simultaneously, is probably one of my favorite things about working at Glow Worm. To add to that, just the sheer amount of feedback that you receive from every single person on the team — everyone will have such interesting and diverse inputs to share!

The best part is that we’re encouraged to ask questions freely, and there’s no such thing as a “dumb” question here.

I mean, I’m not a flat earth believer, but Glow Worm is one place where I feel if I were to come into a team space and ask, “Do you not think the earth is flat?” I think I’ll be met with genuine openness!

Lastly, what sets apart good organizations from great ones is how they see their people. At Glow Worm, you are seen as a whole person, not just a resource or the sum of your work output. What I bring to the table is a culmination of my professional and personal experiences, and removing any part of that would make me feel like I’m only half the person I truly am.

Glow Worm is a place where we are doing, yes, but also being. I genuinely feel like I’m alive every single day at work.

When you'd just joined Glow Worm, you'd asked a few fellow glow worms a very interesting question. Today, we'd like to ask you the same question: if someone were to unearth Glow Worm a hundred years from now, what do you think they'd find?

All of history, anywhere, is just stories. I imagine anyone who digs us up would find a treasure trove of artifacts that tell them our stories. The stories of our struggles, our triumphs, the relationships we built, and the impact we made. They’ll discover how everyday we just tried to do better and be better.

From the first product we ever built to our latest innovations, they’d witness the evolution of our efforts. They might even stumble upon recordings of our non-meetings, where all they can hear is laughter and joy. And I imagine there will be presentations from our Share and Learns, still relevant and timeless as ever!

I think anyone who finds us will leave with an impression of- “Oh my God! These folks were really, really happy!” They will leave holding on to a sense of wonder and a curiosity to learn more and more!

Soumya in a product design brainstorm with the team for our Store

Soumya, thank you for sharing your perspectives and enthusiasm for the world of OD and Glow Worm throughout this enjoyable three-part journey!