Head and Heart: Interview with Aditi Javeri Gokhale, Chief Commercial Officer of Northwestern Mutual

I recently went one on one with Aditi Javeri Gokhale, Chief Commercial Officer and President of Investment Products and Services at Northwestern Mutual, the largest U.S. provider of life insurance and manager of more than $265 billion in policyholder assets. Aditi is responsible for the company’s go-to-market approach, corporate strategy, marketing, communications, and the company’s venture capital investments. Aditi also leads the growth and performance of Northwestern Mutual’s investment products and services business, now considered one of the largest and fastest-growing independent broker-dealers in the country.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Aditi: Thank you for having me! I appreciate you starting with this question – because for most of us, our personal story and upbringing plays a significant part in who we are and how we lead today.

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. My family was progressive – and my parents prioritized education for my sister and me. We were a middle-class family and although there was never extra money, my parents did all they could to provide a great upbringing. I was fortunate to be awarded a four-year tuition grant to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts sight-unseen at 17 years old on my first international flight with only $150 in my pocket. I carried two suitcases of clothes that were crowd-sourced from friends and family.  

As you can imagine, that time in my life was a period of significant growth. A few months in, I hit a moment where I was overwhelmed by it all and felt ready to give it all up. I was homesick for my family, I had never been through a snowy winter, I deeply missed my friends, MIT was academically rigorous, and I was overwhelmed by it all. At that time, Facetime and Whatsapp didn’t exist – and calling back home to India was expensive.

I distinctly remember a moment when, at a high cost-per-minute, I called my parents to tell them I was ready to come home. In that conversation, my dad told me to wait it out a bit longer. Take it day by day, week by week, he said. He reassured me that I always had a place at home – but encouraged me to stick with it and not give up. I followed his guidance – and that is probably the best advice I’ve ever received. That advice still inspires me today and it has stuck with me throughout my career.

That was a big moment for me because I had to face tremendous uncertainty – which felt like a major challenge – and find a way to redefine a totally new situation. I learned grit and tenacity through the process – and those qualities have helped shape how I approach other big moments in my career. 

Adam: What are three things everyone should understand about how to build and grow a business?

Aditi: Unlock the power of your team: Regardless of your business, your industry, or your goals, success is possible because of your people. It’s important to remember that each of your colleagues have different motivations, passions, and perspectives they bring to the table. I have seen this time and again. To unlock the true potential of a team, inclusiveness and transparency are essential so that people are empowered to take action and move quickly. As leaders, we should want people on our teams to bring their whole selves to work, which includes being open in sharing both ideas and feedback — and ultimately accelerates progress. My team is effectively an extension of my family – we challenge each other, drive results together, care about each other, and genuinely like being together.

Take care of your clients: Building a business that can stand the test of time starts with really knowing and caring for your clients: who they are, what they want, what inspires them, and what is important to them. As a multi-generational company with over 160 years of history, Northwestern Mutual has always evolved to meet client needs, by knowing who our clients are and helping them achieve financial security. For example, as we push beyond the pandemic, we have seen an increased number of Americans recognize the importance of having a financial plan. They are turning to our advisors to help them evolve or build a plan – not only ensuring their financial stability now, but in planning for their future. And as clients take action to follow through on their financial plans, it’s translating into business growth. Because when it comes to questions around your financial plan and how you are meeting your financial goals, you need an advisor. We want our advisors focused on addressing these critical questions from our clients so that they can get the best outcomes. There is no technology, tool, or robo advisor that can replace the empathy, care, and responsiveness of a human being. We have seen that time and time again that when you are there for your clients – always, but especially in their time of need - it will drive future growth and success.

Align your passion with your company’s purpose: I firmly believe that each of us has to make career decisions to help our hours count toward something bigger. I have loved many of my career experiences and companies, but ultimately felt drawn to Northwestern Mutual and our mission of helping people become more financially secure. I believe where you work needs to be a deliberate decision. I want to be part of a company that truly serves to make an impact in the lives of clients. 

Adam: What is your best advice for those working at big organizations on how to best climb the corporate ladder?

Aditi: I think my first piece of advice is to not focus on trying to climb a ladder – focus on doing work that you find deeply meaningful, where you are stretched and challenged, and where you see yourself making an impact – and let that lead to career and role growth. It’s important to move beyond just trying to advance for the sake of it. 

Certainly, you need to focus on performing in your current role to earn future opportunities. That often means working harder and smarter than everyone else. You also have to be willing to take risks – especially if you’re interested in the work or see opportunity.  

I would also encourage people to be open to nontraditional paths. Throughout my career, I have been willing to pursue roles that others have shied away from – often because they are challenging or complex. But these roles can build your skillset and raise your profile within your organization, give you new experiences which carry a lot of weight in your development, and ensure a better holistic understanding of how the organization operates.

In addition, I would recommend building relationships across all levels of your organization, not just with your immediate supervisor. Dedicating the time to network across all levels, learn new skills, and focus on the needs of the business will help broaden your abilities and show you are open to and prepared for new opportunities, and you’ll have allies in other departments and on other teams when you do. But through it all, don’t lose sight of what is meaningful to you. After all, we spend a majority of our days at work – and you have to enjoy it and the people you work with along the way. 

Adam: What is your best advice for entrepreneurs and those working at small businesses on how to cultivate relationships and sell to large companies?

Aditi: Whether you are an entrepreneur or working at a small business, it’s critical to focus on offering a way to solve a specific and critical problem for your clients – regardless of whether those clients are individuals, other small businesses, or large companies. At the core of this, dig deeply into how you can uniquely address a specific pain point or a need to drive value through an in-depth understanding of customer challenges – because this is the fastest path to success. Relationships are important – but this goes beyond just contacts to help you make sales. Build a network that will give you ongoing feedback, help you sharpen your offering to continuously be more effective in solving client pain points, and ultimately ensure you have ongoing learning, evolution, and improvement.

Early in my career, I helped launch a digital analytics start-up. We worked tirelessly to get the business off the ground and prepared for our first customers. Along the way, and through conversations with customers, we shifted our strategy and refined the client base we wanted to serve. Working with both prospects and clients, I learned first-hand the importance of evolving to solve the problems where we could add the most value for clients.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Aditi: In times like this, a leader has to use both head and heart to succeed.  

When it comes to the head side of this, it’s critical for leaders to bring strong business judgement and strategic thinking to unlock value for the organization. Too often, leaders excel in a specific area or vertical – but I think the most effective leaders can see the big picture and understand the nuanced complexities that underpin success at the organization. By making these connections and helping spot opportunities in the midst of potential complexity, leaders can elevate their teams and results in new ways. 

Beyond this, leading with heart is equally important. One of the most defining qualities of a leader is their ability to be truly authentic with their team. To do this requires consistently listening to everyone’s perspective, especially if they are contrarian or challenge the status quo, and engaging in transparent communication. There is a business benefit to this – because it will help you see potential blind spots. But more broadly, this also allows you to learn about your teammates – what they are passionate about, and the diverse perspectives that can benefit the overall team. That information can arm you with the knowledge needed to help your team define and achieve their own professional goals while driving growth by assigning projects according to their individual strengths and passions. From my own experience, when you report to a leader who pours energy and time into you and your needs, it is easier to remain loyal and stay on track.

Finally, embracing failure is vital because it inspires ideation and innovation. I encourage my team to take calculated risks, but even planned risks can lead to failures. If that happens, it is important to fail fast and move on. It is also okay to be transparent and share when that happens as a leader. We are learning, experimenting, and refining all of the time. We don’t need to know all the answers – but we have to learn quickly and keep moving. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Aditi: Every leader has to recognize that it’s not about me, it’s about the team. 

I recently celebrated five years at Northwestern Mutual, and I’ve approached this role similar to all my leadership roles, with a focus on finding fresh, bold, and different solutions that challenge the status quo. And the key to this is to surround yourself with top talent.   

So how do I do this? As a people leader, I suggest you focus on a few things:

First, I set bold visions for my teams and expect strong results. But you need to bring your people along with you – create a shared vision, then the team will more naturally have accountability in its execution. 

Second, establish measurable targets for your results. It’s important to set benchmarks so you know when you’re moving the needle. Along the way, I find it very impactful to give public praise for both small and big wins. 

Third, you have to focus on your talent. I think all business leaders understand that we’re in a war for talent right now – and that’s going to continue for at least the next 3-5 years. It’s important you are supporting your top talent and building close relationships – plus, it’s critical to constantly understand the talent marketplace and what skills you will need to acquire in the future. I think this is a critical capability for all leaders – and I often recommend that leaders spend more than 40% of their time on their time. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Aditi: Keep your eye on the big picture while you flex in the near term: It’s critical that leaders both respond to the immediate needs of the business while also maintaining a long-term focus that is grounded in the business strategy. COVID-19 really reinforced the fact that leaders have to swiftly address the near-term issues, but in a way that continues to strategically move the organization forward with a long-term view – you can’t be all in on one or the other. I’ve found that keeping your organization’s mission in mind can help guide both short-term decision making and long-term planning.

Communication is key: Leaders should be communicating early and often surrounding the organization’s vision and direction no matter the circumstance. As a purpose-driven company, it’s embedded in our mission – to help people become financially secure. Beginning on day one during orientation, at quarterly check-ins, and throughout your stakeholder touchpoints, a verbal reminder of the organization’s mission goes a long way and helps ground the team in our higher purpose. When my team was in the trenches adapting to the pandemic-driven changes, we all reminded each other that we would be part of the recovery and reassurance helping Americans achieve financial security. This communication kept us on track and motivated. 

Be open to diverse perspectives: A company’s success hinges on a key element - bringing out the best in its people. That takes creating a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and respect – a culture that taps into the collective ideas, opinions, and creativity of a diverse workforce, and diverse thinking to deliver the best ideas and outcomes. It’s critical for leaders to make this a priority and talk about it so that others, especially their employees, know how important it is.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Aditi: As leaders, we should be encouraging our team members to set strong and aspirational goals, but also help them take realistic steps to reach them. This goes back to something my father always told my sister and me growing up – “eye on the sky, feet to the ground.” By this, he meant that we should stay humble but always aim high. Not only did this mantra help guide me in my aspirations early in my career, but it’s also always served me well in business and in my current role at Northwestern Mutual. 

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Aditi: At the end of the day, we spend more hours at work than we do sleeping and enjoying time with family at home, so it is essential that our work environment is meaningful and joyful. Lean into your authenticity as a leader and bring out the best in your team by creating a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and respect – a culture that taps into the collective ideas, opinions, and creativity of our diverse workforce to deliver the best ideas and outcomes for the business. At the end of the day, aspire to be the kind of leader you would like to work for.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.