Kalpana Vadarevu on the value of diversity, finding balance in a demanding career
A technical program manager with more than 20 years of IT experience, Kalpana Vadarevu holds eight industry certifications and is known for building collaborative internal relationships and strategic partnerships with both customers and industry partners.
While growing up in India, Kalpana watched her parents model a strong work ethic and how to consistently treat people with respect. When she moved to the United States as a young adult, Kalpana took these values with her, along with her love of learning. Once in the U.S., she enjoyed more opportunities and resources to explore what she’d learned.
Kalpana’s early career and how she came to Leidos
Kalpana pursued her career as a developer at various banks before moving into production support. Eventually, she took on program management as a government contractor. During the first 20 years of her career, the work cultures she experienced equated career growth with long hours.
“The employers I worked for promoted the idea that performing well meant working extra hours each week, so I didn’t know there was any other way of advancing,” she says. While Kalpana navigated her career, she and her husband also raised two sons. Not only did she typically work 60+ hours each week, but she also felt she was always on-call during personal time.
“I feel I can still hear that phone ringing,” she says. “Unfortunately, this didn’t leave much time to spend with my family.”
In 2022, Leidos took over the contract she serves, and Kalpana says that’s when things started to change for the better.
“Now my boss hardly ever calls me after 5 p.m. I get decent vacation time, and I never get called while on vacation. Even at work I have time to simply think, which leads to better ideas and outcomes. This balance is good for everyone.”
At first, Kalpana admits that she didn’t think these positive changes would last. She and her colleagues assumed that their less demanding schedule was due to their being new at Leidos, and that the pace would soon pick up.
“After about six months, we finally started to trust the culture,” she says.
Working at Leidos, I can feed my soul. This company has given me the chance to spend time with my family and friends. I thought that was a luxury before.
Kalpana Vadarevu
Technical Program Manager
She’s especially grateful that the timing allowed her to enjoy more quality time with her boys leading up to their college years.
What Kalpana enjoys about her job
As a technical program manager supporting the Social Security Administration (SSA), Kalpana leads enterprise architecture and innovation staff.
“We have a nourishing relationship with our customer, and we’re glad our support directly impacts people’s lives, helping those with disabilities and during milestones like retirement,” she says.
Beyond fulfilling work, Kalpana appreciates the training tools and learning resources Leidos provides to her and her team — a big positive for a curious person who loves learning. She also says that, along with clear direction, her team always gets the time and space to do the deep thinking and experimentation that leads to innovation. This is especially important as they explore how to best use emerging technologies like AI.
“We have very educated, qualified people with strong brain power on our team, so we get to hear many different perspectives during our meetings,” she says.
Diversity’s value at Leidos
“Leaders want to be truly inclusive, so our managers look out for the quiet people. They give everyone the chance to speak up,” Kalpana says.
While diversity and inclusion efforts foster a more welcoming place to work, they also translate to better customer outcomes. By sharing and acting from diverse perspectives, Kalpana’s team can better support the SSA, which serves an extremely varied group of millions of individuals. If her team isn’t listening to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds or of various races, ages and genders, then they risk disregarding the needs of an entire group of people.
“My own background meant that I personally took transportation for granted,” she shares as an example. “Without someone on our team who pointed out that not everyone can access the SSA field offices as easily as others, many of us wouldn’t have realized how differently we needed to envision a digitized field office. Each unique perspective helps us ensure we don’t miss pockets that need attention.”
To help draw out those perspectives on her team, Kalpana makes a point to ask her colleagues open-ended questions and make time for those conversations to unfold. When she better understands their experience, she can draw out what each person adds to the team beyond their technical and business skills. For this same reason, she encourages everyone on her team to get to know each other.
“We all need to focus on being inclusive, not just managers. It’s good to be a melting pot – a place where everyone is welcome and shares a common goal – but it’s also important to remember that the most delicious salads offer many different tastes and textures within one dish. When we bring our unique selves to a common goal, we create better outcomes that include more people.”
Have questions for Kalpana?
She’ll be speaking at our virtual Leidos Collaboration and Career Event on Wednesday, March 20, from 12-12:30 p.m. EST, with a career fair to follow.
