#GullyChat: On the road to becoming a successful woman leader

In the early phases of one's profession, one must have a certain mindset. Women must think strategically as well as practically. To put it another way, getting the work done should be one of the goals. We were often rewarded for hard effort as children, whether it was domestic duties, caring for our siblings, or receiving high grades. These were significant accomplishments with varied levels of responsibility.

We need to think differently as corporate citizens. Our success is contingent on achieving broader objectives. There is a two-tiered system for progression. Both have a strategic goal in mind. Women who want to be successful as leaders must set objectives that go beyond their job description.

Adgully’s latest #GullyChat Twitter chat episode on Friday, February 18, 2021, focused on the very important topic – ‘Aspiration to become a successful women leader - What is the right kind of motivation and encouragement required?’ The discussion was joined by:

Ankita Chauhan, Director Strategy, Tonic Worldwide

Pooja Trehan, Head - Marketing Communications, SugarBox Networks

Rajni Daswani, Director, Brand Experience, SoCheers

Rohini Saldanha, Head of Corporate Communications, Wunderman Thompson South Asia

Every woman has an ambition to take leadership roles. How do you identify their potential to become a leader and what traits you look at to tap that leadership talent?

Commencing the discussions, Pooja Trehan said, “The ability and inclination to learn. Everything boils down to just these two pieces. Because then one is prepared for any circumstantial challenges. Also, remember to discipline yourself to love the boring! Often from the mundane processes do we emerge far more creatively! For any leader this is essential.”

SoCheers’s Rajni Daswani remarked, “When you work closely with someone, you’ll start to see the traits – taking ownership, commitment towards their work, honest and open communication, ability to train and work with teams. These help in understanding potential and then we take it from there!”

According to Tonic Worldwide’s Ankita Chauhan, while every leader has their peculiar personalities, there are some fundamental traits that immediately stand out:

Solution seeking mindset
Responsibility/ Ownership
Empathy

Wunderman Thompson’s Rohini Saldanha added here, “The two main traits that I look for are integrity and diligence. Both are intertwined in my opinion. If you don’t work with integrity, you won’t be diligent and vice versa. I would also add resilience and confidence – knowing who you are, and never losing sight of that awareness of yourself.”

Follow the entire discussion here:

(8) Adgully (@adgully) / Twitter