Mayana Alia Akbari

I attribute my success to discipline, resilience, and being willing to keep learning even when I’ve felt uncomfortable or unsure of myself.

I’ve learned that growth usually comes from doing the things that challenge you, asking questions, accepting constructive feedback, taking on more responsibility, and continuing to show up even when you don’t immediately see the results. I’ve also been fortunate to have mentors and leaders who saw potential in me, challenged me, and encouraged me to advocate for myself.

A big part of my success has also come from persistence. I don’t give up easily. Whether I’m working through a difficult credit decision, navigating a new responsibility, or trying to grow professionally, I’m willing to keep looking for a solution and learn from the process.

Most importantly, I try to remain humble. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, but I never want to reach a point where I think I have nothing left to learn. I believe success comes from having the confidence to recognize your strengths while still staying curious enough to keep growing.

My mentor, Dawn Wood, through the NEFA Women in Leasing Mentorship Program, gave me advice that has stayed with me: build a career you don’t need a vacation from. She also taught me the importance of advocating for myself, speaking up, and recognizing the value I bring to the table. Her mentorship helped me build confidence in myself and in the direction I wanted my career to take.

My boss, Assal, has also had a tremendous influence on me. She became like a big sister and consistently encouraged me to trust my abilities, take on challenges, and never make myself smaller in the workplace. Having strong women in my corner who believed in me, sometimes before I fully believed in myself—taught me that ambition and humility can coexist.

Stay humble and always stay teachable. Recognize that you don’t know everything—and that you’re not supposed to. Even after five years in the industry, I’m still learning and feel like I’m only scratching the surface.

Ask questions, seek out mentors, and surround yourself with people who challenge you to grow. Don’t be intimidated by being the youngest person in the room or one of the few women at the table. You don’t have to know everything to deserve to be there.

Most importantly, learn to advocate for yourself. Work hard, remain curious, and be confident in what you bring to the table without ever believing you’ve outgrown the opportunity to learn from someone else. Some of the greatest growth in my career has come from being willing to say, “I don’t know, but I want to learn.”

There is strength in being ambitious and humble at the same time.

The biggest challenge is that banks and lenders have gotten a lot more strict with their parameters and lending money due to the current economy. It's harder to get approvals now than a couple years ago.

Discipline, growth, humility, and ambition are the values that guide me most, both professionally and personally.

Discipline has been one of the biggest factors in getting me to where I am today. To me, discipline means doing what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like doing it. I’ve seen the impact of that mindset not only in my career, but also in my personal life. My weight-loss and fitness journey has been one of the greatest examples of that. It taught me that meaningful change doesn’t happen overnight—it comes from showing up consistently, making difficult choices, and continuing even when progress feels slow.

Growth is equally important to me. I never want to become so comfortable with where I am that I stop challenging myself to become better. That requires humility and staying teachable, which is something I continue to work on. I’ve learned that you can be confident in what you know while still recognizing how much there is left to learn.

And finally, ambition. I believe in wanting more for yourself and being willing to work for it. Whether it’s becoming stronger in my career, improving myself personally, or creating a better life, I don’t believe ambition and gratitude are mutually exclusive. You can be grateful for how far you’ve come while still being excited about how much further you can go.

For me, success isn’t about reaching one destination. It’s about having the discipline to keep showing up, the humility to keep learning, and the ambition to keep growing.