Meet the SHEROES - Girija Deshpande

Former teacher, Girijaa Deshhpande started DG Consulting in 2008. Her venture offers an assortment of training and soft skill development solutions. She tells us about her journey from teacher to corporate trainer today.

Tell us a little about yourself

I was brought up in a small town in Tamil Nadu. I was one among six children. My father is my role model of Leadership and my mother a role model for effective team management.

I worked in several educational institutions at Mumbai and Larsen and Toubro Institute of Technology in the past.

How and when did DG Consulting come about?

I used to teach in R.A. Podar College. I was conducting a literary quiz for Literary Circle there. One of the Judges there from a company asked me if I would conduct it in the same format for their employees. They were very strong in engineering concepts but needed more orientation in communication. I took it up. I did these sessions on holidays and vacations. Thus started my corporate training stint. I was not even aware that this was a profession by itself. I would just take whatever they would offer me in an envelope and feel very grateful. I was doing training simultaneously with teaching career for many years, developed content for other training consultancies. 

My husband Deepak Deshpande is my strength and my children are my inspiration. We have two daughters and a son. They are very positive and accommodating. When my second daughter Suchitra completed her education and got a job, she said, "How long will you struggle with two legs on two different boats? Why don't you get into full time training?" That is when I decided to do set-up DG Consulting in 2008.

What are the core services offered by your venture?

We offer Public Training Workshop in Soft Skills and also In-house Training customized as per client needs - Training in Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Business Writing Skills, Negotiation Skills, Leadership in Action, Presentation Skills, Productivity Tools, Decision Making Skills, Team Building ...We also offer HR Consultancy to SMEs. We also offer guidance for those aspiring for MBA and MS abroad.

What is a typical day at work like for you?

A typical day at work starts at about 7.30 am. I travel to the venue and set up the place. Trainees arrive by 9 am and until 6.30 pm I am in a different world. No calls or contact with outside world. A world of sharing, learning, growing...

Where do you see yourself professionally in the next 5 years?

We offer training pan India now. In the next five years we see ourselves offering these services globally.

Can you leave our readers with a few thoughts?

Identify your strengths. If your core strengths match the core competencies required for your profession then it is not more a profession, it is a passion. Then every day is a breeze.