Keertana Mantha

I think it's a combination of ownership, structured thinking, and an ability to understand complexity and then execute it. Having discipline about the structure and having clarity is what I believe will fly through in terms of having effective communication and working in high-pressure environments. Being in a company like this definitely gives you a lot of pressure, and being in the markets role is definitely stressful, so having the clarity and making sure that you're keeping up with the momentum is going to bring some kind of success to you. That's where I think I was able to get through in this role where I'm in today.

The best career advice I have received so far is from one of the leaders who mentioned that it's not how you want to grow in the organization, it's the number of lives you touch. I think that makes a lot of difference in how you think that you are in the organization. Today, when I look at what company I'm working for, which is Cognizant, no matter what designation I am in, the number of lives we touch is what makes us different from who we are in the industry. We have about 35,000 healthcare specialists working for us, but the number of lives we touch is more than 135 million members. We process 218 million claims and do about 125 million contact interactions annually from our entire payer portfolio. That scale and the number of lives we touch gives a lot of value to what you do on a day-to-day basis, and that brings you to your job satisfaction.

I think all young women should just believe in themselves and be confident. I have encouraged a lot of my friends and family to build their careers and not just be in a family kind of environment. Most of the culture back in India is that women are born and raised in such a way that they are to be with the families and taking care of the families. But when I talk to my families and friends, I keep telling them about resilience and continuous learning - not just in the family environment, but also looking at how you want to establish yourself in a career and build a good career path. I've tried my best to inspire them, talk to them, and mentor them to make them good leaders. I make sure they are not just looking at themselves, but also looking at joining organizations, giving their contribution, and making themselves feel worthy. One thing everybody, all women, should be looking at for the next generation is that we need to evolve, and constant evaluation is what they need to focus on. I definitely want women with my race to come forward and make their mark, especially since women leaders are not many in this industry. It's important that women should think themselves that, hey, I'm no less. They should really come forward and take more good positions to lead and be successful in their own careers.

Some of the values which I really emphasize are to look at people and value them for what they're worth, not for what background they come from. Sometimes you really don't know what their background is, but they are really worth something. Everyone is special, and every work we do is special. I don't think we should be looking down to anybody or thinking that somebody's really at a high level - everybody is equal, and everybody needs an opportunity to be treated equally, especially in this industry where women leaders are not many. I think it's important that everybody should look at themselves and value themselves for whatever they're doing today and whatever value they're bringing into their business as well as to their personal lives. Without a woman in the family, I don't think a family is a family. Family relationships as well as work relationships are very, very important. How you lead a team, what kind of a leader you are, and how you make that impact to your own team does make a lot of difference to them.