"In life, you genuinely can't control what others say, what others do." - Meghana Rao Pahlajani

Meghana a multifaceted sustainability professional in the development sector has driven conscious impact across coal, natural gas and solar from rural India to large power plants in the Midwest USA.

In this episode she shares her limitless leadership lessons navigating being 'an only' leading a coal plant, to breaking the bias on maternity leave in corporate India, navigating loss due to COVID and raising conscious consumers. She challenges us to rethink resilience as a badge of honor one must endure alone and instead embrace it as a team sport. She leaves us with an emphatic and tangible call to action to leave the world a better place than we found it.

Key takeaways from this episode:

"The important thing is the planet doesn't need thousand people doing things perfectly sustainably. You need a billion people doing things imperfectly, but starting, starting small.
"Once you have this courage within yourself and you are set on what that goal is that you want to achieve, it's about standing up for yourself. It's about taking those risks and it's about persevering."
"I have come across people who put you in a certain box...this is what she's probably good, this is the limit of her capability etc. but then it's not their problem. It's your problem. What are you doing to do to not stay in that box?"
"I used to be of the opinion, I need to prove that person wrong, and get all angry. But now I have realized their opinion of who I need to be doesn't matter. Stay focused on what it is you want to accomplish."
"Resilience is not a solo concept. You need to realize that you are not on an island where you need to be resilient and be strong for yourself. if you are struggling it's okay to let people in and to cross this hurdle gradually, however long it takes or not cross it out to just deal with this together."
"I think there is enough room at the table. What role are you playing in making more room once you are at the table?"
"If your voice is not heard, take it to places where it is actually listened to and where it can change things for other people."