Nirguna Kota
Sr Director at Oracle
Oracle
Nirguna Kota is a member of:
Nirguna Kota's Experience
Senior Director
Oracle, SFO, US
Nirguna Kota's Education
BE
AIT
Current Job description
Working as Senior Director at Oracle Corporation, Managing Fusion Midlleware, Fusion Application and SAAS Quality Teams . Overall Ownership / Management of the highly successful Fusion Applications Provisioning / Patching / Upgrade Effort along with delivering Oracle Virtual Templates which are core part of Oracle Public Cloud.
I am an accomplished executive with strong Project and Solution delivery management experience. I have more than 12 years of relevant industry experience in project and program management, project implementation, production support, analysis solution design, development, onsite-offshore coordination and offshore practice management.
I have successfully managed mid to large size engagements for clients across geographies and helped them implementing best-in-class industry practices within Oracle Fusion Applications by offering clients broad expertise, insight and credibility in the business transformation space. I have contributed strongly to new business generation (Pre-sales) and revenue growth for my consulting organizations and at the same time helped my clients realize significant cost savings. I have worked with prestigious global clients across the globe, in North America, Europe and Asia
Ensuring Growth
Continuous Learning.From every interaction,situation and conversation I try to view it objectively and take the essence as the learning for my own self development.The more varied the practical experiences, the greater the likelihood of developing a broad repertoire of skills.
Important career decisions
Joining oracle
Managing personal and professional life
I cannot assure that Iam totally avoiding mistakes..However in my past so many years of leading teams I try to identify what matters the most and what is the end goal.Then keeping the big picture in mind I progress towards achieving it.I try to avoid a myopic view.Though this may not mean that I will not make mistakes but definitely even if I do this approach allows me to get back on track even if I encounter any hurdles/distractions
My advice
Do not be worried about the results.Just do your best and automatically the result will be evident
Just follow the mantra
S – Simple;U – Unexpected;C-Concrete;C- Credible;E – Emotional;S – Story
For example John F Kennedy just said that he would like to put a man on the moon.The idea was simple unexpected but concrete and he had the credibility to achieve it though he said this with emotion and had a convincing story as to why he wanted to do it.
Handling Grievances
I first speak to the employees manager and understand the situation.If it is something that is straight forward and can be dealt at the manager’s level i do not interfere but follow up closely with the manager to ensure that the grievance is addressed.
If the grievance is something that needs to be addressed by me then I first hear what the manager has to say.I then do my homework to try to find out details on my own.I then connect with the employee and talk to him.Though I may not be able to resolve the issue I can assure you that a patient hearing sometimes allows the employee to vent all the pent up feelings and once done the issue may not be that bad as it was in the beginning.I always believe a patient hearing by a leader most of the times help resolve the issue as the employee feels comforted and re-assured.
Leadership qualities
Lead by example.A leader should be able to lead by example and be a role model to the entire team.
To Expand ...
1.Encourage Creativity
I always encourage creativity by offering new challenges and also provide ample support to achieve these goals. I always make sure the goals are are within the grasp of their abilities. My main idea is to get people to stretch their limits, but to not become discouraged by barriers to success.
2. I am always passionate about what I do that makes my job very interesting. This motivates my team also to perform at top level.
3. Have a Positive Attitude
Even in challenging situations I maintain a sense of optimism and hope. At same time, I do not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses.
4. Encourage People to Make Contributions
I often encourage team members to take an active role in coming up with ideas and plans by using a democratic leadership and it lead to greater commitment, more creative problem-solving and improved productivity.
5.Motivate Your Followers
6. Offer Rewards and Recognition, I always believe in rule Happy People Work better. So I always look for ways to offer recognize and reward top performers.
7. I keep trying new things as I work toward improving my leadership skills, I always look for feedback from followers and follow the things that were effective earlier
My views on India Technical development
Many times we are told to think out of the box.That's a very wide space.However sometimes it is worth while to tell someone to think ‘Within the box’ ie give them a framework and ask them to think around it.With this you tend to ring fence the thought.
Influenced by
APJ Abdul Kalam ...He is one person
Family background
My Father was in Indian ARMY and Mother House wife. I have a younger brother who works for Maruti . I was brought up by Grand Father who is School Head Master in a remote village of Andhra Pradesh and my entire education till 12th in Guntur with them. He is my first "Guru" and still an Inspiration for me to dream BIG and strive for working hard to make them "Real".
