Women entrepreneurs have played a vital role in stabilising the ecosystem: Anooja Bashir

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. Last year, we launched our unique and distinct program, called WOMEN DISRUPTORS, which drew a lot of attention and was highly appreciated by the industry. W-SUITE is a special initiative from Adgully that has been turning the spotlight on some of the most remarkable women achievers in M&E, Advertising & Marketing, PR & Communication industry. In the refurbished series, we will find out how women leaders have been managing their teams and work as well as how they have been navigating through the toughest and most challenging times brought about by the global pandemic.

In conversation with Adgully, Anooja Bashir, CEO, Oureacorp, speaks about how women business leaders fought back the pandemic situation like warriors and also how power of positive thinking can even turn out to be a game-changing innovation.  

How do you think the role and scope of women leaders has widened in the post-pandemic world?

The world saw many woman leaders rise during this chaos with their patience and innovation completely managing the system. The eve race interacted so well with the rest of the clan and collectively a great woman force came into existence supporting and encouraging each other.

I believe the women in business acted as flame keepers protecting their ventures and fighting back the situation like warriors. They also pacified the rest of fellow-beings with the hope that soon we will cross all hurdles. They not only instilled confidence in themselves, but also shared this enigma which kept things balanced in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.  

The rapid transition to digital, an uncertain economic landscape, charting unknown waters, working from home with no modes of the usual contacts. How have you been navigating during the COVID-19 times? What were the challenges that you faced and how did you tackle them?

The challenge faced was obviously the revenue aspect and how to implement things when all are working remotely.

We then thoroughly dedicated our time to building our brand powerful by training the team with industries best. We utilised our time in finding out the solution to fight out the challenges of pandemic-related business obstacles.

I personally believe that challenges make you stronger, wiser and lead to growth. Even though it’s a fact that when we figure an obstacle, naturally it becomes a struggle. But the power of being positive reflects in a different way, creating a beautiful solution and it can even turn out to be a game-changing innovation.

Our team really gets motivated when there are challenges, because it challenges their skills, capability, and even their individuality. So, to prove themselves they rise up and that always leads to something beautiful.

Our program LIKES was first implemented in our own company and post-COVID-19, while the world was downsizing, we were able to hire people. We took in freshers and trained them to be the professional that any job would require and it gave us tremendous results.

Besides, our employability program was also implemented in our sister concern company FlexiCloud, a hosting company, which provides reliable cloud hosting services. The training was quite effective, which resulted in our productivity.

Our entire team is passionate about what they do and they always live up to my expectation. Our ambience is always positive and vibrant, we face problems together as one family and I guess that’s what makes us stronger. The trust in each other gives us immense energy to take any obstruction that comes across.

How challenging has it been for you to maintain a balance between managing the team & office work on the one hand and family responsibilities on the other, as boundaries blurred while working from home? What is your mantra to maintain that balance?

Striking a balance between my family responsibilities and as a professional head is the biggest challenge I face. I can’t neglect my duties to both. I think it’s the trait I have inherited from my mother that I am a good multi-tasker. I guess I have trained myself in such a way that in any circumstances I keep my cool, apply my brain and figure the perfect solution.

Since being a mom also helps, the only difference is I manage kids at home and staff at the office.

My business mantra is “Always strike the perfect balance between the personal me and professional me”. 

Multiple studies have shown how women leaders performed better during the COVID-19 crisis. According to you, what makes women the best in crisis management?

Women can take on a lot as their endurance power is very high. They always display emotional strength at the hour of need. They are known for their sacrifices and multitasking nature as they are mothers, too. They are also risk-takers as they are crouching tigress whenever it comes to their people.

In my opinion, women leaders need to be compatible with the employees and the system. The key qualities possessed by a great business professional need to be effectiveness, appropriate delegation, and result orientation.

On a professional note, women entrepreneurs have played a vital role in stabilising the ecosystem as they always strive hard to reach their goals.

In my company, the Employability program devised by me during the pandemic made our HR proactive and more productive, resulting in manifold revenue generation. I believe women never give up that fast. They struggle and toil as their mantra itself is HOPE – Hold on, Pain Ends.  

What are the five most effective lessons that you have learned as a woman leader?

1. To be flexible and at the same time take a tough call when it comes to your employees. You need to guide them perfectly so that they are an asset to organisations.
2. To strike a balance between Professional and Personal life, so that you don’t need to put one at stake.
3. To be strong, show endurance, and always be ready to take the decision which is better for the system/ organisation.
4. To upgrade your knowledge as per the trends with respect to the industry standards.
5. To have confidence in myself even when things go wrong, because your entire pack’s strength is with you. Don’t show it when you get panic, just stay focused and be strategic to figure out the solution.