MD Coaching and Consulting

Founder & Executive Coach

Positive Intelligence

https://www.positiveintelligence.com/science/

Mental Fitness Coach

International LEAP Network

Executive Member

NetApp

As a change leader,  I led a team of 25+ talented professionals working on various programs related to analytics, support, and digital transformation. I strategically planned and executed a multi-year process engineering and technology modernization program for legacy applications with a total cost exceeding $10M, empowering our people with cutting-edge technology. 

Collaborating with vendors, I developed digital product recommendations, providing our customers with value-driven solutions. I led multiple cloud migrations for Professional Services, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations. 

I fostered a continuous improvement culture, enabling our people to grow and adapt to new technologies and processes. I facilitated cross-functional communication, promoting transparency and collaboration among Services Development, Sales, and Finance. 
I identified and hired talent to fill key project roles, ensuring successful project execution. Together, we achieved significant strides in digital transformation, process improvement, and change capability, providing our customers with superior customer service and innovation.

Senior Manager, Digital Operational Excellence

A committee to create leadership and professional development opportunities for women at NetApp.
- Leading a global team responsible for introducing and running programs for personal and professional development of women at NetApp.
- Getting custom professional learning programs designed for specific needs of women in tech at various career levels
- Executive leadership coaching
- Allyship programs
- Creating learning opportunities for volunteers 
- Succession Planning
- Neuroscience program for leadership and unconscious bias
- Coaching for mid-senior executive women
- Event Planning
- Moderating/Facilitating leadership programs and panels

Head of Learning and Development - WIT

I spearheaded multiple transformation initiatives aimed at shifting our operations from a project-centric model to a product-centric one.

Collaborating closely with cross-functional engineering and product managers, IT teams, and senior leadership, I've driven the transition to an outcome-based delivery focus.

For over two years, I served as the Engineering Manager of a data tools team, leading decision-making checkpoints, conducting product team reviews, and delivering effective status reports to the steering committee. I successfully resolved program issues surrounding product launches, resulting in a 50% decrease in post-launch defects

In addition to my engineering responsibilities, I also took on the role of Product Manager for a year, establishing a robust SME management process  resulting in a 30% decrease in customer support requests. By leading focus groups, extending core team meetings to field and sales engineers, conducting user interviews and demos, and launching customer experience surveys, I was able to gather valuable insights that helped drive product innovation and success resulting in a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores.

Throughout my tenure, I have remained committed to delivering innovative solutions and driving transformational change within the organization, while always keeping the needs and expectations of our customers at the forefront of my mind.

Senior Engineering Program Manager - Transformation Office

Kaiser Permanente

As an Agile coach, I set up scrum teams and coached them to have an agile mindset. I also coached product owners in writing meaningful stories and keeping the backlog groomed. I helped the team understand the estimation process in sprints, acted as a scrum master while coaching the next scrum master for the project. Additionally, I coached management on the agile mindset and helped them set the right expectations from agile teams.
One of my key achievements at the company was establishing and leading an all-green team for a web-based healthcare app. I led the team through the entire product development lifecycle, from ideation to launch, using Agile principles and practices.

Agile Coach and Project Manager

Cisco

- As a Testing Center of Excellence lead, my team's focus on building a culture of quality and continuous improvement brought significant value to the organization. 

By establishing best practices and standardizing testing procedures, we were able to reduce defects, improve product quality, and ultimately, increase customer satisfaction. Our ability to manage multiple test teams and projects, while monitoring progress and keeping delivery within budget and timeline, demonstrated our strong project management skills. 

By leading teams to deliver quick incremental features, facilitating product demos to customers, collecting feedback via interviews and surveys, and coaching teams on agile practices and mindset, we were able to empower testers in the team to take ownership of quality and drive continuous improvement. 
These efforts not only improved the overall quality of the products but also saved the company significant amounts of money by reducing rework and avoiding defects found in the later stages of development.

Solution and QA Manager (multiple projects)

Target

I established and streamlined processes for program/project needs, trained 25+ test leads and testers, and managed multiple programs/projects (each $1+M, total portfolio: $10M+) under Merchandising and Pharmacy domains in Testing CoE. I defined a test strategy and approach for the Pharmacy program, resulting in high quality of >=98% in functional testing and some projects with zero defects in UAT. As a Test Manager for Merchandising portfolio, I successfully monitored and tracked the progress of multiple programs/projects, ensuring successful adoption of Testing CoE principles. This led to a significant increase in test efficiency, reducing defects by 25%, and increasing productivity by 20%.

Manager Operations- Testing

Publicis Sapient

- End to end business project and test management from project planning, requirements analysis, gap analysis, planning, testing, defect management, risk analysis and reporting.
- Specialized in coordinating various teams in an onsite/offshore model with focus on Customer engagement and communication.
- Planned, estimated effort for resource utilization and task assignment, coached client teams on agile process and moving waterfall projects to agile.

Sr. Business/Test Lead

Sapient

- Built a test team in India (Royal Bank of Scotland) and Netherlands (ABN AMRO Bank), went to Netherlands to transition the business from ABN to RBS. Gained knowledge for all applications and business and transitioned to the RBS team back in India.
 - Served as the clients’ trusted advisor, assisted the Product Owner in defining the requirements, backlog grooming, product demo and retrospective meetings.

Project Test Lead

Clifford Chance

• Requirement analysis, Test strategy, Test planning & execution
• Participated in Sprint planning, Analysis, Daily Stand ups, Sprint backlog review, 
• Assisted Product owner in backlog grooming, product demo and retrospective meetings.

Sr. Business/QA Lead

Hi, I'm Meenu Datta. As a tech veteran and a coach, I strongly believe in a life journey full of compassion, growth, simplicity, abundance, and purpose. 

Based on that belief, my approach to coaching is tailored and personal, recognizing you as the unique individual you are, striving to understand your world from your perspective, offering support that’s both comprehensive and attuned to your needs. 
 
My methods are simple yet abundant, designed to help you navigate the complexities of life and work with clarity and purpose. 

Clients value my transparent leadership, empathetic coaching style, and knack for identifying solutions that resonate on a personal level.

As a woman in tech and a writer, I use my voice to spark conversations around personal development and the tech landscape on platforms like LinkedIn and Medium (@datta.minu). 
Through my writings, I aim to connect, inspire, and engage with others on a journey of discovery and growth.

When not coaching, I love to spend time with my family in nature. At home, I’m either lost in music,  or celebrating the small victories – like that rare occasion I win a video game playing against my son :)
Wishing you all a day filled with curiosity, growth, and the joy of small victories.

Thrilled to share my recent experience at the She Rise Summit - an electrifying gathering where I had the privilege of meeting, sharing, and learning from an incredible cohort of women in business. 

Each story shared was a testament to courage and resilience, featuring women who took the audacious step of pivoting out of careers that spanned years, or even decades, to venture into new industries or opening their own businesses.

For me, this summit underscored a powerful message: Growth is beyond the comfort zone. 

Witnessing these trailblazing women redefine their paths with such determination has been nothing short of inspirational. 

It's a vivid reminder that the landscape of opportunity expands vastly when we dare to step beyond our comfort zones.

The stories of transformation and success I've heard are a beacon for anyone contemplating a pivotal change. 

They serve as a compelling narrative that when we lean into the discomfort of growth, remarkable things can happen.

To all the courageous women I met at the summit, your journeys have profoundly impacted me. 

Thank you SheRise Summit for all the stories, laughs, reflections, and learning around aspects around Sales, Marketing, Branding, Social Media Strategy, Financial planning for businesses, portraits and the surprising twinning pictures :)

And to anyone on the brink of making a significant change - remember, it's in the world beyond comfort where growth thrives.

Sheyla Blackman, CSM, CTBME Sarah Elder Faith Armstrong, MOL Gina Torres-Perryman, ACC Annie Franceschi Alyssa Olerud Kimberly Winborne, CFEI Liz Rossilli

#SheRiseSummit #WomenInBusiness #CareerPivot #GrowthMindset #BeyondComfortZone

• Meenu Datta

Founder & Executive Coach @ MD Coaching and Consulting | Tech Veteran | Author

How can career pivots lead to professional growth?

Why is stepping out of comfort zones important for growth?

What are the key takeaways from the She Rise Summit?

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What is a Mistake? 
 
A mistake is a perception.  
 
We are all in pursuit of getting things to work.  
 
Some efforts are bulls-eye, some aren't.  
 
Those that don't work out as we hoped, we label as 'mistakes'. 
 
So they are just the options that didn't work. They serve as revelations - which are not right or wrong.  
 
If there's something called mistake, what is it truly? 
 
It's not trying! Letting fear stop you from taking the first step! 
 
By standing on the sidelines, you lose the opportunity to discover if an action will yield the desired outcome or if there's a need for a different strategy.  
 
Ready to redefine and embrace your so-called 'mistakes'?  
 
I'd love to hear your thoughts below.

What are some tips to redefine and embrace mistakes?

How can fear stop you from taking the first step?

I figured out brain's SUPERPOWER!!! 🧠 
 
The power that grows and evolved with you, not just during the formative years, but throughout life.  
That power is Lifelong Learning! 
 
With careers becoming more complex, the power of learning is the key to crack these puzzles.  
 
𝗡𝗢! 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! 
 
Instead, I am talking about embracing the art of learning.  
 
- 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁. 
 Value the progress you are making every day than being impatient about the outcomes.  
 
- 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 
 Explore different fields/topics and modes of learning - books, podcasts, seminars, etc. 
 
- 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. 
Implement what you learn because knowledge is truly valuable when applied.  
 
- 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀  
It fuels the desire to learn. Question things, dig deeper, and try to understand the 'why' behind the 'what'.  
 
𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.  
 
P.S.: How do you keep your learning flame alive?  
 
Share your tips with my network.

What are some best practices for lifelong learning?

Are you wasting what you learned? 
 
You're overwhelmed with info but how much of it did you convert into action? 
 
Knowledge is not power until it's translated into action.  
 
Don't just soak up information, channel it strategically to drive change!  
 
What have you learned and stowed away?  
A skill?  
A business tactic?  
 
Something waiting to be converted from theory to action!  
 
Transform learning into doing, then repeat.  
 
That's what it'll take to be best and then better than the best. 
 
What did you commit to convert into action?

How can taking action transform knowledge into power?

What are the key strategies to convert learned skills into actionable tasks?

How can business tactics be effectively implemented for successful outcomes?

Embrace failure, and you embrace growth.   
   
Why does the fear of failure paralyze so many of us?   
   
- We’re wired to seek approval and fear rejection.   
  
- Society often stigmatizes failure, equating it with a lack of success.   
  
- We compare our behind-the-scenes to everyone else's highlight reel, thanks to social media.   
   
But here’s the truth: Failure is not just inevitable; it's essential. It's the richest source of feedback and a stepping stone to extraordinary achievements. Embracing failure means embracing growth, resilience, and ultimately, success.   
 
Let’s start celebrating our attempts, not just our achievements. What was your most memorable 'failure' and what did it teach you?   
 
Hit Like 👍 if you're ready to embrace your failures as steps towards success.   
   
Follow 🔔 for insights on turning setbacks into comebacks!

How can embracing failure lead to success?

Why does the fear of failure paralyze us?

How does social media affect our perception of failure?

In a world that often celebrates quick wins and overnight success, we're letting the quiet power of consistency fade into the background. 
 
 The reality however, stands firm- consistency is the unsung hero of monumental success. 
 
Think about it! 
Every major achievement in history, every breakthrough in technology, and every step forward in personal development has been the result of consistent effort over time.  
 
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.  
 
It builds momentum. It turns small actions into habits and dreams into realities. 
 
So, if you're aiming for lasting success in your career or personal growth, remember to embrace consistency into your daily routine.  
 
𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻. 
 
Because when you look back on your journey, you'll realize it was the small, consistent steps that brought you to the peak of your mountain. 
 
𝗚𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 
 
P.S.: What small, consistent steps are you taking today towards your larger goals? 
 
#Consistency #SuccessHabits #PersonalDevelopment

How can consistency impact success in personal growth?

Why is personal development linked to consistency?

What are the key habits for success highlighted in the post?

It's time to make the most rewarding investments...  
 
Investing in YOURSELF! 
 
How often do we prioritize others above ourselves? We're all guilty. Now it's time to flip the script.  
 
Take charge of your growth and success by prioritizing self-investment.  
 
Your future self will thank you for the valuable dividends reaped from nurturing your skills, knowledge, and well-being. 
 
Focus on three key areas for personal growth: 
  
• Learn, practice, and grow your skills consistently. 
• Prioritize health, rest, and mindfulness habits. 
• Build strong connections for growth and support. 
 
Investing in yourself will enrich every aspect of your life in ways you may not even anticipate.

P.S.: What benefits did you see for investing in yourself?

What are some tips for investing in myself?

graphical user interface, text, application

If you've got time to Netflix and chill... 📺 
You've definitely got time to...✨💪 
 
• Get fitter  
• Start your business  
• Work on being the best you 
• Craft a killer personal brand 
• Elevate your leadership game 
• Connect with family, friends & colleagues 
 
Success isn't just a word, it's a "Bring it on!" attitude. 
 
Which goal resonated with you the most?

#1 reason why projects fail! 
 
Are your projects failing or dragging on for years? 
 
It might be down to one commonly overlooked reason. Communication! 
 
After looking into various issues shared by clients, readers, and colleagues lately, it's pretty clear what makes or breaks a project: The Power of Effective Communication. 
 
Every issue that popped up had its own little twist:  
- messages all confused 
- voices not being heard 
- product folks struggling with decisions 
- architects keeping system limits secret, 
- dev team feeling stuck on sharing deadline concerns.  
 
These breakdowns in communication are often overlooked and are major roadblocks in a project's progress.  
 
Leaders - Instead of hunting for grand reasons behind your delayed or failed initiatives, take a step back and look into the communication issues in your team. 
 
Here are 4 simple things to keep in mind: 
 
1. Identify what needs to be communicated first and foremost to ensure clarity and alignment within the team.  
 
* Not everything is equally important and your team needs to hear that from you, to prioritize. 
 
2.  Allow team members to voice their thoughts and concerns without the fear of judgment or retaliation. 
 
* Otherwise you'll never hear the bad news until it's too late. 
 
3. Ensure every team member understands their roles and duties, preventing confusions and misunderstandings.  
 
* 'It's not my job' is a better response than "I wasn't aware I was supposed to do that!". 
 
4. Empower all team members to share ideas, offer feedback, and raise issues.  
 
* A vibrant and dynamic environment with wins, setbacks, losses are a better environment than a quiet, dull, uneventful environment. 
 
P.S.: Have you experienced a project failure due to communication breakdown?  
 
Or seen a significant improvement after fixing communication issues?

How important is effective communication in preventing project failure?

What are some strategies to prevent communication breakdowns?

How can effective communication contribute to successful projects?

It's understandable that you are disappointed.  
 
Lost your job and think you've hit a dead-end? Feeling like job loss is the ultimate setback? 🛑  
 
Disappointments sting, but don't think of it as an end, think of it as standing at a crossroad! 🚦 
 
Embrace your feelings. They're more than valid; they're essential for you to get in touch with yourself and what you want. 💖 
 
It's time to reflect on where you have reached and where do you want to go from here. 
 
Tap into your reserves of hope and bring your energy up. 
 
You can transform this obstacle into taking a baby step towards your next journey. 🛣️  
 
Don't hesitate to reach out. Asking for help and leaning on others takes strength. You have that strength.  
------------------------------------------------------ 
📣 If you're navigating through these tough times and need someone to talk to, my inbox is always open.  
If you don't know what to say, DM 'crossroad' and we'll take it from there.  
 
You're not alone! 🤝

What are some tips for coping with job loss?

How important is hope in overcoming setbacks?

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