Neha Motwani, CEO and co-founder, Fitternity.
Note to readers: Fit to lead is a series of interviews with business leaders on their approach to fitness, leadership and navigating the new normal.
A Mumbai girl out and out, Neha Motwani has the drive to succeed and a strong urge to find solutions to everything. The 35-year-old is co-founder and CEO of Fitternity, a fitness discovery and marketplace start-up that was acquired by Cure.fit last year. The idea for Fitternity came from a problem she faced when she was re-starting her own fitness journey in 2013 while working in the corporate world.
Fitness has been pretty much part of her life since she was a child and one of her most cherished teenage memories is that of her joining her father for a jog on the beach. “While jogging, we would talk about our day but the most exciting part would be a 1km race between us towards the end. We thoroughly enjoyed it and looked forward to the next race,” Motwani recalls.
As a fitness enthusiast and entrepreneur, she believes feeling healthy and fit directly reflects on how you feel and appear on the outside, and she feels lucky that she works with a team that truly understands the value of fitness. With the pandemic throwing curve balls, the one thing she makes an effort towards is to get 7 hours of sleep, plenty of water and a well-balanced diet.
How do you achieve your health and fitness goals?
I start my day with a 60-minute workout alternating between functional training and running, 5-6 times a week. These days I focus on lifting heavy and am also practicing meditation 10-15 minutes daily since the pandemic hit us.
Favourite fitness activity…
I love running/walking on the beach near my suburban Mumbai home. It helps me de-stress and calm my mind.
Your toughest?
I had set a personal target a few months ago to do unassisted pull-ups. I have improved and will get there soon.
Your new normal…
I miss the office, team interactions and my desk at work. But thanks to an amazing team, work has been going on smoothly despite working from home. We connect over video multiple times during the day and attend to the tasks on priority.
I started growing fruits and veggies in my small garden patch during the pandemic and it makes be happy using the fresh produce in my meals.
Has your fitness routine, in any way, helped you navigate the uncertainties of the current times?
My fitness routine has been the only constant in these challenging times and that’s helped me de-stress.
The one change you would encourage your teammates to make to deal with the challenges of current times…
Keep yourself busy and work towards taking care of your mental health. Prioritising yourself is an absolute must. Taking breaks, spending quality time with family, doing things you love are some things that I personally do and recommend them to my teammates too. At times like these, taking it one day at a time is the best way to tackle the uncertainties.
Any leadership lessons in your fitness journey?
Fitness is all about pushing boundaries… I have achieved great results only by pushing my limits. In 2013, I struggled to find the right gym, yoga studio, personal trainer matching all my requirements… I pushed myself to find a solution to this problem and that’s how Fitternity came into being.
What impact does your image of a “fit leader” have on your team?
My team understands the importance of working out and staying fit — that is the essence of Fitternity. They know it contributes to their wellbeing, strengthens immunity, improves clarity at work and much more.
Has being fit helped you become a better leader?
Staying fit gives me the energy and self-esteem to become a better leader. My fitness journey has helped me stay centred while ensuring I try to lead by example. By staying on my feet, I find it very easy to jump into action anytime my team needs me. People who work out regularly have been known to set goals and track progress. A similar tangent can be drawn at the workplace and this habit has helped us stay on track.
Your leadership style is…
A mix of transformational and participative leadership styles. While I do try to push my team to think outside the box, I often find myself trying to do the same. It helps us be flexible, quickly adapt to changes and find new solutions to old problems. As a leader I try to keep my team aligned with our core values. I ensure that there’s always room for more opinions and conversations by keeping an open-door policy where any issues or concerns can be raised by anyone in the organization.
How does your fitness routine help you strike a work-life balance?
It has helped me organise my day well and be able to tick things off my checklist.
Challenges and goals for the year…
My main focus would be eating healthier and improving my immunity. I also want to focus on self-care and mental wellbeing, which is in line with what we are planning at Fitternity. We’re going beyond physical exercise and adding services that are more holistic in approach such as mental therapy, nutrition guidance, etc.
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