shalini somayaji

This past Thursday was Diwali – ‘the festival of lights.’  In Sanskrit, Diwali means ‘row of lamps,’ and folks use this occasion to line up their homes with lit candles and diyas (‘lamps’). These lamps symbolize knowledge, prosperity, and goodness.…

This past Sunday was Halloween – an opportunity for kids to trick or treat, eat candy, goblins, pumpkins, all that good stuff. As adults, we look at Halloween as an opportunity to dress up and to take on a different…

Have you experienced overwhelm or stress these past few months? Has it thrown you off or have you asked ‘why bother?’ I’ve definitely experienced these emotions during the past months with the unpredictability of the times.  And I was also…

Are you creating a healthy organizational culture? Are you checking in with your team members about their well-being?  Unfortunately, according to a Limeade Institute survey, many leaders may be missing this mark. 77% of managers said that they were genuinely caring for…

My question today is, “When you’re out of sorts, are you productive? Are you able to lead well?” When we’re feeling stressed out, we’re not showing up as our best selves. I recognize that it’s difficult right now.  A phrase…

Recently, I was talking to my brother, and we talked about how folks have been stating that 2020 has been an awful year and that they can’t wait until it’s over. Remember this year started with the Australian wildfires which…

A few days ago, I was having a conversation with my brother. And I totally mispronounced, ‘pneumonia.’ He said, “Huh, what are you saying? Oh, you mean nuh·mow·nyuh.” This whole time, my brain had always seen a ph in front…

A week ago, Rishi Kapoor, a famous Indian actor, died. This sparked nostalgia for Bollywood music so I started playing some tunes on Spotify. Music has the ability to spark memories, and for me, it was coming home after parties…