Note: This transcript has been edited for flow, clarity, and readability. 

[00:00:02] Lucía: Imagine starting your dream job only to watch the funding vanish overnight. We're exploring the true story of a leader who just days into his new role, faced a massive challenge, a sudden shift in donor priorities. In this episode, we find out how he tackled this challenge with a completely new team.

[00:00:22] Lucía: I'm Lucia Carrasco and you're listening to Grit Mission and Numbers, a podcast where we hear from finance practitioners working for social change and the stories behind the numbers.

[00:00:33]Lucía: from working with local organizations in Madras, now Chennai, India to untangling finances at international NGOs like Oxfam, Christian Aid and Care. Ganesh Ramachandran is now raising hundreds of millions in grant funding at a multilateral agency.

[00:00:48] Lucía: Ganesh, welcome and thank you for your time and for being here with us today. I know we're not naming the organization to protect its privacy, but how did it feel for you to go through this completely unexpected experience?

[00:01:01] Lucía: How were your first hundred days at this new job?

[00:01:05] Ganesh: Hi Lucia. Thank you so much for having me. Coming back to your question, how was the hundred days, it's been amazing. It did change the reality. It did change all the expectations and all the kind of ideas I came into this job. You land on a new job, you are coming with all excitement about understanding where you can bring in 20 plus years of your experience. And also, hearing from where the organization wants to go with all those moonshot ideas, creative ideas to go through. And then in two weeks' time, you find out that the largest donor or some of the largest donors are shifting priorities and our funding is going to change.

[00:01:54] Ganesh: And we don't know where we are going. Hey, what am I going to do? How am I going to manage it?

[00:02:00] Ganesh: And then you look around, you've got your team who all have been waiting for you to join. There is a big expectations on your shoulders. Sits a lot on your shoulders as you walk in. But how do they manage to go through?

[00:02:12] Ganesh: Well, that's what I'm going to share with you.

[00:02:19] Ganesh: So this request coming in from our donors, this sudden change of demand, the sudden change of priorities is something new to us. As we start looking at the emails, looking at the request coming through, looking at some of our reports. You just start getting worried and nervous and say, oh my God.

[00:02:38] Ganesh: And then as you sit down with your team and then the team gets worried. Oh no, we can't do this. We'll not be able to put together the budgets in the next 24 hours. We don't know exactly how much funds left over in the budgets because this is not something what we have been tracking for so long.

[00:02:58] Ganesh: Of course, we know the details, but it'll take more time.

[00:03:01] Lucía: I imagine every day you had different news, you heard different things about one donor or another would be doing next. What was one key takeaway from this experience, both personally, but also in terms of the processes that you had in place in your finance team?

[00:03:20] Ganesh: This is very deep and this is very personal. Aha. So, you know, there are many moments, let me tell you, when you have a team of 15 people with you, and especially going through these kind of process, the one thing is when you come into the office, whether it is nine o'clock, 10 o'clock, or seven o'clock in the morning, getting on a team call the one thing you can expect is everyone expecting you to have the same level of confidence and with the voice, with the way, the full modulation is. There is an expectation on it. It wasn't easy for me. I had to practice myself. You know, there are days where, before I get out of my home, I used to go into the mirror and look at me and say, okay, come on. Let's do it.

[00:04:05] Ganesh: This is a big day. So, I've done that one. Before big meetings, this is something that has worked for me is where there were moments where I had to get in bigger meetings, bigger processes. I tend to have a small piece of banana before I go into those meetings because that gives me an instant potassium, which just kept me going.

[00:04:22] Ganesh: I also built over a period, a council of coaches or mentors or fellow practitioners with whom you could have those candid moments and talk through with confidence, not all the details, but something you can bounce back, because you really need it, because you can't do it alone. And the other part, what I have realized, growing up as a leader now, is sometimes some staff member, it's about breaking their vulnerability.

[00:04:53] Ganesh: I can tell you what I did recently, really trying to finish off some reporting, trying to understand the data. Three of my staff members have been busy working on it, and I saw there was something going on in my team. Where they are not being themselves. Something was bothering them. I just said, you know what, guys? We’re going out, drop everything. We’re just going out.

[00:05:16] Ganesh: And it was just around 12 o'clock, midday. We went to one of the nearby restaurants. We ordered food, we ate, and I said, anything but work, we are going to talk right now. We are just going to talk about movies, crazy stuff. What they have done, what they would like to do.

[00:05:36] Ganesh: Next day morning, we walk into the office, they all said, we need to meet. I said, what? We need to meet. So we met. They came up with real solutions where they were able to find ways to move forward. This is not once, it has happened to me many times. And we just cracked it.

[00:05:58] Lucía: So important what you shared about being able to develop that gut feeling.

[00:06:03] Lucía: You need to be aware. You need to listen deeply. You also need to pay close attention to what's happening in your team. What's that energy? What's that sort of vibe that's flowing, and how can you play a role in shaking things up and being an energy shifter in terms of really supporting your team at times where you're stuck and where there doesn't seem to be any solutions, and just doing something different, taking time to share other things that are happening in their lives because life is much, much bigger than our work. And I think we also often forget about that when we're so immersed in the need, in the urgency. In the life-or-death situations that we often deal with in the work that we do. How were you able to keep your sanity and most importantly, were there operational efficiencies that came into light?

[00:07:08] Ganesh: Two things which has helped me, which I continue to do. The days where I have gone beyond my level where I feel like I'm reaching a point where my, I'm not able to do a creative way of doing things.

[00:07:19] Ganesh: I go home and I cook food. I try some new recipes that takes me out. That's my, whether you can call it a stress buster or something. The second one is I take a long shower. That takes away everything, all the things out of you. These are two things which has really worked for me to overcome this. That's also coming out of my own vulnerability, as they say.

[00:07:43] Ganesh: The famous psychologist,¹ of course, Brené Brown says the most important thing is to conquer your own vulnerability and if you could do it, you can conquer the whole world.

[00:07:52] Ganesh: Yes, we are going to make mistakes. Yes, we don't have answers for everything, but go with the open mind or learn by doing. We don't have all the answers, but we need to try. One of the most important things, I think Lucía, you know me, um, I like to celebrate success irrespective of how big or how small.

[00:08:13] Lucía: Hmm.

[00:08:14] Ganesh: This is something which really helped like a grandma medicine or grandma recipe for my team.

[00:08:22] Ganesh: Celebrate is not just about opening champagne or throwing up a big party, but is also a small moment of a small huddle coming together and say, “Hey, we did it. What have we learned from this one?” If we come across a similar one, how will we do about it?

[00:08:40] Lucía: I love your tip on your grandma recipe that we should all celebrate in that same vein of being able to pause and celebrate, but also being able to pause and look at the world and what was happening.

[00:08:54] Lucía: Is there anything you have reflected on in terms of the current funding landscape for social impact work?

[00:09:04] Ganesh: I would say a lot of things have changed. When I started my career, I remember five years was seen as you are able to see some strong development outcomes. But in today's world, the five years seems to be really long.

[00:09:17] Ganesh: So people have a three-year strategy. So the funding landscape was driven on a three-year cycle, but when you really bring that back to an operational side of it, is that's a very short time. Because if you look at it, by the time you kickstart any project, you're already lost the six months.

[00:09:35] Ganesh: And then if you're talking about a three-year cycle, by the end of the second year or midway through the second year, you need to start thinking about what your new strategy is going to look like. So, you're trying to wind off some of your projects. So technically, you are left with only a two-year cycle of window where you are really trying to do what we need to do.

[00:09:57] Ganesh: That's making the reality even more difficult, meaning there is pressure from the donors that you need to spend all the money within the timeline. If you have spoken to me like two years ago, any major donors, whether private philanthropy, governments, or even bigger foundation that no cost extension or for a one year was an unwritten, kind of like, it's allowable.

[00:10:22] Ganesh: But whereas today it's not because they want to show the result to their respective audience or their own governance in order to get more money. So, it's all becoming like a very much a result based dynamic process. So, when you have that, how are you going to look at it, both in terms of your own sustainability and the same time able to achieve the results?

[00:10:46] Lucía: And what are some concrete things that other finance practitioners could put into practice to navigate these rapidly shifting scenarios?

[00:10:55] Ganesh: For fellow finance practitioners, I would say what I do and what I would encourage them, and when I meet with other organizations or when I discuss with other peers, they are getting into the cycle of a six-monthly process.

[00:11:07] Ganesh: So, do I plan for three years? Yes. You have to plan for three years, but what is more important for us is we need to bring down the planning for a 12-month period or even a six-month period. And again, depends on what type of organization you are. And also, there is a lot of new technology out there available, which you could look out for, which could help you with some of these plannings and some of the projections.

[00:11:35] Ganesh: The last one, I would say, on this question is also building more regular conversation with your donor focal point. Don't wait for them to come back to you with questions, but proactively engage conversations with them in terms of: How your program is going, what is coming your way and what could you do?

[00:12:01] Ganesh: And this also I have found, opens opportunity if they are all informed about what you're working on and you are able to quickly adapt to their needs and able to support them.

[00:12:13] Lu: You bring up the concept of working alongside your donors and supporting each other in this path. I think that's something that we often hear from the different organizations and leaders that we work with. And obviously, communication is critical in these scenarios. I question for you: Is there a risk of being too transparent?

[00:12:36] Ganesh: I think almost throughout my journey, communication is never enough. And my personal thing about it is it's very relative. So, one can never say, you know, what is the right level of communication?

[00:12:53] Ganesh: Of course, you have to take the management judgment. You need to look at the context and also look at what you are trying to communicate. And communication is not just only about putting it in an email or standing up and speaking, but what I also learned over the years is also your body language that also communicate both the positivity and stress and also some of the challenges.

[00:13:17] Ganesh: So, I see this communication in the sound, body, music, like in a three kind of way, how you are able to do that one.

[00:13:25] Lucia: What about how transparent you were about the funding changes both with your team and with the external partners?

[00:13:34] Ganesh: You know, transparency is a very, very critical and a foundational word what I see in today's context, and especially for a finance professional and both internal stakeholders and external stakeholders, they look out for it. And that also shows the culture of your organization. That also shows your own individual values in terms of who you are and why you lead this role.

[00:13:59] Ganesh: Having said that, it's about how do we communicate the transparent information and also how far you want to give at every interaction. So that is something you need to manage it. So that once you give the financial data, you can't retrieve it back. And also, how can I make sure that I can consistently deliver that financial information?

[00:14:25] Ganesh: Meaning in terms of integrity, in terms of accuracy, in terms of data, in terms of the timeline, how are you complying with the external requirements and how are you complying with your own ways of working? And then the last C, it comes back to your own confidence because as a finance professional. You need to be confident in terms of the data, what you're providing, if you're not confident with the numbers.

[00:14:49] Ganesh: Better say, I need more time, I'll come back to you. So for me, these are the four C's: communication, consistency, compliance and confidence. And again, Stephen Covey's 7 Habits,² which talks about it is the last habit, which I'm very big fan of is habit number seven, is sharpening the saw.³ So, it's about how do you constantly keep the four Cs intact, how you are able to sharpen that one because otherwise it could become blank.

[00:15:22] Lucía: Following up on that sharpening, you just told us, you were new to the organization and so you're bringing all these great habits and practices, but how do you do that? You just landed there and you're meeting the team, how do you leverage new connections?

[00:15:40] Ganesh: The first and the foremost thing, me as a person, I love talking to people.

[00:15:45] Ganesh: I bridge connections and I believe in the we, than the I, and this is how I am. So in order for things to get achieved, you need at least two people to do things. So it's about moving away from I to we, how do we do that? The second one for me is listening, meaning, intentionally listening, trying to understand what they are going through, what are their challenges? Proactively engage, proactively have conversations, and really deeply understand how you can add value and how they can add value to what you are bringing in.

[00:16:29] Ganesh:  So, it's about you know, finding the sweet spot and able to do that one. The fourth one is, ground yourself, you know, for me, walk the talk. Yes, I have a formal responsibility as a leader, as a manager, as a director, but to start with, we are human beings.

[00:16:46] Ganesh: We are professionals. We bring in experience, passion, and learning to this work. How can we build it together? Taking the accountability is really important.

[00:16:58] Lucía: If others want to share on what has worked for them in the sense of leveraging connections, building a team, we would love to hear from you. I'm also gonna bring my grandma to this conversation because she used to tell me all the time. That, to be a good captain, you absolutely need to be a good sailor and listening to you, a lot of what you said resonated.

[00:17:24] Lucía: I think there's a lot of humility, character that goes into leadership and through that, this trust that you're also bringing into the team, into the way you work with others. And just by doing that, it allows, I believe, others to be themselves and to be the best versions of themselves. And I think that's very powerful in any leader.

[00:17:50] Ganesh: The other part is, we are part of the journey. This is not a destination, and we are not trying to win here. So as long as you are able to see this is part of the journey and where we are adding value, things open up.

[00:18:05] Lucía: This work that you do behind the scenes, we don't see this human and emotional side of these finance professionals that you just brought up so nicely and so clearly.

[00:18:16] Ganesh: There’s kind of an image built on a finance professional being someone who are number cruncher, someone who likes to sit on the Excel sheet, spend their time doing it.

[00:18:27] Ganesh: But the finance people are beyond that. The people who does the finance, they have the visibility of the whole organization. As many years ago, one of my CFOs said to me that, please don't take it for granted that an unqualified opinion by an auditor is something easy to get it. You can't take it, that you will get an unqualified opinion.

[00:18:49] Ganesh: But behind the scenes, in order to maintain the unqualified opinion, hours and hours of diligent work done by the finance professionals. So, that level of accuracy, that level of intimacy, that level of passion is something, you know, admirable or humongous. Right. So it's about also time where the organizations or companies or corporations need to start looking at it and say, how do we bring out that side of the finance professionals to a wider decision-making process or how they could add value to the changing on ground, they know the details, they know the numbers, the confidence, the rigor, and the process which they bring in.

[00:19:37] Ganesh: That is also transferable to other aspect of our businesses. How do we do that? How do we take that forward so that you are able to create the culture of it? Is something, I don't have a magic bullet, but that's something, really something to look for.

[00:19:53] Lucía: I totally agree, and that's also part of the many discussions we have through the FIRE program. And in the sessions, we organize with leaders and finance leaders across the world. What can we do to break the silos? How do we move from the I to the we? And obviously, this podcast is also part of that process and those conversations. As we wrap this up, are there any final words of wisdom that you'd like to share with us?

[00:20:19] Ganesh: We are at a bit of a dipping point across various things human evolution is going through. It's important to be able to seize the opportunity while balancing priorities on it, and it's a holistic approach. Finance cannot do anything alone. 2026 is going to be a very interesting year for many, and it's also going to be a year for finance professionals to bring out their own butterflies out, in a positive way to where they can play a very important and crucial role. So, what I would say through this conversation is, “Hey, let's get out there.” Again, this journey is beautiful and thank you for having me.

[00:21:03] Lucía: Get in touch with us for any questions or topics you'd like us to cover. You can find the resources mentioned in this podcast at springstrategies.org/podcast.

[00:21:13] Grit, Mission and Numbers is a podcast about the untold stories of finance practitioners working for social change and is produced by Spring Strategies.This podcast is not a substitute for legal, fiscal, or financial advice. Thank you for listening.

[00:21:28] Credits: This podcast is hosted and produced by Lucía Carrasco and edited by Canadian Podcast Productions.

Additional editing, communications and production support was done by our team at Spring Strategies. The music for this podcast is by Frontera Bugalu and Laudito, courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

 

FOOTNOTES

 ¹Brené Brown is not a psychologist, she is an American research professor, author, and podcast host who holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Houston.

²Referring to Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, published in 1989 and continues to be a bestseller book today

³Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw®