“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” This thought inspires every girl who aspires to define her reality and create a future for herself by doing something she loves. One such aspirational woman is Sonica Aron. Sonica comes from a family of doctors. She is the youngest of three siblings, who decided to join the field of business management. Thus, it is only understandable that this was something completely new for her. It is good to see how the dinner talks have changed from medical discussions to something more social, such as gender expression, social justice, awareness regarding various disabilities, and inclusion. Sonica is an HR professional who has acquired over 2 decades of experience in her field. She has worked with companies like PepsiCo, Vodafone, Roche Diagnostics and ICI paints across geographies and roles.
She has worked in sales, Manufacturing and HR. She has worked in remote locations and across different cities. Her diverse experience brought to light how various people view women workforce, and the way they work and deal with them. Sonica was leading the HR department in Philips Consumer Lifestyle Business in India, when she decided to take a different path and reshape her career. In the year 2013, around February, Marching Sheep was founded by Sonica with a purpose of making a tangible difference to people’s lives and careers.
Her Part In Her Organization
Sonica Aron is the founder and the Managing Partner at Marching Sheep. The company’s purpose is to work with clients and make a difference to the world- to peoples’ lives and careers and drive respect and equality for all. They wish to partner with clients and establish structural long-term capability that can be achieved through the People strategy, policies, driving diversity, equity and inclusion, and leadership and learning interventions. No ‘template’ is followed here, as all the solutions are customized. Solutions are designed and implemented here with a engagement with the client to identify the real needs and address them holistically.
Things That Inspire And Motivate Her
Sonica firmly believes in the power of inclusion and a world where people with differences flourish. Every client that Marching Sheep team has worked with is an opportunity for them to make a difference, and this is what drives them forward. Inspiration can also be found in the realities of people for Sonica. Ordinary people sometimes end up doing extraordinary things. When they engage in their non-commercial campaigns, such as the “Marching with Pride” where they spoke to the LGBTQ community members, or “21 Marching” where they interacted with people with 21 disabilities, their stories of grit and perseverance keeps Sonica on her toes to keep doing meaningful work. Their journey, their humility, their acceptance, and their will to live independently with dignity have done more than inspire Sonica. It motivates her to keep going, to do something tangible by way of creating awareness and inclusive workplaces, to bring about meaningful change.
A Few Noteworthy Recognitions And Accreditations
Sonica has been mentioned in the list of the top ten women entrepreneurs in Forbes India for the year 2020. Also, in June 2021, she had been mentioned in the list of India’s Most Valued People by Forbes India. In the same year, she also earned a position in the Inspirational Icons in Leadership list made by Fortune India Exchange. She also got a position in another two lists that same year. The lists were the Inspirational women leaders in India made by Business Today and the top 100 digital influencers produced by Yourstory.
A Thing She Wished She Knew Beforehand
Sonica emphasizes how she wishes she knew more entrepreneurship before she started Marching Sheep. Although she knew and understood HR well, it was not enough. She struggled with the simplest of things that were associated with setting up a new organization. For starters, she had no idea if she wanted to put together a company, a proprietorship, LLP, or an LLC. She struggled with making her own website. She was raised in a sheltered environment and then, again, she worked in corporate, HR management. None of this helped her sharpen her marketing and business development skills.
Being bootstrapped and attracting talent was one thing that she had the most difficulty with. She made mistakes in her early years when she believed in spoken words and trusted people without the help of a contract. She learned from her mistakes.
Her Take On Women And Their Stereotypical Role To Also Manage A Household
Sonica strongly believes that every woman is unique and has the right to find her passion and interest. Even though she is happily married, owns a dog, has two adorable children, and two sets of ageing parents with a thriving career of over the past two decades, she knows that she gets the most joy out of the difference she makes at work. Managing a household can be outsourced. As long as Sonica is happy doing the meaningful work she is engaged in, she knows that she can make people around her happy, too.
The things that makes one person happy could be something that does not matter to another person. Everyone should have a right to choose what makes them happy without any societal pressure or compulsions. If a particular woman enjoys staying at home and looking after the house, so be it. If a man wishes to take a break to pursue his hobbies or just to relax, then so be it. If they enjoy it, let them do it. If a couple decides to pursue parallel careers and wish to distribute their responsibilities at home equally and if that makes them happy, good for them! Who exactly is society to decide what’s right for anyone, anyway?
Highlights Of Her Career As A Woman
Sonica gracefully expresses that if this question was posed to her about 10 years ago, she would have answered with a recent promotion she got or an award she received, or it would be some sort of external validation. But as times have changed, she ponders and comes to the answer that there are many fine moments of gratification that make her extremely ecstatic and to pinpoint one is just impossible. For example, this one time a client told her that they were reminded of her when they had a conversation with their colleague about not being very inclusive during promotional decisions.
Or when a participant who had attended one of her sessions years or months ago invites Sonica to their wedding. Or even when a client calls and tells her how their interactions and conversations with her have helped them through a tough situation. Another example is how Sonica receives plenty of messages from people she has connected with over the years on women’s day. It’s times like these that help her realize that she is finally doing what she set out to do, making a difference in lives by touching them. There is a famous quote by Mark Twain, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
With Marching sheep, Sonica has found her why.
A Couple Of Changes That Were Brought By The Pandemic To Her Market And Sector
When Covid came into the picture and made a big announcement in everyone’s life, many companies were sucked dry of revenue within weeks. Sonica’s company was no different. All clients started cancelling the interventions they had planned. But while they were down, they were not beaten. The pandemic presented Sonica with two choices, one to send out her team on a furlough that could only be called indefinite. Once the situation was a little more stable, then only would it be an appropriate time to restart work. A lot of the boutique firms she knew were doing this, and this was the easy way out.
The second way was to persevere. Find out what their clients require and support them through the tough times, and work on being an even better version of themselves than before. Now, she knew that the second option would be tough, but she was brave enough to choose it and work her way through. Her reason for making such a choice is extremely simple and understandable. All the hard work she and her team had put into their business would be for nothing if they had taken a break. The seven years, 2013-2020 would be forgotten. Her team would have been fragmented.
So, to persevere was the ultimate choice she had. They then proceeded to become a mastermind and think tank that met well with the needs of a marketplace that was turbulent, uncertain, and evolving. To hold up the work they were doing, they were required to know how exactly they could strengthen their organizational capabilities to meet the extensive needs of business continuity and recovery. For this particular reason, they went on to conduct research extensively, while doubling their client outreach and working on panel discussions and surveys. Their portfolios were ramped and virtual offerings were brought forward.
A lot of the new partnerships were formed. One example is the FICCI quality forum, which has more than a cemented relationship with Sonica and her team over the last 3 years. Now, the year 2020 was tough, but she and her team stuck together, and with them stuck their partnerships and clients. Sonica is proud to share the news that with such elaborate efforts, none of her company mates suffered a layoff or a salary cut. New team members were hired, and the brand was further extended. Going virtual truly helped them. They had a chance to break down geographical boundaries while also receiving global assignments.
In 2021, Team marching Sheep had made clients all over the globe, including LATAM, APAC, Middle East, UK, ANZ, America, and Europe. We all realize that balance is an important factor of life and so does Team marching Sheep. She can positively say this because the team processes established not only let all the team members have flexibility but also help manage their personal and professional life without much time overlap. Since a bond has been made on mutual trust and respect, the working of team is pretty smooth.
Her Guidance To The Next Generation In Her Field
Sonica advises all youngsters to keep going and follow their hearts. Being persistent is the key. Obstacles and naysayers are common but that also help you lead the path.
Be confident and keep doing what you want to. Remember, nothing succeeds like success.
