Learning, growing, smiling: a milestone with Avani Konduri

It’s around 2.45 pm on an unusually hot summer afternoon in Bangalore. Avani has been running around trying to figure out why the small black window on her screen continues to freeze despite her best efforts against it. I’m seated in the adjacent window, attempting to yell words of reassurance, hoping against hope that the universe conveys my message to her — “one can’t possibly account for such unforeseen tech issues. We can do this another day.” Wiping the beads of sweat off her forehead, Avani instantly reappears in front of the camera, her furrowed eyebrows gently releasing themself as she lets go of the quintessential ‘Avani giggle’ — “I’m here, I’m here. I’m ready!”

Avani Konduri began her professional journey with Glow Worm Consulting as a consultant, three years ago. Over the past three years, Avani has established herself as a beautiful example of holding space for others. A huge advocate for inclusion and diversity, one of her greatest passions lies in creating a space of belonging for everyone, wherever she goes.

One look at her LinkedIn profile and you’ll gauge that Avani has been places! A double masters in psychology from India and Ireland, with a specialisation in organisational psychology and three research papers in her name, she’s still often met with a similar bewilderment that Glow Worm Consulting is — “what is it that you really do?” Having been an ardent student of psychology for nine years, she is now spending her work life extending her learning and experiences from the field to help deepen her own as well as others’ understanding of workplace human dynamics.

We had the great pleasure of celebrating and documenting her three year milestone at Glow Worm through this interview. With each passing prompt, as Avani beat the urge to add — “I have so much to say!”, she poured her reflections about her role at Glow Worm, consulting, work life, personal life, and what growth and impact mean to her:

I have to say this — I’m not sure where I stand on the concept of destiny, but I feel like a lot of stars had to align for Glow Worm and I to cross paths. On the morning of 2nd or 3rd January, 2020, still half-asleep and struggling to get out of bed, I remember scrolling through my emails and coming across one from Glow Worm Consulting. Glow Worm had expressed an interest in my resume and a desire to work with me. Squinting through droopy eyes, I immediately went to Glow Worm’s website and read through the values and culture page

Within the first 5 minutes of trying to understand who Glow Worm is, the values page had cinched it for me. But here’s the interesting thing — the values were words that I had seen strewn across the websites of multiple companies. What really piqued my interest is the way those values were described. The words seemed to have been hand-picked with a lot of thought, intent, care, and love. Like it is an organisation that truly cares about what it stands for.

That was such a human experience for me to have with an organisation; it continues to be one of the biggest draws for me. After that, throughout my interview rounds, I watched all those values play out in front of me in the most nuanced and beautiful way with every individual and combination of individuals that I interacted with at Glow Worm. The more I was able to see these values being embodied in every aspect of work, the more confident I was about my decision to apply here. Today, I find all these values inseparable from my day-to-day life and decisions.

Ah, so many things! When I first started looking for a job, fresh out of college, all these organisations that did training and development wore this mask of efficiency — “we get in there and get things done.” Unfortunately, in the world of consulting, all of that translated into organisations being increasingly impersonal. I wasn’t really seeing any of them investing time in building relationships with clients. This whole “get in there, get the job done, and leave” approach made consulting appear as such a clinical and sanitised process.

Then, when I stepped into an organisation like Glow Worm it was such a 180 degree shift! Our entire approach to consulting is putting people at the centre of everything. And, that approach is not just limited to our consulting projects but also our clients and the people we work with.

During my bachelor’s, I was 90% convinced that I wanted to specialise in clinical psychology. But, back then, in one of the industrial (or organisational) psychology classes I had this aha moment! I sat there thinking to myself — we spend most of our adult lives working. Then why is it that most people are miserable going into work? I think that question really prompted me to take up organisational psychology. And, I think that beautifully ties up with what we do at Glow Worm. We’re all propelled by the same question — why is it okay that people are so discontent and frustrated at the place they end up spending a huge chunk of their lives in? And, more importantly, why isn’t anyone doing anything to change that? So, at Glow Worm, when we say that “we want to create a world where everyone learns, grows, and smiles”, it’s a very fundamental part of why we do what we do.

One of the things I also love about working at Glow Worm is that we call ourselves ‘behavioural scientists.’ I think it’s a very apt term, because when you look at human behaviour there are so many different lenses that impact and influence it. There’s no one lens you can isolate human beings and their experiences from. And, that’s why, if you look at our team, we’ve intentionally included people who can bring in those perspectives — we have teammates not only from a psychology background, but also from business, management, economics, and tech.

I absolutely love the fact that we’re really striving to bring as holistic a view of human behaviour as possible! So, while psychology is a lens we actively draw (theories and frameworks) from, it’s certainly not the only one.

One of the very fundamentals of appreciating diversity is actually exposing yourself to more diversity. Diversity of thought, diversity of interests, diversity of different working styles — some of us in the team start work really early in the morning and some of us start work by afternoon and end really late — so, how do we use something as simple as that to collaborate better? All of these being such intentional thoughts, conversations, and actions at Glow Worm have just broadened my perspective of inclusion and diversity.

The second is growth. When I started working in the space of growth, a lot of it was informed by how we look at growth at Glow Worm. How say, for instance, we, very intentionally, don’t have performance management systems here. Or just the abundance of independence, guidance, and support we get to be able to chart the way we want our growth to look like. After that, as and when I gained more exposure in this space, I realised that a lot of people don’t feel in control of their growth, and that it ends up becoming a huge barrier for them in feeling content and motivated in their work. That would constantly make me think — it’d be so incredible if people could experience motivation, engagement, and fulfilment the way we do at Glow Worm! So, going from that to actually being able to work with clients who are so passionate about redefining growth for their people has just been such a huge insight into what all growth can look like in an organisation and how we can bring that to people.

Let me share an anecdote with you. This was back in 2020, when we were doing a session on inviting balance into your life. I remember one of the participants in their very introduction had said that they had registered for the session with no expectations of it proving to be helpful to them. It was very interesting, because by the end of that session, they opened up to us about how it had actually nudged them to reconsider not only who they are as a leader, but what that means for them, and what they can actively do for their team. That’s so powerful because now you’re seeing the cascading effects that something you created can have! All the while knowing that we had not changed a single thing about the session to make it appear more convincing to them. That was never the idea.

I also remember that once, in the middle of a consulting meeting where we were talking about how growth should be defined across organisations, a stakeholder paused us in the midst of a conversation to express how we had helped bring about a shift in their long-held perspectives about growth! So, for me, impact is not just about quantitative metrics. Impact is also to be found in the little anecdotes and incidents of behavioural shifts that we get to hear and bear witness to.

I want to say so much, okay. But here’s what it is: when I look back at myself from three years ago, it’s almost like looking at a childhood photograph. Like I know this person, but I don’t necessarily recognise her. Now, when I look at that photo, I have the impulse to quote Dr. Seuss and say — “Oh, the places you’ll go!” And, that’s extended seamlessly into both my personal and professional life. That distinction is hard for me to make. Values that I’ve learnt at work, I’ve also learnt to apply to my personal life. And, similarly, decisions that I’ve made in my personal life have informed the decisions I’ve made at work. Even in doing just that, Glow Worm has helped me expand my worldview.

Take, for instance, my relationship with failure. Earlier if I made a mistake, that would define my entire existence. Now if I make a mistake, it’s just about — “okay, I made a mistake.” I can move on from it. So, I think, being in a space where you’re encouraged to experiment, share your ideas openly, and where you have a team of such caring people to support you and also hold you accountable when needed really helps you work better with failure.

Being in that kind of space also shows you what healthy relationships can and should look like. That you can express your discomfort or dissatisfaction in ways that are respectful to others and know that you will be heard. That it’s okay to be open, honest, and vulnerable. In fact, that’s encouraged. It’s given me the confidence to draw boundaries in relationships, and exercise more caution in who I choose to invite into my personal life.

Lastly, just the sheer number of varied individuals I’ve had the opportunity to interact with in the last three years at work has humbled me so much. All these people have lived such rich lives and have such different perspectives, all of them beautiful in their own way, that you realise there’s always something to learn and absorb from the people around you! That has, in turn, helped me open up to so many new relationships and experiences in my personal life.

More than anything, just knowing that you’re with a group of people who will always have your back and be there for you is so liberating. And, for it to be people you’ve met at work? If I wasn’t experiencing it, I think I wouldn’t believe it to be possible!

Oh, I think I would just chew their ears off! But here’s what I’d primarily want to say:

If you want partners who will respect you — as individuals and as a collective — and where you are in your journey as an organisation; partners who really care about making a change and think about it in ways that are meaningful, sustainable, and impactful, then we hope that you’d consider working with us!

If you’re willing to bring curiosity into your life and are excited by the endless possibilities around you, if learning and making a meaningful impact are things you’re passionate about then Glow Worm will find a way to build that with you!

Thank you for entering every space with such openness, honesty, and curiosity, Avani! We had a wonderful time listening to your insightful reflections; we hope you, too, had a great time sharing them with us!