It all began two decades ago, when I embarked on a fulfilling journey within the HR industry. I started with the BPO industry, where I focused on talent acquisition, before transitioning to the telecom field and Total Rewards. This shift led me to Ericsson in 2013—in the pivotal role of leading the Total Rewards Operations team at the company's Shared Services Centre in Delhi. Next on the cards was the addition of the Strategy and Operations Improvement role for Global People Operations in 2019. Since then, it has been an exciting roller coaster of driving innovation and experience efficiency in HR operations on a global scale, both an exhilarating and rewarding experience.

In July 2023, I achieved a significant career milestone when I took up the role of Head of Global People Services. The challenges of the new role enabled me to further align myself with Ericsson's vision and values, while at the same time fostering a strong desire to learn and make a lasting impact within the organization and the industry at large. 

Support and collaboration

I owe a huge part of my career trajectory to the support and guidance of my line managers and peers. Their mentorship and constructive feedback have made me adaptable, resilient, and well-equipped to thrive in a dynamic work environment. With their unstinted support, my friends and peers at the workplace have helped me nurture a leadership style that is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and a relentless pursuit of excellence, all of which deeply resonate with our Ericsson values.

For aspiring professionals

My suggestion would always be to picture your career path as a journey and not a destination. Be ready for twists and turns. Be ready to navigate both clear and unclear circumstances. Monitor your rhythm and performance, and be willing to course-correct as needed. It’s all about resilience, adaptability, and an unwavering belief in your own ability to overcome any obstacle. Embrace every challenge as an opportunity to grow, leverage the support of mentors and colleagues, and prioritize your well-being while enjoying the unexpected twists and turns in this exciting journey.

Perfecting the work-life symphony

Work-life balance is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is a personal choice. What I like most about Ericsson is our flexibility, which is really empowering. It allows us to create our own balance, take on opportunities, and also prioritize our wellbeing. I have been able to find my balance, define my priorities, be accountable, and enjoy the flexibility to drive my career with ease and fulfillment.

Ericsson: Where the sky is the limit

My journey at Ericsson has been nothing short of extraordinary, thanks to a company culture that embraces diversity, fosters empowerment, and promotes continuous learning. Guided by core values that emphasize integrity and fairness, we have a supportive ecosystem for personal and professional development. With countless opportunities and a commitment to follow a speak-up culture, Ericsson empowers employees to take charge of their career journeys and be successful.

So, aspiring leaders, take charge of your destiny! Invest in yourselves, relentlessly pursue your goals, focus on upskilling, find your balance, and never forget the importance of self-care along the way. Remember, it’s always the journey that matters.

An odyssey of experience and achievements: My Ericsson journey

The availability of mobile broadband networks and the rapid adoption of smartphones during the past five years have significantly impacted India’s consumers, economy, and society. Since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic in early 2020, Indians have relied on mobile broadband for remote working, education, healthcare services, shopping, and other services. The impact of connectivity has nowhere been more visible than in the field of education. Thanks to the widespread availability of mobile broadband connectivity and affordable data plans, many schools pivoted to remote education quickly and millions of students switched over to remote learning.

However, despite significant progress in making 4G available in almost all parts of India, there are still millions who have either no or inadequate access to broadband. Lack of broadband Internet access is most acute in rural and remote parts of the country. As such there are still millions of students living in these areas who have inadequate or no access to the Internet. For them, school education became a challenge during almost two years of pandemic-induced school closures starting in early 2020. There was a severe disruption in learning because of inadequate or no access to the Internet. According to a study conducted by Lenasia and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations between March and September 2021, only 20% of school going children (i.e., those between the ages of 5-18) enrolled in the formal education system, received remote education during pandemic-induced school closures1. Moreover, as another study found, many students who had access to a learning device faced challenges with inadequate Internet speed or found Internet access costs prohibitive2. According to UNESCO, 39% of Indian parents cannot afford Internet costs3. If we look at schools specifically, only 24.5% of schools in India are connected to Internet as per government data4 - some of the states have less than 10% of the schools with Internet. Similarly, many teachers too may have no access to a good Internet connection or a suitable device for delivering remote lessons. 

How can 5G help address these challenges?
It’s important to highlight here that as education becomes more hybrid and digitally rich – a good reliable broadband access becomes as important as access to good teachers and textbooks. On the hand, teachers also need an always-on reliable broadband connection to deliver effective teaching. On the other hand, bringing digital learning to the unconnected will involve a multi-dimensional approach from ensuring availability and affordability of Internet connectivity and access devices to availability of good digital learning content and adequate training of teachers for delivering digital or remote learning. Then there is the issue of measuring learning outcomes in a remote learning environment. Let’s us look at how 5G can be effective in addressing all these and transform education in India.

Addressing the Internet coverage gap with 5G – Connecting schools with Internet is critical for making schooling more effective. It is also important from a socio-economic standpoint. An analysis by EIU-The Economist found that a 10% increase in school connectivity can increase effective years of schooling for children by 0.6%, and GDP per capita by 1.1%5. Given the inadequacy of the fixed broadband infrastructure in India, 5G can play the most important role in bringing reliable broadband access to schools. For instance, 5G FWA can play an important and effective role here – compared to a fiber build-out (FTTH) greenfield FWA deployments can cost significantly less6. FWA can be deployed not only in rural and remote areas and but also in underserved communities in urban areas. Similarly, private 5G networks can be deployed to bring Internet access to schools. Here we can learn from the successful deployment of private LTE networks by several schools in the US to connect students residing in underserved and rural communities.

Making remote learning more interactive and enriching – 5G can help learning become more immersive and interactive. Lessons imparted with augmented reality / virtual reality tools can make learning more experiential. AR/VR can help students understand subjects better by bringing theoretical concepts to life. AR / VR can also be used to impart training to teachers. Interactive lessons rich in visual content can have positive impact on learning outcomes.

As in many other sectors, 5G will have a transformative impact on school education in India. It can not only help bring reliable broadband access to the millions of unconnected students but also bring about a sea-change in the teaching methods leading to positive learning outcomes.

Using 5G to bring digital access to students in India

Selina Millstam has worked as a leader at some of the world’s most successful companies including Nike, and consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Today, she leads talent management for the global business of over 100,000 employees in 180+ countries at Ericsson. Throughout her career Selina has been motivated by enabling others to realize their potential. As part of our celebration of Diversity and Inclusion Awareness Month, our Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Emma Birchall, interviewed Selina to find out what she’s learned along the way and how she drives inclusion in her work.

For Selina, she has always felt the greatest sense of achievement when helping others to succeed. Selina’s passion for enabling others to realize their potential is made possible by her non-hierarchical approach. According to Selina, teams are at their best when each person can speak up, challenge, and share their ideas, and be unconstrained by where they happen to be in the organizational chart. She believes this is important in today’s world of work where change is rapid, and innovation is key.

Transparency is an important part of Selina’s approach, and she practices this with her team continuously. In her view:

“Old leadership models emphasized guarding and often withholding information as a source of power. That doesn’t work today when we need people at all levels of our organization to be making fact-based and courageous decisions. My approach is share what you can and be up front about what you can’t. What creates problems is any feeling that information is hidden without explanation.”

Lastly, inclusion is key in Selina’s approach to leading others and ensuring her team feel a sense of inclusion and belonging. This is also part of the cultural transformation she is driving across Ericsson’s 110,000-person workforce across 180+ locations. She is driving a culture of empathy and humanness where people understand, accept, and embrace their differences and appreciate the differences of others.

“If you want people to bring their best ideas, deliver great work and enjoy the process of doing so, then you need to make sure they are not distracted by feeling they need to hide parts of their identity or switch from who they are to who they feel they need to be.”

Facing challenges
Her decade-long career in consulting has not been without its challenges. Early on in her career, she found that there were few female leaders in the field whom she could look up to as role models. This made it even more important for the senior men where she worked to practice inclusivity and mentorship. She was grateful that some of the senior men in her team became her mentors.

“They saw in me progression capacity that I didn’t yet see in myself, and that was incredibly powerful. I valued their expertise and having their support made me more resilient and better able to learn and grow.”

For Selina, this was early insight into the importance of allyship and the impact you can have by investing in someone’s success, particularly if they are from an underrepresented group in the organization and have few examples of people like them making it to the top.

Selina is also candid about the moments when she felt undermined simply because she was a woman in the industry. At the age of 26, she gained the highest score on an executive coaching program. A male colleague reacted with “Of course you got the highest score. Who doesn’t want to be coached by a hot, blonde woman?” Selina describes the moment of feeling great and then deflated. She reflects that at the time she didn’t have the experience to know how to respond and emphasizes that her reaction would be quite different now.

Empowering female entrepreneurs
Selina has been developing global leaders for more than 20 years. This is the thread that has woven together Selina’s roles as a social worker in Detroit, Michigan, supporting underserved communities; as a board member of Giving Wings, a Sweden-based foundation supporting girls and women in gaining independence through education and healthcare; and as an external and internal consultant in the talent space with Oliver Wyman, Nike, and Ericsson.

Selina is also keen to accelerate the pace of change when it comes to increasing the representation of women and other underrepresented groups who have faced specific, structural barriers to progression. One of her achievements in this space is ALTitude, Ericsson’s global career accelerator program designed to help advance talented women in the organization. In 2021, 71 percent of ALTitude’s participants moved roles internally within 12 months of completing the course. More than a third of the position changes included a step up in seniority. Selina is keen to highlight that programs like this are not about giving advantage to one group over another, but rather about removing the systematic and structural barriers that unfairly hold some groups back.

The importance of mentorship
Selina has had many role models throughout her career. In her role at Nike, she reported into two women who took on the role of mentors. “They pushed early on the importance of self-awareness and calling out challenging situations,” says Selina. One important lesson that they taught her was that as a leader she didn’t need to know everything or have all the answers; she realized that her impact would instead be through appreciating how little any of us know in isolation, and employing the power of curiosity and inquiry. This has informed her focus on collaboration and cooperation in Ericsson’s culture transformation, with a view to driving commercial success through inquiry and knowledge-sharing:

“Realizing how little you know is actually empowering compared with the burden of feeling you have to know everything.”

Role models have also been critical to Selina’s sense of self belief. She recalls a moment with one of her mentors in consulting when she was about to facilitate a workshop for an executive team. She had the overwhelming feeling of not knowing enough and was anxious about the participants’ appetite for debating and challenging. She went to her mentor concerned she couldn’t handle it. He responded with, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You can do this.” She says that his confidence in her was so powerful at that very moment that it gave her enough courage to calm her nerves and face her fears.

Finding the right work-life balance
Selina feels that like many people, she has at times had to sacrifice being with friends and family to advance in her career. However, she’s keen to highlight that what has felt like a sacrifice, actually enabled her to be better in some of the most important roles she holds, namely as a mom and as a leader:

“For me specifically, I’m a better mom because I work, and I’m better at working because I’m a mom.”

For Selina holding these many roles enables her to prioritize, and to appreciate the people in her life. It has also strengthened her conviction that we all need to keep our work in context. While work sometimes takes precedence, when there is a big deadline for example, Selina believes that people deliver their best when they feel their out of work relationships are strong and that they have enough time and energy to be with the people they love.

“To me it’s important that we have our priorities straight. I regularly remind my team that this is just work. It’s important, but not as important as your family and friends. The importance of work-life balance is something we’ve become increasingly aware of in the last two years with the pandemic as people have needed more time to be there for friends and family.”

A modest approach
Being humble and holding that humility and confidence at the same time is the most pertinent leadership lesson Selina has learned. She highlights that it’s not specific to being a female leader but applies to everyone:

“As you become more senior in an organization, it’s easy to lose that humility particularly as people start changing how they interact with you, often deferring to your idea or opinion. This can be the undoing of a leader if it results in a lack of speak up in the team and prevents others from sharing ideas or identifying risks.”

This lesson has transformed Selina’s own approach, and the approach within Ericsson when it comes to seeking perspectives across the organization. In 2021, Selina invited all 110,000 Ericsson employees into an open, online conversation about the company’s culture. People were able to ask questions and make comments on a range of challenging topics including “how can we ensure everyone feels safe to speak up?” and “how can we be better at executing speedily?” That these questions were posed to people across the organization, rather than answered by leaders and consultants, demonstrated Ericsson’s belief that everyone’s ideas and perspectives count. It also reinforced the message that leaders are not here to provide the answers, but to ask questions.

Connections that matter
For Selina, Ericsson’s core business is in enabling connection and this is a particularly important achievement given the reliance on digital communication throughout the pandemic:

“I feel proud to be a leader in a company that enables us to do everything from access healthcare to stay in touch with friends and family.”

And Selina’s not the only one who feels a sense of pride. As a company, Ericsson is proud to have Selina on its team. Thanks to her sincerity, hard work, and commitment to empowering others, more people across our organization feel a sense of inclusion and belonging. Find our more about Selina’s work to drive inclusion here.

Helping people get to the top of their tree to enjoy their view

When it comes to the work of being human, we human beings are a work in progress. Our capacity to learn, unlearn, and relearn sets us apart from all the creatures with whom we share this planet, but too many of our actions ignore the fact that we do, in fact, share this planet. We are its tenants, not its landlords, and for those who will occupy it long after we do, the future of our work will become the history of theirs. The ecosystem in which we live and grow older today must evolve to become the one in which we thrive and grow deeper tomorrow, where technology and humanity combine to secure and sustain harmony with our natural world. Artificial intelligence must join forces with the power of natural intelligence so that is not just smart-- but smart enough.

The future is unpredictable, but it is not accidental. The future of work may defy definition but it is still ours to shape, and shape it, we must. We’ve made an unprecedented investment in how our people learn, how our people teach, and most of all, how our people connect to the ecosystem around them to drive our business forward. We’re constantly looking around, and ahead, to equip our people for the future of work— not just what we think we know about it, but all that we know we can’t possibly know—and need to be ready for, nonetheless. 

I read a neat quote recently about the question of whether the proverbial glass is half-empty or half-full —it said to pour the contents into a differently-shaped glass and celebrate that it’s all full! In that sense, if you agree with me that daydreaming is not a distraction but an essential life-skill, then allow me to share my recent daydreams about what that future might look like:

A day in the life of the future of work: 

6:00 am: I wake up in the morning, not through an intrusive alarm, but through the gentle ruffling of my ‘smart pajamas’ (programmable wearable tech), with my digital twin VK1 combining ambient lights, natural birdsong, and holographic projections to debrief me on my most important news for the day: weather and headlines, urgent messages, the whereabouts and well-being of my loved ones who choose to share, the new restaurant opening this week. 
6:30 am: The messages in my inbox actually have draft replies that have been pre-authored by my digital twin VK2, that I get to modify, discard, or send. Thanks to that, email no longer dominates my waking hours.
7:00 am: I check my design for the day— the presence of a UBI (Universal Basic Income) allows me to design my working lifestyle very differently; my compensation and benefits now correspond to a tailored combination of professional work, periodic re-skilling, and community service. 
7:30 am: The rain is falling hard outside, so I decide to join a holo-gym dance class with my best friend, instead of us going all the way to the gym this morning. This teacher is excellent, and there are people from 8 different countries in my class.
8:45 am: The songs are still playing in my head after we’re all ready for the day; an autonomous vehicle gets the kids to school (they’re going on a virtual field trip to the Great Wall, so they’re bursting with excitement) and then drops me off at my favorite shared ecosphere workspace. 
9:30 am: There, I have several holographic meetings (so cool that Teams works in 360 holo now) and some whiteboard sessions where we all stand around and draw on the same table. These assignments are difficult and some deadlines are particularly urgent, so I spend part of the time in a drop-in-pod where I can really concentrate for a few hours. I gratefully get help from 3 tele-teachers-on-demand to help me finish it all on time.
The professional work I currently do comes from one major employer and 3-5 minor employers—all of these coexisting synergistically as a bundle. I have chosen to perform in different capacities for these different roles and assignments. Connecting them all is the 8-year blockchain of my ‘impact’, ‘contribute’, and ‘growth’ ratings, which have been strong and therefore open lots of new doors for me professionally. These different roles leverage my latest mix of creative skills, robotic programming proficiency, and mediation/negotiation expertise.
11:45 am: Just before lunch, I meet my counselor (and often I interact via text with his digital twin); he is not my manager, since I have different people to whom I am accountable on the different projects. My counselor is the ‘common thread’, helping me as a coach, sponsor, and mentor all in one. I discuss a challenging situation with one of my customers and he helps me do an instant role-play simulation that really prepares me well for the upcoming sales conversation.
1:00 pm: I have a quick tele-medicine appointment just after having lunch with my friends; the workspace pharmacy thankfully has my medicines ready in minutes afterwards. 
On some assignments, I am either an expert, contributor, or lead; on others, I am one of the designated apprentices, retooling myself completely. 
Every five years, I go on a six-month sabbatical and earn a new professional micro-degree, so I spend some time researching options for my next ‘ed-venture’ that’s upcoming in a year. 
2:00 pm: I also study hard for my practical exam—this will be my third attempt at passing, which is not uncommon or shameful for an apprentice, as long as the results get progressively better with each attempt. I shake my head thinking about how schools used to function, and how grades were often tragically confused with results and intelligence, instead of being used solely for progress and personalization.
5:00 pm: I end the day with my current service projects: two hours spent on sustainable farming in my own neighborhood, and another hour teaching math to a bright class of 3rd graders (who happen to be half a world away) just starting their day. 
I feel such pride and fulfillment from my community and teacher service—they also make me eligible for amazing extra health benefits and training rewards I could never have otherwise. I also love working for employers who care so deeply about the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of financial, social, and environmental results.
8:00 pm: Our family ends the night with a great sci-fi immersive movie, one in which we’re part of the story; it’s the most fun workout I’ve ever had—and educational, too!
11:00 pm: I decide to sleep under the stars tonight, so VK1 renders a beautiful scene complete with the Northern Lights. More work, service, and learning awaits tomorrow!
Paradoxically, imaginings like these suggest that the future of Learning and Development is not so narrowly about linear learning or development. Rather, the future of L&D as I envision it is to create the experiential conditions in which our 95,000+ people in 180+ countries can and DO reinvent their skillsets and mindsets, and continually reinvent their roles in the direction of our shared business purpose and their passions. These journeys to create new capability determine how we create new technological and environmental possibility. The work we do today to build a Quest for Easy learning ecosystem, a teaching-learning culture system, and a high-powered business system all contribute to building the future of work, and the future of us at work. These aspirations are made real through our operations. 

Human beings continue to work on being more human, and on securing a more sustainable kinship with the only planetary home we know. We must thrust our hands into the soil of our earth, literally and figuratively, to plant good seeds now that generations long after us will harvest. What we know will change, and what we learn will change it.

Time and again, the future —and the future of work— belongs to the learners.

The future belongs to the learners

Mental health
Successfully tackling mental health challenges in the workplace can be difficult, and different generations have different requirements. This insightful article shares three approaches that can help companies support across generations.

Diversity report
For the fifth year in a row, Microsoft has released its annual D&I report. While the report shows there is more work to do, the company has made steady representation progress across various categories year over year.

Women in the workplace
Analytics company Gallup just published new research, looking at the “lazy girl jobs” trend. According to a recent survey, women are significantly more burned out than men, thus seeking better work-life balance and stability. Read more here.

Accessibility
How can hiring be made more accessible? This article shares six pieces of advice that companies can implement – worth reading!

D&I Weekly News Round Up: Accessibility, Women in the workplace, and more

diversity_1

Ericsson

Time Off:
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Earned Leaves: 30</li>
<li>Casual &amp; Sick Leaves: 14</li>
<li>Special leaves: 3 to 7 days on completing long service milestones.</li>
<li>Leave accumulation: Upto 45 days.</li>
</ul>
Parental Leave:
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Maternity leave &ndash; 26 weeks.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Adoption leave &ndash; 12 weeks to 26 weeks for women employee (depending on age of child) &amp; 10 days for male employees).</li>
</ul>

Time off and Parental Benefits

Career Growth:
You get an opportunity to be the "CEO of your Career". You can share your aspirations widely and pursue opportunities that fit your aspirations.

Learning & Career

Employee Assistance Program_(EAP):
&lsquo;Expert Counselling&rsquo; facility for self &amp; immediate family to deal with complex personal &amp; professional situations.

Wellness & Health

Creche Allowance: Women employees having children up to the age of 3 years and availing cr&egrave;che facility, are entitled to a cr&egrave;che allowance of&nbsp;maximum of Rs. 9000/-&nbsp;per month per child.
Hybrid Support: Flexy working subjected to role and business requirement.

Other benefits

Juhi Sharma

Making the unimaginable possible

Women of Ericsson #BreakTheBias

Appreciating our Women @Ericsson Liliane Tannous

About this opportunity:We are seeking a highly skilled Solution Architect who will also assume the role of a Solution Architect in IP and Transport Domain with strong exposure on 4G/5G telco products. As a key contributor to team, the ideal candidates will play a pivotal role in designing, implementing, and leading the evolution of telecom network infrastructure in a rapidly changing landscape. Along with the technical expertise in IP domain, this role requires a dash of project management abilities to collect, analyze, and deliver the requirement and interface towards stakeholders.What you will do:Design, implement, and manage complex IP networks, focusing on switching and routing related to Kubernetes, 5G Core, Radio and other telco grade applications.Collect/Analyze/Deliver the requirement from BA's and MA's and be a key instrument in delivery of the agreed solutions from IP side.Experience on 3pp Networking gear, Cisco, Juniper, Extreme , Good to have Ericsson R66xx series experience.Develop and maintain firewall rules to ensure network security and compliance.Troubleshoot and resolve network issues promptly to minimize downtime and maintain service quality.Configure and deploy new network hardware to support business growth and technology upgrades.Conduct IP planning to optimize network performance and address future capacity needs.Create High-Level Designs (HLD) and Low-Level Designs (LLD) for network projects.Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate telecom solutions into existing infrastructure.Provide technical guidance and support for network-related projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives.Manage the installation and configuration of networking equipment such as routers, switches, and firewalls.Monitor network performance and implement improvements to enhance efficiency and reliability.Document network configurations, procedures, and policies to support operational excellence.Coordinate with vendors and service providers for hardware and software procurement.Support the implementation of network changes and upgrades while minimizing business impact.Provide after-hours support and be part of an on-call rotation to address critical network issues.The skills you bring:Lead by example, fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture within the team, keeping Ericsson values and Focus Areas in centerstage in day to day work.Exhibit strong communication skills, ensuring clear and effective communication with team members, stakeholders, and management.Empower team members through mentorship, coaching, and professional development, encouraging continuous learning and growth.Promote a customer-centric approach, ensuring solutions align with business objectives and meet customer needs.Manage team resources, project timelines, and deliverables, with a focus on achieving project goals and milestones.Why join Ericsson?At Ericsson, you´ll have an outstanding opportunity. The chance to use your skills and imagination to push the boundaries of what´s possible. To build solutions never seen before to some of the world’s toughest problems. You´ll be challenged, but you won’t be alone. You´ll be joining a team of diverse innovators, all driven to go beyond the status quo to craft what comes next.

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