Following is an interview between Insights Success and Fatema Abbas, the HOD of Business Communication & Soft Skills at the Pune Institute of Business Management.
Fatema is a result driven training and development professional with more that 15 years of experience significantly impacting performance through the designing of personal training programs for the reformation, enhancement and advancement of organizational and institutional objectives, values, vision and mission.
Herein, she shares key details of her ceaseless voyage towards achieving professional and personal excellence.
Below are the insights of the interview:
- Brief us about your journey since the beginning of your career.
Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life or wait for weekends to come. I was fortunate to understand this and comply to it. Integrity, building credibility and a never-give-up attitude have been defining my career right from the start.
I have had my share of rough patches, and through them I have consistently reminded myself that it’s not just what you achieve that is important but also what you overcome. When I look back, the journey has been magnificent and I see me evolved into a wiser, credible and a more content person.
- What was your source of motivation? Or, who is your role model or the person that inspires you? Have your family played a significant role in scripting your success voyage?
I do not have any specific role models, as I believe that every individual/instance/experience we encounter in our life holds the capacity to teach us something good, only if we give them a chance. Every little thing around me motivates me to do something grander, honorable and prolific.
Of course, my family has completely been my greatest strength in scripting my success voyage. It’s rightly said that the learning happens from home, my three kids, in their own unique ways have been instrumental in teaching me professional tactics and personal mantras and they keep doing so every day.
- Kindly tell us about the challenges that you faced to withstand the complexities of the industry.
All progress takes place outside the comfort zone. By facing complexities you either win or you learn and both these outcomes are positive. To mention a couple of complexities – adapting classic learning/training framework to modern systems, incorporating blending experiential learning as opposed to blended typical processes, making training functions more proactive and strategic instead of reactive, opportune to up skill and transform the training functions.
Most of the times, I have been successful in overcoming these. However, at times I wouldn’t be, as they would be beyond my circle of control: at times the resistance or budget issues or stereo type/conventional thinking or unhealthy work politics. However dire the situation, they have never stopped me from accepting the trails head on.
- Apart from stirring high-end professional profile, who is Fatema in personal life?
Fatema, is a simple human being who believes in nurturing the soul with purity and strength. I follow certain ethics and principles. My life theories are very simple – 1.Don’t let anything external disrupt your internal equilibrium, 2.You can be vulnerable or gentle and still be very powerful and rock solid at the core, 3.The problem has never the mind, but the mindset.
- Brief us about the industry scenario from your perspective.
My industry is that of management education. Management is the art of balancing business and people. Scrupulously molding the young generation to lead and inspire their human resources and create and sustain their trades. The best way to edge them is through providing them experiential learning, industry exposure, generating curiosity in them and most importantly is leading them through examples.
- Enlighten us about your achievements, memorable moments, and awards which you would cherish lifelong.
There have been numerous cherishable moments both personal and professional. Mentioning a couple of them and the reason why I treasure them: 1. Won the Panache Mrs. India Popular tittle 2018 and was crowned Sakal Mrs. Pune in the year 2006.
My philosophy that I endorse during these titles and even now when I am a jury to many beauty & personality pageants is to be beautiful externally and internally. 2. I have received the Corporate Peacock award for social work and have been felicitated in the Delhi Parliament for my various social work that I do. My belief that I promote is your achievements are incomplete if they haven’t been shared or given back in some noble ways.
- Where do you see yourself in the near future? Tell us about your future goals.
Being a successful individual in my professional and personal life, I see myself continuing to walk the path that I’m already on and as years pass by I will be taking up more opportunities and arenas wherein I hope I will be able to continue my present success and inspire people, especially women, to live their own lives in ways that could bring up on a positive influence upon the society, and our society as a whole.
- What would you advise to the budding entrepreneurs?
My advice to our young and dynamic millennial is to make the traits of endurance and gratitude your close friends. It’s okay at times to move twenty spaces backward so that you could take a calculated great leap forward again. It’s okay to face breakdown at times and use this as a propeller to create your break through. Create a mechanism to regularly introspect yourself professionally and personally. Keep a balance of your ambitious flight upwards and your divine journey
