After completing my intermediate from the reputed Fergusson College, I was determined to do engineering, as I always loved to do something different and take on new challenges. Quite a few eyebrows were raised when I told my friends in school that I wanted to be an engineer. In fact, they all burst out laughing. And it was that challenge that pushed me ahead to prove myself. I chose mechanical engineering as it is action-oriented, where you have to cut metals and drill holes. I must say that although we were the only two girls (the other being Dr Vasantha Ramaswamy), the boys never found us to be their competitors. How wrong they were! They never thought we would take our studies and career seriously and be successful later in our life.
What were the core values that helped me? What were the Dos and Don’ts that I would recommend? There can be many answers to these queries and many experiences to share, but the one thing that I considered most important in my life, right from day one, was not to accept, that because I was a girl I had limitations. I believed I was a PERSON, well-qualified to do a good job like anyone else or even better. I believed in person power, which emanates from your attitude. Here are some empowering attitudes every person must have, to achieve success, to realise your dreams.
Speak up: One of the most important empowering attitudes is to be willing to speak up and be heard, especially when it is for a noble cause. No girl should be afraid of exposing her ideas and thoughts, whether it be to one person or to a larger audience. A girl who expresses her opinions and is not intimidated by divergent ideas or respectful critique earns respect.
Be a leader: Leadership is not being bossy or feeling superior to others. A good leader inspires and is responsible for bringing a team together. A leader is a group representative who in addition to being a good listener is also a problem solver. Be a good leader and you’ll inspire those around you to look at women in new light. Remember: a leader is not an administrator who loves to run others’ lives, but someone who carries water for her people so they can get on with their jobs.
Be independent: Girls are many times expected to be fragile and dependent, which is not entirely a bad thing. However, a powerful woman can distinguish which situations require her to be fragile and when she should be independent, regardless of whether she is single or committed.
Work hard: It is no secret that success is the result of hard work and every girl should follow her dreams and try her best to achieve anything she wants. Many people will say powerful people have had luck, but the fact is that luck plays no role if you’re not diligent enough. So roll up your sleeves and empower yourself. Luck favors those who are bold.
Be confident: Lack of confidence can easily lead a well-prepared person to failure and, sometimes, even makes you doubt your own convictions. More important than having an attitude is to be aware of your qualities and be humble in acknowledging your flaws. When a girl is aware of her full potential, she can achieve much more and she naturally becomes a powerful lady. A powerful girl is witty and is thirsty for information. When she dominates a field of interest, she is not only able to share knowledge but is also confident to debate and stand up for herself.
"Leadership is not being bossy or feeling superior to others. A good leader inspires and is responsible for bringing a team together. A leader is a group representative who in addition to being a good listener is also a problem solver. Be a good leader and you’ll inspire those around you to look at women in new light"
Be decisive. If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don't, you have achieved half your failure. Nothing is as exhausting as indecision and nothing is so futile. Indecision often gives an advantage to the other person because they did their thinking beforehand. Don't leave a decision for tomorrow that needs to be made today. The moment you definitely commit yourself, change begins. All sorts of things happen to help you that never would have otherwise occurred. There is a difference between interests and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you only do it when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. Lack of decisiveness has caused more failures than lack of intelligence or ability.
Remember, don't be a "middle-of-the-roader" because the middle of the road is the worst place to try to go forward. You can do everything you ought to do once you make a decision. Today, decide on your dream. Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something perhaps when you are least expecting it.
Technology is fast progressing. Every day there are new innovations and business has become very competitive. Now, a corporate manager has to be more than just a person with certain knowledge in any one field such as production or marketing. The aspect of handling human resources has become crucial. The job market is so fertile that every day you need to handle new challenges. Developing and retaining of talent is the most difficult task for any management. Gone are those days when people religiously stuck to one job for many years. Now, colleagues have to be made to feel like entrepreneurs themselves – that is, treating them like partners. With dynamism in business, re-structuring of organisation has become pertinent wherein participation of employees has become extremely important.
The attitude should be such that one should learn to enjoy the present situation and deal with it in a joyful way, be it a personal or a professional commitment. Frustration has set in amongst the young generation, as they want to have it all in the shortest of time – all one needs is to have faith in one’s own capabilities, as also one’s own limitations and you will enjoy the world you are in.
I have found personally that there is no comparison to the JOY of Giving. Tremendous happiness follows. The more girls who become my daughters, the more happiness I get. This kind of community service is of utmost importance, for, along with your education and the openings you get in good companies, you too can thank society for all that it has done for you to make your life a story of success. It is not only about giving money or goods of material values; it is about giving of yourself by doing some community service.
The attitude should be such that one should learn to enjoy the present situation and deal with it in a joyful way, be it a personal or a professional commitments
I am certain each one of you, in your own way, is already doing some form of service to your community but does not recognise the same. No service is too small. You may be educating a neighbour’s child, you may be extending a helping hand to an NGO; you could be working towards sustainability of the environment; spending time at an old people’s home, or performing for others to bring joy into their lives, or such like. We have many records of such activities by our girls.
Lila Poonawalla
Former CEO of md alfa laval and Tetra Pak
founder of Lila Poonawalla.
