Human on the Inside with Maxme’s Arpan Roy
Human on the Inside. We’re big believers in the power of human skills. But don’t just take our word for it - the evidence for excellence powered by human (‘soft’) skills is everywhere! In this engaging, ever-enlightening series, we speak with industry leaders, innovators and game-changers to learn a little about their personal career journeys, and how human-led strategies, philosophies and cultures are proving a force for good in their working worlds …
Maxme: Welcome Arpan, and thanks for stepping into the #SuccessIsHuman Spotlight.
You’re a wearer of multiple hats - right now including Co-Founder & Director of Arman Consultancy, Future Skills Industry Mentor - RMIT Online, Leadership Development Specialist - Curio, and Learning Facilitator for Maxme!
In 2 sentences (ok we’ll give you 4), what does all this work entail?
Arpan Roy: I like to look at my role as a Leadership Enabler - helping people become more effective leaders so they lead with greater impact. What I love about this role is the multitude of conversations I get to have with people when getting to know them. Leadership is a broad capability, and there are so many skills that you can learn along the way. With that in mind, I develop and deliver a variety of coaching and training programs which help people strengthen a range of leadership competencies such as communication, problem solving, decision making, stakeholder engagement and more.
M: Approximately two decades deep, your impressive career has spanned project management, consulting, coaching and training.
It all kicked off in 2004 as an Operations Support Specialist with Infosys - a role you performed for almost three years before progressing to Domain Specialist (a further three years), and then Project Manager for a further ~five years.
You then moved on to establish your own consulting venture, Arman Consultancy, in late 2014 which is almost 10 years old. Along the way, you joined Udemy as a Course Instructor (mid 2018), and RMIT Online in 2022 as a Future Skills Industry Mentor. In April 2024 you also joined Maxme as a Learning Facilitator!
What a wonderful ride!
How does all this speak to your personal purpose and what drives you as an individual?
AR: Throughout my professional career, I’ve been fascinated with leadership as a topic. Through my career in IT, I’ve had the opportunity to take on quite a few leadership roles. One of the things I realised back then was that if I had a good day at work, I felt satisfied. However, if I helped someone else have a good day at work, I felt double the satisfaction. That drove me to venture into leadership and professional development. 10 years into this role, and I still feel immense satisfaction in helping others do better at work. My personal mission is to enable 25,000 or more leaders by 2025. This motivates me to help as many leaders as possible to make a difference for their people and organisations.
M: Tell us a little about your personal education pathway/s - what led you to where you are now? How closely do your formal qualifications match your current career?
AR: I’ve had quite a varied journey. Engineer by qualification, I launched my career in IT before moving into leadership development. Every transition I made has required me to train and learn about my next role; either through courses, or formal certifications. With my role in leadership development, there have been many opportunities to learn both informally or formally. I feel that as I learn more, I can add greater value to the people I work with.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice to your 21 year old self it would be ...
AR: I have two things to share:
Give yourself permission to make mistakes, and importantly, make sure you learn from them.
Progress is more important than perfection. Stop waiting for the right moment, for things to be right, or to have all the information. Make a start, and work your way through. As you move forward, you’ll gain clarity on what’s ahead and what you need to do.
M: Maximising the potential of individuals, communities and businesses through the power of human skills is the reason Maxme exists. Can you tell us a little about the role and / or value of human skills in your workplace or industry right now?
AR: There is greater emphasis on people to take on more skills than ever before. The nature of many jobs used to be pretty one dimensional decades ago. That has changed over time, with people needing multiple skills to succeed in their roles. For example, when it comes to leadership, there is so much that modern day leaders need to be aware of: managing change, solving problems, communicating clearly, making decisions, engaging stakeholders, understanding technology (and AI of course 🙂). The more open we are to learning different skills, the more ready we are to tackle the challenges we face at work today.
M: Self Awareness sets the critical foundation for all Maxme learning experiences. With that said … what’s your strongest trait / personal superpower?
AR: In addition to self-awareness, one of my key strengths is insightfulness. This helps me understand others’ thoughts and feelings as well as read situations better. As a coach and trainer, insightfulness helps me serve others better as they feel heard and understood, which is so vital in any environment. This results in some really good conversations and strong connections with people.
M: And on the flip side, what’s one human / ‘soft’ skill you’ve had to really work on improving over the course of your career?
AR: Believe it or not, I’ve had trouble processing constructive feedback in the past, especially when I believed I had done my absolute best. Over time, I’ve worked on this aspect. One of the shifts I’ve made is to view feedback as a gift, not a threat. That has helped me receive feedback with more grace and ease.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice with recent Uni graduates or candidates keen to work in the field of learning & development, what would it be?
AR: Always be hungry for learning and growth. People who succeed in this field (or any field for that matter) are those who are most authentic. So by committing to your personal learning and growth, you lead by example and have a better chance at inspiring others.
M: You’ve been granted approval to add one University graduate to your consulting business, but have 100 applicants, all with outstanding academic results. How do you find your perfect candidate - what are you looking for?
AR: The qualities I would look for are:
Being coachable and open to feedback
Treating people kindly and fairly
Willingness to give 100% to their role and their tasks
Ability to think on their feet and make decisions.
M: In the words of John Dewey, “education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.”
What’s next on your #learning agenda?
AR: In the last quarter of the year, I plan to get my reading habit back on track. There are a few books on my wishlist I’d like to read. Next year, I also plan to write my next book, so there will surely be many more things to learn as I research the topic and get writing!
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