Saifa Sultana

My success comes from having a true passion for what I do - that takes you a long way. I believe you have to be a good leader, not just managing things but empowering your team. Being a good listener and having the right communication with the team is essential. You're involved with a lot of people, so it's not only about getting the work done - you also have to have the ability to understand their weaknesses and their strengths, and then empower them. That's how I do it. I also maintain a solution-oriented mentality. I acknowledge the problem, but at the same time my mind starts working on the solution. As soon as you get those two combined, then you have your ball rolling. You cannot just sit there and be upset. Yes, we are human, we're not robots, and it affects us, but I apply this to not only my job but my personal life too. My inspiration is when something is done and we do it beautifully, everything comes together - it gives me a sense of accomplishment, and that motivates me.

For any position you hold, either in my area or any area, you have to have a passion for what you do. That will take you a long way. You also have to be a good leader - managing things is one thing, but being a leader means empowering the team. Be a good listener and have the right communication with the team. You have to be successful in those areas and be humble. Try to understand, because you are involved with a lot of people, so it's not only the work that you need to get done - you also have to have the ability to understand their weakness, their strength, and then empower them. That's how I do it. Beyond that, know who you are and believe in yourself. Have the confidence, because people around you are always going to judge you. Don't get carried away with that. You follow your own path, you follow your own passion. Don't care about a lot of other people's opinions - he said, she said, whatever. Believe in yourself. Pay attention and don't get caught up with what's happening around you. Don't lose the track because of all the noises.

The most important thing is that everything we do, we have to remain human. We cannot do inhuman things. Yes, we make mistakes, we can be mean sometimes with our loved ones, but at the end of the day you come back to your own self. Don't stay there for long. Don't become a different person who you are not, and try to find yourself there. In most cases, what we do is we lose ourselves. We even lose our own identity. We don't even know who we are. I'm a very spiritual person and I do follow my belief system. A lot of things that are happening right now in the world is because people are not people - they're not human. They become something other than human. If I have the humanity in me, I can never harm another person, believe me. It's impossible. But when we think about harming someone, we lose ourselves. I just urge everyone, I just hope that everyone, they don't lose themselves. I can have a different opinion than you. You can be a different person than me. You like fish, I like meat. Who cares? We all are living under the same home, which calls Earth. Either you finish your grade, either you finish your PhD, it doesn't matter. This is your life. You own it.