Your difference is your power

Have you ever sat in a meeting, holding back your thoughts because they seemed too different from what everyone else was saying? That nervous feeling when you have an idea but worry about how others might react?

I've been there too. That knot in your stomach — part doubt, part frustration — when you know you have something valuable to offer, but worry it might sound wrong.

This is the story of someone who faced that same challenge and found a different way forward.

When Padmasree Warrior joined the leadership team at Cisco, a colleague warned her that her "collaborative style" might be seen as "indecisive" in American business culture. Many people would have spent that night practicing how to change themselves.

But Padmasree did something different. Instead of changing herself, she decided to turn what made her different into her strength.
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The pressure to fit in

Many women in tech fields, especially those from different cultural backgrounds, feel huge pressure to blend in. We carefully watch our words, our tone, even our ideas — trying to match everyone around us.

I've seen brilliant women hold back their innovative ideas because they didn't match how their team usually thought. The cost isn't just personal—it's the loss of a new way of thinking that could lead to breakthroughs for the company.

Have you ever kept an idea to yourself because it felt "too different" from how your team usually works?
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The turning point for Padmasree

Padmasree grew up in India and studied engineering before coming to America. Her background shaped how she thought about problems and worked with others.

Early in her career at Motorola, she faced a key moment. During an important presentation, a senior executive cut her off mid-sentence. The room went quiet, all eyes on her.

In that moment, with her heart racing, she had a choice: back down or stand firm.

She chose to speak up. She respectfully held her ground and finished explaining her approach. What happened next surprised everyone — her different way of thinking opened up a solution the team hadn't considered.

That evening, thinking about what happened, she realised something important: "What makes me different isn't what holds me back — it's my greatest source of strength."

This mindset helped her rise to become a top leader at Motorola, Cisco, and later NIO.

How might your career change if you saw your differences as strengths, not weaknesses?
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Three ways she turned "different" into "unique"

1. Seeing the big picture

While many American leaders break problems into separate parts, Padmasree's Indian background taught her to see how everything connects.

This different view helped her at Cisco. When the company had separate teams working on cloud computing and mobile technology, Padmasree saw something others missed — these weren't separate projects but parts of one big picture.

She brought the teams together, saying: "These aren't separate futures. They're part of one connected experience."

The result? Products that worked better together and solved customer problems more completely.

Think about: What connections do you naturally see that others around you might miss? That might be your hidden strength.
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2. Leading through listening

In tech, leadership often means making quick decisions with little input. But Padmasree's background valued group wisdom and hearing everyone out.

Instead of choosing one style over the other, she created a simple meeting approach that everyone could follow:

First, she started with a shared agenda that everyone can add to before the meeting. This answers the basic question: "Why are we meeting?" Everyone arrives knowing what they'll talk about.

Then, her meetings followed three clear parts:

1. Inform: Quick, important information that everyone needs to know
2. Discuss: The main part where everyone discusses ideas and solutions
3. Decide: When a choice needs to be made, she makes the call clearly

Team members felt both heard and clear about next steps — a combination that built strong loyalty.

Ask yourself: What feels natural to you that's different from how others lead? How might that actually be valuable?
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3. Seeing multiple sides

Having lived in both Eastern and Western cultures, Padmasree could easily see situations from different angles.

In meetings where tech teams and business teams often talked past each other, she became the "translator" — helping engineers understand business needs while helping executives understand tech realities.

This ability to see through others' eyes — developed through her experience in different cultures — made her a natural bridge-builder.

Consider this: When has being an "outsider" helped you understand things others miss? How could this help in your current role?
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Creating change for others

Padmasree didn't just use these skills for herself — she created ways for others to benefit too.

At Cisco, she started a "Reverse Mentoring" programme that paired senior leaders with junior employees from different backgrounds:

• Junior employees taught senior leaders about new technologies
• Senior leaders shared career advice
• Both learned from their different perspectives

This wasn't just a nice idea — it got real results. In one example, a junior engineer who had recently moved from Shanghai helped Cisco's leaders understand how social media was developing differently in Asian markets. This insight led to a product feature that was very successful in China.

Padmasree explained it simply: "New ideas happen when different viewpoints meet. If everyone thinks the same way, we'll only create what already exists."
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Turn your uniqueness into your strength

What worked for Padmasree can work for you, too. Here's how to start:

Step 1: Find what makes you different

Take 5 minutes to answer:

• How is your background or thinking style different from most people in your field?
• When has this difference helped you see something others missed?
• Which of your "different" qualities have you been downplaying?
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Step 2: See your difference as a special lens

For each quality you listed, ask:

• How does this difference help me see things others might miss?
• When could this viewpoint be especially helpful?
• Who might benefit from this perspective?
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Step 3: Try it out

This week, try this simple experiment:

• In one meeting, share a thought that comes from your unique perspective
• You might start with: "From my experience, I see this a bit differently..."
• Notice how people respond

One of my coaching clients tried this in a product meeting. As the only person with experience in a different industry, she shared how a similar problem was solved there. The team seemed surprised at first, but ended up using her idea to create a solution that worked better than their original plan.
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Remember this

In places where everyone is expected to think the same way, your different viewpoint isn't just valuable — it's needed. The very things that make you feel different might be your greatest gifts.

As Padmasree Warrior says: "Don't try to fit in when you were born to stand out."

Especially for Women in tech and other male dominated professions, this is so important. I love this Youtube video here, min 7.42 onwards. Padmasree speaks about how women are often underestimated and how important self-confidence is to not try to fit in — but do what you are capable of.

Think about that. What if the things that make you different are actually your biggest strengths?