We recently connected with Raina Gandhi and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Raina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
What my parents did right was create a strong foundation that balanced both my Indian cultural heritage and the opportunities America had to offer such that we had the best of both worlds. As immigrants in the late 1960s, they had to navigate challenges that many first-generation families face, and they were determined to provide me and my sisters with a stable, nurturing environment.
More specifically, one thing they did right was emphasize the importance of education. They recognized early on that education was the key to unlocking opportunities in this country, and espoused that my education was one thing no one could ever take away from me. They worked hard, initially in jobs that didn’t align with their skills or experience, but they always made sure my sisters and I had the resources and support to succeed in school. Despite their own limited English skills and thick accents, they prioritized school by moving to a town with some of the best public schools in our state, instilling in me a strong work ethic and drive to succeed.
Another thing they did right was make sure I stayed connected to my Indian roots. Our family of five spent almost every summer in India, and that was such a formative experience for me. I not only had the opportunity to spend quality time with our large extended family, but also learned to read and write in my mother tongue (Gujarati), and took lessons in Hindustani classical music (vocals and playing an Indian instrument called the harmonium). These invaluable experiences helped me gain a deeper appreciation for my culture, traditions, and values. I built a connection to my heritage that would have been hard to replicate any other way. I think it’s rare for first-generation children to have such a strong bridge to their ‘home country,’ but my parents made sure I experienced that firsthand, and it stuck with me. As an adult, I chose to learn a second Indian language – Hindi, worked in micro finance in rural India for a year, and traveled throughout the country.
A third thing my parents did right was effortlessly demonstrate love and affection through both their words and actions beyond just our nuclear family, towards my grandparents and other relatives who stayed with us for extended periods of time, and some who they sponsored for US citizenship. They made sure I understood the importance of family, respect, community, and humility—values that have shaped the way I navigate the world today.
The best part is that I have followed in their footsteps and raised my daughters with the same values around education, exposure to India (including lessons in Hindi and classical music), and love. I’ve seen how carrying my parents’ tradition and exposing them to both cultures has helped them to connect to both their Indian and American identities. It was something I emphasized—not just language, but the ability to move fluidly between two cultures and see the world from different perspectives.
I owe my sense of resilience and determination to my parents, who had to be resourceful and instilled that same spirit in me. They faced countless obstacles and their ability to maintain hope and optimism in the face of adversity is something I carry with me every day, along with honoring my roots and traditions.
Raina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My professional journey has been anything but linear. I started my career in investment banking, spent a year working in micro finance in India, returned to banking and then went to business school. After graduating with an MBA from Wharton, I briefly worked at a French bank in NYC before moving to Tennessee for two years for my husband’s medical fellowship, during which time I stayed at home with my newborn daughter. We then moved to Winston Salem, where my younger daughter was born, and where I eventually relaunched my career, pivoting to higher education. A few years later, I took a leadership position at American University and then at Johns Hopkins, before venturing out on my own to create my coaching and consulting company.
Throughout my career journey, a consistent theme I noticed, not only for myself, but also for many of my female colleagues, was that we faced several barriers preventing us from advancing our careers. Some of these were internal limiting beliefs, and others were external such as being passed up for promotions despite being the most qualified. These experiences discouraged women from staying in their fields, getting seats at the proverbial table, and taking on more leadership roles.
As someone who has had many career pivots including returning to work after an 11 year hiatus, I knew I had the skills and experience to help other women forward, and that is when I decided to pivot once again and start my own company. I decided to be the coach I wish I had when I was navigating these challenging waters. With almost a decade of career coaching experience, certifications in executive, leadership and organizational development coaching as well as change management and CliftonStrengths, I invested in myself and attained a certification in women-centered coaching so I could address our needs more effectively. Since then, I’ve been supporting women in their career goals – whether it’s setting themselves up to succeed in their next job application process or building the confidence and self-advocacy skills needed to get that much deserved promotion.
In addition to one-on-one coaching, group coaching, and workshops, I have spoken at many conferences and to organizations focused on talent engagement and retention. I have also served as a podcast guest on several podcasts including Chris Voss’ show, discussing various challenges women face in the workforce. My work has allowed me the freedom to live the life I always wanted and experience the joy of being the fullest version of myself, satisfaction of making a meaningful contribution, and insight of a higher perspective.
My vision is to activate women with the tools and resources to be “in power” and build fulfilling careers on their own terms, guided by my core values of trust, authenticity, reflection, gratitude, and accountability. When women rise, we all rise, and a rising tide lifts all boats.
I also know leaders are most successful when they have the space to gain clarity and support to understand and communicate what being fulfilled in their careers really means for them. As such, our services at Rising Tide Consulting include assessments, frameworks, exercises, and guidance through one-one-one and group coaching, workshops, and speaking engagements in the following areas:
Business Operations
Managing Up/Down/Laterally
Limiting Beliefs (Inner Critic,
Imposter Syndrome)
Confidence
Feedback & Performance
Management
Personal Brand & Values
Strategic Thinking & Planning
Influence Without Authority
Succession Planning
Multi-Stakeholder
Communication
Authentic Leadership
Self-Advocacy
Team Management
Trust & Accountability
Accountability
Time Management
Talent Retention
Conflict Management
Change Management
Process Optimization
30/60/90 Day Planning
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My reputation as a speaker and leadership/career coach is based on a culmination of my professional experiences, mindset, and ambition, all of which have refined and progressed over the last few decades. My commitment to being true to my values and genuine in my approach has helped me attract clients who resonate with my style and methods. I also prioritized building authentic relationships with clients by listening with intention, understanding each client’s unique challenges, and offering tailored guidance. Most importantly, I believed in myself and my ability to be successful in this field and built my reputation by focusing on three strategies:
1. I invested in developing a deep knowledge of and expertise in leadership development, career coaching, and personal growth. I made a commitment to ongoing learning—obtaining certifications in change management as well as leadership, executive, organizational development, and women-centered coaching. I also continue to read widely, and stay updated on the latest trends in leadership, the employment landscape, and coaching methodologies.”
2. I invested in my relationships. Building trust with my clients has been integral in creating lasting partnerships and positive change, and we all know the power of a good experience – we love to spread the word! In addition to supporting me through a strong referral network, my clients shared their experiences and tangible results when landing new roles, improving their leadership capabilities, and leading more effective teams. These success stories and testimonials provided social proof of my strong work ethic and expertise. I also nurtured relationships with other professionals—HR leaders, business executives, and fellow coaches—so that when someone needed career or leadership coaching, they thought of me first. These relationships also helped expand my reputation and client base.
4. I invested in my personal brand. I was very intentional in building my online presence through thought leadership. I shared insightful content on LinkedIn and videos on Instagram, served as a podcast guest on several different podcasts, hosted webinars, and created courses and resources to showcase my expertise. Over time, this built visibility and credibility in the career coaching and leadership development space and led to hosting workshops and speaking at conferences. Through public speaking, I demonstrated my expertise to a wider audience and built credibility within the professional community.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building a strong social media presence is a long term game! As a leadership and career coach, this process involved strategic planning, consistent engagement, and providing value to my audience. The following are the steps I took to establish and grow my social media presence effectively, and the guide can be applied to any business looking to grow their social media presence:
1. I defined my brand (Rising Tide Consulting) and niche (professional women) early on in the process by clearly defining my mission, vision, and values as well as my services and/or product offerings. My value proposition is to activate professional women to align their position and income with their impact so they thrive in rooms in which decisions are being made. My business education (Wharton MBA), diverse background in financial services, consulting, nonprofits, and higher education, and experience as a career relauncher (after an 11 year hiatus) coupled with my certifications in change management, CliftonStrengths, and leadership, executive, and organizational development coaching, made me uniquely positioned to understand the challenges many women face in the workforce. Clarifying these components of my business ensured my target audience was clear and consistent across all my social media platforms. By showing up authentically and with vulnerability, I was also able to demonstrate a strong understanding of their pain points and aspirations through my content creation.
2. I created and fully optimized my professional brand and profile and made sure my messaging was consistent so my target audience could recognize me wherever they found me. I also researched the different social media platforms and determined LinkedIn and Instagram would be most effective for my business. I highly recommend focusing on the ones that align best with your goals and where your target audience spends time:
* LinkedIn is ideal for professional content, thought leadership, and connecting with business leaders and professionals.
* Instagram is great for visual storytelling, motivational quotes, behind-the-scenes content, and short videos (reels).
* Facebook is used more by Gen X and baby boomers and is great for community building, client testimonials, and sharing blog posts.
* Twitter works well if you’re sharing quick tips, leadership thoughts, and engaging in conversations around industry trends.
* YouTube is perfect for businesses that need long-form video content like webinars or tutorials.
3. I developed a content strategy and provided value to my audience while positioning myself as an expert who offers solutions. . I shared educational content in the form of tips, insights, and resources on leadership development, career advancement, and coaching. I also shared client success stories and testimonials of how my coaching has helped my clients achieve their goals because social proof builds credibility. Adding my own journey, experiences, challenges, and successes helped build trust with my audience. I also asked thought-provoking questions and started conversations around leadership challenges to foster community and engagement.
4. I was very consistent in posting and engaging with my followers and those I followed on social media so I could stay visible and demonstrate my thought leadership. I created a content calendar and planned out 3-5 posts for the week. I also used relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of my posts so people could find me when they searched for topics related to leadership and career coaching.
5. I shared valuable and downloadable resources such as worksheets, templates, guides, and checklists that my audience could use to improve their career or leadership skills. This built value and drove traffic to my website and other social media platforms.
6. I utilized analytics to better understand what content worked best and used metrics like engagement, reach, comments, shares, and saves to gauge what resonated with my audience and improved visibility. I then adjusted my strategy based on what was working—whether it’s the type of content, post timing, or engagement tactics.
My advice would be to follow these steps and focus on showing up as your authentic self. If you provide value, engage consistently, position yourself as a thought leader, and stay patient and consistent, you’ll gradually grow a strong and influential online presence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.risingtideconsultingllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rising.tide.consulting/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainabgandhi/
