Aishwarya Landekar

I attribute my success to the great leaders I've met along the way. Throughout my journey, right from my first leadership role in undergrad, I was inspired by seeing someone else lead with such responsibility that I wanted to step into that role myself. Every manager I've worked with has shown me, through both their mistakes and their great work, what to do and what not to do. I've learned valuable lessons from observing them. I also attribute my success to the failures I've dealt with. There were times when I couldn't deliver projects on time, but instead of being discouraged, I picked it up as a challenge. I made notes about what went wrong and implemented those lessons in the next project, which then became a success. So I attribute a lot of my successes to failures and to good leadership that I've encountered.

The best career advice I've ever received is to never stop learning and never say no to anything. This is advice I swear by and also give to others who come to me for guidance, including juniors. At any stage of your career, especially when you're at an entry level, do not say no to anything. A lot of opportunities seem challenging, but it's so essential to step out of your comfort zone. I believe growth starts when you step out of your comfort zone. So the best advice someone gave me was never say no, never say never.

I would say step out of your comfort zone. You are capable of incredible things. When you just feel that you might not be able to do it, it is exactly then that you will be able to do it. So just step out of the door, ask a lot of questions. Trust me, nobody feels that a question is stupid. Be curious, be inspired, be motivated, and say yes to every challenge that knocks on your door. Do not be scared of any damn thing, because you can conquer the world if you want to. The last thing I would say is that if you're getting committed to any kind of work, whether as a project manager, project coordinator, or any entry role, give it your 100%. Do not ever come out of your workplace saying you were only able to give 50% today, because it's so essential to be fully present in one place. If you're not feeling well, take the day off. But when you are at work, give your 100%. And say yes to the bigger titles, to the more difficult roles.

One of the biggest challenges I've always faced is time management. There are so many activities and opportunities lined up ahead of me, and trust me, I want to do it all, but I know that sometimes you have to let go in order to take on a bigger role. If I want to take it all, I have to find the most effective way to manage my time, because if I'm committed to one particular task at one particular time, my entire attention has to be on that task and not worry about the other one. Another challenge I faced when I came here was adapting to the culture. I come from India, where we had a totally different work environment, so learning the work ethics and values of a particular place is also a challenge you must take on. As for opportunities, every day is actually a new opportunity. I get to learn so many things. As president and as someone who has represented my university at multiple platforms, speaking and networking at conferences, and speaking in front of an audience of probably 100 to 150 people has been an opportunity for me. I realized how to better my public speaking skills and how to speak with value. If you have 100 people listening to you, you have to make sure that they leave the room inspired or have taken some value from your speech.

For me, empathy is extremely essential. I don't really say sympathy, because I believe empathy is when you step into somebody else's shoes, understand what the other person might be going through, and then assign duties and responsibilities to them. As a leader, empathy is the most important to me. Secondly, being kind. We are in this very practical world, and what we are missing is kindness, so I truly believe in that. Thirdly, I believe in motivating others, because empowered women empower the world, is what I feel. So motivating and empowering others and myself, being kind, and most essentially, being empathetic are the four qualities that I swear by, and I feel should be very essential in any workplace.