From Engineering to Empowerment: The Inspiring Journey of Suparna Kapoor

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”, is the line from the poem Invictus, that inspires the Founder and CEO LQ Suparna Kapoor. LQ is a Training, Coaching, and Consulting entrepreneurial venture. She has 32 years of experience in Engineering, Project Management, Learning and Development, HR, and Academics.

The core of Suparna is continuous learning and exploration without boundaries. She is also a complete “people person” and values strong social connections. Other important values are Freedom – for self and others, Kindness and Trust. She is spiritual (not religious) and believes in this higher power that “always has our back”. She focuses on living with GRACE – Gratitude, Reflection, Acceptance, Courage, and Emotional Equanimity. She has a philosophy "Believe in your power to make a difference; a single person can transform the world." 

She believes that the future for women in leadership roles is bright and promising. As more organizations recognize the value of diversity and inclusion, women will have more opportunities to lead and make significant contributions. However, this will require continuous efforts to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes. Women must support each other, take bold steps, and embrace opportunities with confidence and authenticity. It’s the right balance of the masculine and the feminine energies within us that can transform the world.

Introduction:

Suparna Kapoor was born in a middle-class family in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, as the elder of two daughters. Her parents were both academicians and instilled the utmost importance of education in both sisters, never compromising despite financial constraints. Initially, she wasn’t among the top students in school, but things changed when she moved to class 8th, and she began working hard to be among the top rankers. Clearing the IIT-JEE examination was a significant achievement, especially considering the less than 2% girl population in IITs at that time. She added, “Living in a hostel, making my own decisions, and exploring various activities at IIT-BHU transformed my personality”. Engineering also taught her a structured way of thinking and problem solving she thinks what has continuously stayed with her over the years is this immense power of learning, critical thinking, and expanding one’s abilities. Even though Suparna spent more than half of her career in Technical roles, it was the softer aspects of the organization – people & leadership, as well as the exploration of human thriving that attracted her more. That probably was the intuitive trigger to make a shift towards a Learning and Development role that is closest to her heart.

She started her career as a young engineer in Telecom production in a small town in UP after her B.Tech in Electronics. Over the past three decades, her career has taken many twists and turns, eventually leading her to a Corporate HR role. She worked in two large PSUs in Telecom and Aerospace across various locations, projects, and roles. Her ability to quickly learn, lead, follow, and manage diverse stakeholders has enabled her to deliver on critical projects. 

A significant role that transformed her was her 12-year stint at the HAL Management Academy in Bangalore. During her time there, she realized her passion for learning, sharing, empowering, and impacting people, and in the process, developing leaders and influencing organizational change. She designed and delivered over 300 workshops and sessions for 10,000 executives from entry-level to the C-suite. And these numbers have grown and reached beyond HAL to other Public and Private institutions and colleges.

This profound passion and commitment towards empowering and unleashing human potential became so compelling that she bid farewell to the leadership role at HAL and embarked on a journey to honor this calling. This laid the foundation for LQ—a training, coaching, and consulting company and a hub for holistic development.

Challenges and Achievements:

Challenges are an essential requisite for growth – one of Suparna’s philosophies is “Can we be Uncomfortable with Comfort”, and this has enabled her to continuously learn and grow from situations in work and life. 

The initial years of her work as an Engineer were quite difficult because the industry was still very male-dominated and patriarchal in many ways. One had to work so much harder to prove one’s worth. In her role as a Telecom Engineer travelling to and working in remote locations with not even basic hygiene facilities for women was a challenge indeed. There was no concept of extended maternity or paternity leaves then and it's always heart-wrenching to leave a  few months-old kids and be away for work. She said, “I think these are challenging choices every working mom makes on a day-to-day basis and I believe there is no right or wrong choice here, just different ones”. 2015 -16 was an exceptionally challenging time on all fronts due to health issues in her family including her 12-year-old nephew being diagnosed with cancer, her son’s crucial year of college admissions, her spouse’s unexpected career hurdles, her professional commitments, and more. It was faith and a call to action that kept her balance so that she could support others. When her son who is only 18 years old, left for college in the US, the empty nester feeling and the lack of a purpose was a challenge for the initial six months. After that, she simultaneously expanded her social circles, took up new hobbies life became enjoyable, being okay with solitude and your own company is very liberating. 

One of her most significant achievements was being the first in her family to get selected to IIT and become an engineer. In those days, it was challenging for women engineers to be part of the Manufacturing industry due to the lack of facilities and policies that exist today. A large part of her work has been directly or indirectly for the Defense sector of India, and she takes pride in having played a small yet significant role in nation-building and the country’s safety and security. Transitioning mid-career from a Technical role to Learning and Development and making an impact on people, especially young minds, is precious to her. When people come back years later and say that a statement she made in a session impacted their lives, it feels like a big achievement. Her transition from a rational, left-brained engineer to someone who embraced artistic and spiritual aspects of existence has expanded her being making her more creative, intuitive, and a better human being. Leaving a secure role at HAL to become an entrepreneur required courage, self-confidence, and a bit of craziness. She was happy she took this step rather than living with regret.Managing her family commitments and raising her son as a single parent tops the list of achievements for her. 

She has received many awards:

• British High Commissions Chevening CRISP Fellowship at University of Oxford
• Certificate of Appreciation 8th Asian Women in Leadership Summit, 2019
• Women Achievers Award – Women In Public Sector (WIPS), Bangalore, 2020
• Shri SEWAHI Foundation Achievers Award, 2022
• Board Member at Yours Truly Theatre Bangalore
• Leadership Program at IIM-A and IAS Toulouse France
• IICA certified Independent Director
• Also won various Training related awards for HAL

Personal Insights:

Talking about her work-life balance, she said “Work is a significant part of who I am and takes up much of my time, especially as I move up organizational responsibilities. It provides a sense of purpose and financial comfort but it is not LIFE”. She added that meaningful work is one pillar of life, along with health and well-being, family, friendships and love, leisure, personal growth, and contribution to society. She strives to maintain a balance between these components, but there is no one answer to achieving this balance. Each individual has their approach. There have been times when work overshadowed everything, while at other times, fun, family, or her son took priority. What matters is the awareness with which one makes choices between different aspects of life. We only have 24 hours in a day, so we win on some days and lose on others.

Impact and Vision:

When asked about her leadership style, she sees herself more as a coach rather than a traditional leader. She believes in empowering team members and fostering an environment of trust and collaboration. Humility as a leader allows her to have an accurate self-view that normalizes the acknowledgment of mistakes and shortcomings along with highlighting subordinates’ strengths nudging them towards self-development. A good leader is not threatened by subordinates outshining them but applauds their achievements she is assertive and stands up for what she believes is best for the organization while protecting the team and taking responsibility if things go wrong. She also values being inclusive and ensures that she listens to all voices in her team, especially those of dissent.  

Talking about her long-term vision for LQ, her vision is to empower individuals and organizations by enhancing knowledge, strengthening leadership, and promoting a flourishing life. The aim is to impact 50,000 individuals in the next 5 years. 

Moving forward, a key focus will be on designing unique, integrated offerings for women managers/leaders and students entering the workforce. As she pursues her Ph.D. at XLRI Jamshedpur in Organizational Behaviour, she aims to incorporate cutting-edge research into our practical applications, ensuring the programs remain fluent and impactful.

Over the next five years, she envisions expanding across various sectors and organizations and forming mutually beneficial partnerships. The focus will remain on continuous innovation in training methodologies and expanding impact on leadership development and organizational growth. Ultimately, the core mission of LQ will continue to center on capability building, unlocking human potential, and fostering individual and organizational flourishing.

She also wants to take up a few social impact projects focusing on women STEM students from Tier 2 and 3 cities and towns of India and offer them training and mentorship to enable them to build long-term careers and lead a happy life. She wants to reach out to the larger community of young adults and create a safe non-judgemental space for them to speak and share their hearts and hopes. Being a Happiness coach she wants to infuse joy and energy into our daily lives and create a better world.

Conclusion:

She advises young women, especially those pursuing careers in STEM, to always believe in yourself and your dreams, no matter how crazy they seem. Be courageous, work smart, and never let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve something because of your gender. Make professional decisions based on your interest and passion, find mentors, and never stop learning. Make conscious personal choices about relationships, marriage, and children, don’t be driven by social programming. Learn to manage your finances, build on the power of networks, and equip yourself with skills to navigate organizational dynamics. 

Most of all be loving and kind to yourself, take time for self-care, and ask for help when required – none of us are superwomen.